The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-25
Literary Lights and Shadobs
BY S. MAYS BALL.


 like, is simply delightful to read. During
 his stay in Washington when he was first
 in the Senate for II years (lle resigned
 from the Senate in '76 to re-enter in 1880
 Senator Stewart was thrown with and
 knew intimately such men as Hannibal
 Ilamlin, Buckalew. Cowan. Foot. Reyerdy Johnson of Maryland; John P. Hale, John
 Sherman (whom he hated); Benjamin F. Wade. W. P. Fessenden, Andrew John son (whom he despised and insnlted) ;
 General Grant, Judge Chase Charles Sumner (whom to the delight of the south he now unmasks): Horace Greeley, Ad- miral Farragut, General Sheridan and numbers of others. In his "reminiscences Senator Stewart tells us not the history about these men, but how they appeared, what were their failings as well as their great acts. He was a great friend of General Grant. Grant when President.
 offered Stewart judgeship in the United States supreme court which was de- clined. He tells of the Fortress Monroe conference between President Lincoln on one side and Alexander H. Stephens.
 Esq, on the other. How the members of MT. Lincoln's cabinet were nothing but This clerks and messenger boys'' which reminds us of this year of Grace. 1908. Sen ator Stewart is a great admirer of Secre- tary D. w. Stanton-he insists that he | was never cruel, never overstepped his i prerogatives, fetc. He quotes MT. Lin l coln's letter to Horace Greeley of Au- gust 22, 1882 in which the great Presi- I dent said that if he could save the union l by holding the slaves in bondage he would I do 1t; if he could save the union by l freeing the slaves he would do 1t; all he wished to do in 1862 was to save the 1 union. Ths letter was brought forth in 1 answer to an open letter from Greeley to 1 the President criticising the latter for 1 not doing this or that After Mir Lincoln
 wrote Greeley there were no more let 1 ters from that source.
 l Right after the war before the assassi- l nation of Lincoln, Senator Zach Chand- l Ter of Michigan had great scheme for i reuniting the north and the south-name l ly, the invasion of Canada with a picked l force of veterans from both armies 100,- 1 GOO from Grants victorious army. 100000 | from Lees picked men-to punish Eng
 land for her assistance to the south in 1 the construction of the Alabama" and
 ether war vessels. Chandler's idea being l that this would bring the south and north
 together by jointly fighting a hereditary l foe. Thirty senators were pledged to this l agreement when Lincoln died and the
 scheme fell through. Senator Stewart | gives a most amusing account of Mark
 Twain, how he employed the latter as l his secretary in Washington and how | NIT. clements wrote at that tune lHTD-
 cents Abroad" while Stewards secre- ] tary.
 And how the senator does turn a-loose
 on Andrew Johnson! Pages are devoted l to him. A review cannot give the de- 1 tails beyond the fact that Stewart says | that Johnson was drunk when inaugural l ed both as Vice President and President of the United States, that he remained In 1 that condition most of the time; that 1t
 was "a calamity when Johnson was 1 elected Vice President. That before his
 succession to the presidency Johnson was | bitter against all conference.-the usual l remark in regard to them all was. "All l the rebels must be hanged d'-Johnson did | not make any distinction Not only in the l Senate but on the streets did Johnson
 continue these tirades until he became | President. Then, says Senator Stewart, 1 Johnson swung quite around the other way. Having arisen from "poor white i trash to positions of eminence. he never l forgave the well-born southerners until as President he was recognized by them. 1 Then he attempted. until Congress stepped in, to do anything the southerners wished. | Senator Stewart adds that he started to l thrash Johnson once in the patent office, years after the latter had been out of
 the presidency and that Johnson ran from 1 him. 'T voted to impeach him and I
 would do it again" Senator Stewart says
 in closing his discussion of Johnson.
 The author takes a few licks at Ben l jamin Harrison, whom he heartily dis
 liked, as well as John Sherman. both 1 for breaking promises. He tells us about | "Old Thad" Stevens-quite enough for
 southerners to know; we know enough l already about that old creature who | lived with negro woman. When the | author gets to Grover Cleveland having l used up most of his tirades and abuse, l there was not much that Senator Stewart | could well use, that was new to say. ! but the senator did his best He tells | of the midnight sale" of United States
 bonds; that the people by that sale were l defrauded of nearly if not quite 30. GOO 0O0
 of dollars: in fact, he doesn't care for
 Cleveland at all and doesn't mind giving | his reasons He thinks William J. Bryan 1 of 1896 a great man-that he was a poli- 1 tician in 1900, or an ignoramus; and since 1 then, worse than either. That he. Stew 1 srt, left the republican party to become | a silver man. but after his and his party s cry for "more money" had been granted | by the discovery and production of mil | lions of gold there was no need to keep asking for something already given namely, "more money" so he returned | to the republican party. He says the l silver question Is dead but defends his l position held when we did need silver l and more money. One of the most in- 1 terestng parts of the "reminiscences is l that dealing with the old hypocrte, 1 Charles Sumner. Southern people and a | great many northerners, too, who were afraid to say it. knew what a package | of "hot air" old Sumner was, and 1t is a l great pleasure to have a man who knew l him as did Senator Stewart. to write open l ly and truthfully of Sumner. Sumner l was great big tallxer of words. not a 1 "doer of deeds" Stewart says that he l attempted to betray Grant as President l of the United States: that the republican | caucus in the Senate being informed of | Summers dealings. removed Sumner from 1 the chairmanship of the committee on | foreign affairs. Of course, no one then 1 or now defends Preston Brooks for his 1 assault on Sumner at Washing<on-that l Is to say the place selected. not the good l thrashing-for no doubt old Sumner need | cd 1t; at least. Senator Stewart intimates 1 as much although he does say that Sum | ner played the martyr" for all it was
 worth, which is quite true.
 | The pretty tribute that Senator Stew l art pays to Senator E. w. Pettus of 1 Alabama will be appreciated by all south l erners. we were both miners and a l warm friendship arose between us which | lasted through life. He was genial | companion and knew more of law and l politics than any other young man of my l acauaintance." Senator Stewart first | met Senator Pettus in the summer of | 1850 at Nevada City, Cal. ''He did not 1 believe in shams and took a comical view l of buncombe oratory" adds MT. Stewart. most amusing account is given of Sem