Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-02
FILTERS OF MRS. JAMES G. BLAINE.


ing There are many possible
contingencies for misunder-
standing the circumstances in
which they we're written the temperament
d the writer, the domestic and personal
,xigencies suggesting particular passages
and elicting certain explanations. In
The case OF Mrs Elaine's letters, however.
Il is decidedly to the advantage of Amer
can readers that whatever could be
found OF her correspondence has been
given to the public now in these volumes.
For many years Mr.. Blaine and his fam
lily were III the public eye. Mr.. Blaine
himself was for = full generation one or
The foremost figures in American politics,
being III the minds of men for the presi-
dency on more than the one occasion
when he was nominated and when he lost
The highest office by the narroWest or
margins. AS Secretary of State III two
Administrations he made a deep impress
upon the American foreign policies. 1t IS
natural that Mrs. Blaine should have
written in her letters to her children ana
Intimate friends in manner certain |"
be interesting now. though sixteen years
have passed since her husbands death.
Unfortunately the letters do not cover
evenly the entire period from their be
ginning in 1869. when the eldest SOIL
Walker was at Phillips Academy at An
autumn of 1889. Mrs. Beale in collecting
them has found great difficulty In filling
in the gaps. Some of the children 10
whom her mother addressed her letters
seem to have kept them with stfupolous
care The letters to Mr.. Blaine. however
are conspicuouSly infrequent, Tor IL was
Mrs. Blaine's custom whenever her nus
land returned from trip during when
she had of course written TO MN TO col
lect all her letters and destroy them. The
reader of these volumes can easily
imagine how interesting must have been
those letters, coming from a woman OF
the unusual activity of mind OF Mrs
HIaine with their facile play of COM
uicut upon all sorts of subjects. There
are no letters at all representing the pres
idcHtial campaign OF 1884. The only rel
erence to that contest which ended with
Sir. Blaine'S defeat is contained in the
letter of November 30, 1884. to Mrs. Alice
Blaine Coppinger, briefly indicating the
erect upon the household at Augusta,
Me- of the news of the candidates de-
feat.
Fortunately there are numerous letters
covering the period of the Garfield shoot
ing sickness and death. Mr. Blaine as
Secretary of State then was OF course IN
close relations with the White House. ana
Mrs. Blaine's descriptions of the scenes
there enacted are unusually valuable III
their contributions to the history of that
melancholy period. The last days at FL
heron are only SketChed, but III a dra-
matte manner.
There is an abundant mass of ma
tcrials covering Mr.. Blaines sojourn in
Europe during the summer and fall of
1851 and the winter of 1855, when he was
Undergoing treatment for his rheumatism
ana for certain semi paralytic condition
that gave Mrs. Blaine great anxiety, but
which finally yielded to treatment. 1t
VAS at this time that Mr.. Blaine wrote
lis letter of declination to be considered
the candidate of the republican party
Tor the presidency which threw the plans
Of his party into confusion at a time
when his second nomination seemed
sJired. 1t is clear from Mrs. Rlaines let
tcrs that her husband had by this time
concentrated his hopes upon second
term as Secretary of State, an office for
which he had q peculiar talent and which
save him during the Harrison admins
tration an exceptional opport unity.
Mrs. Blaine's letters are all brisk and
in the main cheerful She was an opti-
mist. She was burdened with a heavy
responsibility but she bore it philosophical
~. She always expressed herself frankly
with her children. taking them into her
confidence as to questions of public as
well as private concern. There appears to
have been the closest communion of in
terest between the members of the fam
lily, the daughters as well as the sons
being always kept carefully posted re-
earoing their fathers political plans and
hopes
OF course there are many references to
dresses and bonnets, the purchasing of
supplies and the paying of bills. the end
less problems of domestic management,
and now and then these make interesting
reading. 1t is impossible to quote from
this entertaining book in more than the
briefest manner for the temptation to do
80 at length is greater than the consid-
Grafton of space will permit. But such
little glimpSeS of the statesman in the
aume setting as the following occur fire.
Iuently and are Illuminating: Your ia
aer got off yesterday noon; started in his
I las
It's the key OF his strong box missing;
was fortunate enough to find it carelessly
left on the clock Think of that Again
AIRS. Blaine speaks of her husbands en-
Harrdssment on certain occasion at
Bangor, where he was obliged to borrow
Hannibal Hanln's dress suit to wear
1t dinner and reception: Don't you
think he must have looked funny
one strong. unwavering note sounds
throughout the whole series of letters,
that OF Mrs. Blaine's unbounded faith
IN and admiration of her husband s abii-
ties. For instance, speaking of Il diff
cult situation she says: Still ] have great,
the greatest confidence in your father
surrounding all the disCouragements of
the situation Regarding the choice of
House of Representatives committees on
one occasion, when Mr.. Blaine was
Speaker. she says: Your father and Mr.
Sherman are desperately busy over COM
mittees. II is the secret of the power
Of ne Speaker and. like everything else
worth anything. is a rock of offense and
i block or stumbling TO many. though
10 others thc chief corner stone
Taken altogether, il is doubtful whether
more interesting or valuable book of
letters written by an American woman
has ever been printed in this country and
IN" historian of The Blaine period in
American affairs Will find i'm IL much OF
moment and clear guidance while the
S"drcher after entertainment will dis
cover these volumes 10 bc as interesting
novel.
MARS As TIE ABODE OF LIFE. EY
PcrciVal Lowell, b. LID. author
of Mars and Its Canals director of
The observatory AT Flagstaff Ari-
zoua: nonresident professor of as.
tronomy a the Massachusetts InSti-
fute Of Technology; Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sci
cnccs- Illustrated. New York: The
Macmillan Company. Washington.
BrentIno'S.
The text included in this volume COM
prises the matter OF a series of lectures
delivered in 1906 before the Lowell In
stitute. The course attracted such Il wide
spread attention that the lecture halls
were filled to overfiowing, and il was nee
essary TO repeat the addresses. Tie lee
xrar ro,,JJ fSl.a ,J,D