The Washington bee., 1909-01-16


men-touched more men-impressed
his individuality upon more men than
any and all of them and will there
fore, live longest in the hearts of the
! generations that knew him and the
generations of the future; for he left
! his impress stamped upon and buried
/ in the hearts of more people H
was the broadest man of his race
! broadest because he had the brOadest
. culture-the broadest training and,
therefore the best equipped OF his
race and the equal of any in any race.
He was among the manifest l ever
knew manifest because the dlmnable
influence of the Institution of Aneri-
can Slavery or its environments, had
never clipped at his heels or clouded
or dwarfed his splendid intellect. He
cringed in the presence Of no man
that thrift might follow fawning"
Coming, as he did, from a school
where he had, from his youth, I'M
bibed all that makes mana manly
mamie could not have been other
than a man. He was unselfSh. ne
lived his life for others; so conscious
was he of his powers-his command
ing ability that he was too big of
heart to be jealous of any man.
I speak measuredly, and we'll do |
weigh my words when l thus write
of him. 1t must be remembered that
this intimate knowledge was gained
during the thirty-two years l moved
and was in touch with him-from
September 1865, when his brother,
Charles II. Langston. whose pupil /
had been. sent me from my home at
Leavenworth to him to the time of
his death, in 1897.
Professor Langston was eminent
ly, the young mans friend. No young
man ever touched the hand of Lang
ston who was not ever thereafter his
friend, when he had given them his
blessing, as was his wont: God
bless you and speed you-always be a
mana manly man believe you can
attain to the heights of any and you
can not fail in life and, if at any
time you need me call upon me-
They knew he meant all he said
and more, they believed in him and
trusted him. He was their ideal in
public and private life-the genial
spirit that moved and held them to
the right: for no man in public or
private life was more perfect IN his
life-his home life-in all the rela-
tions in life; There have been few
such model homes as was his. He
moulded more men shaped more
lives-startel more men on the up
ward that any had there been no
Langston there had been no Bruce in
the United States Senate, for it was
after | had introduced Bruce to him
in the winter of 1867 as being my
friend from my home in Kansas, that
he saw something in him and pleaded
with him for one hour to give up
the idea of fitting himself for the
Congregational Ministry and prepare
himself for the new duties which he
saw, in the near future, for young
coIored men. Bruce was a convert
and took his advice and was the first
of his race to win the greatest prize
of them all. Bruce's success belongs
largely to the credit side of the ledger
of Langston.
As minister TO Haiti, under the ad-
ministration of Hays and Cleveland,
he stool among the foremost diplo-
mats of this country. Later, as a
member of Congress from Virginia,
he took high rank in that body and
was one of the most finished that that
great state had honored. In what
ever station to which he was called
he did credit to himself and was an
honor to his alma mater. The Law
I School, which he founded IN connec-
ton with Howard University OF
which he was for many years Dean,
is a fitting monument to him.
From the time he entered the arena
i-forty-two years before his death
|! before he laid down the burdens OF
| life and entered into eternal rest, he