New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
.tot,ev said Of him

- often thought Of him and
saoke Of him as the true original type
- the American gentleman-not the
IL vashed-out copy Of the European
aristocrat'
And again:
...rbe manner in which his character
moulded in those trying times, from
.,o agreeable and genial man OF the
Grid the generous and useful landed
.,o,rie,or. the frank, unaffected de
rob,fuI companion. into the hero and
,ho natriot has always impressed me
deeply
The first of these estimates was
u.ritten 10 Mrs. Wadsworth after her
husbands death; the second to Tom
uuebes. Together they are sum-
MARY Of Wadsworth's character and
rfe compact. complete. luminous: in
No,lev's best manner, and than his
hest there were few better Into these
,sw sentences is condensed the sub
STANCE Of the biography of Wadsworth
~. Professor II. c.. Pearson, lately pub
Yshed IN New York by Scribner's. 10 be
-o;ssued in the autumn here in London
nv Mr.. Murray In this volume OF
some 500 we'll printed pages Mr.. Pear
son has collected the results OF three
~ four wears research. He has sought
,vsr,where for material His industry
and patience are admirable. Wads-
worth himself left few documents. He
mas not a letter-writer nor In any sense
@ man Of letters, nor does it seem 10
have occurred 10 him that the country
N which he gave his life might like 10
know something about his life. This
hook is the offspring Of the fine pur-
mise and the devoted flial piety OF
Wadsworths eldest daughter; now
Mrs Adair. II contains few OF her
letters. written when she was MIS-
Ritchie. with the true woman's touch
and vividness Of perception.
Forgotten he is not. His statue IN
bronze stands on the field Of Gettys-
burg where he fought, the offering OF
his own state 10 her citizen soldier.
His memory. the memory Of his ser
vices and supreme devotion VIII outias'
the bronze. When ne lay dying in the
Confederate field hospital in the VIII
derness. Confederate officer asked
csptain Adams, Of the seth Massachu-
setts also wounded and captive:
DO you mean 10 say that this Is
James &. Wadsworth, Of New YORK.
the proprietor Of vast estates IN inc
Genesee Valley. the candidate ior
Governor in 1857
For they had said they would never
believe the Unionists had such men IN
their army: and one young officer told
Csptain Adams ne was liar, since
be knew that our officers were crazy
sholitionists. mercenaries. low poiiti-
clans and hirelngs from foreign
armies" So in his death, in the MIDST
NJ his enemies. Wadsworth, merely by
being Wadsworth, vindicated once
more the fame Of his comrades and Of
his cause.
nut these tributes together because
together they may serve as the KEY
note 10 the Life whose appearance AT
this moment I think timely. We have
travelled far since 1864, and it is well
20 freshen the memories of those DAYS
Perhaps the American idea has
changed little. Republican Democ-
racv has become more Democratic ana
less Republican. We are supposed TO
he more Progressive The nation wants
or is supposed to want, other Things
than those for which it fought from
1851 10 1863 II is an open question
whether our immense material pros
perity has brought with il a CORE
spending moral prosperity. Whether
;, has or not. We may still revive older
deals and standards In the light or
this Americans career. Professor Pear
son concerns himself more with facts
than with conclusions. but his book
contains the material from which
readers may draw their own conclu-
sions. and form-they cannot help
forming true conception Of the man.
There are not many like him to-day.
There we're not many like him tnen'
Reason the more for getting 10 the
root. IL We can Of the lesson OF so rare
6 life. do not mean 20 overstrain the
eulogy. nor of eulOgy is there any need.
What will help vs. most Is an esu-
mate. IN presence Of supreme sac
rifce, We do not ask merely for
genius or commanding abilities, but for
something higher than all that: for
character in its relation 10 the COM
munity and to the State. That is what
the record OF Wadsworth's life. public
and private. offers MS. He had the
genius Of patriotism
Out Of the 300 pages Of this volume
but 80 are devoted 10 the first % years
Of Wadsworth's life The rest deal
with three years OF war. To great
extent ~ is the military history Of
those years which Professor Pearson
harrates. No doubt his object was 10
make plain 10 the reader the circum-
stances in which Wadsworth found
himself and so TO put his services in a
clear light. II is an oft-told story
That needed not the retelling. in these
complicated movements and amid all