The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-06-02

Another book has come to my desk
The Life Of John Hay" private secre-
tary to Abraham Lincoln, with Nico-
lay, through the Civil War, the two
who wrote the monumental history OF
those lines. The author is William
Roscoe Thayer, whose fascinating
Life of Cavour the maker of United
Italy | reviewed in this column sew
eral years ago When it was an
nounced that Thayer was to write
that life it whet my mental appetite
to read it, and here it is, in two line
octave rolumes, the two making 9o4
pages with satisfactory index, publish
ed by the Houghton Mifflin Co. in
their excellent manner.
John LAY was a true American boy
and man. was brilliant able and sue
cessful iii the best sense in the pecu-
liar relations in which, in high places,
for her abroad
The story is largely told in his own
words from his familiar letters and his
dairy. OF his and his famly's ante
cedents he once said in an after dinner
speech: IF | am not that altogether
deplorabie creature, man without a
country, | am, when it comes to pull
and prestige. almost equally bereft, as
| am man without State. | was
born in Indiana, | grew up in Illinois.
was educated in Rhode Island and it
is no blame to that scholarly commu-
nifty that | know so little. | learned
my law in Springfield Qllinois) and
my politics in Washington, my diplo-
macy in Europe, Asia and Africa. |
have a farm in New Hampshire and
desk room in the District of Columbia
When | look TO the springs from
which my blood descends, my first
ancestors l ever heard of were a
Scotchman, who was half English. and
a German woman. who was hall
French. OF my immediate progeni-
tors, my mother was from New Eng
land and my father from the South
In this bewilderment of origin and
experience, | can only put on an as
pect Of deep humility in any gathering
of favorite sons, and confess that | am
nothing nut an American" And it is
just sucn a mixture of races in Eng
land during the last four centuries
which las made what for a better
designation, we call the Anglo Saxon
race, the dominant power in the world
today.
He was studying law in an uncle's Of
fee next door to that of Abraham Lin
coin when the latter was chosen pres
ident, and from there was asked to 60
with John Nicolay as Lincoln's secre-
taries,
Because his grandfather had gradu-
ated at Brown university in Provi-
dence, Z l., he went there and came
under the spell of James B. Angel
afterwards the Great Man of Michi-
gan university, who has just died. Hay
was lively youth, of poetic cast Of
mind, with sparkling wit. and all his
life social favorite.
His close association with Lincoln
at Washington through the Civil War
was Wonderful experience, and early
developed him into full rounded
man. Nicolay and Hay seem to both
have been unusually fitted for Their
position, and were safely trusted by
the President. He seems to, have
practiced talking most intimately with
them Oh the most serious and import
ant matters, thereby getting a side
view on many vexed problems. And O
course through those years they saw
many things behind the scenes. which
explain many mysteries of those days
To those of us who lived through tina
period and remember the exciting
events, and heard the pros and con,
about Seward. Chase, Mcclellan
Grant. Cen. B. +. Butler. Horac,
Greeley, Charles Sumner and man,
others, the revelations of basal fact:
are both enlightening and entertain
ing. Hay had high opinion of VIM
IL. Seward, but plainly saw how h,
had to learn that Lincoln was presi