Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-25

By the Booklovev.

Bliss Perry, lecturing on Alexander
Hamilton before the Washington So.
ciety of the Fine Arts, once said
something to the effect that whether
one more admired Hamilton or JET
ferson depended entirely .on. ones
political philosophy. The political
philosophy Of Claude G. Bowers,
author Of Jefferson and Hamil-
ton," Is obviously democratic, and the
readers political philosophy will de-
termine the degree of his sympathy
with Mr.. Bowers point Of view. En-
tirely apart from this point of view,
two Of the most interesting chapters
Of the book are the characterizations
of the two great statesmen OF our
early history as decentralization:
a Portrait" and Thomas Jefferson:
a Portrait" These chapters are pre-
liminary to a history Of the times
and political struggles Of these dis
tinguished antagonists.
Alexander Hamilton, boyishly slim,
meticulously dressed, with dignified,
soldierly air, Is introduced as he walk"
ed briskly into the Treasury and sat
down at his "effeminate mahogany
desk with the womens' faces carved
upon the legs" shortly after the ap-
pointment of Washington's first cabi'
net. A born commander, even a die
tator, Hamilton had yet the social
graces that rendered him fit for an
instant summons to court levee or
ladies' drawing.room." las party
leader he was singularly lacking in
tact. extensively opionated, impatient
and often insulting to well-meaning
mediocrity, and dictatorial." His pub.
lie morals were incorruptible. Called
to a station where he might easily
have enriched himself, as did many
of his friends. he retired to private
life poorer than when he entered the
public service" A genius as writer
and in finance, he always longed for
military leadership, and. had this op-
portunity come, he might have
proved 4 Napoleon. OF doubtful par.
ertage, self.educated, without social
connections, Hamilton was still a nat
ural aristocrat as his career showed
at every stage. His ideal Of Govern
ment was the rule Of conference.-the
domination Of aristocrats Thus
it was impossible for him to conceive
Of a strong and capable Government
over which the aristocracy did not
have sway"
Thomas Jefferson looked the
philosopher more than the powerful
statesman. Tall. slender, loose Joint
ed, careless in dress, rather stiff in
his manner, but with a kindly face,
he specifically appeared to lack So
cial graces; but at the French court,
where he succeeded Franklin, he was
popular in all circles because Of his
charm, his humor, his agreeable con-
versation and his generous hospitality.
Loving best his beautiful mountain.
top home at Monticello, his farming,
his books, his friends and his family,
he left them to enter the distasteful
turmoil of public life; and after an
interval Of retirement returned to 1t
again, because he believed that the
new Nation must be saved from those
who were rapidly converting it into
an aristocracy. Jefferson was a
humanitarian ahead of his time; he
believed in freedom for the slaves and
conceived Of Imprisonment for crime
as a reform measure rather than
punishment. "Such Is the persistency
Of falsehood that Jefferson has come
down to US vaguely as an atheist and
an enemy Of the Christian religion"
He would today probably be called a
Liberal or Modernjst; he said of
himself, II am Christian in the only
sense in which Jesus wished any one
to be-sincerely attached to His doc
trines in preference to all others"
He made q code of the Morals of
Jesus" and in his later years spent
much time in reading the Bible, and
always in conversation expressed his
belief in the superiority of the moral
system of Christ. Descended from the
Scs%1 Lob 60 i1xx hi
mothers side and from pioneer
farmer stock on his fathers side, he
always loved beauty and luxury. but
from the beginning hated aristocratic
ideas of government. He took upon
himself the organization Of the forces
Of democracy" in the new republic
of the United States and became the
first leader Of his party.
If there Is bit of realism in the
authors foreword justifies us in be.
lieving so, then the French cavalry
barracks are suitable for only strong
characters, according to Percival
christopher Wren in Beau Sabreur."
His hero, Henri de Beaujolais, is des-
tined by his uncle, a general in the
French army with powerful political
Affiliations, for brilliant career of
patriotic achievement in French Afri.
ca. "Some day I am going to be the
master-builder in consolidating an
African empire for France" he says
to his young nephew just out of Elton,
land I shall need tools that will not
turn in my hand" The first step in
making De Beaujolais such a tool is
to enlist him.as 'volontaire" trooper
in the Blue Hussars. In the cavalry
barracks he Is able to endure his
year of apprenticeship because he
knows 1t will be only year and be-
cause he, unlike some of his less for.
tunate fellows, has a private room in
a hotel to which he can resort when
off duty. to battle, eat, rest and be
alone. He is also one Of the elect
in that he can throw aside after first
inspection the huge trousers, tunic
and boots, as heavy and big as a
divers suit, furnished to him at the
barracks. and can don a uniform and
boots made to order by his own tailor
and bootmaker. BY paying a fellow
trooper literally, he transfers various
disagreeable duties. especially that OF
cleaning the stables with his bare
hands. By treating freely to drinks
he makes himself popular. On the
whole. he Is a child Of fortune from
the start. though even he finds nc
method Of escaping the stencil Of the
squadron sleeping quarters: a per
fumed handkerchief helps a trif1e, but
at the expense Of much ridicule.
4 \ + II
A radical, who, like many other rad
icals, did not always relish the re
wxyta Lsr L -ns> "a
into practice, was William Goodwin
who lived-during the Napoleonic era
in England. This was also the ro
mantle era Of English literature, the
era which produced Wordsworth, By
ron. Shelley and Keats. Goodwin was
the father-in.law Of Shelley. When
Shelley and Godwin's daughter Mary