Year: 1876

Life Picture Carefully Drawn and Closely


Figured mp.


The brief account of a life which end
ed in 1876 may prove suggestive story
with much direct bearing on these
motives and plans of ours. 1t was hard
ly what you could call an obscure Life;
the man from his earliest boyhood had
both the purpose and knack of keeping
himself before the public. He was by
no means, be it understood, q fraud or
dissembler; he had keen sense OF JUS
tice and of human rights, and never
espoused cause which did not advance
both. He first made himself known as
the advocate Of the public school system
in one of the border slave States, where
education was at its lowest ebb. He was
a Young fellow-not eighteen at the
time-working at the anvil by day, and
studying Latin, and Constitution, and
Dugald Stewart, at night. In New
England village he could have run easily
in the ordinary groove up the bill OF
knowledge; the track is there ready
laid: the LATEST passenger is dragged up
almost against his will. But in this
neiehborhood of well-fed planters, whose
stables were filed with the best racing
stock in the State, and whose book
shelves with the Spectator, Burke,
Beaumont and Fletcher, he was not like
" to find much help from outside, or to
have any clear idea of how best to help
himself. The one thing he did know
was that he meant to win fame, power.
and money. His only capital was brains.


As for those colonels and majors
whose horses he shod, who loaned him
books, who patronized and boasted OF
him as species of Blind Tom or learn
ed pig, he hated them all with the viru-
lence and force which heavy -jawed,
fat, lymphatic man puts into his hate.
If he had been one of them, he would
have been conservative, holding to every
atom of his power ; as it was, he was
radical, believer in public schools,
newspapers, aboltionism - anything
which should turn the wheel, lift him
and his congeners, and grind his patrons
in the dust. His articles (n behalf Of
the public schools) reused fury OF de-
bate in the country, but they somehow
did not help the cause whit.


The war gave him chance to reach
the surface. He was q member OF the
State Legislature, spoke often and
vehemently nobody denied his weight
and force, but somehow his own party
distrusted him. It was time when
every man became Judge, his own life
and property being in the balance /;
leaders were put to sharp, decisive trial |;
there was something rotten, everybody
felt, beneath all of this mans courage
and love of liberty. The measures
which he urged were the best measures /;
nobody brought such logic or eloquence
to their defence; yet when they were
adopted, he was left in the lurch, with
Office or emolument. He went into the
army; became captain, colonel, briga-
dier-general. Titles were cheap. He
deserved them too, probably. No volun-
teer officer had better knowledge OF
tactics, or cooler courage in the field.
But his men did not follow him readily.
There was no sense of kinshp between
him and them he lacked the magnetism
of generous purpose OF any purpose,
indeed, outside of himself.


It was soon discovered that he was not
efficient in the field, and he was shelved;
and after the war was over his brief mill.
tary record was forgotten. He came to
New York, went into Wall street with
but little capital, buta keenness of judg-
ment and foresight that approached in
tuition. He made money hand over
hand, and then suddenly Withdrew from
the market. His aims were not to be
simplyxich man. He became member
of Leading Christian sect; his name
was forever blazoned in the papers as
foremostin every good word and work,
and there can be no doubt that the man
was faithful to the doctrines he pro-
fessed as far as he understood them.
The trouble was that he understood
them solely by the light OF his own tre-
mendous egotism. Christianity was
fitting completion-a polish to his pub
lie character; he adopted it, therefore,
Just as he would have done Moham-
mechanism. For the same reason he was
known as an eminent humanitarian; no
founded libraries, endowed a female
school for the blacks in Southern city,
used the Sunday school, missionary and
Christian works and enginery for his
own advancement and success as he had
used Wall street or his military office.


Now comes the odd part of the story.


BE never advanced or achieved any sue
cess beyond that glare of puffeIry OF
which everybody knows the worthless
ness. His library and college were con-
Quoted not in the mode to help the
benefciaries, but as advertisements OF
tho "public.spirited donor" People
looked suspiciously at every benevolent
society 'or undertaking which carried
his name as flag of triumph. Quiet.
devout believers reminded each other
that the Great Master did not sound a
trumpet in the streets. Meanwhile this
great philanthropist had no personal
friends. Intolerant selfshness always
throws off the cloak of religion by tue
hearth at home or at the table. One
child after another left his roof to shift
for themselves with sense OF lndig-
nant wrong, his wife subdued into q
dull, silent woman, perplexed perhaps
with the strange aspect which honor and
life, and even God himself put on,
through the medium of this mans infiu-
ence. One day he died. Suddenly,
without time toconsider that dying he
could point to no good work which
should serve as his monument, nor to
one human being who would shed q
tear over his grave. he has time to
think of these things now, wherever ne