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BY DEXTEH MARSHALL.
HK thirties, forties and fifties of
I the nineteenth century seem a
lonp way bark In the dim and'
distant past to the most of us now In
the thick of things. Yet, for all that,
we are still blessed with the presence
of a goodly number of prominent men
nd women who, not only by their
years, but also by important works,
link us with the simple days when our
grandfathers and great-grandfathers
wore engaged in the task of running
the world and Its children.
Edward Kverett Hale, Julia "Ward
Howe, Donald G. Mitchell. Thomas
Wentworth Higginson, Charles Eliot
Norton and Timothy Dwight. all vener
able and highly revered "institutions"
of New Kiigland; John Bigelow and
1. O. Mills, of New York; Goldwin
Smith, Sir Charles Tnpper and L'ord
Strnthcona, of Canada; Florence Night
ingale, Sir John Tennlel, Sir Joseph
Hooker, Lord Lister and George Mere
dith of England; ex-Empress Eugenie,
Count Leo Tolstoy, James B. Angell, "Vic
torlen Sardou and Emperor Francis Jo
seph of Austria-Hungary these are some
of the more famous links with the mid
die decades of the past century. AVith
the exception of the two last named, all
are either near the SOth mile-stone or
have left It behind, one or two having
done so by as murh as ten years. The
Emperor is 77, while the French play
wright Is a year younger.
Let us see just how these men and
women by their works bind us to the
days of our prandsires' power.
It was in JST6 that Edward Everett Hale
became pastor of the South Congrega
tional Vnitarian Church, of Boston,
whose pulpit he has tilled ever since. By
ISKi. when he published annonymously his
most famous novel, "The Man Without
a Country." he had gained fame as one
of New Englands leading divines and
public men.
Donald G. Mitchell, who is quietly pass
ing his remaining days at his farm home,
HrtRowond, within sight of Yale's towers,
wrnte "The Reveries of a Bachelor," in
lro. Two years later he produced his
soond great work. "Dream Life, and
he became assistant editor of Harper's
when that magazine was founded.
John Bigelow, "the first citizen of Xew
York." In 3M9 assumed joint proprietor
ship of the New York Evening Post with
"William Cullen Bryant. From then on
until the outbreak of the Civil War be
was one of the country's famous news
paper editors and publishers.
Six years before Bigelow became a busi
ness associate of the author of "Thana
topsis," Julia Ward Howe, with her hus
hmtd. began editing the Boston Common
wealth, a little paper which played an im-
portant part in rousing and formulttrj
anti-slavery sentiment In FVgiand.
.Ol through the fifties &H?2r Wentworth
Higginson devot energies to stirring
uv the North, and particularly New Eng--lanri,
against slavery. He went to Kan
sas in the Interests of the Emigration Aid
Society, which had for its object the
populating of that territory with emi
grants opposed to slavery; he was told by
John Brown of the raid he intended
making three years before that event
occurred, and he was one of the first
male exponents in this country of
woman's rights.
As all the world knows, the reaper of
real glory in the Crimen! War, bepun tit
1S,V. was Florence -Nightingale, who in
troduced sanitary nursing methods in the
allied armies, and thus saved thousands
of lives; and who. after her return from
the front, became the promoter of the
trained nurse movement which has spread
all over the world.
Tolstoy's first important service was in
the Crimean War also. As an officer of
artillery he was at the siege of So has
tonol and the three sketches of the siege
that ho wrote at that time, or shortly
after, gave him his first "fame as a great
pen master." It was In the fifties, also,
that Tolstoy took his first trip abroad,
became bitterly disappointed with modern
civilization and began to form the peculiar
philosophy which marks him as a world
character today.
George Meredith, England's present day
first man of letters, whose SOth anni
versary was celebrated in February, pro
duced his first, and what many critics
hold to be his finest, novel In 1S59. The
same year "Adam Bede,' George Eliot's
first novel was published and its dis
tinguished author has been In her grave
these many years. Eight years previously
Meredith h-ad published his first volume
of verse.
As a motder of college youth James B.
Angell, president of the University of
Michigan, dates back to 1849, when he
was assistant librarian of Brown Univer
sity. A year or two later he became
Brown's professor of modern languages
and literature; in JStiO he was editor of
the Providence Journal: In 1867 president
of the University of Vermont, going to
his present position four years later.
Timothy Dwight, president of Yale from
1866 to 1899, started his career as a teacher
of college men two years later tnan Presi
dent Angell. He, too. is in his SOth year,
but Is no longer active, going into re
tirement when he gave up his presi
dency. It was in 1831 that Dwight be
came a tutor at his alma mater, of which
he was destined to become head 35 years
later. In 1868 he became professor of
sacred literature and New Testament
Greek in the Yale Theological Seminary.
This post he held until he took the presi
dency of the college.
Canada's Notable Links.
Five years later than Dr. Dwight is the
distinguished Canadian, Goldwin Smith.
From 1S50. three years after he was called
to the English bar, to 186& he was that
country's leading champion of university
reform, and he had a iarge-hand in Insti
tuting much needed reform at pxford In
the late '60s. From that day to this he
has been looked upon as one of the really
great scholars of England, this country
and Canada, in each of which he has
labored in responsible positions for the
advancement of higher learning.
Canada's other two notable links take
us back to the 30s and '40s. It was in
183$, when he was IS. that Lord Strathco
na, for years head of the great Hudson
Bay Company, entered the employ of that
company as a clerk In Labrador. Then
he was known as Donald A. Smith.
During the '40s and the 'dOs he got to
know the trappers Canadian wilderness
better than any other man In the com
pany's employ the company at that time
was sole governor of millions of acres
of snow-covered northland and his selec
tion as Resident Governor In 1869 was
practically inevitable. From 1S45, when,
at 24, he was elected to the Provincial
Assembly of Nova Scota, until 1900, when,
at TP, his constituency for the first time
failed to return him to political life. Sir
Charles Tupper was a great political
power first In Nova Scotia and then In
the Dominion Federation, formed In 1S70.
It wa D. O. Mills, who will be 83 In
September, who organized the finances of
the Pacific Coast in the 'oOs and '60s.
Francis Joseph s career as the bead of
Austria-Hungary dates back to the stir
ring days of the Kossuth revolution. In
1S54 Sardou had accepted his first play,
which he always has felt would have been
a success bad not the stage lights gone
out at a, critical moment - and thereby
roused the risibilities of the audience.
This was the night of the third produc
tion. From when she became the wife
of Napoleon III. until she fled from
Paris, in 1871. Eugenie, now one of the
world's most pathetic figures, exercised
an important Influence on French his
tory. The first time that she ruled
France as regent was In 1859, when her
husband was warring In Italy. Her in
fluence on woman's dress, first apparent
In the 60s. is strongly felt to this day.
as the average American husband could
feelingly testify.
It was In 1H5 that Sir John Tennlel
then plain John joined the staff of
that Tolstoy took his first trio abroad, H . JK. . ,,W I . J II
THE SUNDAY
s SS ' ' 1 ' evidence regarding tender-hearted and
n -v f w", "' "j modest Lord Lister, who balked when
$T It' '' f 4' ' ne learned of a newspaper's plan to
, f ! . -- Jim ' ' ' i name him am one ot the 16 most famous
f ' vi".-- Vl-Xllfj . '1 men of England.
J ' , . :,!! ' Deeds of Far-Reaclilnz Results.
if . .;-ssS5
a til y-:z .of
J . If f?--
Punch. There he remained until the be
ginning of the present century. In that
time he drew more than 2000 ,ot its
famous weekly cartoons. As Punch was
only nine years old when Tenniel went
with it. and as he was in charge of the
cartoon department for nearly 40 years,
it is no exaggeration to say that upon
his work the reputation of Punch largely
rests. Sir John was 30 years old when
he began to draw fanciful Initial letters
for Punch, these letters, together with its
weekly cartoon on some National or inter
national event of deep importance, giving
it its fame above all other features.
Americans who were men and women
during the Civil War will recall the car
toons that Tenniel drew against the
North. These and his sympathetic car
toons following Lincoln's assassination
established his name on this s"ide of the
Atlantic.
Ten years before Tenniel's attachment
to Punch Sir Joseph Hooker, since the
40s among the leading botanists of the
world, went to the Antarctic with the fa
mous expedition of Sir James Ross. He
brought back thousands of species of
plants hitherto unknown to the civilized
world, and the book he wrote about them
and other Antarctic flora discovered by
various botanists established his scientific
reputation. In 1850 he completed a three
years' expedition to the Himalayas, mak
ing remarkable additions to the world's
botanical knowledge. Son of the famous
botanist who founded at Kew Gardens,
England, the most complete botanical
museum In the world, the family devotion
to botany reaches back a hundred years.
Sir Joseph Hooker is 90; Lord Lister,
father of antiseptic surgery and revolu
tionize of modern surgery. Is ten years
younger. Becoming assistant surgeon at
the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 1856,
Lister insisted on absolute cleanliness and
the use of deodorant solutions in the sur
gical wards; for at that early date he
had arrived at the conclusion that the
dread wound diseases following opera
tions, which made every one look with
horror on a surgeon, was caused in some
way by the atmosphere. Thus he took
the first step toward antiseptic surgery
before the '60s.
In 1S63, when Pasteur published his
discovery that fermentation and putre
faction are caused by bacteria. Lister
at- once realized that the so-called
wound diseases were caused by bac
teria. He thereupon took steps to
sterilize the air in the neighborhood
of operation wounds and to kill the bac
teria In the wounds antiseptic soirgery
had arrived.
As a result of Lister's study of
wound diseases, dating back to the
fifties, most of the deadly hospital dis
eases of two generation ago have dis
appeared entirely. Formerly hospital
gangrene was one of the most common
of wound diseases. Today It is so rare
that the average surgeon or physician
now practicing never has seen a case
of it.
These links number, all told, 21. It is
interesting to note that only two have
OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND,
.our
devoted themselves mainly to business
during their long careers D. O. Mills and
Lord Strathcona. Two have put their
greatest efforts In government Emperor
Francis Joseph and Sir Charles Tupper.
The fame of two others Florence Night
ingale and Lord Lister rests on their
work for suffering humanity. One, Sir
Joseph Hooker, is a scientist; another
a dramatLst, Sardou, and still another a
dethroned Empress. Air the other links
can easily be classified as educators,
college, pulpit, or literary Angell. Dwight
and Smith as college. Hale and Higginson
as pulpit, and all five, togethep with
Bigelow, Norton, Julia Ward Howe,
Meredith. Mitchell, Tolstoy and Tenniei,
as literary uplifters of a high order.
Just as they are stronger in number,
so are the educators on the whole, more
active at the present day than the other
links. D. O. Mills and Baron Strathcona
have retired, to all intents and purposes.
So has Sir Charles Tupper; while Francis
Joseph, weary though he undoubtedly is
of the cares of state, is In such a posi
tion that he can retire only when death
comes in at the door. At 90, Sir Joseph
Hooker Is very feeble.
On the other hand, Florence Nightin
gale, invalid though she has been prac
tically ever since her return from the
Crimea, was only lately deeply interested
In promoting district nursing among the
London poor. Edward Everett Hale is
chaplain of the United States Senate, still
preaches and still directs the work of the
Lend-a-Hand clubs, which he originated.
John Bigelow, in his 91st year, is engaged
in important literary work. Tolstoy, to
the constant regret of the Russian Gov
ernment, is very active, indeed, with both
pen and voice. Goldwin Smith recently
undertook a trip to the mother country,
and his writings are continually appearing
in newspapers and magazines on both
sides of the water. Dr. Angell shows no
diminution of energy as head of the Uni
versity of Michigan. Since the begin
ning of the present century Thomas
Wentworth Higginson has placed five
books in his publishers' hands, and his
shorter writings have been numerous.
For a man who is supposed to have
retired George Meredith was extremely
acjtive mentally on his 80th anniver
sary, and only two or three years ago
he made the world sit up and take no
tice by his advocacj' of limited mar
riages. "And they'll come In time,
too." he declared, "but first there'll be
a devil of a row.
Since the beginning of the present
century Sardou has produced two note
worthy plays, one a failure and one a
success. The voice of Julia Ward
Howe is still raised, when occasion de
mands it. in behalf of rights of woman
and other features of her long life's
work. Though he is now emeritus
professor of the history of art at Har
vard, Charles Eliot Norton proves
through his magazine articles and
other literary activities that he is not
yet wholly on the retired list. News
paper dispatches from Europe at
rather frequent Intervals offer similar
MAY 17, 1908.
mAmsmES"
WON "WORLD
"Either during the days of our grand
father's power, or later, nearly every
one of these links performed works of
far-reaching results. Julia Ward Howe
stirred the world with her "Battle Hymn
of the Republic." As a powerful Influ
ence over her -husband, Eugenie caused
the Invasion of Mexico by the French
and the subsequent death of Maximil
ian; and a few years later she had
much to do with bringing about a change
in the map of Europe, to France's dis
comfiture and Germany's gain.
Kansas was saved from slavery by the
work of Thomas Wentworth Higginson
and those associated with him in populat
ing that territory with abolitionists and
other opponents of slavery. Sir Charles
Tupper helped to bring the Canadian fed
eration into being, and during the seven
ties, eighties and nineties held one high
and responsible office after another in
the ship of state, at one time being
premier. The mere mention of the fact
that Lord Strathcona is the head of the
Hudson Bay Company Is sufficient evi
dence of his far-reaching work ; "but in
Canada he also Is known as one of the
men who made possible the Canadian
Pacific, binding the two shores of ,the
Dominion with the steel bands of com
merce. Timothy Dwight found Yale a college
when he became president, and when he
stepped down from that post Yale was
a university of world-wide fame. The
University of Michigan of today is
largely the result of the ideas of James
B. Angell, and for years it has been the
model for other state educational in
stitutions to go by. Goldwin Smith, as
already mentioned, helped to reform
educational methods at Oxford in the
sixties, and since then thousands of
students have been trained along the
lines laid down by him and -his associ
ates on the reform committee. .
Edward Everett Hale's Lend-a-Hand
Clubs have gone round the world, to
the amelioration of the burdens of no
one knows how many people. He, too,
was one of the first promoters of the
widespread Chautauqua movement. All
this Is in addition to his most famous
novel which gave the world the phrase,
"a man without a country."
It was John Bigelow who discovered
Ben Franklin's autobiography in a rub
bish heap In France, whe,n he was Min
ister to that country and, after editing
It. gave it to the world. Without this
autobiography the world would lack its
present insight of one of the first great
Americans. The plants that Sir Joseph
Hooker has added to the botanical
knowledge of the world number tens of
thousands, literally. One of literature's
latter day classics Is "The Reveries of
a Bachelor." It is to be found In every
library of the land, and it still pro
foundly affects Its thousands as it did
in the days of our grandfathers. D. O.
Mills, through his famous Mills hotels,
has shown how the respectable poor
may be housed and fed at reasonable
prices.
Two Workers for Mankind.
But important and far-reaching as
have been some of the works of most
of the links. It is undisputed that none
other has done so great service for
mankind as either Lord Lister or Flor
ence Nightingale. The one has made
the average surgical operation a means
to health and not, as before antiseptics,
a last resort to save life. The other
has given the trained nurse, with all
"the attendant blessings, to the world's
sickroom.
Which has conferred the larger bene
fit on mankind? England herself has
found it difficult to decide, evidently.
FAME IN tmt30fM
judging from the honors she has con
ferred on each.
When Florence Nightingale slipped
quietly into England after the Crimean
War was over, in order to avoid a dem
onstration, she was given a testimonial
of 50,000, subscribed by the people. By
devoting this testimonial to the founda
tion of the Nightingale Home for the
training of nurses, she not only increased
the love of the nation for her. but soon
demonstrated to the public that sanitary
and intelligent nursing Is as essential to
ife In time of peace as in time of war.
From that day to this Miss Nightingale
has been one of the idols of England; In
fact, the whole world. Hers was the sec
ond name to be placed on the roll of the
Order of the Red Cross when, it was cre
ated. Recently King Edward decorated
her with the Order of Merit, and still
more recently the freedom of the City of
London was conferred on her. Only one
other woman has been similarly honored,
the late Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
Lord Lister has been formally honored
not only by his government, but also by
medical societies the world over and by
people generally familiar with the results,
of his revolutionary discovery. Created
a Baronet in 1883, 14 years later he was
made a Baron; he Is Sergeant Surgeon
in Ordinary to King Edward; was Sur
geon Extraordinary to Queen Victoria,
and has been the head of two of Eng
land's most famous scientific societies
the Royal Society, from 18&5 to 1900, and
the British Association for the Advance
ment . of Science, 1896.
Her sympathies aroused by the tales of
hospital horrors from the Crimea, Miss
Nightingale volunteered to lead a band
of women nurses to the front and so
revolutionized the methods of caring for
the sick and wounded everywhere. His
sympathies aroused by the terrible deatn
rate following operations in the hospital
to which he was attached. Lister began
his search, for a way to cut down the
death rate, and so revolutionized surgery.
Miss Nightingale, at the front, would
brook no army red tape In connection
with the thousands of sufferers under her
charge. Once, when medical stores were
refused her because they had not yet
been inspected, she herself directed the
breaking down of the door and the car
rying away of her life-sustaining stores.
Lister's insistence that his wards, assist
ants, nurses and patients be kept scrupu
lously clean verged on the tyrannical,
but, like Miss Nightingale's calm disre
gard for military red tape, it produced
results.
By walking up and down the rows of
wounded in the hours of the long night,
carrying her little lamp and here strok
ing a fevered forehead, there giving a
drink of water, again cheering with a
word or smile. Miss Nightingale endeared
herself to every soldier with whom she
came in contact. Thus the name of "The
Angel of the Lamp." by which she be
came known the world over, and which
Longf el low used for the t heme of h is
beautiful poetical tribute to its bearer.
Kindness, too, has been one of Lister's
characteristics, though kindness of a
gruffer kind. For years following: his
great discovery the demands on his time
for professional services were simply
enormous; yet he always managed some
how to find room for an errand of mercy
or love. Meeting by chance a country
physician who had been a, student under
him. Lister asked after the other's
mother. On learning that the old lady
was suffering from a dangerous external
growth he immediately put aside all
thoughts of other work, made a long
railroad journey to the patient's bedside,
operated successfully, practically refused
to take even the grateful son's tearful
thanks for pay, and returned the same
day to the city to take up his regular
work where he had dropped it for friend
ship's sake in the morning.
As quickly as Miss Nightingale's fame
spread throughout Europe and America,
following the first reports to the world of
her work in the Crimea, so quickly did
news of the -result of Lister's antiseptic1
n
treatment spread throughout the medical
profession. An incident that occurred in
Munich a few weeks after the announce
ment by Lister of his discovery did a.
great deal to make the medical world fall
In line behind him without any delay.
The head of a certain Munich hospital
had been greatly worried over the fact
that SO per cent of all patients in the
surgical ward died of gangrene. Indeed,
the ward had become so infected that
there was talk of burning- it down. About
this time news of Lister's discovery
reached Munich, the hospital dispatched a
surgeon to Edinburgh, he returned en
thusiastic, antiseptic surgery, as then
practiced, was Introduced in the ward,
and in a few weeks there were no more
cases of gangrene the epidemic had been
stamped out by spraying the atmosphere
with a carbolic acid solution and flood
ing all wounds with a similar solution.
This was the first form of antiseptic
surgery, the flooding of the wound being
for the purpose of killing all bacteria
placed in the body during the course
of the operation. Today, of course, as i
well known, antiseptic surgery means
the prevention of infection not the cure
of infection by the sterilization of op
erating instruments, operating rooms, op
erators, assistants, bandages, etc. This
final step was not long in following the
second the first being Lister's insistence
on cleanliness and in it, as in the others.
Lister himself was the leader.
It is rather interesting to note the wide
spread affectionate regard in which jno?t
of our prominent links are held. Wha
reader does not feel a sort of reverence
for Edward Everett Hale and Julia Ward .
Howe? To thousands of college men
President Angell, of Michigan, and ex
President Dwight. of Yale, are known by
affectionate nicknames. Any one who ha
ever read "The Reveries of a Bachelor"
has conceived a strong regard for it
gentle author. When Sir John Tenniel re
tired from Punch on the anniversary of
his SOthyear with that paper he was
flooded with testimonials of affection
from all parts of the British Empire. It
is generally admitted that the. love his
people have for Francis Joseph has been
a strong factor in keeping his atcbwork
empire together for over half a century.
Because . of his bold stand against the
Russian "autocracy, -and In spite of his
queer philosophy. Tolstoi is seen through
the world's spectacles as a lovable old
man. And so on, pretty well through tho
list of the links.
'(.Copyright. -WOK. by Oexter Marshall.)
Musings of a Critic's Wife.
I recall so well a longing that I had when
I was seven.
Which. thouKh charged with high ambition,
yet had much of faith as heaven;
For 'twas tlin to genius worship that my
oul did flrt sucrumb.
And I longed, oh I how I longed to wed the
famous General Thumb.
When they took m to the circus I was
going on to eiRht.
And the dazzling bare ack rider I con
sidered simply xreat.
As in spangled tights he vaulted nimbly
through the atmosphere.
Or bowed grandly to the people as they sent
him cheer on cheer.
At thirteen to Paderewski my young affec
tions leaned.
But when fifteen brought Kyrle Bellew all
other hopes careened;
At sweet sixteen I heard the voice that
almost broke ray heart.
'Twaa the le R!zkcs Jean, of course. In
"Fau3t" that stunning part.
t recall the admiration that assailed m at
eighteen
For a very gifted artist of a most peculiar
mien;
Bu worship of the highest, to the king et
this royal elan.
I sacrificed at twenty to a brilliant editor
man.
Now I'm married and as merry as aweet
marriage bells In June.
Nevermore will genius lure me 'neath the
llmHlKht nor the moon;
For my husband a critic, and although (
he's monstrous bright. '
Just to phow the faults of genius keeps him
hustling day and night.
i