CIHM ICMH Microfiche Collection de Series microfiches (Monographs) (monographies) 1 Canadian Instituta for Historical Microraproduction* / Institut Canadian da microraproductjons hittoriquos 996 Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes technique et bibllographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available (or filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. D D □ D D D D D D D Coloured covers / Couverture de couleur Covers damaged / Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated / Couverture restauree el/ou pelliculee Cover title missing / Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps / Cartes g^ographiques en couieur Coloured ink (i.e. ottier than blue or black) / Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations / Plancties et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound witli ottier material / Relie avec d'autres documents Only edition available / Seule edition disponible Tigtit binding may cause stiadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge Interieure. Blank leaves added during restoratkins may appear wittiin tile text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming / II se peut que ceriaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, k^rsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas ete film^es. L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur examplaire qu'il lui a ete possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exem- plaire qui so ii peut-etre uniques du point de vue bibli- ographique, qui psuvent modifier une rmage reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modifications dans la meth- ode normale de filmage sont indiques ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages / Pages de couleur I j Pages damaged / Pages enjommagees I I Pages restored and/or laminated / ' — ' Pages restaur^s et/ou pelliculees D D D D D Pages discoloured, stained or foxed / Pages decolortes, tachetees ou piquees Pages detached / Pages detachees Showthrough / Transparence Quality of print varies / Qualite inegale de rimpresslon Includes supplementary material / Comprend du materiel supplementaire Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image / Les pages totaiement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. etc., ont et^ filmees a nouveau de fa^on a obtenlr la meilleure image oossible. Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twice to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayant des colorations variables ou des decol- orations sont filmees deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleur image possible. D Additional comments / Commentaires suppl^mentaires: Thji itim is f ilmtd at iht rtduction ratio chackfd btlow/ Ce ckxumant tit filmi au uux ^ e raduction indiqui ci-deHom 10X 14X tax 22X 2SX 30X J 12X 18X 20X 24 X 28 X 3 Tha copy tilmad har« ha* baan raproducad thanka 10 tha ganarosity of: National Library of Canada Tha imagai appaaring hara ara tha bait quality pouibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming eanwact apacificationa. Original copiaa in printad papar eovara ara fllmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impras- aion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara filmad baginning on tha firit paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Tha laat raeordad frama on aach microficha ahall contain tha lymbol —^ Imaaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha tymbol ▼ Imaaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. Mapa. plataa. charta, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba ontiraly includad in ona axpoaura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand cornar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illuatrata tha mathod: 1 2 3 1 2 4 5 L'axamplairt filmt (ut rtproduit gric* t li gtniroiit* da: Blbllotheque nationale du Canada Lai imagat tuivantas ont ttt raproduitai avac la plui grand lOin, eompta tanu da la eondiiion at da la nanati da raxamplaira filmt. at an conformiM avac laa cenditiona du contrat da filmaga. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat imprimaa aont filmat an commanpant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant toil par la darnlAra paga qui compona una amprainia d'impraaaion ou d'illuctration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la caa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa originaux aont filmaa an commanQant par la pramitra paga qui comporta una amprainia d'impraaaion ou d'illuatratien at an tarminant par la darniira paga qui comporta una talla amprainia. Un daa aymbolaa auivanta apparaitra aur la darniAra imaga da chaqua microfiche, talon la caa: la tymbola —»' tignifia "A SUIVRE ". la aymbola ▼ aignifia "FIN". Laa eanaa. planchaa, tablaaux. ate pauvant atre filmaa i daa taux da raduction difftranit. Lortqua la documant aat Irop grand pour atra raproduit an un taul clicha. il att (ilma t partir da I'angla auptriaur gaucha. da gaucha 1 droita. at da haul an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nteaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa tuivantt illuatrani la mMttoda. 2 3 5 6 MICROCOVY RESOUITIOfl IBT CHART {ANSI and ISO TLST CHART No. 2) |Z8 13.6 ■It IS 2£ 2.2 2.0 8 m^i 1.6 A APPLIED IIVHGE Inc ^S'm )€53 Eost Mdjn Street SJS Rochester. New York U609 USA ■^S (''6) 432 - 0300 - Phone ^B ^M 6) 288 - 5989 ~ Fox ID. Gvdion ^ ^ .^ J* Out o( sight, down in the d«p places where the live* of millions are imprisoned by the greed, and the fear, and the power of civiliza- tion, Justice is waiting and breath- ing and expanding his chest. Jus- tice is impersonal, and gods and men lose themselves in Him. jK j^ j^ J^ \V. W. HICKS. THE AUSTIN PUBLISHING CO., Limited, Toronto, Canada. Entered according t<) Act of the Parliament of Cana- da, in the Year One Thousand Nie Hundred and One. by B. F. Austin, at ihe Depart- jnt of Agriculture. H). Gydion jX ^* J* .< Out of sight, down in the dtcp places where the lives of millions ite imprisoned by the greed, and the fear, and the power of civiUia- tion. Justice U waiting aid breath- ing and expanding his chest. Jus- tice is impersonal, and gods and men lose themfclves in Him. ^s VV. VV. HICKS. 1 iS 1^01 M. GVDIOV. Huiniin life is Cull of surprises. I am about to tell v >u of one that fell to me and what i.iiiic of it. It was on an Aujjust afternoon in the City of New York that I was hurryin from an cast side ferry, making short cuts to reach my des- tination, which Wi's a printing he jse near Cooper Union. A fearful storm suddenly brol forth and the rain fell in torrenf and the wind seemed a hurricane. Suddenly turning' a corner the wind rever.-ed my umbrella and almost swept ,-. off my feet. I hurried on, hop! j^- to find a convenient shelter other than a lienor saloon and soon sight- ed a narrow alley and instinctively turned my steps into it. 1 had gone but a few steps when the sign, noah's ark over a basement door caught my eye, and in the only window, partly hidden by a stoop leading to the house above, was a neatly lettered legend— Umbrella Hospital. With- out hesitation 1 entered the shop. 4 M. GYDION. for surely, thought I, an ark should be my refuge from such a storm and my umbrella sadly needs repairs. Standing behind a sort of coun- ter which served also for a work bench, was a tall, portly, clean- shaven, white-haired man, busy mending an old coffee-pot and hum- ming in a reminiscent way a tune familiar to me, but not often heard in New York outside of a theatre orchestra when some southi-in sen- timent holds the stage. For a few moments the busy tinker did not, apparently, notice my intrusion, but I fancied from the quick change which passed over his countenance that he sensed my presence and was intent upon finishing the bit of sol- dering before welcoming a possible castomer. The job finished, he ceased humming and our eyes met. Reader, did you ever see a ghost ? Then you can sympathize with my agitation as I gazed, speechless with awe for a few moments, upon the face that beamed upon me. The agitation was all on my side and was soon calmed by a voice that in M. GVDION. 5 past years had charmed and inspired thousands. ReciTverinjj my com- posure I began to declare my sur- prise and delight while clasping the hand of one I had for years mourned as among the dead. " I do not mi.stake," I said. "You are my old friend, my teacher, my leader in many a struggle — Sena- tor — " " Hush," he interrupted, " don't speak my name ; walls have ears, and by all the memories you have evoked let it now, at least, be for- gotten. I am M. Gydion, a poor tinker of poor people's kitchen ware, a cleaner of watches, an umbrella mender, a cobbler ot the shoes of poverty, and the happy skipper of Noah's Ark, into which stragglers are welcome on rainy days and the children of the streets always." M. Gydion left his work bench and gave me a most cordial wel- come as he threw about my slender person his great brawny arms. " You are more than surprised," he continued, as we seated ourselves upon an old-fashioned sofa, "you 6 M. CVDION. are astounded, nor do 1 wonder ; but you need not fear that my new- name means that I have disjjraced the old one." " I am too happy at finding you upon the earth," I replied, " to in- quire into the reasons for changing- your name ; and yet — " " It is not wanting in euphony," he quickly interrupted. " M. Gyd- ion, philosopher, soldier, politician, whom you knew in other times by a different sound and whose salt of friendship you have often eaten and by whose side you have contended in many a conflict, political, human- itarian and spiritual." "Yes," I added, "and whose voice I now recall ringing out from many a rostrum and in many an open field, charged with quickening words of warning and of duty to his fellow men, and — " "Who," broke in M. Gydion, "having outlived his public oppor- tunity among his own people and the brave companions of his prime manhood, and having yielded up to God's eternal keeping the earthly M. CVDION. 7 idols of his heart, dropped into ob- scurity, soufjht and found here, in- the very heart of poverty and mis- ery and crime, forgetfulness of par- tisan rancour, a field of humble use- fulness, and a convenient sanctuary in which to ripen for a better life than we have known — M. Gydion, proletaire." My remarkable friend spoke with an earnestness and a pathos which vividly recalled that time in his eventful life when he easily ranked with the greatest orators and when the magnetic flashes from his glori- ous eyes enthralled the thousands who, for the moment, were capti- vated and thrilled by the burning words and the splendid climaxes. A tumult of recollections distract- ed my mind as I pictured him in that great conflict of the giants of more than a generation past, stand- ing almost alone among his peers in his native state for the preservation of the Union and for the freedom of the slave. Drawn to his standard as a youth, and inspired by his tow- ering example, I beheld him bear- *> M. GVDION. ing it high above all with a proud and stalwart arm ; now driven from his home, now hiding in the wilder- ness, fed betimes by the black hu- man ravens of God's care, and now in the midst of a mighty following in the e.irly reconstruction days when questions most perplexing demand- ed solution, and the natural rights of a race were born into practical life,— until exhausted, broken, de- spoiled of home and family, and al- most bereft of reason, he found re- newed life, but not his lost trea- sures, in retirement, — a retirement nobly earned and enriched with the consciousness of having done his full part in the great conflict in the interest of his whole country and of Humanity at a cost incapable of computation. "And you thought me dead," continued M. Gydion, "and you were right. I have been some time, and am now, dead— to all the past, its bitterness, its wrongs which are being avenged, its conflicts and its triumphs — de.id. " " But the great conflict is still on," M. GVnioN. q I replied, "and in man) of its phases, in the best interests of Humanity, doubtful in the issue. You were never more needed, M. Gydion, than to-day, and I cannot agree with you that, being dead to certain things of the past, you are absolved from ob- ligations to the living present and to oncoming times." " You touch a vital spot there," said M. Gydion, "and I hope you will not misunderstand me. As Sopiiocles, in one of his characters, says : ' It is still my care to make my life, Not by words illustrious, but by deeds.' " I am no more in the swim of life from a public point of view. I am anchored within one of the great reaches of the river of humanity where what seems stagnation pre- vails and only the unrelated drift eddies and swirls aimlessly, and the occasion-!, storm breaks in to puri- fy, to separate and to hurl again the flotsam and jetsam into the swift current onward to the sea. " One of the results of the great revolution against Justice and Hu- JO M. GV1)10N'. manily was the entire obliteration for me of the holy things which make this world desirable to upright men. I am not complaining. On the contrary, I am deeply indebted to all the events of the past and to all the sacritices which attended my duty and my opportunit> , and with a great philosopher, I have learned in all things and conditions to be content as to my personal life ; do- ing the right as God gives me to see the right. "To the great party of Humanity whose principles I espoused and de- fended and still hold firmly, I am as one left behind, overlooked, forgot- ten, as you may think, but you are wrong there. Forgotten in high places, doubtless; " left behind ?" — no. In the excited surface and among the dividers of spoils I am not known — never was — but at the heart of movements I have my place. I can feel the pulse of necessity, of destiny, of opportunity, as never be- fore. I am more closely in touch with humanity than ^ .er before, and my heart never beat with higher M. r.vniON. It courage for the masses of mankind than it does to-day. All great movements have their origin in and press up from the lowest strata of society, and the real saviours of hu- manity enter upon their divine work through the lowest door. " Down in this deep sounding of humanity I have rare privileges and rare opportunities. I am near to the lowest condition of human move- mer s, in the midst of those who, because they are struggling, groan- ing, and suffering at the bottom, must needs get on, ascend, and, no matter how slow and painful the progress, eventually reach to the top. All the possibilities of the highest expression in life, of the noblest character in the individual, and the purest condition of Society and the State are here found, do here spring, here are born and utter their first lisp— here, in Slum Alley. " For the rest I may say, age does not wrinkle me ; memory does not deprive me of sleep. Work and thought do not weary me. The kind patronage of poverty, of 13 M. CiVDIOV. wretchedness, and of innocence, keeps my heart young- and my hands busy ; also it furnishes me bread. Death has, like some other things and powers, overlooked me, and seems to have forgotten my right to his merciful visitation. But I can be as patient as death. I do not regret the past, but neither do I dwell with its sorrows and events in doleful lamentations. ' I grieve ..ot that I once did grieve, In m' large joy of sight and touch Beyond what others count for such, I am content to sufTer much. I know— i» all the mourner saith, Knowledge by suffering cntereth j And Life is perfected by Death.' Your face is the first to confront me out of that past which holds all as yet, and your voice, like the trumpet of resurrection wakes with- in me the life that .vas dead. You are most welcome to Noah's Ark, but you will swear never to betray by sign or word the identity of its old master— your hand on that." P'. GVDION. II. «3 There was matchless pathos in the voice and moisture in the eye of M. Gydion as he extended a},'ain to me his hand and clasped my own in a compact that I willingly and hon- estly made. The storm from whose fury I had sought shelter had now ceased, and only a gentle rain patter jd upon the pavement. M. Gydion became the delightful host and opened to me all the features and beauties of " Noah's Ark." The front room in which we sat was divided off into several de- partments. One corner contained a shoemaker's kit and on a convenient shelf was an assortment of shoes of all conceivable conditions and qual- ity. Facing the window was a watch- maker's bench with a number of fine tools and a small brazier filled with burning coals, an alcohol lamp with plenty of blowpipes and solder- ing irons. The counter or bench behind which I Hist saw M. Gydion was littered with odds and ends of vari- '4 M. OVIIION. oiis useful and ornamental articles, such as may be seen in the windows of pawnshops, but tumbled about without order or classification. On the end farthest from the window stocJ a large willow basket filUd with odd dishes of every sort while the shelves behind contained an in- describable assortment of tins, bot- tles, hardware for household use, a generous lot of candies in glass jars, and some very old-fashioned, well- worn hats. Immediately in front near the dooi was a rack which held a dozen or more faded and more or less broken umbrellas, and a few that had evidently been mended, the tags upon them indicating that they might be called for. Altogether the room had the ap- pearance of a veritable curiosity shop and a lumber room for all con- ceivable odds and ends, useful once, but now superseded by newer in- ventions. An old chair or two, with the sofa referred to, comprised the furniture. An air of ancient respec- tability pervjided all with a renas- ctnt glow. M. GYDION. 15 I became deeply interesten in a few of the hats which seemed to sur- mount faces looking at you out of very ancient civilizations. M. Gyd- ion noticed my scrutiny and divined my thought. " Hats," he said, "are speaking monuments. They contain marvel- lou-- histories and reveal deep se- crets. The original wearer of this one, for example," taking down a very shabby, tall, shaggy, much in- dented specimen, now almost rim- less, " was doubtless given to much gaiety and was otherwise, when he could afford it, gairishly attired. A mixture of beau and philosopher, who set the fashion and sat in judg- ment on the world. He was not a worker but an exhibit and lived by his wits. A retired and unappreci- ated actor, to whom it had descend- ed, left it with me one day in ex- change for good advice and a few shillings, after eloquently reciting its pedigree. He was a ' fellow of infinite jest' and a broken life. ' Give it a prominen* "° in your Art/acomb, M. Gydi •■.. e said as i6 •v. (ivi)roN. we parted, ' for it deserves preser- vation. It is all that remains of a long line of >food fellows who, if they did not add to the wisdom of the world, greatly relaxed its ten- sion. • It wears a sad, introspective look and carries in its dumb keep- ing the serious records of those whose jests and follies it aided to punctuate in its active time." " But here is a far different rem nant," and as he spoke M. Gydion handed dowi a sort of skull cap woven out of some kind of verv c ^ grass or root fibre and lined ■ h the finest cashmere goat hair work 1 in the oriental fashion in severa. colors. ' ' This cap, " continued M. Gydion, "comes from afar and belongs to a fashion of life and a world of thought wide away from us. It was worn by one of those mysterious beings known as an ' Adept,' a high priest of .he occult. If you will look closely within you will see many symbolic figures deftly in- wrought by a skillful hand, repre- senting in color and fo..ii what look M. <;vi)ii).\. '7 like zodiacal signs, a serpent fetich some phallic symbols, anj here, as a sort of clasp in the very centre, the form of a triangle with the sa- cred letters, one at each point, form- ing the word A. U. M.. the great- est word in the Sanslcrit language, and probably the most frequently and devoutly repeated word in any language among mortals. " So much for the little topte it- self. It came to me in an abrupt way. The most remarkable person I ever knew honored mc with his friendship some years ago. He drifted into my Ark out of che maelstrom of the Bowery one day, tired, ragged and hungry. He calU ed himself Pascima. He came into rny world, as I have said, out of the Bowery, which may appear incon- grous to you. ' Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ?• The best that ever blessed the world did nine- teen centuries ago, and out of the world's Nazarethsdo the redeem- ers yet come. That section of New York of which the Bowery is the great thoroughfare, is viewed most- i8 M. GYOION. ly from one, the material, point of view. It is the seething vortex of crime, abject poverty, unnameable wretchedness and degradation in the thought of the multitude out- side. The scum of the world's de- generacy is supposed to sweat and breed here. But there is another view, a truer one. Ignorance, crime, want, degeneracy, abjectness, all are conceded, but these things and conditions are confronted by their opposites in sublime reality. T' ere is much redemption in the B very. Here you will fmd better Greek and Latin, Hebrew and Sans- krit scholars, toiling and living in obscurity than can be found in all the universities and colleges in America. Profoundest philosophers are here whose names will never be read on the title pages of ponderous books, whose lives, like their thoughts, are pure, sweet and lum- inous. They speak all languages ; they are of all nationalities and they project most righteous thought into the universe for its hope and better- ment. The love of God has many M. GVDION. ig homesteads here, and the Christ of innocence and compassion and holy- deeds is no stranger where destitu- tion and wretchedness are most in evidence. "Through this door came Pas- cima, the Hindoo, to Noah's Ark. His knowledge of the English lan- guage was excellent, and in the Book of Nature he was deeply vers- ed. Public affairs did not trouble him, and the wild contentions of men did not disturb the serenity of his life, although a more active mind in his own pursuits I never knew. His keen eyes seemed to search out the invisible causes and he had the power of illuminating you with a look or a nod. It was impossible to judge his age. He was fatherly in his sympathies and child-like in his nature — altogether lovable. Yes, he was a Pagan— at least he was not a Christian as most of us use the word, but I felt that 1 was en- tertaining a Christ-like person in him. " ' What brought you to this Ba- bel of the world i" I asked him one 20 day. M. OVDION. " ' To search for my brothers and sisters,' he quietly replied. " ' Not your flesh and blood kin- dred, surely?' " ' No— and yes— for all mankind are of one ; yet I search for my brothers and sisters in Karma and I have found.' " He domiciled himself here with me until his mission was accomplish- ed, and then he vanished into the universe leaving: in my possession this cap which was not worn by him, but had been by his master, who lived somewhere in the heijjhts of the Himalayas. Some day I will tell you more of this mysterious friend and brother, whose influence abides upon me and within the Ark. " No, I am not superstitious, nor am I given to weird speculations, but I am far from holding- lightly the doctrines of our Aryan ances- tors in respect of what is known as Karma, and that other doctrine held in some form by all the ancient phil- osophers— Reincarnation or Trans- migration of souls. Few will t,ues- M. ClvniON. 21 tion Wordsworth's poetic outgoing : 'Our bil-lli is lull ,1 sloep Anil a foi);i?llinjr ; The soul that rises with us, Our life star, Has had elsewhere its settitijf And eoineth from afar.' " Or Tennyson's larger token : ' Yet how should I for i?ertain hold Because my memory is so cold, That \ first was in human mould. It may be that no life is found, Which only to one on),'ine bound Falls oir, but cycles always round. But if I lapsed from nobler plate, Some les:end of a fallen race Alone mi^ht hint ol my disg^race. Or if throuffh lower lives I came — Tho' all experience became Consolidate in mind and frame— I mijfht forget my weaker lot ; For is not • first year forgot ? The haunt . of Memory echo not. Moreover, something is, or seems. That touches me with mystic gleams, Like glimpses of forgotten dreams— Of something fell, like something here ; Or something done I know not where ; Such as no language c;in declare.' "The philosophers agree and speculate as the poets sing, that 33 M. r.VDION. transmigration must be, either for reasons of retribution for sins com- mitted in the former state, or as a law of development. Be it so. An honest man would pay his debts and the deathless soul would on- ward gfo." III. A second room back was M. Gydion's living and sleeping apart- ment. It was comfortably furnish- ed and contained, among other companionable things, a well-filled mahogany book case with writing desk attachment. Th;s room be- came a hallowed place to me for many months after my first visit, and the memory of the many happy hours spent within its walls, listen- ing to the voice that, .-ilas ! is now hushed in death, is inexpressibly dear to me now. While i -.vns taking note of the contents of Noah's Ark a little rag- ged tot timidly entered and inquired if the coCie-pct was done, "Me M. GYDION. 23 mudder wants to make de coffee, an' Mr. Glydion wats de pay ?" Her voice was low and musical, and the child showed in her manner great respect for M. Gydion, whose face beamed a blessing upon her wan features. " Ready, my dear," replied M. Gydion, "and the pay is a cup of coffee on demand." And the well-patched and old-fashioned utensil was handed to the child. "You is so good, Mister Glydion," sweetly murmured the child, " an' me mudder says as No's Ark is de life-bote in de alley," and quickly disappeared. M. Gydion called her back and thereupon I learned what the candy jars meant in Noah's Ark. " There," sighed M. Gydion, after the ragged child had gone with a light step and happy heart, " the quality of gratitude in Slum Alley should be sufficient to inspire a man to undertake the i-^demption of the world." M. Gydion's face glowed with de- light, while I looked upon him with increasing wonder and reverence. I could but cc.isif^sr how strangely '^ M. iivnio.v. he had driflecl into ob.scurify from the commanclinj,. position (no. offi- cial) which he had occupied. I re called the fact that men of his time and age, and from the same jreo- graph.cal centre, who had fought for the "lost cause," had been re- ceived with open arms by their po- ht.cal sympathisers in New York and had been elevated to positions of great trust and responsibility as well as emolument, most worthily too, as if in repentant recognition of what once in their careers was denounced by them, under pressure of public sentiment, as treason. But here, before me, stood a man xvhose services to humanity and for h>s country entitled him not alone to gratitude but to honor, and in his old age to protection from possible want, unrecognized and unknown, his very name forgotten by the pres- ent leaders and powers in the great party who5c Lanner he had carried over most stubborn and defiant treasons in the most crucial time of any age. " Republics are ungrate- tul " has been said, and history will M. r.vr>i"N. 2- often, if not greperally, show that the true leaders are often the world's martyrs in the end. Republics are not ungrateful, and the American Republic least of all, but in the con- stitution, division and control of parties with us, it must be that un- scrupulous party leaders and spoils- men to whom are given almost des- potic powers by corrupting party methods, will pass by and ignore the modest, worn-out veteran whose upright soul can not be made sub- servient to the degrading ambition of political bosses. Had M. Gydion been a clamorous seeker after place, humbly begging " recognition " at the hands of some magnate of his party, he doubtless might have been permitted to serve in some civic ca- pacity, or perchance been honored by permission to stand before his countrymen for some elective office. But men who serve their country and the world in their highest sense, counting no sacrifice too great to make for the just cause, are not the men who are capable of such abject political subserviency, preferring 36 M. C.VniON. poverty a.iU for{,'etfiilne.ss until death conducts them to eveih.slinK honor and fflory. M. Gydion was con- spicuously one of these.* The rain had entirely ceased, and the sun was sinking; in the west be- fore I could brinjj myself to the parting word. Permission was cheerfully given me to call as often as I could, a privilege which I learn- ed to prize beyond all earthly things as the days went by. Almost every evening found me at Noah's Ark, *A distinguished Union General who was also a most able advocate of Republican principles before the people, told the writ- with o hers of his state (Southern), pro eul-Mh'" '':;'''' "P""-- waste places and establish, under the Government, the new order, the chief difficulty encountered was Irom the ignoring of the brave men who tiad borne the burden in the heat of the day and the rushing in of the mere poli- tician who would most faithfully obey the parly " Boss " at every sacrifice to the people. This brave and well-known sol- dier received a modest pension from the government, and was always in demand when his party was contending for power. Hut no place of trust and emolument could be found for him on account of the claims ot younger men. He finally retired from public sight and died at a'liuiet retreat and was buried by a few old comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic. M. C.VIIION. 27 until M. (iydioii tame li- expect me with llu- teiKleiest coiiLorn. We lived the old days over a^ain. Noah's Ark became a temple for the worship of the heroes of our day and time, in whose mig-hty strug- gles M. Gydion had born a conspic- uous part, and with many of them had held confidential relations, and of whose inner life he, of all men, was most competent to speak. In the long evenings I would sit in his cabin, as he called his private apartment, and by question and sug- gestion would draw from the storm- tried veteran, his opinions, his re- collections of the great events and characters of his time, the lessons of his life and his confidences for the future. He had mastered the great les- sons of life and had solved many of I'-s most perplexing problems. The future was secure. " I do not con- cern about what some people call ' Future Life. ' Nothing of the kind is kept in store for us. We shall continue, and all things fit shall continue for us, and the unfit shall 28 M. GVniON. cease and end." His life had been seasoned by ad- versity and enriched by experience, and was opening upon freedom and heaven. There was no taint of bitterness in his reminiscences and no cloud in his sky that did not portend jjood. All human problems were bein},' solv- ed in his altruistic philosophy in the highest interest of the lowest crea- ture. God was no myth to him, nor some indescribable personality of selfish glory, unapproachable and unknowable. His God was immanent in nature and in man, and was the eternal presence of good in all things small and great. M. Gydion was relig- ious in the best sense, as are all great disturbers of the world's apa- thy and equilibrium for the better and the better. At different times he placed in my hands manuscripts containing his thoughts on momentous themes, written in the midst of far-reaching, world-stirring events, with brief but comprehensive character pictures of M. OMIION. 29 the men who, duringf the past cen- tury h.ive most deeply, for good or for ill, impressed the age. Only the most modest self-recognition ap- pears, where 1 know that his own efforts and character were most con- spicuous and potent. Here and there the purpo.sc of his soul, un- shaken amid fearful opposition, is recorded, and here and there, a ten- der touch, in evidence of his close fellowship with the greatest and the be.st, brightens the page. " Noah's Ark " was the Mecca of the dwellers in Slum Alley and ad- jacent communities. M. Gydion had nothing for sale except the work of his hands for patching a shoe, mending a coffee- pot or an umbrella, or rejuvenating a watch or a clock, or a child's doll, and the charge never exceeded a few pennies over the cost of material used, and more frequently nothing at all. His humble shop was filled with such articles as I have briefly mentioned, and I soon learned that they were constantly being purchas- ed by him irom the hard pressed 3° M- CVDION. poor, who were his patrons and charge, only to be given away again to the most needy and deserving. His small private fortune was nearly sufficient for his personal needs, which he limited lo the strictest economy that he might help others. He had adopted a law of charity, and he was learning its value where it was most applicable, and his heart was made glad over his daily dis- coveries and triumphs. His love for humanity was intensified and justified by his dwelling among the very lowest. To the children of the street he was a friend and a philosopher and a guide. His car heard their little complaints and his voice soothed their sorrows, while he could always find a substitute for the old shoe which was lost, and a cure for the tried temper. He was master of all the languages of sorrow and pover- ty in the saddest slum of New York, so that his words, his kindly man- ner and his generous sympathy needed no interpreter. Thus lived M. Gydion, proletaire. M. C.VniON. 31 One afternoon as I approached the Ark, I noticed a throng about the ".entrance. Kear, sadness and anxiety were depicted on the hum- ble conntenances of men and wo- men, and children in rags and bare feet were sobbing piteously. On entering I found an oflicer in charge. M. Gydion was dead. He was ly- ing on his bed as though in a most peaceful sleep. Evidently death had withdrawn him without strug- gle or pain, and his noble face was glorified with the light of that stead- fast purpose which had made his life worthy and successiui. My right to care for his body was not disputed by the proper authorities, for M. Gydion had left a paper in his desk making me his executor and bequeathing to me his humble effects. When we conveyed his body to its final resting place, after a prayer by a missionary of the neighbor- hood, no one dreamed of the char- acter and majesty of the spirit that had presided over Noah's Ark. The humble dweiiers in Slum Alley 32 M. GVD!l)N. and adjacent hamlets, knew that they had lost their best earthly friend. Little children, whose life knew no sunshine of home, sobbed their grief aroinid his coffin, and be- fore it was closed laid their hands gently upon the one face that always smiled lovingly upon them. I alone knew that at the mention of his name thousands throughout the land would have been roused to fulsome recognition, and the patriot- ism which had been (orgotten and neglected would have caused the living to crave the right to build a monument to the dead. But 1 kept, and 1 still keep, my secret, with something like a feeling of revenge.