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_From the “Charleston News and Courier.”_
THE death of Henry W. Grady has removed from earth the most prominent
figure among the younger generation of public men in America. He held
unquestionably the highest place in the admiration and regard of the
people of the South that was accorded to any man of his years, and had
won, indeed, by his own efforts and attainments a place among the older
and the most honored representatives of the people of the whole country.
It was said of him by a Northern writer, a few days before his death,
that no other Southern man could command so large a share of the
attention of the Northern people, and his death was the result of a
visit to New England, whither he went in response to an earnest
invitation to speak to the people of that section upon a question of the
gravest national concern.
The people of Georgia both honored and loved Henry Grady, and would have
elected him to any office within their gift. It is probable that, had he
lived but a little while longer, he would have been made Governor of the
State, or commissioned to represent it in the Senate of the United
States. He would have filled either of these positions acceptably and
with credit to himself; and perhaps even higher honors awaited him. When
his name was mentioned a few months ago in connection with the
nomination for the second highest office in the gift of the people of
the whole country, the feeling was general and sincere that he was fully
worthy, at least, of the great dignity which it was proposed to confer
upon him. Certainly no other evidence is required to prove that the
brave and brilliant young Georgian was a marked man, and that he had
already made a deep impression on the events and the men of his time
when he was so suddenly stricken down in the flower of useful and
glorious manhood.
It is inexpressibly saddening to contemplate the untimely ending of so
promising a career. Only a few days ago the brightest prospect that
could open before the eyes of any young man in all this broad land lay
before the eyes of Henry Grady. To-day his eyes are closed to all
earthly scenes. To-morrow the shadows of the grave will close around him
forever. But it will be long before his influence will cease to be felt.
The memory of his kindly, gracious presence, of his eloquent words and
earnest work, of his generous deeds and noble example in the discharge
of all the duties of citizenship, will ever remain with those who knew
him best and loved him most.
To his wife and children he has left a rich inheritance in his honored
name, though he had left them nothing else. The people of his State and
of the South owe him a large debt of gratitude. He served them
faithfully and devotedly. What he said so well, only a few months ago,
of one who served with him, and who like him was stricken down in the
prime of his life, can be said of Henry Grady himself. It is true of him
also that “his leadership has never been abused, its opportunities never
wasted, its power never prostituted, its suggestions never misdirected.”
Georgia surely is a better and more prosperous State “because he lived
in it and gave his life freely and daily to her service.”
And surely, again, “no better than this could be said of any man,” as he
said, and for as much to be written, in truth and sincerity, over his
grave, the best and proudest man might be willing to toil through life
and to meet death at last, as he met it, “unfearing and tranquil.” His
own life, and the record and the close of his life, are best described
in these his own words, written ten months ago, and, perhaps, no more
fitting epitaph could be inscribed on his tomb than the words which he
spoke, almost at the last, in the hour of his death: “Send word to
mother to pray for me. Tell her if I die, that I died while trying to
serve the South—the land I love so well.”
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