Dr. Ireland, Bishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the great pioneers in this benign scheme, while speaking kindly of Mr. Bagenal in a letter to the present writer, still shows how erroneous he is in his strictures upon Mr. Kelly. The Bishop’s comment upon Bagenal, is as follows: “He is mistaken, of course, in his remarks about Mr. John Kelly. But I do not think he will be sorry to be set right. He mixes up Mr. Kelly with the average politicians of New York—not knowing, as I know, Mr. Kelly’s exceptional qualities, his sterling honesty, his true love for his fellow-Irishmen, and his general nobility of character.”[60]

When he retired from politics in 1868, Mr. Kelly had resolved to enter upon that field no more. Chastened by domestic affliction, and loss of health, the plan of his life was changed. Public station had lost its charm for him. To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and open the doors of colleges, or advanced schools, to those whose talents were good, but who were too poor to gain admittance, these things afforded to him his greatest pleasure. He sought out the companionship of holy men, and of holy books. Thomas à Kempis became his vade mecum. He took more delight in the pages of the Following of Christ than he had ever known in the conflicts of politics, either in the halls of Congress or the city of New York. It was not altogether surprising, therefore, that people’s conjectures should consign him to the prospective seclusion of a monastery, and that rumors to that effect should have gained circulation. The New York Times, on one occasion, shortly after Mr. Kelly’s second marriage, made editorial reference to these rumors, and spoke of him as that remarkable individual who had escaped being a monk at Rome, in order to become the nephew of a Cardinal in America.

These revelations of the inner life of John Kelly are not laid before the public without a great deal of reluctance. Some may think it were better to keep them back until after his death, and the writer knows perfectly well that no one else would prohibit their publication at any time, or under any conceivable circumstances more sternly than John Kelly himself. But these pages have been written without consultation with any human being in the world, and recollecting the unparalleled and shameful abuse which this man has been subjected to for doing his duty as God has given him to see it, the writer is resolved to tell the truth about him, and let the unprejudiced reader know something of his real character. Indeed hardly a tithe of those charities and good works of John Kelly which are within the personal knowledge of the present writer, have been mentioned in these pages. During the war for the Union, especially, were the kindly impulses of his nature displayed. He went about among the hospitals visiting and cheering the sick and despondent, supplying articles for their relief and money for their wants, and doing what he could for the wounded. He did not confine these ministrations to the hospitals in New York, but went to Washington and got a pass from Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, whom he had known well in former years, to visit the Army of the Potomac, and particularly the camp hospitals. Thither he repaired, and extended his aid not only to New York soldiers but to those of other States, with characteristic zeal and liberality. A letter was published in the New York World, November 1st, 1875, from Mr. James Murphy, in which reference is made to one of Mr. Kelly’s visits to the army in Virginia.

“I well recollect,” said the writer, “that thirteen years ago, when I was a soldier in the Second Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and stationed at Stafford Heights, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. John Kelly. His mission was one of the noblest that man ever followed. He was going round from hospital to hospital, and from tent to tent, visiting the sick and wounded of the poor and neglected soldiers of the New York regiments, to see to their wants, and alleviate their sufferings as much as lay within his power, and questioning them as to their treatment as compared with the treatment of the soldiers of other States.” Many persons in the border States, as those adjoining the scene of military operations were called, who were guilty of no disloyal acts, were nevertheless made victims of spies and detectives, and they and their families suffered great hardships. One of these was Mr. John Henry Waring, a prominent and wealthy citizen of Prince George’s County, Maryland, whose property was confiscated, whose large family, mostly ladies, were banished, and who was himself imprisoned for the war in Fort Delaware. This was the work of Baker, the notorious detective, and a more cruel persecution hardly occurred during the war. Mr. Kelly was appealed to on behalf of Mr. Waring, and after he was satisfied that injustice had been done to that excellent citizen, he went to Washington and saw Mr. Lincoln, and Secretaries Stanton and Montgomery Blair, on behalf of the Waring family and estate. But Baker had poisoned the mind of Stanton against the Warings, and, notwithstanding the Secretary’s regard for Mr. Kelly, he refused the clemency that was asked. Mr. Kelly returned to New York, and enlisted in Mr. Waring’s favor the powerful co-operation of Governor Morgan, Archbishop Hughes, Thurlow Weed, James T. Brady, and about fifty other leading men, and, thus strengthened, he renewed the appeal for justice and executive clemency. Postmaster General Blair had become warmly interested in the case, and to him Mr. Kelly confided the petition of the citizens of New York named above, and Mr. Blair in conjunction with Mr. Kelly ceased not to press the case until Mr. Waring was liberated, his family were recalled from banishment, and his beautiful home and plantation on the Patuxent river were restored to him.

Mr. Kelly returned from Europe in the fall of 1871, much improved in health, but not yet restored to his old vigor. The present writer gave to Mr. J. E. Mallet, of Washington, D. C., who was going to Europe, a letter of introduction to Mr. Kelly, while the latter was abroad. Although they were near each other several times in Europe, Mr. Mallet did not become acquainted with Mr. Kelly until they accidentally met on the same steamship, the Republic, in returning to America. In a letter published in the Baltimore Catholic Mirror, Mr. Mallet gave an interesting account of this voyage, and of the amusements improvised on shipboard. “One evening,” said he, “we organized a musical and literary entertainment. The chairman made a speech, a lady played a fine musical composition, a gentleman gave a recitation, a young bride sang a beautiful ballad, Hon. John Kelly, of New York, sang in excellent style an amusing Irish song, then a duet was sung by two ladies, some one sang a French song, Father Sheehy sang an Irish ballad on St. Patrick, and the entertainment concluded, and the assemblage dispersed during the reading by the Rev. Dr. Arnot, of one of his old sermons.”

“A valued friend had given me a letter of introduction to Mr. Kelly, to present in France or Switzerland, but I met that gentleman only on the wharf at Liverpool, and then almost accidentally. Mr. Kelly has travelled throughout Europe and the Holy Land, and is one of the most interesting travelling companions whom I have ever met. I was particularly pleased with his manner of presenting the true history of, and reasons for certain religious and national practices in Ireland and Italy, in opposition to the theories and suppositions of certain of our fellow-voyagers, who ignorantly calumniated the one, and ridiculed the other.”

During the three years of Mr. Kelly’s absence in Europe, New York had been given over to every form of official rascality and plunder. No sooner had he reached the city than he was besieged by leading citizens, such as Mr. Tilden, Mr. Schell, Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Belmont, Mr. Chanler, Mr. Clark, Mr. Green and others, all of whom urged him to take the lead in a movement for the overthrow of the Tweed Ring. To each one of these gentlemen he said that it was not in accord with the plan of life which he had marked out for himself for the future, to re-enter the field of active politics. But his friends redoubled their importunities. They told him there was no other man in New York, scarcely one in the United States, so well fitted as himself to head such a movement, and that in the lifetime of but very few persons did so grand an opportunity offer itself to serve the people as that which now awaited him. His friends finally prevailed, his private plans were changed, and his memorable reappearance in New York politics occurred in the year 1872. “My health remains about the same as when I saw you,” said Mr. Kelly, in 1872, in a letter to the present writer. “I was compelled to take part, for the reason that my old associates would not take No for answer. My active participation has not helped me much in point of health, nor does it seem possible for me to live in New York without being more or less mixed up in politics.” In an interview published in the New York World, October 18, 1875, Mr. Kelly explained more fully how he was induced to return to politics. Details omitted, the salient points of that interview were as follows: “When I returned from Europe in the fall of 1871, it was my intention to have nothing to do with politics at all. I had been sorely afflicted by the loss of my family, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a private business man. I was met by a number of leading men, who told me that during my absence the Democratic party in the city had become utterly demoralized, and that the Grant Republicans, taking advantage of this state of affairs, had come into full possession in this great Democratic city, and they begged me to assume an active part. I had hundreds of the leading men in the city here at my house, asking me to take hold and help them up. After much importunity, I consented, and threw my whole heart into the work. I suppose I have some foresight. I think I generally see things pretty clearly, and this is probably why they trust to my judgment. Whenever I fail to win their confidence it will be an easy matter for them to dispense with me. I am not commissioned as a leader by any constituted authority. But as what power and influence I have depend entirely upon the good will and confidence of the people who choose to recognize me as a leader, and listen to my advice, I am wholly in their hands, and they can keep me or reject me any day.”

Mr. Kelly’s part in public affairs prior to 1872 had been creditable and marked by ability, but there were other public men who, in like circumstances, had attained equal or greater distinction. In the year 1872 he was called upon to prove whether he was endowed with that highest of all the gifts of Heaven, the capacity to lead men in a supreme emergency, and it is not the language of eulogy to say that he displayed consummate ability as such a leader; and that his courage, coolness and good judgment enabled him to achieve results which no other citizen of New York, with similar resources at command, and similar obstacles in his way, could have accomplished.

yours truly
John Kelly
(AT THE AGE OF 50 YEARS.)