It is seldom, indeed, that a people or an idea has the fortune to possess such an advocate as Mr. Grady. He not only knew where to carry his plea, but he had a rare gift of eloquence in presenting it. Whether Mr. Grady, as his field of effort enlarged, would have developed a more varied talent as an orator, can never be known; but in the illustration of the one subject on which he made himself heard before the people he showed himself a master of the art. On this topic, full of inspiration for him, he spoke with a brilliancy and power which were unapproachable. Since Wendell Phillips, there is none possessed of such a strength of fervid eloquence as that which this young man displayed. Much of the effect produced by his speeches, of course, must be attributed to the existence of a sentiment seldom aroused, but ready to respond to such an appeal; but when every allowance is made for the circumstances under which he achieved his triumphs of oratory, there remains the inimitable charm which gave power and effect to his words.
If Mr. Grady had been simply a rhetorician, his place in the public estimation would be far different from that which is now accorded him. Without the talent which he possessed in so remarkable degree, he could not have produced the effect which he did; but back of the manner in which he said what he had to say, which moved men to tears and to applause, were the boldness, the frankness and the entire sincerity of the man. His words brought conviction as his glowing phrases stirred the sentiment of his hearers, and amid all the embellishments of oratory there was presented the substantial fabric of fact. His last speech in Boston was as strong in its argument as it was delightful in its rhetoric.
The influence which Mr. Grady has exerted upon the great movement which has consolidated the Union and brought the South forward in the march of industrial development cannot now be estimated. He has not lived to see the realization of what he hoped. But there can be no doubt that his short life of activity in the great work will have far-reaching results.
NEW ENGLAND’S SORROW.
From the “Boston Herald.”
The death of Henry W. Grady comes at a time and under conditions which will cause a deep feeling of sorrow and regret in the minds of the people of New England. He came to us only a few days ago as a representative of our Southern fellow-countrymen, grasping the hand of good will that was extended to him, and professing, in the eloquent addresses that he made, a desire to do all that he could to allay any differences of opinion or prejudices that might exist between the people of the North and those of the South. One means of doing this, and one which appealed particularly to the inhabitants of New England, was the unquestioned admiration that he had for our traditions and institutions, an admiration which he owned was so far cherished in the South as to lead many of its people to copy our methods. The New South was a change from the Old South, for the reason that its people were discarding their former theories and opinions, and were to a large degree copying those which we have always held.
It is needless at this time to speak of Mr. Grady’s attempt to defend the Southern method of settling the race problem, but, although there were many who believed that he did not fully make out his case, his statement of it threw a light upon the question which was probably new to a large number of those who heard or read his words.
Of Mr. Grady’s eloquence it can be said that it was spontaneity itself. Rarely has a man been gifted with so remarkable a command of language and so complete a knowledge of its felicitous use. There was in his address an exuberance of fancy which age and a wider experience of men and methods would have qualified, but no one can doubt that this gift of his, combined as it was with high intentions and honesty of purpose, would have made of him in a few years more, if he had been spared, a man of national importance in the affairs of our country.