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4 t3be Conservative ,
tion which met at Chicngo noiniimtccl
for president Grover Cleveland , who
SI soon after liis election called Mr. Bay
ard to bo secretary of state. In that
position ho held linnly that under his
oath of ofllco he must do his duty as a
patriot and not as a mere partisan. Not
for his best political and personal friends
did he over perform any official act or
cause to bo made any appointment to
office , except that he clearly saw it to be
in accordance with the best interests of
the republic.
At home and abroad , in all places , and
at all times , Thomas Francis Bayard
was an outspoken lover of his country.
He had the high moral courage to tell
the truth. He was brave for the right.
He never faltered before those who ad
vocated the wrong. He was passionless
in the staid and decorous discussion of
great public policies as justice itself.
He never talked to the galleries. In
private and social life Mr. Bayard was a
charming host and a most entertaining
and attractive guest. His manners were
easy and natural. He was a gentle man.
But as ambassador to the Court of St.
James where President Cleveland com
missioned him in 18M , Mr. Bayard did
for the United States and all the Eng
lish-speaking people of the globe a most
illustrious service. Succeeding Lowell ,
Phelps and Lincoln , no mediocre man
could have accomplished diplomatically
and internationally so much good for his
government.
Returning from London , Mr. Bayard ,
as early as January of the current year ,
suffered a severe attack of influenza
from which he never fully recovered.
In a letter to Mr. Morton , dated Feb
ruary 28,1898 , he says :
"For the last two months the clouds
of sorrow have gathered around me , and
two sisters , very dear to me , and over
whose childhood and girlhood and ma
ture womanhood I had watched more
like a father than a brother , have been
called back to the Great Being who sent
them forth.
"I have wondered why I and not they
should have been left a little longer , in
this strange state we call life. "
This quotation shows the tender and
affectionate solicitude which ho cher
ished for his family and at the same
time indicates a despondent trend of
thought which is further accentuated by
the next sentence in which he says :
"But added to these natural griefs I
have been depressed by what is called
influenza and is certainly a most debili
tating disorder and , let mo confess it ,
Time ; Time , the insatiate , has been
whispering over my shoulder that I
must remember him , his hourglass and
his scythe. "
Further along Mr. Bayard writes :
"lu this letter I am placing a rather
personal paper which I think you will
care to keep. It is a reproduction in
fac simile of a portion of a sermon
preached at St. Paul's , just before I
came away from London , by Archdeacon
Sinclair.
"I had it struck off for my children
and graudchildre ; because of its bear
ing upon my official career abroad. "
And so much did it appeal to the judg
ment and heart that it has been repro
duced for THE CONSERVATIVE as the end
ing of an attempt to tell how strong and
pure and patriotic a man was gathered
to his fathers when Thomas F. Bayard
breathed his last.
The Chapter House ,
St Pauls CathedralJE.C.
< ese
6 ,
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weft
