by argument to the utmost of his abilities. As a debater in the popular forum, or in the Senate, he was generally well posted in his facts, and warm and zealous, and even enthusiastic, in argument. With less power of dealing with the abstract than the concrete, he was apt to spend too much of his force in the presentation and discussion of details, instead of seizing at once upon the general principles involved in and resulting from them. This naturally led him into a discursive style, and often weakened the real force of his arguments. With too little power of abstraction always to overlook or disregard non-essentials, and to bring out prominently to view the essential principles involved, he could not always readily render the point at which he aimed so prominent and distinct, even to his own vision, as to be able at the first shot to hit exactly the mark, though he generally hit near it, and always finally made up for this want of accuracy of sight and aim by a continuous repetition of his shots till the point was finally struck or worn away and demolished by the constant attrition which had undermined its base.

Patient, laborious, and persistent in his investigations, he shirked no labor essential to the discharge of his duties, either in the Senate or upon committee. And upon committees especially he exerted all his powers and labored with the utmost fidelity to reach the just and proper result. His sense of justice was strong and clear, and he spared no pains in reaching a just result, and this he seemed often to reach with great accuracy by a kind of intuition without being able to state with logical accuracy the steps of the process by which he had reached it. Personally he was kind, gentle, social, and generous; and these traits were not factitious nor put on for the occasion, but real and essential attributes of the man himself. Courteous and polite in his intercourse with others, as from his French descent it was but natural for him to be, he never allowed

his courtesy or politeness to overcome his attachment to truth, nor to repress his condemnation of what he believed to be wrong.

Born and reared a Catholic, and conforming his faith to the teachings of his church with the confiding trust of a child to the authority of a beloved mother, his mind was untroubled with doubts of his future, and he was not shaken to and fro by the speculations of philosophers or metaphysicians whose theories always end in doubt and uncertainty. And if a man can bring himself to that state of unquestioning confidence and trust, though we may not be able to agree with him, who shall say he has not been wise? The solution of this question is not for us, but for Him alone whose field of vision is infinite, while ours is almost infinitely small.

But though his religious belief was thus settled, he was tolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others.

Finally, I will say that, notwithstanding our differences of religious and political belief, the more I saw of Senator BoGy the more I appreciated the qualities of his head and heart and the more warmly I became attached to him. And when the intelligence of his death reached me, sudden and unexpected as it was, I felt, and still feel, as I believe this Senate feel, a deep sense of bereavement at his loss, as for the loss of a brother. And it is well that we should cherish these sentiments. Entering, as most of us have entered, this Hall after middle life, we must, in the order of nature, expect the hand of Death to be frequently thrust in among us, claiming his own with relentless impartiality. And the tribute of kindly remembrance which we render to-day to one of our number may any day be called forth in behalf of any of us in our turn who yet survive.

The custom of devoting one day to the memory of each who has been cut down, reviewing their several traits of character with the kindness and impartiality which death can command, but which the

conflicts of opinion, the heat and misapprehensions of debate, and the diversities of party views often obscure, naturally tends to make us more kind and lenient in judging of each other's opinions, purposes, and personal qualities; to promote mutual respect and esteem, and to encourage mutual forbearance and charitable judgments, in spite of all our differences of opinions upon the policies and measures of Government, and thus to keep this body-what it has long been-the most courteous legislative body in the world.

Address of Mr. JOHNSTON, of Virginia.

Mr. PRESIDENT: Although I had never seen Mr. BoGy till we met here in the Senate, it early came about that we were thrown much together and became intimate friends. Like most men of strong and striking qualities, he was not without peculiarities of manner and character, which, looking like blemishes at first, were seen at last to cover genuine virtues. He was decided, bold, and persistent in the formation of his opinion and the expression of his views; and if he seemed sometimes to exhibit what might have been considered vehemence, it was only because his convictions were strong.

In the friendly, almost confidential intercourse in which we indulged, the real sterling and tender traits of his character were brought to light. He spoke to me often of his children, especially a daughter to whom he seemed to be deeply attached and who died only about a year before him. He was summoned by telegram to visit her sick bed, in expectation that her demise was near at hand. But the journey was long, and before he reached its end a second message informed him of her death. On his return he unbosomed himself to me-spoke of her tender devotion to him, her anxiety to see him and obtain his blessing before death parted them, and his

own sorrowful heart. And I am fixed in the belief that this great sorrow had much to do in breaking him down, and making him fall an easier victim to the disease of which he died.

He was a man who was much before the public and held many important trusts. He passed through the ordeal well in every way, for he not only performed the duties of each place with ability and fidelity, but with such zeal, devotion, and honor that he escaped wholly the breath of calumny. He was for some time Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a position which in our peculiar relations to the Indian tribes, the difficulties attending its honest and efficient execution, the suspicion that attaches to it in the minds of many people, makes it one of the most delicate, difficult, and important offices under the Government. But he did this as he did everything else, well, and retired with honor and good-will and with a vast store of information very useful to him and the country when he came to occupy a seat upon this floor.

He was one of the few men who in early life blocked out a career for himself and attained it, for it is well authenticated that while yet young he declared his purpose of reaching the Senate, never lost sight of it, and finally accomplished the object of his ambition.

Senator BOGY was emphatically a western man. No statesman of the day had given more attention to the country between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean than he had. Not that he underestimated the region east of the Mississippi, but he believed that the ultimate seat of empire would be found west of the Mississippi, and that in its growth and progress were embraced the greatest growth, wealth, prosperity, and progress of the American people.

And it is surely true that the great problem of our country, now pressing for solution, exists in that part of the United States. The

silver of the Sierras; the Indian tribes, presenting the exceptional condition of a people treated by us partly as citizens and partly as foreigners, living in the same territory with us and yet making treaties with our Government; the Chinese question, so ominous of danger and so hard to deal with; our trade with China, Japan, Australia; the railroads to the Pacific, already constructed and yet to be built-all these he had studied practically and thoroughly, especially that great Indian problem, so hard and yet so necessary to solve. He knew the customs, habits, and peculiarities of all the tribes, and had both knowledge and wisdom in dealing with this subject, so embarrassing now and likely to be so for years yet to come. And long before the silver question became the absorbing topic it is now, Mr. BoGy was one of the first in either House to perceive its magnitude and public interest. While most of our public men were content to know in a general way that gold and silver abounded in the region looking toward the Pacific, he had already acquired accurate and exhaustive knowledge of the whole subject, was a pioneer, and foresaw not only its commercial but its political importance. That he died pending these great questions is much to be regretted. His counsels would have been valuable to his country, and his death, a public calamity at any time, is doubly so now.

But, Mr. President, it has pleased Providence to remove him from a sphere of great usefulness, and I can truly pronounce of him what after all is the best eulogy to be pronounced upon any man: that he did his duty honestly through life; that, being placed

in

many trying and responsible situations, he came safely through them all; that he was devoted to his domestic relations, was a useful citizen, a faithful public officer, and a sincere and practical member of the church to which he belonged. And these things being said with truth, what more need or should be said?