_A Massachusetts Magazine._

VOL. II. OCTOBER, 1884. No. 1.

* * * * *




JAMES GILLESPIE BLAINE.


In the long list of illustrious men who have held the high office
of President of the United States, a few names stand out with such
prominence as to be constantly before the American people. While Adams,
Jefferson, Monroe, Jackson, Grant, and others, did the country service
that never will be forgotten, it is indisputable that Washington,
Lincoln, and Garfield gained a firmer hold upon the confidence and
affection of the masses than any others. And now, as we approach another
presidential campaign, the result of which is to place in the highest
office of the nation a new man, it is alike a source of pride and
satisfaction that the Republican party has put in nomination a man, who,
if elected, will bring to the discharge of his duties as high a degree
of honesty as Washington, as thorough an acquaintance with human nature
as Lincoln, and as profound a knowledge of political economy as
Garfield. Through all the years of his manhood he has been a central
figure in American politics, and his achievements are indelibly written
on almost every page of American history for the last quarter of a
century. With such a man as a candidate the country may well