DEDICATION I venture to dedicate this work to the memory of A. J. Cassatt and E. H. Harriman. Not only did these two men possess genius, a quality which Poe insists is far more abundant than is supposed; they possessed also the constructive ability, the faculty of analysis, the patience, the concentrativeness, that power of holding the attention steadily to the one purpose, self-dependence and the contempt for all opinion that is opinion and no more, and in special that energy and industry without which Poe insists the works of genius cannot be brought forth. As though this were not enough, they had, too, the leaven of a noble enthusiasm, which acted as a ferment, stimulating to their utmost effort all who enjoyed their confidence. It was my fortune to be associated upon terms of intimacy with both these men, and to have rendered them some poor service. In a long activity, spread over wide areas, I have known many men: Presidents, governors, mayors of metropolitan cities; senators, congressmen, legislators; judges, lawyers, physicians of reputation; editors, educators, philanthropists; inventors, captains of industry, and railroad officers. If we search this illustrious company, there is nobody, not one, who can be said to put one in mind of these two, so like in their ability to achieve, so different in their personality and methods. 491097 |