inst him--a rare charge in a country so tolerant and catholic as
the United States, where every office except that of President is open
to newcomers as freely as to the native born.

He was called "un-American," and I have heard men who admired and read
the _Nation_ nevertheless complain that they did not want "to be
taught by a European how to run this Republic." True it is that he did
not see things or write about them quite as an American would have
done. But was this altogether a misfortune? The Italian cities of the
Middle Ages used to call in a man of character and mark from some
other place and make him Podesta just because he stood outside the
family ties and the factions of the city. Godkin's foreign education
gave him detachment and perspective. It never reduced his ardour to
see administration and public life in America made worthy of the
greatness of the American people.

No journal could have maintained its circulation and extended its
influence in the face of so much hostility except by commanding
merits. The merits of the _Nation_ were incontestable. It was the best
weekly not only in America but in the world. The editorials were
models of style. The book reviews, many of them in earlier days also
written by Godkin himself, were finished in point of form, and, when
not his own, came from the ablest specialist hands in the country. The
"current notes" of progress in such subjects as geography, natural
history, and archaeology were instructive and accurate. So it was that
people had to read the _Nation_ whether they liked it or not. It could
not be ignored. It was a necessity even where it was a terror.

Yet neither the force of his reasoning nor the brilliance of his
style would have secured Godkin's influence but for two other
elements of strength he possessed. One was the universal belief in his
disinterestedness and sincerity. He was often charged with prejudice
or bitterness, but never with any sinister motive; enemies no less
than friends respected him. The other was his humour. An austere
moralist who is brimful of fun is rare in any country. Relishing
humour more than does any other people, the Americans could not be
seriously angry with a man who gave them so abundant a feast.

To trace the course he took in the politics of the United States since
1860 would almost be to outline the history of forty years, for
there was no great issue in the discussion of which he did not bear a
part. He was a