sprang into a
position of great influence in the politics and policy of Maine. At
twenty-five he was a leading power in the councils of the Republican
party, so recognized by Fessenden, Hamlin, the two Morrills, and others,
then, and still, prominent in the State. Before he was twenty-nine he
was chosen chairman of the executive committee of the Republican
organization in Maine--a position he has held ever since, and from which
he has practically shaped and directed every political campaign in the
State, always leading his party to brilliant victory. Had Mr. Blaine
been New-England born, he would probably not have received such rapid
advancement at so early an age, even with the same ability he possessed.
But there was a sort of Western _dash_ about him that took with us
Down-Easters; an expression of frankness, candor, and confidence, that
gave him from the start a very strong and permanent hold on our people,
and, as the foundation of all, a pure character and a masterly ability
equal to all demands made upon him."

Mr. Blaine's early political addresses, and especially the ability which
he displayed in them as a debater, won him great local reputation, and,
during the Fremont campaign, he achieved a distinction as a speaker
which insured him a seat in the Legislature, in 1858, though he was not
yet thirty years of age and had been but five years in his adopted
State. The ability which he displayed as a legislator was so marked that
his constituents returned him four years in succession, and the
Legislature, recognizing his talents, elected him speaker in 1860 and
1861, a rare honor for so young a man. As a presiding officer he
displayed those fine qualifications which afterward made him one of the
most brilliant of the long line of able men who have occupied the
speaker's chair in the National House of Representatives.

By this time Mr. Blaine had become a professional politician. In other
words he had given up all other occupations and made politics his sole
employment. This is a fact worthy of serious consideration, for few men
in this country have avowedly chosen politics as a calling and succeeded
in it as James G. Blaine has succeeded. Most of our statesmen, like
Webster and Lincoln, have been eminent lawyers. Blaine studied law
thoroughly, but never applied for admission at the bar. Some, like
Greeley, have been eminent journalists. Blaine made journalism merely a
means to an end, discarding it as soon as it