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Show I TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION TO DEAD NEVADA FRIEND : (BY C. C. GOODWIN.) The news of the death of John W. ' Mackay will cause a personal sorrow to thousands of people on this coast. t So great was he, so true, so generous, 1 so altogether manly in every place and . under all conditions. ; Plenty of men are rich; of them all we know not one-such man as was Mr. Mackay. In face and bearing, in hand and foot, he was imperial as Caesar, but in his life and his mingling among . men there was not one imperious look I or word or gesture, unless some base nature expressed a doubt of his integrity integ-rity and he heard of it. If every, gracious gra-cious act of his life could be converted into a 'lower, they would garland his , bier with a glory never seen around a death couch before; if his impulses could take material form they would fall in benedictions on every poor man's home.; they would steady the hands of every high officer of our government, for "love of his adopted country and solicitude for its welfare with him were yand passions. The newspapers will give long accounts ac-counts of his career and of the work he performed, but none of .them will give any clear idea of. him a"s he was; of the alert brain, the great" heart, of the superb character that he bore, of the courage that never faltered, that no misfortune could daunt, or" a soul so self-sustained and high that' there was never room in it for despondency or one trace of false pride. He started out with a belief in the omnipotence of honest labor; he believed be-lieved that it was capital enough for any-healthy man in this country. He was favored above'his fellows, but to the last he clung to the old faith and "1 worked 'on' and on. When last seen by I the writer of this, last January, he ' was planning the laying ot -a cable across the Pacific, and .with his old quiet confidence he gently said: "I have. . L had some experience In ocean cabling, r and I believe I can-do the work better than the ' -government', can, ".and" with better material than the government will be liable to use." Intense and strong as he was. after all his highest attribute was his affection affec-tion for those he loved. The accidental death of his eldest son a few years ago well-nigh broke his heart. Hehas never been quite the, same flnce. His cards, like his-.heart, have been fringed with black ever since. He was 71 years of age, but only a little while ago he seemed perfectly well, said he was well, and surely -was nursing hop?fi that were altogether high. He looked good for yet a score of years, and the news of his death is a mighty shock. But his fame was rounded full. If summoned to final account he can, with clear eyes, fay: "l began.on earth with nothing, f accumulated many millions, but I dealt with it as a trust to be accounted for and in the gaining of it I kept mv hands clear; look at them in this clearer light and see if they carry one stain " Great, generous, high-souled, true-hearted true-hearted Mackay. l aw shamed that I cannot prepare a more fitting wreath for your bier. May your good deeds late form and become a pillow for your head, and may your final sleep be curtained cur-tained by everlasting peace. C. C. G |