Since his withdrawal from President Arthur’s Cabinet and his retirement to private life at Augusta, Mr. Blaine has busied himself with his history, entitled Twenty Years of Congress, the first volume of which was given to the public last April.  When finished, this work will cover the period from Lincoln to Garfield, with a review of the events which led to the political revolution of 1860.  The story he tells in his first volume is given with the simplicity and compactness of a trained journalist, and yet with sufficient fulness to make the picture distinct and clear in almost every detail.  The book is as easy to read as a well-written novel; it is clear and interesting, and commands the attention throughout, the more for the absence of anything like oratorical display or forensic combativeness.  In literary polish it is not beyond criticism, though occasional infelicities of expression and instances of carelessness do not outweigh the general clearness and force of style.  It is not at all points unerring in portraiture, nor infallible in judgment, though the writer’s impartiality of spirit and desire to be just are conspicuous, and he gives cogent reasons for opinions expressed.  But in broad and comprehensive appreciation of the forces by which the development of public opinion has been affected, the work is one of great merit.  It seems to be entirely free from those personal qualities which have characterized Mr. Blaine in politics.  It is very remarkable that a man so prominent as a partisan in political affairs could have written a book so free from partisanship.

Mr. Blaine is now in his fifty-fifth year.  Although above medium height, he is so compactly and powerfully built that he scarcely seems tall.  His features are large and expressive; he is slightly bald and his neatly trimmed beard is prematurely gray; his brows are lowering—­his eyes keen.  On the floor of Congress he manifested marvelous power and nerve.  His voice is rich and melodious; his delivery is fluent and vigorous; his gestures are full of grace and force; his self-possession is never lost.  He has appeared on the stump in almost every Northern State, and is an exceedingly popular and effective campaign speaker.  But it is not when on the platform, speaking alone, that he has shown his greatest strength.  He is strongest when hard pressed by opponents in parliamentary debate.  He is a thorough believer in the organization of men who think alike for advancing their views.  He believes that in order to carry out any great project it is necessary to have a party organization, not for the purpose of advancing individual interests, but to push ahead a great line of policy.  He is a positive with the courage of his convictions, and believes in aggressive politics.  As a consequence of this he has always had both very strong friends and very bitter enemies.  It is probable that no man in this country has had a stronger personal following since the days of Harry Clay.