JUDAH P. BENJAMIN
Benjamin was a Jew. He was born a British subject. He made a brilliant reputation at the Louisiana Bar and was offered a seat in the Supreme Court of the United States.! He became United States Senator. When his State seceded, he went with it, and filled three cabinet positions under the Confederacy. He fell with the im- mense collapse of that dream fabric. Then, at the age of fifty-four, he set himself to build up a new fortune and a new glory ; and he died one of the most successful and respected barristers in London. Such a career seems to offer piquant matter for portraiture. Let us see if it does. Characteristic of the man at the very threshold is his attitude about such portraiture. He will not have it, if he can help it, will not aid in it, destroys all letters and papers that may contribute to it. '* I have never kept a diary, or retained a copy of a letter written by me. . . . I have read so many American biographies which re- flected only the passions and prejudices of their writers, that I do not want to leave behind me letters and docu- ments to be used in such a work about myself." 2 And he is said to have quoted early advice given him to the effect that the secret of human happiness was the de- struction of writing.^ On this principle he acted and by
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