Chester A. Arthur, by Paul Raymond Audibert, Paris.

Additional information on Audibert pending.

Chester A. Arthur, Twenty-First President of the United States, (1881-1885). Born Fairfield, Vt., October 5, 1830; died New York, November 18, 1886. The following is quoted from the coverleaf of the engraving:

"A small cottage in the sparsely settled rural neighborhood of over half a century ago, a scant salary, the unselfish sacrifices which a large family and narrow means necessitate--these were the physical surroundings which fitted Chester A. Arthur for his life's work. His father, a clergyman of vigorous intellect and ripe learning, his mother, a pious and cultured woman, gave to him by precept and example the character and courage which both in resistance and action win and worthily occupy the most commanding positions."***

"When the end came for General Garfield, Arthur entered the White House, as he had taken the oath of office, alone. A weaker man would have succumbed; a narrower one, have seized upon the patronage and endeavored to build up his power by strengthening his faction; but the lineage and training of Arthur stood in this solemn and critical hour for patriotism and manliness. Friends, co-workers, within the old lines, and associates under the old conditions looking for opportunities for recognition or for revenge, retired chastened and enlightened from the presence of the President of the United States. The man had not changed. He was the same genial, companionable, and loving gentleman, but in the performance of public duty he rose to the full measure and dignity of his great office."***

"President Arthur will be distinguished both for what he did and what he refrained from doing. The strain and intensity of public feeling, the vehemence of the angry and vindictive passions of the time, demanded the rarest of negative as well as positive qualities. The calm and even course of government allayed excitement and appealed to the better judgment of the people. But though not aggressive or brilliant, his administration was sensible and stroung and admirably adjusted to the conditions which created and attended it."***

"There has rarely been in the history of popular governments so great a contrast as in the public appreciation of General Arthur at the time of his inauguration and when he retired from office. The President of whom little was expected and much feared returned to private life enjoying in a larger degree than most of his predecessors the profound respect and warm regard of the people, without distinction of party. He was a warm-hearted, social, pleasure-loving man, but capable of the greatest industry, endurance, and courage. He dearly loved to gratify his friends; but if he thought the public interest so required, no one could more firmly resist their desires or their importunities. By his dignity and urbanity, and his rich possession of the graces which attract and adorn in social intercourse, he gave a new charm to the hospitality of the White House."***

"Once again in private station and resuming the practice of his profession, he moved among his fellow-citizens receiving the homage and recognition which came of their pride in the way he had borne the honors and administered the duties of the Chief Magistracy of the Republic."--CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, from an Address at the Memorial Service by the New York Legislature, at Albany, April 20, 1887.