HENRY AUGUSTUS ROWLAND 425 



principal one, why he gave so much time to exercise in the open 

 air. This led him also to read a good deal on medical subjects, 

 and especially on anything pertaining to his own malady. We 

 often talked of this, but I never heard him repine. He accepted 

 his fate cheerfully though he felt keenly the fact that his family 

 would not be adequately provided for, and this caused him during 

 the last few years of his life to give much time to working out a 

 beautiful and important system of telegraphy. The Rowland 

 octoplex printing telegraph has since became widely known and 

 is in use in some places. By this system it is possible to send 

 simultaneously four messages in both directions over a single 

 wire and have them appear printed. The sending is accomplished 

 by means of an apparatus that looks and works like an ordinary 

 type- writer. It is a wonderful machine. At the last Paris Exhibi- 

 tion it won the Grand Prix. 



In politics he was too radical to be effective. His ideals were 

 so high as to be practically unattainable. Consequently he was 

 entirely out of sympathy with the existing order of things. He 

 took every opportunity to tell those in high positions what he 

 thought of them. I remember being at a dinner party one evening, 

 at which the late Mr. James G. Elaine and Rowland were present. 

 Now in the mind of Rowland, the idea of protection of industries 

 was as a red, extremely red, flag to an active bull. In this particu- 

 lar case Mr. Elaine represented the obnoxious idea and Rowland 

 straightway charged upon him in dead earnest. If the object of 

 his antipathy had responded in kind, the scene would have been 

 exciting in the highest degree. But he did not. I do not remember 

 how it happened, but in a few minutes the atmosphere was clear 

 and the company began to breathe freely again. When the party 

 broke up Elaine walked away with his arm thrown over Rowland's 

 shoulders. A little later Rowland said to me: "That Elaine strikes 

 me as a pretty good fellow." 



In matters pertaining to religion he was philosophic, not 

 emotional. He accepted the underlying principles of the Chris- 

 tian religion and in general his life was in conformity therewith. 

 He lived correctly not because he feared punishment hereafter, 



