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Title: Southern Literature From 1579-1895 - A comprehensive review, with copious extracts and criticisms - for the use of schools and the general reader
Author: Manly, Louise, 1857-1936
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Southern Literature From 1579-1895 - A comprehensive review, with copious extracts and criticisms - for the use of schools and the general reader" ***
Transcriber's Note
There is a small amount of Greek in this text, which has been
transliterated. It is surrounded by plus signs +like this+.
Bold text is indicated with tildes ~like this~.
Characters with a macron (straight line) over them are indicated as
[=x], where x is the letter in question. Those with a caron (v shape)
over them are indicated as [vx]. Superscripted text is indicated with
a caret (^) preceding the superscripted letters.
The original text indicated omitted text with varied numbers of spaced
periods; this convention has been retained.
SOUTHERN LITERATURE
_From 1579-1895._
A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW, WITH COPIOUS EXTRACTS
AND CRITICISMS
FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND THE GENERAL READER
_Containing an Appendix with a Full List of Southern
Authors_
BY
LOUISE MANLY
ILLUSTRATED
RICHMOND, VA.
B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
1900
COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY LOUISE MANLY.
PREFACE.
The primary object of this book is to furnish our children with
material for becoming acquainted with the development of American life
and history as found in Southern writers and their works. It may serve
as a reader supplementary to American history and literature, or it
may be made the ground-work for serious study of Southern life and
letters; and between these extremes there are varying degrees of
usefulness.
To state its origin will best explain its existence. This may
furthermore be of some help to teachers in using the book, though each
teacher will use it as best suits his classes and methods.
The study of History is rising every day in importance. Sir Walter
Raleigh in his "Historie of the World" well said, "It hath triumphed
over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over."
It is the still living word of the vanished ages.
The best way of teaching history has of late years received much
attention. One excellent method is to read, in connection with the
text-book, good works of fiction, dramas, poetry, and historical
novels, bearing upon the different epochs, and also to read the works
of the authors themselves of these different periods. We thus make
history and literature illustrate and beautify each other. The dry
dates become covered with living facts, the past is peopled with real
beings instead of hard names, fiction receives a solid basis for its
airy architecture, and the mind of the pupil is interested and
broadened. Even the difficult subjects of politics and institutions
gradually assume a more pleasing aspect by being associated with
individual human interests, and condescend to simplify themselves
through personal relations.
To illustrate this method, which I have used with great success in
teaching English History:
In connection with the times of the early Britons, read Tennyson's
"Idyls of the King."
At the Norman Conquest, Bulwer's "Harold."
At the reign of Richard I. (Coeur de Lion), Scott's "Ivanhoe" and
"Talisman," Shakspere's "King John."
At the reign of Elizabeth, Scott's "Kenilworth," the non-historical
plays of Shakspere, as he lived at that epoch, Bacon's Essays, and
others.
I mention merely a few. The amount of reading can be increased almost
indefinitely and will depend on the time of the pupil, the plan of the
teacher, and the accessibility of the books. Most of the books
necessary for English History are now published in cheap form and are
within reach of every pupil.
A great deal of reading is very desirable; it is the only way to give
our pupils any broad view of literature and history, and to cultivate
a taste for reading in those destitute of it. It is often the only
opportunity for reading which some pupils will ever have, and it lasts
them a life-time as a pleasure and a benefit.[1]
The reading may be done in the class or out of school hours. It is
well to read as much as practicable in class, and to have some sketch
of the outside reading given in class.
Geography must also go hand in hand with history, a point now well
understood. But its importance can hardly be exaggerated and its
practice is of the utmost value. One _must_ use maps to study and read
intelligently.
In American History pursue a similar course, as for example:
At the period of discovery and early settlement, read Irving's
"Columbus," Simms' "Vasconselos" (De Soto's Expedition), and
"Yemassee," John Smith's Life and Writings, Longfellow's "Hiawatha"
and "Miles Standish," Kennedy's "Rob of the Bowl," Strachey's Works,
Mrs. Preston's "Colonial Ballads," &c.
In Revolutionary times, the Revolutionary novels of Simms and Cooper,
Kennedy's "Horse-Shoe Robinson;" the great statesmen of the day, as
Jefferson, Adams, Patrick Henry, Hamilton, Washington; Cooke's
"Fairfax" in which Washington appears as a youthful surveyor, and
"Virginia Comedians" in which Patrick Henry appears, Thackeray's
"Virginians;" and others.
Each teacher will make his own list as his time and command of books
allow. And each State or section of our great country will devote more
time to its own special history and literature; this is right, for
knowledge like charity begins at home, and gradually widens until it
embraces the circle of the universe.
In collecting material for classes in American History to read in
accordance with this plan, it was found easy to get cheap editions of
Irving, Longfellow, Cooper, and other writers of the northern States,
but almost impossible to get those of the southern, in cheap or even
expensive editions. And the present volume has been prepared to supply
in part this deficiency. To fit it to the plan suggested, the dates of
the writers and the period and character of their works have been
indicated, and some selections from them given for reading,--too
little, it is feared, to be of much service, and yet enough to
stimulate to further interest and study.
The materials have been found so abundant, even so much more abundant
than I suspected when undertaking the work, that it has been a hard
task to make a selection from the rich masses of interesting writing.
I fear that the work is too fragmentary and contains too many writers
to make a lasting impression in a historical point of view.
If, however, it leads to a sympathetic study of Southern life and
literature, and especially if it makes young people acquainted with
our writers of the past and with something of the old-time life and
the spirit that controlled our ancestors, it will serve an excellent
purpose.
Our writers should be compared with those of other sections and other
countries; and due honor should be given them, equally removed from
over-praise and from depreciation. If we, their countrymen, do not
know and honor them, who can be expected to do so? No people is great
whose memory is lost, whose interest centres in the present alone, who
looks not reverently back to true beginnings and hopefully forward to
a grand future.
So I would urge my fellow-teachers to a fresh diligence in studying
and worthily understanding the life and literature of our past, and in
impressing them upon the minds of the rising generation, so as to
infuse into the new forms now arising the best and purest and highest
of the old forms fast passing away.
My sincere thanks are hereby tendered to the scholars who have aided
me by their advice and encouragement, to living authors and the
relatives of those not living who have generously given me permission
to copy extracts from their writings, to the publishers who have
kindly allowed me to use copyrighted matter, to Miss Anna M. Trice,
Mr. Josiah Ryland, Jr., and the officials of the Virginia State
Library where I found most of the books needed in my work, and to Mr.
David Hutcheson, of the Library of Congress. My greatest indebtedness
is to Professor William Taylor Thom and Professor John P. McGuire, for
scholarly criticism and practical suggestions in the course of
preparation.
1895. LOUISE MANLY.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] See Professor Woodrow Wilson's excellent article on the University
study of Literature and Institutions, in the FORUM, September, 1894.
LIST OF WORKS FOR REFERENCE.
Appleton: Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 6 vols.
Duyckinck: Cyclopaedia of American Literature, 2 vols.
Allibone: Dictionary of Authors, 3 vols.
Kirk: Supplement to Allibone, 2 vols.
Stedman: Poets of America.
Stedman and Hutchinson: Library of American Literature, 11 vols.
Poe: Literati of New York.
Griswold: Poets and Poetry of America.
Prose Writers of America.
Female Poets of America.
Hart: American Literature, Eldredge Bros., Phila.
Davidson: Living Writers of the South, (1869).
Miss Rutherford: American Authors, Franklin Publishing Company,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Southern Literary Messenger, 1834-1863.
Southern Quarterly Review, 1842-1855.
De Bow's Commercial Review.
The Land We Love, 1865-1869.
Southern Review, and Eclectic Review, Baltimore.
Southland Writers, by Ida Raymond (Mrs. Tardy).
Women of the South in Literature, by Mary Forrest.
Fortier: Louisiana Studies, F. F. Hansell, New Orleans.
Ogden: Literature of the Virginias, Independent Publishing Company,
Morgantown, West Virginia.
C. W. Coleman, Jr.: Recent Movement in the Literature of the South,
Harper's Monthly, 1886, No. 74, p. 837.
T. N. Page: Authorship in the South before the War, Lippincott's
Magazine, 1889, No. 44, p. 105.
Professor C. W. Kent, University of Virginia: Outlook for Literature
in the South.
People's Cyclopedia (1894).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
In Chronological Order.
FIRST PERIOD ... 1579-1750.
PAGE
JOHN SMITH, 1579-1631 33
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas 35
Our Right to Those Countries 38
Ascent of the River James, 1607 42
WILLIAM STRACHEY, in America 1609-12 45
A Storm Off the Bermudas 45
JOHN LAWSON, in America 1700-08 48
North Carolina in 1700-08 49
Harvest Home of the Indians 53
WILLIAM BYRD, 1674-1744 54
Selecting the Site of Richmond and Petersburg, 1733 58
A Visit to Ex-Governor Spotswood, 1732 58
Dismal Swamp, 1728 61
The Tuscarora Indians and Their Legend of a Christ, 1729 65
SECOND PERIOD ... 1750-1800.
HENRY LAURENS, 1724-1792 67
A Patriot in the Tower 68
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1732-1799 71
An Honest Man 73
How to Answer Calumny 74
Conscience 74
On his Appointment as Commander-in-Chief, 1775 74
A Military Dinner-Party 76
Advice to a Favorite Nephew 76
Farewell Address to the People of the United States, 1796 77
Union and Liberty 77
Party Spirit 79
Religion and Morality 81
PATRICK HENRY, 1736-1799 82
Remark on Slavery, 1788 84
Not Bound by State Lines 84
If This Be Treason, 1765 84
The Famous Revolution Speech, 1775 84
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON, 1742-1779 87
George III.'s Abdication of Power in America 89
THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1743-1826 91
Political Maxims 94
Religious Opinions at the Age of Twenty 94
Scenery at Harper's Ferry, and at the Natural Bridge 95
On Freedom of Religious Opinion 98
On the Discourses of Christ 98
Religious Freedom (the Act of 1786) 98
Letter to his Daughter 100
Jefferson's Last Letter, 1826 101
DAVID RAMSAY, 1749-1815 103
British Treaty with the Cherokees, 1755 105
Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie, 28 June, 1776 106
Sumpter and Marion 107
JAMES MADISON, 1751-1836 109
Opinion of Lafayette 110
Plea for a Republic 111
Character of Washington 112
ST. GEORGE TUCKER, 1752-1828 113
Resignation, or Days of My Youth 115
JOHN MARSHALL, 1755-1835 116
Power of the Supreme Court 117
The Duties of a Judge 118
HENRY LEE, 1756-1818 119
Capture of Fort Motte by Lee and Marion, 1780 120
The Father of His Country 124
MASON LOCKE WEEMS, 1760-1825 126
The Hatchet Story 126
JOHN DRAYTON, 1766-1822 127
A Revolutionary Object Lesson in the Cause of
Patriotism 1775 128
The Battle of Noewee, 1776 129
WILLIAM WIRT, 1772-1834 131
The Blind Preacher (James Waddell) 132
Mr. Henry against John Hook 135
JOHN RANDOLPH, 1773-1833 137
Revision of the State Constitution, 1829 138
GEORGE TUCKER, 1775-1861 140
Jefferson's Preference for Country Life 142
Establishment of the University of Virginia 143
THIRD PERIOD ... 1800-1850.
HENRY CLAY, 1777-1852 147
To Be Right above All 148
No Geographical Lines in Patriotism 148
Military Insubordination 148
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, 1780-1843 151
The Star-Spangled Banner 151
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, 1780-1851 153
The Mocking-Bird 155
The Humming-Bird 157
THOMAS HART BENTON, 1782-1858 158
The Duel Between Randolph and Clay, 1826 159
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, 1782-1850 161
War and Peace 164
System of Our Government 164
Defence of Nullification 164
The Wise Choice 166
Official Patronage 167
NATHANIEL BEVERLEY TUCKER, 1784-1851 167
The Partisan Leader 168
DAVID CROCKETT, 1786-1836 173
Spelling and Grammar: Prologue To His Autobiography 173
On a Bear-hunt 175
Motto: Be Sure You Are Right 178
RICHARD HENRY WILDE, 1789-1847 178
My Life Is Like the Summer Rose 179
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET, 1790-1870 180
Ned Brace at Church 180
A Sage Conversation 182
ROBERT YOUNG HAYNE, 1791-1839 185
State Sovereignty and Liberty 185
SAM HOUSTON, 1793-1863 189
Cause of the Texan War of Independence 190
Battle of San Jacinto, 1836 193
How To Deal With the Indians 196
WILLIAM CAMPBELL PRESTON, 1794-1860 199
Literary Society in Columbia, S. C., 1825 201
JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY, 1795-1870 204
A Country Gentleman in Virginia 205
His Wife 207
How Horse-Shoe and Andrew Captured Five Men 210
HUGH SWINTON LEGARÉ, 1797-1843 217
Commerce and Wealth vs. War 217
Demosthenes' Courage 219
A Duke's Opinions of Virginia, North and South Carolina,
and Georgia, in 1825 221
MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR, 1798-1859 223
The Daughter of Mendoza 223
FRANCIS LISTER HAWKS, 1798-1866 224
The First Indian Baptism in America 225
Virginia Dare, the First English Child Born in America 226
The Lost Colony of Roanoke 226
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE, 1802-1870 228
The Closing Year 228
Paragraphs 231
EDWARD COATE PINKNEY, 1802-1828 231
A Health 232
Song: We Break the Glass 233
CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR GAYARRÉ, 1805-1895 235
Louisiana in 1750-1770 236
The Tree of the Dead 240
MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY, 1806-1873 243
The Gulf Stream 246
Deep-Sea Soundings 247
Heroic Death of Lieutenant Herndon 249
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, 1806-1870 252
Sonnet--The Poet's Vision 255
The Doom of Occonestoga 255
Marion, the "Swamp-Fox" 262
ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 1807-1870 265
Duty--To His Son 266
Human Virtue--At the Surrender 266
His Last Order, 1865 266
Letter Accepting the Presidency of Washington College 268
JEFFERSON DAVIS, 1808-1889 269
Trip To Kentucky at Seven Years of Age, and Visit to
General Jackson 271
Life of the President of the United States 272
Farewell to the Senate, 1861 274
EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809-1849 276
To Helen 279
Israfel 279
Happiness 281
The Raven 281
ROBERT TOOMBS, 1810-1885 284
Farewell to the Senate, 1861 286
OCTAVIA WALTON LE VERT, 1810-1877 288
To Cadiz from Havanna, 1855 289
LOUISA SUSANNAH M'CORD, 1810-1880 291
Woman's Duty 292
JOSEPH G. BALDWIN, 1811-1864 294
Virginians in a New Country 294
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS, 1812-1883 296
Laws of Government 297
Sketch in the Senate, 1850 298
True Courage 301
ALEXANDER BEAUFORT MEEK, 1814-1865 301
Red Eagle, or Weatherford 302
PHILIP PENDLETON COOKE, 1816-1850 305
Florence Vane 305
THEODORE O'HARA, 1820-1867 308
Bivouac of the Dead 308
FOURTH PERIOD ... 1850-1895.
GEORGE RAINSFORD FAIRBANKS, 1820- 311
Osceola, Leader of the Seminoles 311
RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON, 1822- 314
Mr. Hezekiah Ellington's Recovery 315
JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON, 1823-1873 317
Ashby 318
Music in Camp 319
JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY, 1825- 321
Relations between England and America 322
MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON, 1825- 324
The Shade of the Trees 324
CHARLES HENRY SMITH, ("BILL ARP"), 1826- 326
Big John, on the Cherokees 327
ST. GEORGE H. TUCKER, 1828-1863 329
Burning of Jamestown in 1676 330
GEORGE WILLIAM BAGBY, 1828-1883 332
Jud. Brownin's Account of Rubinstein's Playing 332
SARAH ANNE DORSEY, 1829-1879 336
A Confederate Exile on His Way to Mexico, 1866 338
HENRY TIMROD, 1829-1867 341
Sonnet--Life Ever Seems 344
English Katie 344
Hymn for Magnolia Cemetery 345
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE, 1830-1886 346
The Mocking-Bird (At Night) 348
Sonnet--October 349
A Dream of the South Wind 349
JOHN ESTEN COOKE, 1830-1886 350
The Races in Virginia, 1765 351
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE, 1830-1894 358
Changes Wrought by the War 360
The Country Gentlemen 360
The Negroes 362
ALBERT PIKE, 1809-1891 365
To the Mocking-Bird 365
WILLIAM TAPPAN THOMPSON, 1812-1882 367
Major Jones's Christmas Present 368
JAMES BARRON HOPE, 1827-1887 370
The Victory at Yorktown 371
Washington and Lee 372
JAMES WOOD DAVIDSON, 1829- 373
The Beautiful and the Poetical 373
CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR., 1831-1893 376
Salzburger Settlement in Georgia 376
MARY VIRGINIA TERHUNE ("MARION HARLAND") 379
Letter Describing Mary [Ball] Washington When a Young
Girl 381
Madam Washington at the Peace Ball 381
AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON, 1835- 383
A Learned and Interesting Conversation 384
DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS, 1836- 387
The Land Where We Were Dreaming 388
JAMES RYDER RANDALL, 1839- 389
My Maryland 390
ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN, 1839-1886 392
WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE, 1841- 393
Dreaming in the Trenches 393
SIDNEY LANIER, 1842-1881 394
Song of the Chattahoochee 396
What is Music? 397
The Tide Rising in the Marshes 397
JAMES LANE ALLEN 398
Sports of a Kentucky School in 1795 399
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, 1848- 401
The Tar-Baby 403
ROBERT BURNS WILSON, 1850- 405
Fair Daughter of the Sun 406
Dedication--A Sonnet 407
"CHRISTIAN REID," FRANCES C. TIERNAN 407
Ascent of Mt. Mitchell, N. C. 409
HENRY WOODFEN GRADY, 1851-1889 413
The South before the War 413
Master and Slave 413
Ante-bellum Civilization 416
THOMAS NELSON PAGE, 1853- 419
Marse Chan's Last Battle 421
MARY NOAILLES MURFREE, ("CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK") 423
The "Harnt" that Walks Chilhowee 423
DANSKE DANDRIDGE, 1859- 429
The Spirit and the Wood-Sparrow 430
AMÉLIE RIVES CHANLER, 1863- 431
Tanis 432
GRACE KING 437
La Grande Demoiselle 437
WAITMAN BARBE, 1864- 441
Sidney Lanier 442
MADISON CAWEIN, 1865- 442
The Whippoorwill 443
DIXIE 444
LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS omitted for lack of space 445
INDEX.
PAGE
A Confederate Exile on His Way to Mexico, _Sarah
A. Dorsey_ 338
Address in Congress, 1800, on the Death of Washington,
_Henry Lee_ 124
A Dream of the South Wind, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Advice to His Nephew, _George Washington_ 76
A Health, _E. C. Pinkney_ 232
Alamo, Fall of the 192
A Learned and Interesting Conversation, _Augusta E. Wilson_ 384
ALLEN, JAMES LANE 398
Anecdotes of Alexander H. Stephens 296, 297
An Honest Man, _George Washington_ 73
Ante-bellum Civilization, _Henry W. Grady_ 416
Arber, Professor, on John Smith's Writings 35
A Sage Conversation, _A. B. Longstreet_ 182
Ascent of Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, _Christian Reid_ 409
Ascent of the James River, 1607, _John Smith_ 42
Ashby, _John R. Thompson_ 318
AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES 153
Bacon, Nathaniel 330
BAGBY, GEORGE WILLIAM 332
BALDWIN, JOSEPH G. 294
BARBE, WAITMAN 441
Battle of Noewee, 1776, _John Drayton_ 129
Battle of San Jacinto, 1836, _Sam Houston_ 193
Battle of the Blue Licks, Ky., 1782 400
Battle of Tohopeka, or Horse-Shoe Bend, Ala. 302
Bear Hunt, _David Crockett_ 175
Beauvoir 270, 273
Beautiful and the Poetical, The, _Jas. Wood Davidson_ 373
Beauty is Holiness 395
BENTON, THOMAS HART 158
"Be sure you are right," _David Crockett_ 178
Big John, on the Cherokees, _Bill Arp_ 327
BILL ARP (CHARLES HENRY SMITH) 326
Bivouac of the Dead, _Theodore O'Hara_ 308
Blind Preacher, _William Wirt_ 132
Boone, Daniel 401
British Treaty with the Cherokees, 1755, _David Ramsay_ 105
Burning of Jamestown, 1676, _St. George H. Tucker_ 330
Byrd, Evelyn 56
BYRD, WILLIAM 54
CALHOUN, JOHN CALDWELL 161
Calhoun and the Union 275
Calhoun, Death of 300
Capture of Fort Motte, _Henry Lee_ 120
Cause of the Texan War of Independence, _Sam Houston_ 190
CAWEIN, MADISON 442
Changes Wrought by the War, _Z. B. Vance_ 360
CHANLER, MRS. AMÉLIE RIVES 431
Character of Washington, _James Madison_ 112
Cherokees, Big John on the, _Bill Arp_ 327
CLAY, HENRY 147
Closing Year, The, _George D. Prentice_ 228
Commerce and Wealth _vs._ War, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 217
Conscience, _George Washington_ 74
COOKE, PHILIP PENDLETON 305
COOKE, JOHN ESTEN 350
Corn-Shucking and Christmas Times 362
Country Gentleman in Virginia and His Wife, _John P.
Kennedy_ 205
Country Gentlemen 360
Cow-Boy's Song 339
CRADDOCK, CHARLES EGBERT, (MISS M. N. MURFREE) 423
CROCKETT, DAVID 173
CURRY, JABEZ LAMAR MONROE 321
Dale, General Sam 302
DANDRIDGE, MRS. DANSKE 429
Daughter of Mendoza, _M. B. Lamar_ 223
DAVIDSON, JAMES WOOD 373
DAVIS, JEFFERSON 269
Davis, Winnie 270
Davis, Mrs. Varina Jefferson 271
Davy Crockett's Motto 178
Days of My Youth, or Resignation, _St. George Tucker_ 115
Death of Calhoun 300
Death of Lieutenant Herndon 249
Dedication Sonnet (to his Mother), _Robert Burns Wilson_ 407
Deep-Sea Soundings, _M. F. Maury_ 247
Defence of Nullification, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Demosthenes, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 219
DeSaussure, Judge, and Social Dining in Columbia 201
Discourses of Christ, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
Dismal Swamp, _William Byrd_ 61
Dixie 444
Dixie and Yankee Doodle 319
Doom of Occonestoga, _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 255
DORSEY, MRS. SARAH ANNE 336
DRAYTON, WILLIAM HENRY 87
DRAYTON, JOHN 127
Dreaming in the Trenches, _Wm. Gordon McCabe_ 393
Duel Between Randolph and Clay, 1826, _Thomas H. Benton_ 159
Duke of Saxe-Weimar in Virginia, North and South Carolina,
and Georgia, 1825, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 221
Duties of a Judge, _John Marshall_ 118
Duty, _Robert E. Lee_ 266
England and America, Relations between, _J. L. M. Curry_ 322
English Katie, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Ennui 101
Establishment of the University of Virginia, _George Tucker_ 143
FAIRBANKS, GEORGE RAINSFORD 311
Fair Daughter of the Sun, _Robert Burns Wilson_ 406
Farewell Address to the American People, 1796, _George
Washington_ 77
Farewell to the Senate, 1861, _Jefferson Davis_ 274
Farewell to the Senate, 1861, _Robert Toombs_ 286
Father of His Country, _Henry Lee_ 124
First Indian Baptism in America, _Francis L. Hawks_ 225
"First in War, first in Peace" 124
Five Demands of the South 286
Florence Vane, _Philip Pendleton Cooke_ 305
Fort King, Florida 311
Fort Motte, Capture of, _Henry Lee_ 120
Freedom of Religious Opinion, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
GAYARRÉ, CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR 235
George the Third's Abdication of Power in America,
_William Henry Drayton_ 89
Gladstone's Opinion of the United States 322
Goliad, Massacre at 192
GRADY, HENRY WOODFEN 413
Grave of Dr. Elisha Mitchell 411
Gulf Stream, _M. F. Maury_ 246
Hampton at the Battle of Noewee, South Carolina, 1776 130
Happiness, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 281
HARLAND, MARION (MRS. M. V. TERHUNE) 379
"Harnt" that Walks Chilhowee, The, _Charles Egbert
Craddock_ 423
Harper's Ferry, Scenery at 95
HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER 401
Harvest Home of the Indians, _John Lawson_ 53
Hatchet Story, _Mason L. Weems_ 126
HAWKS, FRANCIS LISTER 224
HAYNE, ROBERT YOUNG 185
HAYNE, PAUL HAMILTON 346
Hayne, William Hamilton 346
Helen, To, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
HENRY, PATRICK 82
Hermitage, General Jackson at The 271
Heroic Death of Lieutenant Herndon, _M. F. Maury_ 249
HOPE, JAMES BARRON 370
Horse-Shoe Bend, Battle of 302
HOUSTON, SAM 189
How Horse-Shoe and Andrew Captured Five Men, _John P.
Kennedy_ 210
How Ruby Played, _George William Bagby_ 332
How to Answer Calumny, _George Washington_ 74
How to Deal with the Indians, _Sam Houston_ 196
Human Virtue, _R. E. Lee_ 266
Humming-Bird, The, _J. J. Audubon_ 157
Hymn for Magnolia Cemetery, _Henry Timrod_ 345
"If This Be Treason--", _Patrick Henry_ 84
"I'll HAUNT you," 317
Indian Doom of Excommunication 255
Israfel, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
Jackson, General, at Home 271
Jamestown, Burning of, 1676, _St. George H. Tucker_ 330
James Waddell, the Blind Preacher, _William Wirt_ 132
JEFFERSON, THOMAS 91
Jefferson's Last Letter, June 24, 1826, _Thomas Jefferson_ 101
Jefferson's Preference for Country Life, _George Tucker_ 142
Jefferson's Religious Opinions at Twenty, _Thomas Jefferson_ 94
John Hook, Patrick Henry against, _William Wirt_ 135
JOHNSTON, RICHARD MALCOLM 314
JONES, CHARLES COLCOCK, JR. 376
Jud. Brownin's Account of Rubinstein's Playing, _George
William Bagby_ 332
KENNEDY, JOHN PENDLETON 204
KEY, FRANCIS SCOTT 151
KING, GRACE 437
La Fayette, Madison's Opinion of, _James Madison_ 110
La Grande Demoiselle, _Grace King_ 437
LAMAR, MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE 223
Land Where We Were Dreaming, The, _D. B. Lucas_ 388
LANIER, SIDNEY 394
Lanier, To Sidney, _Waitman Barbe_ 442
La Rabida 291
Last Letter of Jefferson, June 24, 1826, _Thomas Jefferson_ 101
LAURENS, HENRY 67
Laurens, John, the "Bayard of the Revolution" 67
Laws of Government, _A. H. Stephens_ 297
LAWSON, JOHN 48
LEE, HENRY 119
LEE, ROBERT EDWARD 265
Lee's Last Order, _R. E. Lee_ 266
Lee's Letter Accepting the Presidency of Washington
College, _R. E. Lee_ 268
LEGARÉ, HUGH SWINTON 217
Letter to Martha Jefferson, _Thomas Jefferson_ 100
LE VERT, MADAME OCTAVIA WALTON 288
Life Ever Seems--Sonnet, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Life of the President of the United States, _Jefferson
Davis_ 272
Literary Society in Columbia in 1825, _Wm. C. Preston_ 201
LONGSTREET, AUGUSTUS BALDWIN 180
Lost Colony of Roanoke, _F. L. Hawks_ 226
Louisiana in 1750-'70, _C. E. A. Gayarré_ 236
LUCAS, DANIEL BEDINGER 387
Madam Washington at the Peace Ball, _Marion Harland_ 381
MADISON, JAMES 109
Madison, Mrs. Dolly 110
Madison's Opinion of La Fayette, _James Madison_ 110
Magnolia Cemetery, Hymn for Dedication, _Henry Timrod_ 345
Major Jones's Christmas Present, _W. T. Thompson_ 368
MARION HARLAND, (MRS. M. V. TERHUNE) 379
Marion, Sumpter and, _David Ramsay_ 107
Marion, the "Swamp-Fox," _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 262
Marquis de Vaudreuil, the "Great Marquis" 237
Marse Chan's Last Battle, _Thomas Nelson Page_ 421
"Marseillaise of the Confederacy" 389
MARSHALL, JOHN 116
Maryland, My Maryland 390
Mary Washington When a Girl, _Marion Harland_ 381
Mary Washington's Monument, _Marion Harland_ 379
Master and Slave 413
MAURY, MATTHEW FONTAINE 243
Maxims of Jefferson 94
MCCABE, WILLIAM GORDON 393
M'CORD, MRS. LOUISA SUSANNAH 291
M'CORD, D. J. 201, 291
MEEK, ALEXANDER BEAUFORT 301
Military Dinner Party, _George Washington_ 76
Military Insubordination, _Henry Clay_ 148
"Millions for Defence" 116
Mitchell's Grave, Mt. Mitchell, N. C. 411
Mocking-Bird, The, _J. J. Audubon_ 155
Mocking-Bird (At Night), _Paul H. Hayne_ 348
Mocking-Bird, To The, _Albert Pike_ 365
Mocking-Bird and Nightingale Compared 100
Mr. Hezekiah Ellington's Recovery, _R. M. Johnston_ 315
MURFREE, MARY NOAILLES, (CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK) 423
Music in Camp, _John R. Thompson_ 319
My Life Is Like the Summer Rose, _R. H. Wilde_ 179
My Maryland, _James R. Randall_ 390
Naming of Tallahassee, The 288
Natural Bridge of Virginia 97
Ned Brace at Church, _A. B. Longstreet_ 180
No Geographical Lines in Patriotism, _Henry Clay_ 148
North Carolina in 1700-1708, _John Lawson_ 49
Not Bound by State Lines, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Nullification, Defence of, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Object-Lesson in the Cause of Patriotism, _John Drayton_ 128
Occonestoga, Doom of, _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 255
October--A Sonnet, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Official Patronage, _John C. Calhoun_ 167
O'HARA, THEODORE 308
Old Church at Jamestown 39, 331
On a Bear Hunt, _David Crockett_ 175
Osceola, Leader of the Seminoles, _George R. Fairbanks_ 311, 312
Our Right to Those Countries, _John Smith_ 38
Page, John, Letter to 94
PAGE, THOMAS NELSON 419
Paragraphs, _George D. Prentice_ 231
Partisan Leader, _N. Beverley Tucker_ 168
Party Spirit, _George Washington_ 79
Patrick Henry against John Hook, _William Wirt_ 135
Patrick Henry's Famous Revolution Speech, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Patriot in the Tower, _Henry Laurens_ 68
Payne, John Howard, among the Cherokees 327
PIKE, ALBERT 365
PINKNEY, EDWARD COATE 231
Plea for a Republic, _James Madison_ 111
Pocahontas,--Rescue of John Smith, _John Smith_ 35
POE, EDGAR ALLAN 276
Poet's Vision.--A Sonnet, _William Gilmore Simms_ 255
Political Patronage, _John C. Calhoun_ 167
Power of the Supreme Court, _John Marshall_ 117
Powhatan 35
Preference for Country Life, _George Tucker_ 142
PRENTICE, GEORGE DENISON 228
PRESTON, MRS. MARGARET JUNKIN 324
PRESTON, WILLIAM CAMPBELL 199
Prologue to Arms and the Man, _James Barren Hope_ 371
Prologue to Autobiography, _David Crockett_ 173
Races in Virginia, 1765, _John Esten Cooke_ 351
RAMSAY, DAVID 103
RANDALL, JAMES RYDER 389
RANDOLPH, JOHN, OF ROANOKE 137
Raven, The, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 281
Red Eagle, or Weatherford, _A. B. Meek_ 302
Red Eagle and General Jackson 304
REID, CHRISTIAN, (FRANCES C. FISHER, MRS. TIERNAN) 407
Relations Between England and America, _J. L. M. Curry_ 322
Religion and Morality, _George Washington_ 81
Religious Freedom, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
"Remember the Alamo!" 195
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas, _John Smith_ 35
Resignation: or, Days of My Youth, _St. George Tucker_ 115
Revision of the State Constitution, _John Randolph_ 138
Revolutionary Object-Lesson, _John Drayton_ 128
Revolution Speech, 1775, _Patrick Henry_ 84
RIVES, AMÉLIE (MRS. CHANLER) 431
"Rope of sand" 186
Rubinstein's Playing, _George William Bagby_ 332
RYAN, ABRAM JOSEPH, (FATHER RYAN) 392
Sage Conversation, A, _A. B. Longstreet_ 182
Salzburger Settlement in Georgia, 1734, _C. C. Jones, Jr._ 376
Sang-Digger,[2] The, _Amélie Rives_ 432
Savannah in 1735 378
Scenery at Harper's Ferry and at the Natural Bridge,
_Thomas Jefferson_ 95
Selecting the Site of Richmond and of Petersburg, 1733,
_William Byrd_ 58
Seminole War 313
Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie, 1776, _David Ramsay_ 106
Sergeant Jasper at Savannah, 1779 107
Sidney Lanier, To, _Waitman Barbe_ 442
Siege of Fort Moultrie, _David Ramsay_ 106
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE 252
Sketch in the Senate, February 5, 1850, _A. H. Stephens_ 298
Slavery, Remark on, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Slave, Master and 413
SMITH, CHARLES HENRY (BILL ARP) 326
SMITH, JOHN 33
Smith, John, Writings of 35
Song of the Chattahoochee, _Sidney Lanier_ 396
Sonnet: Dedication, _R. B. Wilson_ 407
Song: We Break the Glass, _E. C. Pinkney_ 233
Sonnet: Life ever seems, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Sonnet: October, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Sonnet: Poet's Vision, _William Gilmore Simms_ 255
South Before the War, The, _Henry W. Grady_ 413
Southern Literary Messenger 277, 317, 332
Southern "Mammy" and the Children 363
Speaking of Clay in the Senate, 1850, The 298
Spelling and Grammar (Prologue to Autobiography),
_David Crockett_ 173
Spirit and Wood-Sparrow, The, _Danske Dandridge_ 430
Sports of a Kentucky School in 1795, _James Lane Allen_ 399
Spotswood, Ex-Gov., and his Home in 1732 58
Star-Spangled Banner, _Francis Scott Key_ 151
State Sovereignty and Liberty, _Robert Y. Hayne_ 185
STEPHENS, ALEXANDER HAMILTON 296
Stonewall Jackson's Last Words 324
Storm Off the Bermudas, _Wm. Strachey_ 45
STRACHEY, WILLIAM 45
Sugar-Cane: Introduction into the United States 236
Sumpter and Marion, _David Ramsay_ 107
"Swamp-Fox," The 262
System of Our Government, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Tanis, _Amélie Rives_ 432
Tar-Baby, The, _Joel Chandler Harris_ 403
TERHUNE, MRS. MARY VIRGINIA (MARION HARLAND) 379
Texas Prairie and Cow-Boy's Song 339
The Land Where We Were Dreaming, _D. B. Lucas_ 388
The Spirit and the Wood-Sparrow, _Danske Dandridge_ 430
The South Before the War, _Henry W. Grady_ 413
THOMPSON, JOHN REUBEN 317
Tide Rising in the Marshes, _Sidney Lanier_ 397
TIERNAN, MRS. FRANCES C. (CHRISTIAN REID) 407
TIMROD, HENRY 341
To Be Right Above All, _Henry Clay_ 148
To Cadiz from Havanna, 1855, _Madame Le Vert_ 289
To Helen, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
Tohopeka, Battle of 302
TOOMBS, ROBERT 284
To the Mocking-Bird, _Albert Pike_ 365
Tree of the Dead, _C. E. A. Gayarré_ 240
Trip to Kentucky at Seven Years of Age, _Jefferson Davis_ 271
True Courage, _A. H. Stephens_ 301
TUCKER, ST. GEORGE 113
TUCKER, GEORGE 140
TUCKER, NATHANIEL BEVERLEY 167
TUCKER, ST. GEORGE H. 329
Tuscarora Indians and Their Legend of a Christ, _William
Byrd_ 65
Under the Shade of the Trees, _Margaret J. Preston_ 324
Union and Liberty, _George Washington_ 77
University of Virginia, Establishment of, _George Tucker_ 143
VANCE, ZEBULON BAIRD 358
Victory at Yorktown, 1781, _James Barren Hope_ 371
Virginia Dare, _F. L. Hawks_ 226
Virginian or American? _Patrick Henry_ 84
Virginians in a New Country, _Joseph G. Baldwin_ 294
Visit to Ex-Governor Spotswood, 1732, _William Byrd_ 58
Visit to the Hermitage 271
War and Peace, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
WASHINGTON, GEORGE 71
Washington and the Hatchet 126
Washington's Advice to His Nephew, _George Washington_ 76
Washington, Character of, _James Madison_ 112
Washington's Farewell to the American People, 1796,
_George Washington_ 77
Washington and Lee, _James Barren Hope_ 372
Washington's Mother When a Girl 381
Washington's Mother at the Peace Ball 381
Washington's Speech in Congress on his Appointment as
Commander-in-Chief, 1775, _George Washington_ 74
Washington, Memorial Address in Congress, 1800, by
Henry Lee, 124
Weatherford, or Red Eagle 302
We Break the Glass,--Song, _E. C. Pinkney_ 233
WEEMS, MASON LOCKE 126
What is Music? _Sidney Lanier_ 397
Whippoorwill, The, _Madison Cawein_ 443
WILDE, RICHARD HENRY 178
WILSON, MRS. AUGUSTA EVANS 383
WILSON, ROBERT BURNS 405
WIRT, WILLIAM 131
Wise Choice, _John C. Calhoun_ 166
Woman's Duty, _Louisa S. M'Cord_ 292
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Ginseng-Digger.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Captain John Smith 34
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas 36
Jamestown, Va. The first permanent English settlement
in America 39
Storm at Sea 44
Sir Walter Raleigh 50
Westover, the Home of William Byrd 55
Evelyn Byrd 57
The Chapel, University of Georgia, Athens 62
The Tower of London 69
George Washington 72
Washington Taking the Oath of Office 75
Old St. John's Church, Richmond, Va. 83
Fort Moultrie, S. C. Fort Sumter in the Distance 88
Monticello, the Home of Jefferson 92
Harper's Ferry 96
Jasper Replacing the Flag 104
William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va. 114
University of Virginia 141
Henry Clay 146
Star-Spangled Banner and Seal of the United States 152
Scene in Louisiana 154
John Caldwell Calhoun and His Home 163
The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas 174
University of North Carolina 188
Old Plantation Home 200
State House, Columbia, S. C. Oppo. 211
Tulane University, New Orleans 234
Florida State Agricultural College 244
"Woodlands," the Home of W. Gilmore Simms 253
General R. E. Lee Oppo. 265
Washington and Lee University 267
Beauvoir, the Home of Jefferson Davis 273
Robert Toombs 285
University of Alabama 299
University of Kentucky 307
Osceola 312
Natural Bridge, Virginia 325
University of Mississippi 337
University of Texas (Main Building), Austin 347
State Capitol of North Carolina 359
Tomb of Mary, the Mother of Washington, Fredericksburg, Va. 380
General T. J. Jackson (Stonewall) Oppo. 388
Arkansas Industrial University 402
Mt. Mitchell, N. C. Above the Clouds 408
Grady Monument, Atlanta, Ga. 414
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi 420
University of Tennessee, Knoxville 424
Model School, Peabody Normal College 433
Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for Girls Oppo. 446
Southern Literature.
FIRST PERIOD ... 1579-1750.
JOHN SMITH.
~1579=1631.~
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, the first writer of Virginia, was born at
Willoughby, England, and led a life of rare and extensive adventure.
"Lamenting and repenting," he says, "to have seen so many Christians
slaughter one another," in France and the Lowlands, he enlisted in the
wars against the Turks. He was captured by them and held prisoner for
a year, but escaped and travelled all over Europe. He finally joined
the expedition to colonize Virginia, and came over with the first
settlers of Jamestown in 1607. His life here is well known; he
remained with the colony two years. He afterwards returned to America
as Admiral of New England, but did not stay long. He spent the
remainder of his life in writing accounts of himself and his travels,
and of the colonies in America.
WORKS.
True Relation (1608).
Map of Virginia (1612).
Description of New England (1616).
New England's Trials (1620).
Accidence for Young Seamen (1626).
Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer
Isles (1624).
True Travels (1630).
Advertisements for Inexperienced Planters of New England (1631).
[Illustration: ~Captain John Smith.~]
Captain Smith's style is honest and hearty in tone, picturesque, often
amusing, never tiresome. It is involved and ungrammatical at times,
but not obscure. The critics have professed to find many inaccuracies
of historical statement; but the following, from Professor Edward
Arber, the editor of the English Reprint of Smith's Works, will acquit
him of this charge:
"Inasmuch as the accuracy of some of Captain Smith's
statements has, in this generation, been called in
question, it was but our duty to subject every one of
the nearly forty thousand lines of this book to a most
searching criticism; scanning every assertion of fact
most keenly, and making the Text, by the insertion of a
multitude of cross-references, prove or disprove itself.
"The result is perfectly satisfactory. Allowing for a
popular style of expression, the Text is homogeneous;
and the nine books comprising it, though written under
very diverse circumstances, and at intervals over the
period of twenty-two years (1608-1630), contain no
material contradictions. Inasmuch, therefore, as
wherever we _can_ check Smith, we find him both modest
and accurate, we are led to think him so, where no such
check is possible, as at Nalbrits in the autumn of 1603,
and on the Chickahominy in the winter of 1607-'8." See
Life, by _Simms_, by _Warner_, and by _Eggleston_ in
"Pocahontas."
RESCUE OF CAPTAIN SMITH BY POCAHONTAS, OR MATOAKA.
(_From Generall Historie._)
[This extract from his "Generall Historie" is in the
words of a report by "eight gentlemen of the Jamestown
Colony." It is corroborated by Captain Smith's letter to
the Queen on the occasion of Pocahontas' visit to
England after her marriage to Mr. John Rolfe. Matoaka,
or Matoax, was her real name in her tribe, but it was
considered unlucky to tell it to the English strangers.]
[Illustration: ~Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas.~]
At last they brought him [Smith] to _Meronocomoco_, where was
_Powhatan_ their Emperor. Here more than two hundred of those grim
Courtiers stood wondering at him, as he had beene a monster; till
_Powhatan_ and his trayne had put themselues in their greatest
braveries. Before a fire vpon a seat like a bedstead, he sat covered
with a great robe, made of _Rarowcun_ skinnes, and all the tayles
hanging by. On either hand did sit a young wench of 16 or 18 yeares;
and along on each side the house, two rowes of men, and behind them
as many women, with all their heads and shoulders painted red; many of
their heads bedecked with the white downe of Birds; but every one with
something; and a great chayne of white beads about their necks.
At his entrance before the King, all the people gaue a great shout.
The Queene of _Appamatuck_ was appointed to bring him water to wash
his hands, and another brought him a bunch of feathers, in stead of a
Towell to dry them; having feasted him after their best barbarous
manner they could, a long consultation was held, but the conclusion
was, two great stones were brought before _Powhatan_; then as many as
could layd hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his
head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines,
_Pocahontas_, the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could
prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne vpon his to
saue him from death: whereat the Emperour was contented he should liue
to make him hatchets, and her bells, beads, and copper; for they
thought him as well of all occupations as themselues. For the King
himselfe will make his owne robes, shooes, bowes, arrowes, pots;
plant, hunt, or doe anything so well as the rest.
_They say he bore a pleasant shew,
But sure his heart was sad.
For who can pleasant be, and rest,
That liues in feare and dread:
And having life suspected, doth
It still suspected lead._
Two dayes after, _Powhatan_ having disguised himselfe in the most
fearefullest manner he could, caused Captain _Smith_ to be brought
forth to a great house in the woods, and there vpon a mat by the fire
to be left alone. Not long after from behinde a mat that divided the
house, was made the most dolefullest noyse he ever heard; then
_Powhatan_, more like a devill than a man, with some two hundred more
as blacke as himselfe, came vnto him and told him now they were
friends, and presently he should goe to _James_ towne, to send him two
great gunnes, and a gryndstone, for which he would giue him the
Country of _Capahowosick_, and for ever esteeme him as his sonne
_Nantaquoud_.
So to _James_ towne with 12 guides _Powhatan_ sent him. That night,
they quartered in the woods, he still expecting (as he had done all
this long time of his imprisonment) every houre to be put to one death
or other; for all their feasting. But almightie God (by his divine
providence) had mollified the hearts of those sterne _Barbarians_ with
compassion. The next morning betimes they came to the Fort, where
_Smith_ having vsed the Salvages with what kindnesse he could, he
shewed _Rawhunt_, _Powhatan's_ trusty servant, two demi-Culverings and
a millstone to carry _Powhatan_; they found them somewhat too heavie:
but when they did see him discharge them, being loaded with stones,
among the boughs of a great tree loaded with Isickles, the yce and
branches came so tumbling downe, that the poore Salvages ran away
halfe dead with feare. But at last we regained some conference with
them, and gaue them such toyes: and sent to _Powhatan_, his women, and
children such presents, as gaue them in generall full content.
OUR RIGHT TO THOSE COUNTRIES, TRUE REASONS FOR PLANTATIONS, RARE
EXAMPLES.
(_From Advertisements for the Inexperienced._)
Many good religious devout men have made it a great question, as a
matter in conscience, by what warrant they might goe to possesse those
Countries, which are none of theirs, but the poore Salvages.
[Illustration: ~Jamestown, Va.~
The first permanent English settlement in America.]
Which poore curiosity will answer it selfe; for God did make the
world to be inhabited with mankind, and to have his name knowne to all
Nations, and from generation to generation: as the people increased,
they dispersed themselves into such Countries as they found most
convenient. And here in _Florida_, _Virginia_, _New-England_, and
_Cannada_, is more land than all the people in Christendome can manure
[_cultivate_], and yet more to spare than all the natives of those
Countries can use and culturate. And shall we here keepe such a coyle
for land, and at such great rents and rates, when there is so much of
the world uninhabited, and as much more in other places, and as good
or rather better than any wee possesse, were it manured and used
accordingly?
If this be not a reason sufficient to such tender consciences; for a
copper knife and a few toyes, as beads and hatchets, they will sell
you a whole Countrey [_district_]; and for a small matter, their
houses and the ground they dwell upon; but those of the _Massachusets_
have resigned theirs freely.
Now the reasons for plantations are many. _Adam_ and _Eve_ did first
begin this innocent worke to plant the earth to remaine to posterity;
but not without labour, trouble, and industry. Noah and his family
began againe the second plantation, and their seed as it still
increased, hath still planted new Countries, and one Country another,
and so the world to that estate it is; but not without much hazard,
travell, mortalities, discontents, and many disasters; had those
worthy Fathers and their memorable offspring not beene more diligent
for us now in those ages, than wee are to plant that yet unplanted for
after-livers: Had the seed of _Abraham_, our Saviour Christ Jesus and
his Apostles, exposed themselves to no more dangers to plant the
Gospell wee so much professe, than we; even we our selves had at this
moment beene as Salvages, and as miserable as the most barbarous
Salvage, yet uncivilized.
The _Hebrewes_, the _Lacedemonians_, the _Goths_, _Grecians_,
_Romans_, and the rest; what was it they would not undertake to
enlarge their Territories, inrich their subjects, and resist their
enemies? Those that were the founders of those great Monarchies and
their vertues, were no silvered idle golden Pharisees, but industrious
honest hearted Publicans; they regarded more provisions and
necessaries for their people, than jewels, ease, and delight for
themselves; riches was their servants, not their masters; they ruled
as fathers, not as tyrants; their people as children, not as slaves;
there was no disaster could discourage them; and let none thinke they
incountered not with all manner of incumbrances; and what hath ever
beene the worke of the best great Princes of the world, but planting
of Countries, and civilizing barbarous and inhumane Nations to
civility and humanity; whose eternall actions fils our histories with
more honour than those that have wasted and consumed them by warres.
Lastly, the _Portugals_ and _Spaniards_ that first began plantations
in this unknowne world of _America_ till within this 140. yeares
[1476-1616], whose everlasting actions before our eyes, will testifie
our idlenesse and ingratitude to all posterity, and neglect of our
duty and religion we owe our God, our King, and Countrey, and want of
charity to those poore Salvages, whose Countries we challenge, use and
possesse: except wee be but made to marre what our forefathers made;
or but only tell what they did; or esteeme our selves too good to take
the like paines where there is so much reason, liberty, and action
offers it selfe. Having as much power and meanes as others, why should
English men despaire, and not doe as much as any? Was it vertue in
those Hero[e]s to provide that [which] doth maintaine us, and
basenesse in us to do the like for others to come? Surely no: then
seeing wee are not borne for ourselves but each to helpe other; and
our abilities are much alike at the howre of our birth and the minute
of our death: seeing our good deeds or bad, by faith in Christs
merits, is all wee have to carry our soules to heaven or hell: Seeing
honour is our lives ambition, and our ambition after death to have an
honourable memory of our life; and seeing by no meanes we would be
abated of the dignitie and glory of our predecessors, let us imitate
their vertues to be worthily their successors; or at least not hinder,
if not further, them that would and doe their utmost and best
endeavour.
ASCENT OF THE JAMES RIVER, 1607.
(_From Newes from Virginia._)
The two and twenty day of Aprill [_or rather May, 1607_], Captain
_Newport_ and myself with diuers others, to the number of twenty two
persons, set forward to discouer the Riuer, some fiftie or sixtie
miles, finding it in some places broader, and in some narrower, the
Countrie (for the moste part) on each side plaine high ground, with
many freshe Springes, the people in all places kindely intreating vs,
daunsing, and feasting vs with strawberries, Mulberies, Bread, Fish,
and other their Countrie prouisions whereof we had plenty; for which
Captaine _Newport_ kindely requited their least fauors with Bels,
Pinnes, Needles, beades, or Glasses, which so contented them that his
liberallitie made them follow vs from place to place, and euer kindely
to respect vs. In the midway staying to refresh our selues in a little
Ile foure or five sauages came vnto vs which described vnto vs the
course of the Riuer, and after in our iourney, they often met vs,
trading with vs for such prouision as wee had, and arriuing at
_Arsatecke_, hee whom we supposed to bee the chiefe King of all the
rest, moste kindely entertained vs, giuing vs in a guide to go with vs
vp the Riuer to _Powhatan_, of which place their great Emperor taketh
his name, where he that they honored for King vsed vs kindely.
But to finish this discouerie, we passed on further, where within an
ile [_a mile_] we were intercepted with great craggy stones in the
midst of the riuer, where the water falleth so rudely, and with such a
violence, as not any boat can possibly passe, and so broad disperseth
the streame, as there is not past fiue or sixe Foote at a low water,
and to the shore scarce passage with a barge, the water floweth foure
foote, and the freshes by reason of the Rockes haue left markes of the
inundations 8. or 9. foote: The south side is plaine low ground, and
the north side high mountaines, the rockes being of a grauelly nature,
interlaced with many vains of glistring spangles.
That night we returned to _Powhatan_: the next day (being Whitsunday
after dinner) we returned to the fals, leauing a mariner in pawn with
the Indians for a guide of theirs, hee that they honoured for King
followed vs by the riuer. That afternoone we trifled in looking vpon
the Rockes and riuer (further he would not goe) so there we erected a
crosse, and that night taking our man at _Powhatans_, Captaine
_Newport_ congratulated his kindenes with a Gown and a Hatchet:
returning to _Arsetecke_, and stayed there the next day to obserue the
height [_latitude_] thereof, and so with many signes of loue we
departed.
[Illustration: ~Storm at Sea.~]
WILLIAM STRACHEY.
WILLIAM STRACHEY[3] was an English gentleman who came over to Virginia
with Sir Thomas Gates in 1609, and was secretary of the Colony for
three years. Their ship, the _Sea Venture_, was wrecked on the
Bermudas in a terrible tempest, of which he gives the account that
follows. It is said to have suggested to Shakspere the scene of the
storm and hurricane in his "Tempest."
WORKS.
A True Repertory of the Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates
upon and from the Islands of the Bermudas.
Historie of Travaile into Virginia Brittania.
_Edited_ Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall.
William Strachey's writings show a thoughtful and cultivated mind. His
style abounds in the long involved and often obscure sentences of his
times, but his subject matter is usually very interesting. Compare the
following selection with Shakspere's "Tempest," Act I., scene 1 and 2,
to "_Ariel, thy charge_." Notice the reference to _Bermoothes_
(Bermudas).
A STORM OFF THE BERMUDAS.
(_From A True Repertory of the Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas
Gates._)
On St. James his day, July 24, being Monday (preparing for no less all
the black night before) the clouds gathering thick upon us, and the
winds singing and whistling most unusually, which made us to cast off
our Pinnace, towing the same until then asterne, a dreadful storm and
hideous began to blow from out the Northeast, which, swelling and
roaring as it were by fits, some hours with more violence than others,
at length did beat all light from heaven, which, like an hell of
darkness, turned black upon us, so much the more fuller of horror, as
in such cases horror and fear use to overrun the troubled and
overmastered senses of all, while (taken up with amazement) the ears
lay so sensible to the terrible cries, and murmurs of the winds and
distraction of our Company, as who was most armed and best prepared,
was not a little shaken. . .
For four and twenty hours the storm, in a restless tumult, had blown
so exceedingly, as we could not apprehend in our imaginations any
possibility of greater violence, yet did we still find it, not only
more terrible, but more constant, fury added to fury, and one storm
urging a second, more outrageous than the former, whether it so
wrought upon our fears, or indeed met with new forces. Sometimes
strikes in our Ship amongst women, and passengers not used to such
hurly and discomforts, made us look one upon the other with troubled
hearts, and panting bosoms, our clamors drowned in the winds, and the
winds in thunder. Prayers might well be in the heart and lips, but
drowned in the outcries of the Officers,--nothing heard that could
give comfort, nothing seen that might encourage hope. . . . .
Our sails, wound up, lay without their use, and if at any time we bore
but a Hollocke, or half forecourse, to guide her before the Sea, six
and sometimes eight men, were not enough to hold the whip-staffe in
the steerage, and the tiller below in the Gunner room; by which may be
imagined the strength of the storm, in which the Sea swelled above the
Clouds and gave battle unto heaven. It could not be said to rain, the
waters like whole Rivers did flood in the ayre. And this I did still
observe, that whereas upon the Land, when a storm hath poured itself
forth once in drifts of rain, the wind as beaten down, and vanquished
therewith, not long after endureth,--here the glut of water (as if
throatling the wind ere while) was no sooner a little emptied and
qualified, but instantly the winds (as having gotten their mouths now
free and at liberty) spake more loud, and grew more tumultuous and
malignant. What shall I say? Winds and Seas were as mad as fury and
rage could make them. . . . . . .
Howbeit this was not all; it pleased God to bring a greater affliction
yet upon us, for in the beginning of the storm we had received
likewise a mighty leak, and the ship in every joint almost having
spewed out her Okam, before we were aware (a casualty more desperate
than any other that a Voyage by Sea draweth with it) was grown five
feet suddenly deep with water above her ballast, and we almost drowned
within, whilest we sat looking when to perish from above. This,
imparting no less terror than danger, ran through the whole Ship with
much fright and amazement, startled and turned the blood, and took
down the braves of the most hardy Mariner of them all, insomuch as he
that before happily felt not the sorrow of others, now began to sorrow
for himself, when he saw such a pond of water so suddenly broken in,
and which he knew could not (with present avoiding) but instantly sink
him. . . .
Once so huge a Sea brake upon the poop and quarter, upon us, as it
covered our ship from stern to stem, like a garment or a vast cloud.
It filled her brimful for a while within, from the hatches up to the
spar deck. . .
Tuesday noon till Friday noon, we bailed and pumped two thousand tun,
and yet, do what we could, when our ship held least in her (after
Tuesday night second watch) she bore ten feet deep, at which stay our
extreme working kept her one eight glasses, forbearance whereof had
instantly sunk us; and it being now Friday, the fourth morning, it
wanted little but that there had been a general determination, to have
shut up hatches and commending our sinful souls to God, committed the
ship to the mercy of the sea. Surely that night we must have done it,
and that night had we then perished; but see the goodness and sweet
introduction of better hope by our merciful God given unto us. Sir
George Summers, when no man dreamed of such happiness, had discovered
and cried, "Land!" Indeed, the morning, now three-quarters spent, had
won a little clearness from the days before, and it being better
surveyed, the very trees were seen to move with the wind upon the
shore-side.
FOOTNOTE:
[3] Pronounced Str[va]k´ey.
JOHN LAWSON.
~Died 1712.~
JOHN LAWSON was a Scotch gentleman who came to America in 1700. In his
own words: "In the year 1700, when people flocked from all parts of
the Christian world, to see the solemnity of the grand jubilee at
Rome, my intention being at that time to travel, I accidentally met
with a gentlemen, who had been abroad, and was very well acquainted
with the ways of living in both Indies; of whom having made inquiry
concerning them, he assured me that Carolina was the best country I
could go to; and, that there then lay a ship in the Thames in which I
might have my passage." He resided in Carolina eight years. As "Gent.
Surveyor-General of North Carolina," he wrote his History of North
Carolina, which is an original, sprightly, and faithful account of the
eastern section of the State, and contains valuable matter for the
subsequent historian. It is dedicated to the Lords Proprietors of
Carolina, and was published in 1714.
He was taken captive by the Tuscarora Indians, while on a surveying
trip, and was by them put to death in 1712 on the Neuse River in
North Carolina, because, said they, "he had taken their land," by
marking it off into sections.
WORK.
History of North Carolina [rare].
NORTH CAROLINA IN 1700-1708.
(_From History of North Carolina, 1714._)
The first discovery and settlement of this country was by the
procurement of Sir Walter Raleigh, in conjunction with some public
spirited gentlemen of that age, under the protection of queen
Elizabeth; for which reason it was then named Virginia, being begun on
that part called Ronoak Island, where the ruins of a fort are to be
seen at this day, as well as some old English coins which have been
lately found; and a brass gun, a powder horn, and one small
quarter-deck gun, made of iron staves, and hooped with the same metal;
which method of making guns might very probably be made use of in
those days for the convenience of infant colonies. . . . . .
I cannot forbear inserting here a pleasant story that passes for an
uncontested truth amongst the inhabitants of this place; which is,
that the ship which brought the first colonies does often appear
amongst them, under sail, in a gallant posture, which they call Sir
Walter Raleigh's ship. And the truth of this has been affirmed to me
by men of the best credit in the country.
[Illustration: ~Sir Walter Raleigh.~]
A second settlement of this country was made about fifty years ago, in
that part we now call Albemarl county, and chiefly in Chuwon precinct,
by several substantial planters from Virginia and other plantations;
who finding mild winters, and a fertile soil beyond expectation,
producing everything that was planted to a prodigious increase;
. . . . so that everything seemed to come by nature, the husbandman
living almost void of care, and free from those fatigues which are
absolutely requisite in winter countries, for providing fodder and
other necessaries; these encouragements induced them to stand their
ground, although but a handful of people, seated at great distances
one from another, and amidst a vast number of Indians of different
nations, who were then in Carolina.
Nevertheless, I say, the fame of this new discovered summer country
spread through the neighboring colonies, and in a few years drew a
considerable number of families thereto, who all found land enough to
settle themselves in (had they been many thousands more), and that
which was very good and commodiously seated both for profit and
pleasure.
And, indeed, most of the plantations in Carolina naturally enjoy a
noble prospect of large and spacious rivers, pleasant savannas and
fine meadows, with their green liveries interwoven with beautiful
flowers of most glorious colors, which the several seasons afford;
hedged in with pleasant groves of the ever famous tulip tree, the
stately laurels and bays, equalizing the oak in bigness and growth,
myrtles, jessamines, woodbines, honeysuckles, and several other
fragrant vines and evergreens, whose aspiring branches shadow and
interweave themselves with the loftiest timbers, yielding a pleasant
prospect, shade and smell, proper habitations for the sweet singing
birds, that melodiously entertain such as travel through the woods of
Carolina.
The Planters possessing all these blessings, and the produce of great
quantities of wheat and indian corn, in which this country is very
fruitful, as likewise in beef, pork, tallow, hides, deer skins, and
furs; for these commodities the new England men and Bermudians visited
Carolina in their barks and sloops, and carried out what they made,
bringing them in exchange, rum, sugar, salt, molasses, and some
wearing apparel, though the last at very extravagant prices.
As the land is very fruitful, so are the planters kind and hospitable
to all that come to visit them; there being very few housekeepers but
what live very nobly, and give away more provisions to coasters and
guests who come to see them than they expend amongst their own
families. . .
The easy way of living in that plentiful country makes a great many
planters very negligent, which, were they otherwise, that colony might
now have been in a far better condition than it is, as to trade and
other advantages, which an universal industry would have led them
into. The women are the most industrious sex in that place, and, by
their good housewifery, make a great deal of cloth of their own
cotton, wool and flax; some of them keeping their families, though
large, very decently appareled, both with linens and woolens, so that
they have no occasion to run into the merchants' debt, or lay their
money out on stores for clothing.
. . . As for those women that do not expose themselves to the weather,
they are often very fair, and generally as well featured as you shall
see anywhere, and have very brisk, charming eyes which sets them off
to advantage. . . . .
Both sexes are generally spare of body and not choleric, nor easily
cast down at disappointments and losses, seldom immoderately grieving
at misfortunes, unless for the loss of their nearest relations and
friends, which seems to make a more than ordinary impression upon
them. Many of the women are very handy in canoes and will manage them
with great dexterity and skill, which they become accustomed to in
this watery country. They are ready to help their husbands in any
servile work, as planting, when the season of the weather requires
expedition; pride seldom banishing good housewifery. The girls are
not bred up to the wheel and sewing only, but the dairy and the
affairs of the house they are very well acquainted withal; so that you
shall see them, whilst very young, manage their business with a great
deal of conduct and alacrity. The children of both sexes are very
docile and learn any thing with a great deal of care and method, and
those that have the advantages of education write very good hands, and
prove good accountants, which is most coveted, and, indeed, most
necessary in these parts. The young men are commonly of a bashful,
sober behaviour; few proving prodigals to consume what the industry of
their parents has left them, but commonly improve it.
HARVEST HOME OF THE INDIANS.
(_From History of North Carolina._)
They have a third sort of feasts and dances, which are always when the
harvest of corn is ended, and in the spring. The one to return thanks
to the good spirit for the fruits of the earth; the other, to beg the
same blessings for the succeeding year. And to encourage the young men
to labour stoutly in planting their maiz and pulse, they set up a sort
of idol in the field, which is dressed up exactly like an Indian,
having all the Indians habit, besides abundance of Wampum and their
money, made of shells, that hangs about his neck. The image none of
the young men dare approach; for the old ones will not suffer them to
come near him, but tell them that he is some famous Indian warrior
that died a great while ago, and now is come amongst them to see if
they work well, which if they do, he will go to the good spirit and
speak to him to send them plenty of corn, and to make the young men
all expert hunters and mighty warriors. All this while, the king and
old men sit around the image and seemingly pay a profound respect to
the same. One great help to these Indians in carrying on these
cheats, and inducing youth to do as they please, is, the uninterrupted
silence which is ever kept and observed with all the respect and
veneration imaginable.
At these feasts which are set out with all the magnificence their fare
allows of, the masquerades begin at night and not before. There is
commonly a fire made in the middle of the house, which is the largest
in the town, and is very often the dwelling of their king or war
captain; where sit two men on the ground upon a mat; one with a
rattle, made of a gourd, with some beans in it; the other with a drum
made of an earthen pot, covered with a dressed deer skin, and one
stick in his hand to beat thereon; and so they both begin the song
appointed. At the same time one drums and the other rattles, which is
all the artificial music of their own making I ever saw amongst them.
To these two instruments they sing, which carries no air with it, but
is a sort of unsavory jargon; yet their cadences and raising of their
voices are formed with that equality and exactness that, to us
Europeans, it seems admirable how they should continue these songs
without once missing to agree, each with the others note and tune.
WILLIAM BYRD.
~1674=1744.~
WILLIAM BYRD, second of the name, and the first native Virginian
writer, was born at Westover, his father's estate on the James below
Richmond.
[Illustration: ~Westover, Home of William Byrd.~]
The following inscription on his tomb at Westover gives a sketch of
his life and services well worth preserving:
"Here lies the Honourable William Byrd, Esq., being born to one of the
amplest fortunes in this country, he was sent early to England for
his education, where under the care and direction of Sir Robert
Southwell, and ever favoured with his particular instructions, he made
a happy proficiency in polite and various learning. By the means of
the same noble friend, he was introduced to the acquaintance of many
of the first persons of that age for knowledge, wit, virtue, birth, or
high station, and particularly contracted a most intimate and bosom
friendship with the learned and illustrious Charles Boyle, Earl of
Orrery.
"He was called to the bar in the Middle Temple, studied for some time
in the Low Countries, visited the Court of France, and was chosen
Fellow of the Royal Society. Thus eminently fitted for the service and
ornament of his country, he was made receiver-general of his Majesty's
revenues here, was then appointed public agent to the Court and
Ministry of England, being thirty-seven years a member, at last became
president, of the Council of this Colony.
"To all this were added a great elegancy of taste and life, the
well-bred gentleman, and polite companion, the splendid economist and
prudent father of a family, with the constant enemy of all exorbitant
power, and hearty friend to the liberties of his country. Nat. Mar.
28, 1674. Mort. Aug. 26, 1744. An. aetat. 70."
His daughter Evelyn was famous both in England and Virginia for her
beauty, wit, and accomplishments. She died at the age of thirty,
1737.--See Century Magazine, 1891, Vol. 20, p. 163.
WORKS.
Westover Manuscripts:
(1) History of the Dividing Line [the survey to settle the line
between Virginia and North Carolina, 1728.]
(2) A Journey to the Land of Eden [North Carolina, of which
Charles Eden was governor 1713-19.]
(3) A Progress to the Mines [Iron mines in Virginia which
Ex-Governor Alexander Spotswood and others were beginning
to open and work.]
[Illustration: ~Evelyn Byrd.~
Considered one of the most beautiful women in Virginia, or of her
time.
[FROM AN OLD PAINTING.]]
His writings are among the most interesting that we have, being
remarkable for their wit and culture, a certain poetic vein, a keen
interest in nature, a simple religious faith, a fund of cheerful
courage and good sense, and a fine consideration for others.
SELECTING THE SITE OF RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG, SEPT., 1733.
(_From A Journey to the Land of Eden._)
When we got home, we laid the foundations of two large Citys. One at
Shacco's, to be called Richmond, and the other at the Point of
Appamattuck River, to be nam'd Petersburgh. These Major Mayo offered
to lay out into Lots without Fee or Reward. The Truth of it is, these
two places being the uppermost Landing of James and Appamattux Rivers,
are naturally intended for Marts, where the Traffick of the Outer
Inhabitants must Center. Thus we did not build Castles only, but also
Citys in the Air.
A VISIT TO EX-GOVERNOR SPOTSWOOD, 1732.
(_From A Progress to the Mines._)
Then I came into the Main County Road, that leads from Fredericksburgh
to Germanna, which last place I reacht in Ten Miles more. This famous
Town consists of Colo. Spotswood's enchanted Castle on one Side of the
Street, and a Baker's Dozen of ruinous Tenements on the other, where
so many German Familys had dwelt some Years ago; but are now remov'd
ten Miles higher, in the Fork of Rappahannock, to Land of their Own.
There had also been a Chappel about a Bow-Shot from the Colonel's
house, at the End of an Avenue of Cherry Trees, but some pious people
had lately burnt it down, with intent to get another built nearer to
their own homes.
Here I arriv'd about three o clock, and found only Mrs. Spotswood at
Home, who receiv'd her Old acquaintance with many a gracious Smile. I
was carry'd into a Room elegantly set off with Pier Glasses, the
largest of which came soon after to an odd Misfortune. Amongst other
favourite Animals that cheer'd this Lady's Solitude, a Brace of Tame
Deer ran familiarly about the House, and one of them came to stare at
me as a Stranger. But unluckily Spying his own Figure in the Glass, he
made a spring over the Tea Table that stood under it, and shatter'd
the Glass to pieces, and falling-back upon the Tea Table, made a
terrible Fracas among the China. This Exploit was so sudden, and
accompany'd with such a Noise, that it surpriz'd me, and perfectly
frighten'd Mrs. Spotswood. But twas worth all the Damage to shew the
Moderation and good humour with which she bore this disaster.
In the Evening, the noble Colo. came home from his Mines, who saluted
me very civilly, and Mrs. Spotswood's Sister, Miss Theky, who had been
to meet him _en Cavalier_, was so kind too as to bid me welcome. We
talkt over a Legend of old Storys, supp'd about 9, and then prattl'd
with the Ladys, til twas time for a Travellour to retire. In the mean
time I observ'd my old Friend to be very Uxorious, and exceedingly
fond of his Children. This was so opposite to the Maxims he us'd to
preach up before he was marryed, that I cou'd not forbear rubbing up
the Memory of them. But he gave a very good-natur'd turn to his Change
of Sentiments, by alleging that whoever brings a poor Gentlewoman into
so solitary a place, from all her Friends and acquaintance, wou'd be
ungrateful not to use her and all that belongs to her with all
possible Tenderness.
We all kept Snug in our several apartments till Nine, except Miss
Theky, who was the Housewife of the Family. At that hour we met over a
Pot of Coffee, which was not quite strong enough to give us the Palsy.
After Breakfast the Colo. and I left the Ladys to their Domestick
Affairs, and took a turn in the Garden, which has nothing beautiful
but 3 Terrace Walks that fall in Slopes one below another. I let him
understand, that besides the pleasure of paying him a Visit, I came to
be instructed by so great a Master in the Mystery of Making of Iron,
wherein he had led the way, and was the Tubal Cain of Virginia. He
corrected me a little there, by assuring me he was not only the first
in this Country, but the first in North America, who had erected a
regular Furnace. . . That the 4 Furnaces now at work in Virginia
circulated a great Sum of Money for Provisions and all other
necessarys in the adjacent Countys. That they took off a great Number
of Hands from Planting Tobacco, and employ'd them in Works that
produced a large Sum of Money in England to the persons concern'd,
whereby the Country is so much the Richer. That they are besides a
considerable advantage to Great Britain, because it lessens the
Quantity of Bar Iron imported from Spain, Holland, Sweden, Denmark,
and Muscovy, which us'd to be no less than 20,000 Tuns yearly. . .
Then I inquired after his own Mines, and hoped, as he was the first
that engaged in this great undertaking, that he had brought them to
the most perfection. . . He said it was true His works were of the
oldest Standing; but that his long absence in England, and the
wretched Management of Mr. Greame, whom he had entrusted with his
Affairs, had put him back very much. That what with Neglect and
Severity, above 80 of his Slaves were lost while he was in England,
and most of his Cattle starved. That his Furnace stood still great
part of the time, and all his Plantations ran to ruin. That indeed he
was rightly serv'd for committing his Affairs to the care of a
Mathematician, whose thoughts were always among the Stars. That
nevertheless, since his return, he had apply'd himself to rectify his
Steward's Mistakes, and bring his Business again into Order. That now
he contriv'd to do every thing with his own People, except raising the
Mine and running the Iron, by which he had contracted his Expence very
much. Nay, he believ'd that by his directions he cou'd bring sensible
Negroes to perform those parts of the work tolerably well. . . Our
Conversation on this Subject continued till Dinner, which was both
elegant and plentifull.
The afternoon was devoted to the ladys, who shew'd me one of their
most beautiful Walks. They conducted me thro' a Shady Lane to the
Landing, and by the way made me drink some very fine Water that issued
from a Marble Fountain, and ran incessantly. Just behind it was a
cover'd Bench, where Miss Theky often sat and bewail'd her Virginity.
Then we proceeded to the River, which is the South Branch of
Rappahannock, about 50 Yards wide, and so rapid that the Ferry Boat is
drawn over by a Chain, and therefore called the Rapidan. At night we
drank prosperity to all the Colonel's Projects in a Bowl of Rack
Punch, and then retired to our Devotions.
[Illustration: ~The Chapel, University of Georgia, at Athens. Erected
1832.~]
DISMAL SWAMP.
(_From The Dividing Line._)
_1728, March._--Tis hardly credible how little the Bordering
inhabitants were acquainted with this mighty Swamp, notwithstanding
they had liv'd their whole lives within Smell of it. Yet, as great
Strangers as they were to it, they pretended to be very exact in their
Account of its Demensions, and were positive it could not be above 7
or 8 Miles wide, but knew no more of the Matter than Star-gazers know
of the Distance of the Fixt Stars. At the Same time, they were Simple
enough to amuse our Men with Idle Stories of the Lyons, Panthers,
and Alligators, they were like to encounter in that dreadful Place.
In short, we saw plainly there was no Intelligence of this Terra
Incognita to be got, but from our own Experience. For that Reason it
was resolv'd to make the requisite Disposition to enter it next
Morning. We alloted every one of the Surveyors for this painful
Enterprise, with 12 Men to attend them. . . . . . .
Besides this Luggage at their Backs, they were oblig'd to measure the
distance, mark the Trees, and clear the way for the Surveyors every
step they went. It was really a Pleasure to see with how much
Cheerfulness they undertook, and with how much Spirit they went thro'
all this Drudgery. . . . . . . . . .
Altho' there was no need of Example to inflame Persons already so
cheerful, yet to enter the People with the better grace, the Author
and two more of the Commissioners accompanied them half a Mile into
the Dismal. The Skirts of it were thinly Planted with Dwarf Reeds and
Gall-Bushes, but when we got into the Dismal itself, we found the
Reeds grew there much taller and closer, and, to mend the matter, was
so interlac'd with bamboe-briars, that there was no scuffling thro'
them without the help of Pioneers. At the same time, we found the
Ground moist and trembling under our feet like a Quagmire, insomuch
that it was an easy Matter to run a Ten-Foot-Pole up to the Head in
it, without exerting any uncommon Strength to do it.
Two of the Men, whose Burthens were the least cumbersome, had orders
to march before, with their Tomahawks, and clear the way, in order to
make an Opening for the Surveyors. By their Assistance we made a Shift
to push the Line half a Mile in 3 Hours, and then reacht a small piece
of firm Land, about 100 Yards wide, Standing up above the rest like
an Island. Here the people were glad to lay down their Loads and take
a little refreshment, while the happy man, whose lot it was to carry
the Jugg of Rum, began already, like Æsop's Bread-Carriers, to find it
grow a good deal lighter. . . . . . .
Since the Surveyors had enter'd the Dismal, they had laid Eyes on no
living Creature: neither Bird nor Beast, Insect nor Reptile came in
View. Doubtless, the Eternal Shade that broods over this mighty Bog,
and hinders the sun-beams from blessing the Ground, makes it an
uncomfortable Habitation for any thing that has life. Not so much as a
Zealand Frog cou'd endure so Aguish a Situation.
It had one Beauty, however, that delighted the Eye, tho' at the
Expense of all the other Senses; the Moisture of the Soil preserves a
continual Verdure, and makes every Plant an Evergreen, but at the same
time the foul Damps ascend without ceasing, corrupt the Air, and
render it unfit for Respiration. Not even a Turkey-Buzzard will
venture to fly over it, no more than the Italian Vultures will over
the filthy Lake Avernus, or the Birds of the Holy Land over the Salt
Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah formerly stood.
. . . . . . . . .
_How they Slept in the Dismal Swamp._--They first cover'd the Ground
with Square Pieces of Cypress bark, which now, in the Spring, they
cou'd easily Slip off the Tree for that purpose. On this they Spread
their Bedding; but unhappily the Weight and Warmth of their Bodies
made the Water rise up betwixt the Joints of the Bark, to their great
Inconvenience. Thus they lay not only moist, but also exceedingly
cold, because their Fires were continually going out. . . . . . . .
We could get no Tidings yet of our Brave Adventurers, notwithstanding
we despacht men to the likeliest Stations to enquire after them. They
were still Scuffleing in the Mire, and could not Possibly forward the
Line this whole day more than one Mile and 64 Chains. Every Step of
this Day's Work was thro' a cedar Bog, where the Trees were somewhat
Smaller and grew more into a Thicket. It was now a great Misfortune to
the Men to find their Provisions grow less as their Labour grew
greater. . . . Tho' this was very severe upon English Stomachs, yet
the People were so far from being discomfited at it, that they still
kept up their good Humour, and merrily told a young Fellow in the
Company, who lookt very Plump and Wholesome, that he must expect to go
first to Pot, if matters shou'd come to Extremity.
This was only said by way of Jest, yet it made Him thoughtful in
earnest. However, for the present he return'd them a very civil
answer, letting them know that, dead or alive, he shou'd be glad to be
useful to such worthy good friends. But, after all, this Humourous
Saying had one very good effect; for that younker, who before was a
little enclin'd by his Constitution to be lazy, grew on a Sudden
Extreamly Industrious, that so there might be less Occasion to
carbonade him for the good of his Fellow-Travellers.
THE TUSCARORA INDIANS AND THEIR LEGEND OF A CHRIST.
(_From History of the Dividing Line._)
_1729, November._--By the Strength of our Beef, we made a shift to
walk about 12 Miles, crossing Blowing and Tewaw-homini Creeks. And
because this last Stream receiv'd its Appellation from the Disaster of
a Tuscarora Indian, it will not be Straggling much out of the way to
say something of that Particular Nation.
These Indians were heretofore very numerous and powerful, making,
within time of Memory, at least a Thousand Fighting Men. Their
Habitation, before the War with Carolina, was on the North Branch of
Neuse River, commonly call'd Connecta Creek, in a pleasant and
fruitful Country. But now the few that are left of that Nation live on
the North Side of MORATUCK, which is all that Part of Roanok below the
great Falls, towards ALBEMARLE Sound.
Formerly there were Seven Towns of these Savages, lying not far from
each other, but now their Number is greatly reduc'd. . . . . . . .
These Indians have a very odd Tradition amongst them, that many years
ago, their Nation was grown so dishonest, that no man cou'd keep any
Goods, or so much as his loving Wife to himself. That, however, their
God, being unwilling to root them out for their crimes, did them the
honour to send a Messenger from Heaven to instruct them, and set Them
a perfect Example of Integrity and kind Behaviour towards one another.
But this holy Person, with all his Eloquence and Sanctity of Life, was
able to make very little Reformation amongst them. Some few Old men
did listen a little to his Wholesome Advice, but all the Young fellows
were quite incorrigible. They not only Neglected his Precepts, but
derided and Evil Entreated his Person. At last, taking upon Him to
reprove some Young Rakes of the Conechta Clan very sharply for their
impiety, they were so provok'd at the Freedom of his Rebukes, that
they tied him to a Tree, and shot him with Arrows through the Heart.
But their God took instant Vengeance on all who had a hand in that
Monstrous Act, by Lightning from Heaven, & has ever since visited
their Nation with a continued Train of Calamities, nor will he ever
leave off punishing, and wasting their People, till he shall have
blotted every living Soul of them out of the World.
SECOND PERIOD ... 1750-1800.
HENRY LAURENS.
~1724=1792.~
HENRY LAURENS, one of the patriot-fathers of our country, was born in
Charleston, South Carolina. He was educated in his native city, and,
becoming a merchant, amassed a fortune in business. In 1771 he
travelled with his children in Europe in order to educate them.
Returning home he became in 1775 a member of the Provincial Congress,
and on Hancock's resignation, president of the Continental Congress.
He was appointed in 1779 minister to Holland, and on his way was
captured by the British and confined in the Tower fifteen months. He
became acquainted with Edmund Burke while in London. He was twice
offered pardon if he would serve the British Ministry, but of course
he declined. During this imprisonment, his son John, called the
"Bayard of the Revolution" for his daring bravery, was killed in
battle.
After his release, being exchanged for Lord Cornwallis, he was
appointed one of the ministers to negotiate peace in 1782. His health
was so impaired by the cruel treatment of his jailers, that he could
take no further active part in affairs, and he passed the rest of his
life in the retirement of his plantation. On his death, his body was
burned, according to his express will, the first instance, in this
country, of cremation.
His daughter Martha married Dr. David Ramsay, the historian.
WORKS.
Political Papers [some of which have been published by the South
Carolina Historical Society].
These are of great value in a study of the Revolutionary times.
A PATRIOT IN THE TOWER.
(_From Narrative of his Confinement in the Tower._)
[Illustration: ~Tower of London.~]
About 11 o'clock at night I was sent under a strong guard, up three
pair of stairs in Scotland Yard, into a very small chamber. Two king's
messengers were placed for the whole night at one door, and a
subaltern's guard of soldiers at the other. As I was, and had been for
some days, so ill as to be incapable of getting into or out of a
carriage, or up or down stairs, without help, I looked upon all this
parade to be calculated for intimidation. My spirits were good and I
smiled inwardly. The next morning, 6th October, from Scotland Yard, I
was conducted again under guard to the secretary's office, White
Hall. . . I was first asked, by Lord Stormont, "If my name was Henry
Laurens." "Certainly, my Lord, that is my name." . . . . His Lordship
then said, "Mr. Laurens, we have a paper here" (holding the paper up),
"purporting to be a commission from Congress to you, to borrow money
in Europe for the use of Congress." . . . I replied, "My Lords, your
Lordships are in possession of the paper, and will make such use of it
as your Lordships shall judge proper." I had not destroyed this paper,
as it would serve to establish the rank and character in which I was
employed by the United States. . . . . From White Hall, I was
conducted in a close hackney coach, under the charge of Colonel
Williamson, a polite, genteel officer, and two of the illest-looking
fellows I had ever seen. The coach was ordered to proceed by the
most private ways to the Tower. It had been rumored that a rescue
would be attempted. At the Tower the Colonel delivered me to Major
Gore, the residing Governor, who, as I was afterwards well informed,
had previously concerted a plan for mortifying me. He ordered rooms
for me in the most conspicuous part of the Tower (the parade). The
people of the house, particularly the mistress, entreated the Governor
not to burthen them with a prisoner. He replied, "It is necessary. I
am determined to expose him." This was, however, a lucky determination
for me. The people were respectful and kindly attentive to me, from
the beginning of my confinement to the end; and I contrived, after
being told of the Governor's humane declaration, so to garnish my
windows by honeysuckles, and a grape-vine running under them, as to
conceal myself entirely from the sight of starers, and at the same
time to have myself a full view of them. Governor Gore conducted me to
my apartments at a warder's house. As I was entering the house, I
heard some of the people say, "Poor old gentleman, bowed down with
infirmities. He is come to lay his bones here." My reflection was, "I
shall not leave a bone with you."
I was very sick, but my spirits were good, and my mind foreboding good
from the event of being a prisoner in London. Their Lordships' orders
were: "To confine me a close prisoner; to be locked up every night; to
be in the custody of two wardens, who were not to suffer me to be out
of their sight _one moment_, day or night; to allow me no liberty of
speaking to any person, nor to permit any person to speak to me; to
deprive me of the use of pen and ink; to suffer no letter to be
brought to me, nor any to go from me," etc. As an apology, I presume
for their first rigor, the wardens gave me their orders to peruse. . .
And now I found myself a close prisoner, indeed; shut up in two small
rooms, which together made about twenty feet square; a warder my
constant companion; and a fixed bayonet under my window; not a friend
to converse with, and no prospect of a correspondence. . . .
_September 23d._--For some time past I have been frequently and
strongly tempted to make my escape from the Tower, assured, "It was
the advice and desire of all my friends, the thing might be easily
effected, the face of American affairs was extremely gloomy. That I
might have eighteen hours' start before I was missed; time enough to
reach Margate and Ostend; that it was believed there would be no
pursuit," etc., etc. I had always said, "I hate the name of a
runaway." At length I put a stop to farther applications by saying, "I
will not attempt an escape. The gates were opened for me to enter;
they shall be opened for me to go out of the Tower. God Almighty sent
me here for some purpose. I am determined to see the end of it."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
~1732=1799.~
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S life is so well known, it is so simple, so grand,
that a few words can tell it, and yet volumes would not exhaust it.
His mother's remark, "George was always a good son," sums up his
character; and his title, "Father of his Country," sums up his
life-work.
[Illustration: ~George Washington.~]
He was born at Pope's Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia, and became
a surveyor, being employed in that capacity at the early age of
sixteen by Lord Fairfax, governor of Virginia. He joined the English
troops sent under General Braddock against the French in 1756, and his
bravery and good sense in this expedition gained him great renown. In
1775 he was made commander-in-chief of the American forces against
the English and he conducted the war of the Revolution to a successful
issue in 1783. He was the first president of the United States, being
elected in 1789, and again in 1793, declining a third term in 1797. He
retired to private life at Mt. Vernon, his home in Virginia. Here he
died, and here he lies buried, his tomb being a shrine of pilgrimage
for all his countrymen and admirers.
Innumerable monuments rise all over our land commemorating his virtues
and pointing him out as a model for the youth of America. One of the
finest is that at Richmond, designed by Crawford, an equestrian statue
in bronze, surrounded by colossal figures of Jefferson, Mason, Patrick
Henry, Lewis, Marshall, and Nelson. The marble statue by Houdon in the
Capitol at Richmond is considered the best figure of Washington; it
was done from life in 1788. Other noble memorials are the Column at
Baltimore, and the great obelisk at Washington City, called the
Washington Monument, the latter designed by Robert Mills, of South
Carolina, and intended originally to have a colonnade around the base
containing the statues of the illustrious men of our country.
WORKS.
State Papers, Addresses, Letters--12 volumes.
Washington's writings are like his character, simple, clear, sensible,
without any pretensions to special culture or literary grace. These
extracts show his modesty, his love of truth, and his general good
sense. See under _Madison_, _Weems_, and _Henry Lee_.
AN HONEST MAN.
I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain,
what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an
"honest man."--_Moral Maxims._
HOW TO ANSWER CALUMNY.
To persevere in one's duty and be silent is the best answer to
calumny.--_Moral Maxims._
CONSCIENCE.
Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial
fire,--conscience.--_Rule from the Copy-book of Washington when a
school boy._
ON HIS APPOINTMENT AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
[_Delivered in Congress, 16 June, 1775._]
Mr. President: Though I am truly sensible of the high honor done me,
in this appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a consciousness
that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the
extensive and important trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I
will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in
their service, and for the support of the glorious cause. I beg they
will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of
their approbation.
But, lest some unlucky event should happen, unfavorable to my
reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room,
that I, this day, declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think
myself equal to the command I am honored with.
As to pay, Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress, that, as no
pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous
employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not
wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my
expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I
desire.
[Illustration: ~Washington Taking the Oath of Office.~]
A MILITARY DINNER-PARTY.
[_Letter to Dr. John Cochran, West Point, 16 August, 1779._]
Dear Doctor: I have asked Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. Livingston to dine
with me to-morrow; but am I not in honor bound to apprise them of
their fare? As I hate deception, even where the imagination only is
concerned, I will. It is needless to premise, that my table is large
enough to hold the ladies. Of this they had ocular proof yesterday. To
say how it is usually covered, is rather more essential; and this
shall be the purport of my letter.
Since our arrival at this happy spot, we have had a ham, sometimes a
shoulder of bacon, to grace the head of the table; a piece of roast
beef adorns the foot; and a dish of beans, or greens, almost
imperceptible, decorates the centre. When the cook has a mind to cut a
figure, which I presume will be the case to-morrow, we have two
beef-steak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition, one on each side of
the centre dish, dividing the space and reducing the distance between
dish and dish to about six feet, which without them would be near
twelve feet apart. Of late he has had the surprising sagacity to
discover, that apples will make pies; and it is a question, if, in the
violence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples, instead of
having both of beef-steaks. If the ladies can put up with such
entertainment, and will submit to partake of it on plates, once tin
but now iron (not become so by the labor of scouring), I shall be
happy to see them; and am, dear Doctor, yours, etc.
ADVICE TO A FAVORITE NEPHEW.
[_From a Letter to Bushrod Washington.--Newburgh, 15 Jan., 1783._]
Remember, that it is not the mere study of the law, but to become
eminent in the profession of it, that is to yield honor and profit.
The first was your choice; let the second be your ambition.
Dissipation is incompatible with both; the company, in which you will
improve most, will be least expensive to you; and yet I am not such a
stoic as to suppose that you will, or to think it right that you
should, always be in company with senators and philosophers; but of
the juvenile kind let me advise you to be choice. It is easy to make
acquaintances, but very difficult to shake them off, however irksome
and unprofitable they are found, after we have once committed
ourselves to them. The indiscretions, which very often they
involuntarily lead one into, prove equally distressing and
disgraceful.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well
tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant
of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity
before it is entitled to the appellation.
Let your heart feel for the distresses and afflictions of every one,
and let your hand give in proportion to your purse; remembering always
the estimation of the widow's mite, but, that it is not every one who
asketh, that deserveth charity; all, however, are worthy of the
inquiry, or the deserving may suffer.
Do not conceive that fine clothes make fine men, any more than fine
feathers make fine birds. A plain, genteel dress is more admired, and
obtains more credit, than lace and embroidery, in the eyes of the
judicious and sensible.
PASSAGES FROM THE FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
1796.
_Union and Liberty._--Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every
ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to
fortify or confirm the attachment.
The unity of government which constitutes you one people, is also now
dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice
of your real independence; the support of your tranquillity at home;
your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very
liberty which you so highly prize. But, as it is easy to foresee, that
from different causes, and from different quarters, much pains will be
taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction
of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against
which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most
constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously)
directed; it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate
the immense value of your national union to your collective and
individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and
immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak
of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity;
watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing
whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be
abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every
attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to
enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.
For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens
by birth, or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to
concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to
you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of
patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local
discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same
religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have, in a
common cause, fought and triumphed together; the independence and
liberty you possess, are the work of joint counsels, and joint
efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves
to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more
immediately to your interest. Here, every portion of our country finds
the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the
union of the whole. . . . .
. . . While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate and
particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to
find in the united mass of means and efforts, greater strength,
greater resource, proportionably greater security from external
danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign
nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from
union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves,
which so frequently afflict neighbouring countries not tied together
by the same government; which their own rivalships alone would be
sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances,
attachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and imbitter. Hence,
likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military
establishments, which under any form of government are inauspicious to
liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to
republican liberty. In this sense it is, that your union ought to be
considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the
one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. . . . .
_Party Spirit._--I have already intimated to you the danger of parties
in the State, with particular references to the founding them on
geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive
view, and warn you in the most solemn manner, against the baleful
effects of the spirit of party generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its
root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under
different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled,
or repressed; but in those of the popular form, it is seen in its
greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the
spirit of revenge natural to party dissensions, which in different
ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is
itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more
formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which
result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose
in the absolute power of an individual; and, sooner or later, the
chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his
competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own
elevation on the ruins of public liberty.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which
nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and
continual mischiefs of the spirit of party, are sufficient to make it
the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain
it. . . . .
There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks
upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the
spirit of liberty. This, within certain limits, is probably true; and,
in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with
indulgence, if not with favour, upon the spirit of party. But in those
of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a
spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is
certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary
purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought
to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire
not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent it
bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.
_Religion and Morality._--Of all the dispositions and habits which
lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable
supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who
should labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these
firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician,
equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A
volume could not trace all their connections with private and public
felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property,
for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation
_desert_ the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in
courts of justice?
And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be
maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence
of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and
experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary
spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or
less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere
friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the
foundation of the fabrick? . . . .
Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace
and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and
can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be
worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great
nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a
people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can
doubt but, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan
would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a
steady adherence to it; can it be that Providence has not connected
the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at
least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature.
PATRICK HENRY.
~1736=1799.~
This great orator was born at Studley, Hanover County, Virginia; and,
while his early education in books was not extensive, he studied man
and nature from life very deeply and thoroughly. He attempted farming
and merchandising for some years, then read law and at the age of
twenty-four was admitted to the bar where his splendid powers had full
scope. In 1765 he was elected to the State Legislature, or House of
Burgesses, as it was then called.
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "Mr. Henry certainly gave the first
impulse to the ball of the Revolution." During the war, he served at
first in the field, and later in the Legislature, and as governor,
being elected three times. He retired from public life in 1791 and
devoted himself to his law practice, by which he gained wealth.
[Illustration: ~Old St. John's Church, Richmond, Va.~]
His most famous speech was delivered before the Convention sitting in
council in the old St. John's Church, Richmond, 1775, after the House
of Burgesses had been dissolved by the royal governor. An extract from
this speech, as given in Wirt's "Life of Henry," follows. No
faithfully exact copy of his speeches is preserved, for he never
wrote them out, and his eloquence was so overmastering that no one
could listen and report at the same time. He takes his place among the
great orators of the world.
WORKS.
Speeches, legal and political, (as they have been gathered from
traditionary reports).
See his Life by _Wirt_, _Tyler_, and _W. W. Henry_, his grandson.
REMARK ON SLAVERY.
Slavery is detested. We feel its fatal effects. We deplore it with all
the pity of humanity.
NOT BOUND BY STATE LINES, (from the opening speech of the first
Continental Congress, 1774.)
I am not a Virginian. I am an American.
IF THIS BE TREASON, (Speech in House of Burgesses, 1765.)
Cæsar had his Brutus--Charles the First, his Cromwell,--and George the
Third--("Treason!" cried the Speaker)--_may profit by their example_.
If _this_ be treason, make the most of it.
THE FAMOUS REVOLUTION SPEECH, 1775.
(_From Wirt's Life of Henry._)
"Mr. President," said he, "it is natural to man to indulge in the
illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful
truth--and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us
into beasts. Is this," he asked, "the part of wise men, engaged in a
great and arduous struggle for liberty? Were we disposed to be of the
number of those, who having eyes see not, and having ears hear not,
the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For his
part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, _he_ was willing to
know the whole truth; to know the worst, and provide for it."
"He had," he said, "but one lamp by which his feet were guided; and
that was the lamp of experience. He knew of no way of judging of the
future but by the past. And judging by the past, he wished to know
what there had been in the conduct of the British ministry for the
last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen had been
pleased to solace themselves and the house? Is it that insidious smile
with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir;
it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be
betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of
our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our
waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work
of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be
reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us
not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and
subjugation,--the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask
gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not
to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible
motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the
world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No,
sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no
other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which
the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we [to]
oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that
for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the
subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which
it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to
entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find, which have
not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive
ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to
avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned--we have
remonstrated--we have supplicated--we have prostrated ourselves before
the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the
tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament. Our petitions have
been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and
insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been
spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after
these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and
reconciliation. _There is no longer any room for hope._ If we wish to
be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges
for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to
abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and
which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon, until the glorious
object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight!--I repeat it,
sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts, is all
that is left us!"
"They tell us, sir," continued Mr. Henry, "that we are weak--unable to
cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger?
Will it be the next week or the next year? Will it be when we are
totally disarmed and when a British guard shall be stationed in every
house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we
acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our
backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies
shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a
proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our
power. Three millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty
and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any
force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not
fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the
destinies of nations and who will raise up friends to fight our
battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to
the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no
election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to
retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and
slavery! Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be heard on the
plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come!! I repeat
it, sir, let it come!!!
"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry,
peace, peace,--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The
next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash
of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand
we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God--I know not what course
others may take; but as for me," cried he, with both his arms extended
aloft, his brows knit, every feature marked with the resolute purpose
of his soul, and his voice swelled to its boldest note of
exclamation,--"give me liberty, or give me death!" See also under
_Wirt_.
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON.
~1742=1779.~
[Illustration: ~Fort Moultrie, S. C. Fort Sumter in the Distance.~]
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON was born at "Drayton Hall," on the Ashley River,
South Carolina, and was sent in 1753 to England to be educated. He
went in the care of Chief-Justice Charles Pinckney, who was taking
his two sons, Charles Cotesworth and Thomas, for the same purpose. He
returned home in 1764, studied law, and in 1771 was appointed by the
king privy-councillor for South Carolina. He espoused, however, the
cause of the Revolution, with ardor, and was chosen president of the
Council of Safety and of the Provincial Congress. As Chief-Justice of
the State, he declared that the king "had abdicated the government and
had no more authority over the people of South Carolina." He also
dealt with the Indians and exercised a wholesome influence over them
in behalf of the State.
He left in manuscript valuable state papers and a narrative of the
early part of the Revolution, which his son, Governor John Drayton,
edited and published, and from which the extract is taken. His style
is clear, simple, and flowing.
GEORGE III.'s ABDICATION OF POWER IN AMERICA.
[_From the Charge to the Grand Jury of Charleston District, 1776._]
Thus, as I have on the foot of the best authorities made it evident,
that George III. King of Britain, has endeavoured to subvert the
constitution of this country, by breaking the original contract
between king and people; by the advice of wicked persons has violated
the fundamental laws; and has withdrawn himself by withdrawing the
constitutional benefits of the kingly office, and his protection out
of this country; from such a result of injuries, from such a
conjuncture of circumstances--the law of the land authorizes me to
declare, and it is my duty boldly to declare the law, that George III.
King of Britain, has abdicated the government, and that the throne is
thereby vacant; that is, _he has no authority over us, and we owe no
obedience to him_. . . The new constitution is wisely adapted to
enable us to trade with foreign nations, and thereby, to supply our
wants in the _cheapest_ markets in the universe; to extend our trade
infinitely beyond what it has ever been known; to encourage
manufactures among us; and it is peculiarly formed, to promote the
happiness of the people, from among whom, by virtue and merit, _the
poorest_ man may arrive at _the highest dignity_.--Oh, Carolinians!
happy would you be under this new constitution, if you knew your happy
state.
Possessed of a constitution of government, founded upon so generous,
equal, and natural a principle,--a government expressly calculated to
make the people rich, powerful, virtuous, and happy, who can wish to
change it, to return under a Royal government; the vital principles of
which, are the reverse in every particular! It was my duty to lay this
happy constitution before you, in its genuine light--it is your duty
to understand--to instruct others--and to defend it. . . . .
I think it my duty to declare in the awful seat of justice and before
Almighty God, that in my opinion, the Americans can have no safety but
by the Divine Favour, their own virtue, and their being so prudent, as
_not to leave it in the power of the British rulers to injure them_.
Indeed the ruinous and deadly injuries received on our side; and the
jealousies entertained, and which, in the nature of things, must daily
increase against us on the other; demonstrate to a mind, in the least
given to reflection upon the rise and fall of empires, that true
reconcilement never can exist between Great Britain and America, the
latter being in subjection to the former.
The Almighty created America to be independent of Britain; let us
beware of the impiety of being backward to act as instruments in the
Almighty Hand, now extended to accomplish his purpose; and by the
completion of which alone, America, in the nature of human affairs,
can be secure against the craft and insidious designs of _her enemies
who think her prosperity and power already by far too great_. In a
word, our piety and political safety are so blended, that to refuse
our labours in this divine work, is to refuse to be a great, a free, a
pious, and a happy people!
And now having left the important alternative, political happiness or
wretchedness, under God, in a great degree in your own hands; I pray
the supreme Arbiter of the affairs of men, so to direct your judgment,
as that you may act agreeable to what seems to be his will, revealed
in his miraculous works in behalf of America, bleeding at the altar of
liberty!
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
~1743=1826.~
THOMAS JEFFERSON, the "Sage of Monticello," and founder of the
University of Virginia, was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County,
Virginia. He was educated at William and Mary College, and early
developed a rare taste for study, music, and general culture. His is
one of the greatest and most interesting figures in our history. He
received and adorned all the positions in the gift of his
fellow-citizens, from that of member of the State Legislature to that
of President of the United States, which office he twice filled. He is
considered the founder of the present Democratic party in politics;
and he gained imperishable fame as the author of the Declaration of
Independence. He spent five years in France, succeeding Benjamin
Franklin as minister to that country, and he introduced into the
United States the decimal system of currency.
[Illustration: ~Monticello, the Home of Thomas Jefferson, Albemarle
County, Va.~]
His love for country life induced him to retire to Monticello, his
place in Albemarle County, where he spent his declining years in
planning and establishing the University of Virginia. His love of
freedom in every possible form is shown in his plan for the
University, which was, unlike most colleges of the times, to be under
the patronage of no church, and the students were to be controlled
like any community of citizens. He was also opposed to slavery. (_See
his Notes on Virginia._)
He died at Monticello, July 4, 1826, on the same day with John Adams,
just fifty years after the great event of their lives, the declaration
of independence of the United States.
The following inscription was at his own request put upon his
tombstone:
THOMAS JEFFERSON,
Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of
Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father
of the University of Virginia.
WORKS.
Autobiography, Essays, Treatises, Letters, Reports, Messages, and
Addresses, (9 volumes).
Jefferson's style as a political writer is considered a model: and
every citizen of the United States should be well acquainted with the
Declaration of Independence, which has been called by competent
critics the most remarkable paper of its kind in existence.
His writings show a well trained mind, accustomed to observe closely
and to delight in thought and truth and freedom. _See under George
Tucker._ Consult also his Life, by Tucker, by Morse, by Sarah N.
Randolph, his great-grand-daughter, Memoirs by Thos. J. Randolph
(1830).
POLITICAL MAXIMS.
Government has nothing to do with opinion.
Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. (_Motto on his seal._)
Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion,
religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with
all nations, entangling alliances with none.
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AT THE AGE OF TWENTY.
(_From a letter to John Page._)
Perfect happiness, I believe, was never intended by the Deity to be
the lot of one of his creatures in this world; but that he has very
much put in our power the nearness of our approaches to it, is what I
have steadfastly believed. The most fortunate of us, in our journey
through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes, which
may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks
of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal
studies and endeavors of our lives. The only method of doing this is
to assume a perfect resignation to the Divine will, to consider
whatever does happen must happen; and that by our uneasiness, we
cannot prevent the blow before it does fall, but we may add to its
force after it has fallen. These considerations, and others such as
these, may enable us in some measure to surmount the difficulties
thrown in our way; to bear up with a tolerable degree of patience
under this burthen of life; and to proceed with a pious and unshaken
resignation, till we arrive at our journey's end, when we may deliver
up our trust into the hands of him who gave it, and receive such
reward as to him shall seem proportioned to our merit. Such, dear
Page, will be the language of the man who considers his situation in
this life, and such should be the language of every man who would
wish to render that situation as easy as the nature of it will admit.
Few things will disturb him at all; nothing will disturb him much.
SCENERY AT HARPER'S FERRY AND AT THE NATURAL BRIDGE.
(_From Notes on Virginia, written in 1781, published in 1801._)
[Illustration: ~Harper's Ferry.~]
The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of
the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point
of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along
the foot of the mountain an hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left
approaches the Patowmac, in quest of a passage also. In the moment of
their junction they rush together against the mountain, rend it
asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene
hurries our senses into the opinion, that this earth has been created
in time, that the mountains were formed first, that the rivers began
to flow afterwards, that in this place particularly they have been
damned up by the Blue ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean
which filled the whole valley; that continuing to rise they have at
length broken over at this spot, and have torn the mountain down from
its summit to its base. The piles of rock on each hand, but
particularly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their disrupture
and avulsion from their beds by the most powerful agents of nature,
corroborate the impression. But the distant finishing which nature has
given to the picture, is of a very different character. It is a true
contrast to the foreground. It is as placid and delightful, as that is
wild and tremendous. For the mountain being cloven asunder, she
presents to your eye, through the cleft, a small catch of smoothe
blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain country, inviting
you, as it were, from the riot and tumult roaring around, to pass
through the breach and participate of the calm below. . . . . . . . .
The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature's works, . . . is on
the ascent of a hill, which seems to have been cloven through its
length by some great convulsion. The fissure, just at the bridge, is,
by some admeasurements, 270 feet deep, by others only 205. It is about
45 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top; this of course
determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water.
Its breadth in the middle, is about 60 feet, but more at the ends, and
the thickness of the mass, at the summit of the arch, about 40 feet. A
part of this thickness is constituted by a coat of earth, which gives
growth to many large trees. The residue, with the hill on both sides,
is one solid rock of lime-stone.
The arch approaches the semi-elliptical form; but the larger axis of
the ellipsis, which would be the cord of the arch, is many times
longer than the transverse. Though the sides of this bridge are
provided in some parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have
the resolution to walk to them, and look over into the abyss. You
involuntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, and
peep over it. Looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a
violent head-ach.
If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below
is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impossible for the emotions
arising from the sublime, to be felt beyond what they are here: so
beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing as it were up
to heaven! the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable! The
fissure continuing narrow, deep, and straight, for a considerable
distance above and below the bridge, opens a short but very pleasing
view of the North mountain on one side, and Blue ridge on the other,
at the distance each of them of about five miles. This bridge is in
the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a
public and commodious passage over a valley, which cannot be crossed
elsewhere for a considerable distance. The stream passing under it is
called Cedar-creek.
ON FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS OPINION.
Compulsion makes hypocrites, not converts.
It is error alone that needs the support of government: truth can
stand by itself.
ON THE DISCOURSES OF CHRIST.
Such are the fragments remaining to us to show a master-workman, and
that his system of morality was the most benevolent and sublime that
has ever been taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any
of the ancient philosophy.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(_From an Act Passed in the Assembly of Virginia, 1786._)
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all
attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by
civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and
meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our
religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to
propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to
do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as
well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and
uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others,
setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true
and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others,
hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part
of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish
contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he
disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; . . . that to suffer the civil
magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to
restrain the profession or propagation of principles, on the
supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at
once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge
of that tendency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and
approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square
with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful
purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when
principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and
finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that
she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing
to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of
her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be
dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:
_Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly_, That no man shall
be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or
ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or
burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account
of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to
profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of
religion and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or
affect their civil capacities.
LETTER TO HIS DAUGHTER, MARTHA JEFFERSON.
(_Written in France, May 21, 1787._)
I write you, my dear Patsy, from the canal of Languedoc, on which I am
at present sailing, as I have been for a week past,--cloudless skies
above, limpid waters below, and on each hand, a row of nightingales in
full chorus. This delightful bird had given me a rich treat before, at
the fountain of Vaucluse. After visiting the tomb of Laura, at
Avignon, I went to see this fountain--a noble one of itself, and
rendered forever famous by the songs of Petrarch, who lived near it. I
arrived there somewhat fatigued, and sat down by the fountain to
repose myself. It gushes, of the size of a river, from a secluded
valley of the mountain, the ruins of Petrarch's château being perched
on a rock two hundred feet perpendicular above. To add to the
enchantment of the scene, every tree and bush was filled with
nightingales in full song. I think you told me that you had not yet
noticed this bird. As you have trees in the garden of the Convent [_in
Paris, where Martha was at school_], there might be nightingales in
them, and this is the season of their song. Endeavor, my dear, to make
yourself acquainted with the music of this bird, that when you return
to your own country you may be able to estimate its merit in
comparison with that of the mocking-bird. The latter has the advantage
of singing through a great part of the year, whereas the nightingale
sings but about five or six weeks in the spring, and a still shorter
term, and with a more feeble voice, in the fall.
I expect to be in Paris about the middle of next month. By that time
we may begin to expect our dear Polly [_the younger daughter, Maria_]
It will be a circumstance of inexpressible comfort to me to have you
both with me once more. The object most interesting to me for the
residue of my life, will be to see you both developing daily those
principles of virtue and goodness which will make you valuable to
others and happy in yourselves, and acquiring those talents and that
degree of science which will guard you at all times against _ennui_,
the most dangerous poison of life. A mind always employed is always
happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity. The
idle are the only wretched. In a world which furnishes so many
employments which are useful, and so many which are amusing, it is our
own fault if we ever know what _ennui_ is, or if we are ever driven to
the miserable resource of gaming, which corrupts our dispositions, and
teaches us a habit of hostility against all mankind.
We are now entering the port of Toulouse, where I quit my bark, and of
course must conclude my letter. Be good and be industrious, and you
will be what I shall most love in the world. Adieu, my dear child.
Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
JEFFERSON'S LAST LETTER, IN ANSWER TO AN INVITATION TO BE PRESENT AT
THE CELEBRATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,
IN WASHINGTON.--TO MR. WEIGHTMAN, MAYOR OF WASHINGTON.
MONTICELLO, _June 24, 1826_.
_Respected Sir:_ The kind invitation received from you, on the part of
the citizens of the city of Washington, to be present with them at
their celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of American
Independence, as one of the surviving signers of an instrument
pregnant with our own, and the fate of the world, is most flattering
to myself, and heightened by the honorable accompaniment proposed for
the comfort of such a journey. It adds sensibly to the sufferings of
sickness, to be deprived by it of a personal participation in the
rejoicing of that day. But acquiescence is a duty, under circumstances
not placed among those we are permitted to control. I should, indeed,
with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations
personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of worthies,
who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we
were to make for our country, between submission or the sword; and to
have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our fellow-citizens,
after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve
the choice we made. May it be to the world, what I believe it will be
(to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the
signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish
ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and
to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form
which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded
exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or
opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of
science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that
the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor
a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by
the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves,
let the annual return of this day, forever refresh our recollections
of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.
I will ask permission here to express the pleasure with which I should
have met my ancient neighbors of the city of Washington and its
vicinities, with whom I passed so many years of a pleasing social
intercourse; an intercourse which so much relieved the anxieties of
the public cares, and left impressions so deeply engraved in my
affections as never to be forgotten. With my regret that ill health
forbids me the gratification of an acceptance, be pleased to receive
for yourself, and those for whom you write, the assurance of my
highest respect and friendly attachments.
TH. JEFFERSON.
DAVID RAMSAY.
~1749=1815.~
DAVID RAMSAY was a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was
educated at Princeton, studied medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania, and removed to Charleston, S. C., for the practice of
his profession. He soon acquired celebrity both as a physician and as
a patriot in the Revolutionary struggles. He was a member of the
Council of Safety and a surgeon in the army. He was one of the forty
prominent citizens who were sent as hostages to St. Augustine at the
capture of Charleston in 1780 and kept for eleven months in close
confinement. His death was caused by wounds received from a maniac,
who shot him in the street for testifying as to his mental
unsoundness.
His second wife was Martha Laurens, daughter of Henry Laurens, who had
spent ten years in Europe and who was always active in intellectual
and benevolent pursuits. She assisted her husband in his writing and
prepared her sons for college. Two of their daughters long had an
excellent and celebrated school for girls in Charleston.
WORKS.
Orations; Medical Essays.
History of South Carolina.
Life of Washington.
Memoir of Martha L. Ramsay.
Universal History Americanized (12 volumes.)
[Illustration: ~Jasper Replacing the Flag.~]
Dr. Ramsay holds a high place as a historian, being characterized by
impartiality, a fine memory, a clear simple style, and a personal
knowledge of many of the persons and events he describes.
SERMON ON TEA, (1775).
Touch not, taste not, handle not.
BRITISH TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEES, 1755.
(_From History of South Carolina._)
In the course of eighty years, or about the middle of the eighteenth
century, the most valuable lands in the low country were taken up: and
settlements were gradually progressing westwardly on favorite spots in
the middle and upper country. The extinction of Indian claims by a
cession of territory to the king, was necessary to the safety of the
advancing settlers. This was obtained in 1755. In that year, Governor
Glen met the Cherokee warriors in their own country, and held a treaty
with them. After the usual ceremonies were ended, the governor made a
speech to the assembled warriors in the name of his king; representing
his great power, wealth, and goodness, and his particular regard for
his children, the Cherokees. He reminded them of the happiness they
had long enjoyed by living under his protection, and added, that he
had many presents to make them and expected they would surrender a
share of their territories in return. He informed them of the wicked
designs of the French, and hoped they would permit none of them to
enter their towns. He demanded lands to build two forts in their
country, to protect them against their enemies, and to be a retreat to
their friends and allies, who furnished them with arms, ammunition,
hatchets, clothes, and everything that they wanted.
When the governor had finished his speech, Chulochcullak arose, and in
answer spoke to the following effect:
"What I now speak, our father the great king should hear. We are
brothers to the people of Carolina, one house covers us all." Then
taking a boy by the hand, he presented him to the governor, saying,
"We, our wives, and our children, are all children of the great king
George; I have brought this child, that when he grows up he may
remember our agreement on this day, and tell it to the next
generation, that it may be known forever." Then opening his bag of
earth, and laying the same at the governor's feet, he said: "We freely
surrender a part of our lands to the great king. The French want our
possessions, but we will defend them while one of our nation shall
remain alive." Then delivering the governor a string of wampum, in
confirmation of what he said, he added: "My speech is at an end--it is
the voice of the Cherokee nation. I hope the governor will send it to
the king, that it may be kept forever."
SERGEANT JASPER AT FORT MOULTRIE, _28th June, 1776_.
(_From the History of South Carolina._)
The loss of the garrison was ten men killed and twenty-two wounded.
Lieutenants Hall and Gray were among the latter. Though there were
many thousand shots fired from the shipping, yet the works were little
damaged: those which struck the fort were ineffectually buried in its
soft wood. Hardly a hut or tree on the island escaped.
When the British appeared off the coast, there was so scanty a stock
of lead, that to supply the musketry with bullets, it became necessary
to strip the windows of the dwelling-houses in Charleston of their
weights. Powder was also very scarce. The proportion allotted for the
defence of the fort was but barely sufficient for slow firing. This
was expended with great deliberation. The officers in their turn
pointed the guns with such exactness that most of their shot took
effect. In the beginning of the action, the flag-staff was shot away.
Sergeant Jasper of the Grenadiers immediately jumped on the beach,
took up the flag and fastened it on a sponge-staff. With it in his
hand he mounted the merlon; and, though the ships were directing their
incessant broadsides at the spot, he deliberately fixed it. The day
after the action, President Rutledge presented him with a sword, as a
mark of respect for his distinguished valor. . . . .
On the third day after the action, the lady of Colonel Bernard Elliott
presented an elegant pair of colors to the second regiment, which had
so bravely defended Fort Moultrie. Her address on the occasion
concluded thus: "I make not the least doubt, under heaven's
protection, you will stand by these colors as long as they wave in the
air of liberty." In reply a promise was made that "they should be
honorably supported, and never should be tarnished, by the second
regiment." This engagement was literally fulfilled. Three years after
they were planted on the British lines at Savannah: one by Lieutenant
Bush who was immediately shot down; Lieutenant Hume in the act of
planting his was also shot down; and Lieutenant Gray in supporting
them received a mortal wound. The brave Sergeant Jasper on seeing
Lieutenant Hume fall, took up the color and planted it. In doing so,
he received a wound which terminated in death; but on the retreat
being ordered he brought the colors off with him. These were taken at
the fall of Charleston and are said to be now in the tower of London.
SUMPTER AND MARION.
(_From the Same._)
As the British advanced to the upper country of South Carolina, a
considerable number of the determined friends of independence
retreated before them and took refuge in North Carolina. In this
class was Colonel Sumpter; a gentleman who had formerly commanded one
of the continental regiments, and who was known to possess a great
share of bravery and other military talents. In a very little time
after he had forsaken his home, a detachment of the British turned his
wife and family out of doors, burned the house and everything that was
in it. A party of these exiles from South Carolina who had convened in
North Carolina made choice of Colonel Sumpter to be their leader. At
the head of this little band of freemen he soon returned to his own
State, and took the field against the victorious British. He made this
gallant effort at a time when the inhabitants had generally abandoned
the idea of supporting their own independence, and when he had every
difficulty to encounter. The State was no longer in a condition to
pay, clothe, or feed the troops who had enrolled themselves under his
command. His followers were, in a great measure, unfurnished with arms
and ammunition; and they had no magazines from which they might draw a
supply. The iron tools, on the neighboring farms, were worked up for
their use by common blacksmiths into rude weapons of war. They
supplied themselves, in part, with bullets by melting the pewter which
they were furnished by private housekeepers. They sometimes came to
battle when they had not three rounds a man; and some were obliged to
keep at a distance, till, by the fall of others, they were supplied
with arms. When they proved victorious they were obliged to rifle the
dead and wounded of their arms and ammunition to equip them for their
next engagement. . . . . .
General Francis Marion was born at Winyaw in 1733. His grandfather was
a native of Languedoc, and one of the many Protestants who fled from
France to Carolina to avoid persecution on the account of religion. He
left thirteen children, the eldest of whom was the father of the
general. Francis Marion, when only sixteen years of age, made choice
of a sea-faring life. On his first voyage to the West Indies he was
shipwrecked. The crew, consisting of six persons, took to the open
boat without water or provisions; . . . . they were six days in the
boat before they made land. Two of the crew perished. Francis Marion
with three others reached land. This disaster, and the entreaties of
his mother, induced him to quit the sea. . . . . .
On the approach of General Gates he advanced with a small party
through the country towards the Santee. On his arrival there he found
a number of his countrymen ready and willing to put themselves under
his command, to which he had been appointed by General Gates. This
corps afterwards acquired the name of Marion's brigade. . . In all
these marches Marion and his men lay in the open air with little
covering, and with little other food than sweet potatoes and meat
mostly without salt. Though it was the unhealthy season of autumn, yet
sickness seldom occurred. The general fared worse than his men; for
his baggage having caught fire by accident, he had literally but half
a blanket to cover him from the dews of the night, and but half a hat
to shelter him from the rays of the sun.
JAMES MADISON.
~1751=1836.~
JAMES MADISON, fourth president of the United States, was born at Port
Conway, Virginia, and was a graduate of Princeton, where he was a
profound and excellent student. He and Jefferson were always friends;
yet they differed in some political opinions, for Madison was a
Federalist, and he contributed many papers to the periodical of that
name.
In 1794 he married Mrs. Dorothy Payne Todd, a lady of extraordinary
beauty and rare accomplishments; and the reign of Mrs. Dolly Madison
at the White House is esteemed its most brilliant period. "Memoirs and
Letters of Dolly Madison," by her grand-niece, published in 1887 at
Boston, is a most interesting book.
President Madison died at his home "Montpelier," Orange County,
Virginia. See his Life, by W. C. Rives, and by Gay.
WORKS.
Madison Papers (3 vols.), [Debates of the Convention, 1789].
Unpublished Writings.
29 Papers in the "Federalist."
Professor Fiske says of Madison: "Among the founders of our nation,
his place is beside that of Washington, Jefferson, and Marshall; but
his part was peculiar. He was pre-eminently the scholar, the profound
constructive thinker, and his limitations were such as belong to that
character."
OPINION OF LAFAYETTE, (IN LETTERS TO JEFFERSON).
(_From Rives' Life of Madison._[4])
(_17 Oct., 1784._)--The time I have lately passed with the Marquis has
given me a pretty thorough insight into his character. With great
natural frankness of temper, he unites much address and very
considerable talents. In his politics, he says his three hobby-horses
are the alliance between France and the United States, the union of
the latter, and the manumission of the slaves. The two former are the
dearer to him, as they are connected with his personal glory. . . . .
. . .
(_20 August, 1785._)--Subsequent to the date of mine in which I gave
my idea of Lafayette, I had other opportunities of penetrating his
character. Though his foibles did not disappear, all the favorable
traits presented themselves in a stronger light, on closer inspection.
He certainly possesses talents which might figure in any line. If he
is ambitious, it is rather of the praise which virtue dedicates to
merit than of the homage which fear renders to power. His disposition
is naturally warm and affectionate, and his attachment to the United
States unquestionable. Unless I am grossly deceived, you will find his
zeal sincere and useful, whenever it can be employed on behalf of the
United States without opposition to the essential interests of France.
PLEA FOR A REPUBLIC, ALTHOUGH A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
(_From the "Federalist," 14th No._)
But why is the experiment of an extended Republic to be rejected,
merely because it may comprise what is new? Is it not the glory of the
people of America, that, whilst they have paid a decent regard to the
opinions of former times and other nations, they have not suffered a
blind veneration for antiquity, for custom, or for names, to overrule
the suggestions of their own good sense, the knowledge of their own
situation, and the lessons of their own experience? To this manly
spirit posterity will be indebted for the possession, and the world
for the example, of the numerous improvements displayed on the
American theatre in favor of private rights and public happiness. Had
no important step been taken by the leaders of the Revolution for
which a precedent could not be discovered; no government established
of which an exact model did not present itself,--the people of the
United States might, at this moment, have been numbered among the
melancholy victims of misguided counsels; must, at best, have been
laboring under the weight of some of those forms which have crushed
the liberties of the rest of mankind. Happily for America,--happily,
we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble
course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the
annals of human society. They reared the fabrics of government, which
have no model on the face of the globe. They formed the design of a
great Confederacy, which it is incumbent on their successors to
improve and perpetuate. If their works betray imperfections, we wonder
at the fewness of them. If they erred most in the structure of the
Union, this was the work most difficult to be executed; this is the
work which has been new-modelled by the act of your convention; and it
is that act on which you are now to deliberate and decide.
CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.
("_drawn by Mr. Madison, amid the tranquil scenes of his own final
retirement; and intended . . . . for his family and friends._")
The strength of his character lay in his integrity, his love of
justice, his fortitude, the soundness of his judgment, and his
remarkable prudence; to which he joined an elevated sense of patriotic
duty, and a reliance on the enlightened and impartial world as the
tribunal by which a lasting sentence on his career would be
pronounced. Nor was he without the advantage of a stature and figure
which, however insignificant when separated from greatness of
character, do not fail, when combined with it, to aid the attraction.
What particularly distinguished him was a modest dignity, which at
once commanded the highest respect and inspired the purest attachment.
Although not idolizing public opinion, no man could be more attentive
to the means of ascertaining it. In comparing the candidates for
office, he was particularly inquisitive as to their standing with the
public, and the opinion entertained of them by men of public weight.
On the important questions to be decided by him, he spared no pains to
gain information from all quarters; freely asking from all whom he
held in esteem, and who were intimate with him, a free communication
of their sentiments; receiving with great attention the arguments and
opinions offered to him; and making up his own judgment with all the
leisure that was permitted.
FOOTNOTE:
[4] By permission of Little, Brown, & Company, Boston, as also the two
following extracts.
ST. GEORGE TUCKER.
~1752=1828.~
ST. GEORGE TUCKER was born in the Bermudas, came early in life to
Virginia, where he married in 1778 Mrs. Frances Bland Randolph, and
thus became stepfather to John Randolph of Roanoke. He was a
distinguished jurist, professor of law at William and Mary College,
president-judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and judge of the
United States District Court of Virginia.
WORKS.
Poems: "Days of My Youth," and others.
Probationary Odes of Jonathan Pindar, Esq., [Satires].
Commentary on the Constitution.
Dissertation on Slavery: Letters on Alien and Sedition Laws.
Annotated Edition of Blackstone.
Dramas, [unpublished].
In addition to his ability as a writer, he possessed fine literary
taste; and his personal character was marked by great amiability,
courtliness, and patriotism.
[Illustration: ~William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va.~]
RESIGNATION, OR DAYS OF MY YOUTH.
I.
Days of my youth,
Ye have glided away;
Hairs of my youth,
Ye are frosted and gray:
Eyes of my youth,
Your keen sight is no more;
Cheeks of my youth
Ye are furrowed all o'er,
Strength of my youth,
All your vigor is gone;
Thoughts of my youth,
Your gay visions are flown.
II.
Days of my youth,
I wish not your recall;
Hairs of my youth,
I'm content ye should fall;
Eyes of my youth,
You much evil have seen;
Cheeks of my youth,
Bathed in tears have you been;
Thoughts of my youth,
You have led me astray;
Strength of my youth,
Why lament your decay?
III.
Days of my age,
Ye will shortly be past;
Pains of my age,
Yet a while ye can last;
Joys of my age,
In true wisdom delight;
Eyes of my age,
Be religion your light;
Thoughts of my age,
Dread ye not the cold sod;
Hopes of my age,
Be ye fixed on your God.
JOHN MARSHALL.
~1755=1835.~
JOHN MARSHALL, third Chief Justice of the United States, was born in
Fauquier County, Virginia. He served as a soldier in the Revolution
and then practised law in Richmond. With Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
and Elbridge Gerry, he was sent to Paris in 1797 to treat of public
affairs; and it was on this occasion that Pinckney made the famous
reply to the propositions of Talleyrand, "Millions for defence, not a
cent for tribute."
He was chief-justice of the United States for thirty-five years, being
appointed in 1800 and holding the position until his death. One of the
most celebrated cases over which he presided was the trial of Aaron
Burr, 1807, in which William Wirt led the prosecution, and Luther
Martin and Burr himself, the defence. His services on the Supreme
Bench were not only judicial but patriotic also, as his decisions on
points of constitutional law, being broad, clear, strong, and
statesman-like, have done much to settle the foundations of our
government.
He died in Philadelphia whither he had gone for medical treatment. A
handsome statue of him by Story adorns the west grounds of the Capitol
at Washington, and his is one of the six colossal bronze figures
around the Washington Monument in Richmond. See Life, by Story, and by
Magruder.
WORKS.
Life of Washington.
Supreme Court Decisions.
Writings on Federal Constitution, [selections by Justice Story].
"He was supremely fitted for high judicial station--a solid judgment,
great reasoning powers, acute and penetrating mind; . . . attentive,
patient, laborious; grave on the bench, social in the intercourse of
life; simple in his tastes, and inexorably just."--Thomas Hart Benton,
in "Thirty Years' View."
POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
(_From Case of Cohen vs. State of Virginia, given in Magruder's Life
of Marshall._[5])
It is authorized to decide all cases of every description arising
under the Constitution or laws of the United States. From this general
grant of jurisdiction no exception is made of those cases in which a
State may be a party. When we consider the situation of the government
of the Union and of a State in relation to each other, the nature of
our Constitution, the subordination of the State governments to that
Constitution, the great purpose for which jurisdiction over all cases
arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States is
confided to the judicial department, are we at liberty to insert in
this general grant an exception of those cases in which a State may be
a party? Will the spirit of the Constitution justify this attempt to
control its words? We think it will not. We think a case arising under
the Constitution or laws, of the United States is cognizable in the
courts of the Union, whoever may be the parties to that case. The laws
must be executed by individuals acting within the several States. If
these individuals may be exposed to penalties, and if the courts of
the Union cannot correct the judgments by which these penalties may
be enforced, the course of government may be at any time arrested by
the will of one of its members. Each member will possess a _veto_ on
the will of the whole.
That the United States form, for many and most important purposes, a
single nation has not yet been denied. These States are constituent
parts of the United States. They are members of one great empire, for
some purposes sovereign, for some purposes subordinate. In a
government so constituted is it unreasonable that the judicial power
should be competent to give efficacy to the constitutional laws of the
legislature? That department can decide on the validity of the
Constitution or law of a State, if it be repugnant to the Constitution
or to a law of the United States. Is it unreasonable that it should
also be empowered to decide on the judgment of a State tribunal
enforcing such unconstitutional law? Is it so very unreasonable as to
furnish a justification for controlling the words of the Constitution?
We think not. . . . .
THE DUTIES OF A JUDGE.
Advert, sir, to the duties of a judge. He has to pass between the
government and the man whom that government is prosecuting; between
the most powerful individual in the community and the poorest and most
unpopular. It is of the last importance that, in the exercise of these
duties he should observe the utmost fairness. Need I press the
necessity of this? Does not every man feel that his own personal
security and the security of his property depends on that fairness?
The judicial department comes home, in its effects, to every man's
fireside; it passes on his property, his reputation, his life, his
all. Is it not to the last degree important that he should be rendered
perfectly and completely independent, with nothing to influence or
control him, but God and his conscience? . . . I have always thought,
from my earliest youth until now, that the greatest scourge an angry
Heaven ever inflicted upon an ungrateful and sinning people was an
ignorant, a corrupt, or a dependent judiciary. Our ancestors thought
so; we thought so until very lately; and I trust that the vote of this
day will show that we think so still. Will you draw down this curse on
Virginia?
FOOTNOTE:
[5] By permission of Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, of Boston, as
also the following.
HENRY LEE.
~1756=1818.~
HENRY LEE, "Light-Horse Harry," of the Revolution, and father of
General R. E. Lee, was born at Leesylvania, Westmoreland County,
Virginia. His father was also named Henry Lee, and his mother was Lucy
Grymes, the famous "lowland beauty," who first captured Washington's
heart. Her son was a favorite of his, and it is an interesting fact
that it was this same Henry Lee who delivered by request of Congress
the funeral oration on Washington. In it he used those now well-known
words, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his
countrymen."
He was educated at Princeton, and joined the American army in 1777,
with his company, as Captain Lee. He rose successively to be major,
colonel, general; and after the war he served in the Continental
Congress and in the Virginia Legislature. He was injured in a riot at
Baltimore, while trying to defend a friend, and went to Cuba for his
health; but he died on his way home, at Cumberland Island on the coast
of Georgia, at the home of General Greene's daughter, Mrs. Shaw.
With his first wife, his cousin Matilda Lee, he obtained Stratford
House, where R. E. Lee was born; whose mother however, was the second
wife, Anne Hill Carter of Shirley.
WORK.
Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States,
edited by his sons, Henry and R. E. Lee.
General Lee's "Memoirs of the War" is a life-like and spirited
narrative of events in which he was an actor. The style is plain and
clear. His style as an orator is seen in his celebrated Funeral
Oration, of which we give the closing sentences.
CAPTURE OF FORT MOTTE BY LEE AND MARION, MAY, 1780.
(_From General Henry Lee's Memoirs of the War._)
This post was the principal depot of the convoys from Charleston to
Camden, and sometimes for those destined for Fort Granby and
Ninety-Six. A large new mansion house, belonging to Mrs. Motte,
situated on a high and commanding hill, had been selected for this
establishment. It was surrounded with a deep trench, along the
interior margin of which was raised a strong and lofty parapet. To
this post had been regularly assigned an adequate garrison of about
one hundred and fifty men, which was now accidentally increased by a
small detachment of dragoons, which had arrived from Charleston a few
hours before the appearance of the American troops, on its way to
Camden with despatches for Lord Rawdon. Captain M'Pherson commanded,
an officer highly and deservedly respected.
Opposite to Fort Motte, to the north, stood another hill, where Mrs.
Motte, having been dismissed from her mansion, resided, in the old
farmhouse. On this height Lieutenant-Colonel Lee with his corps took
post, while Brigadier Marion occupied the eastern declivity of the
ridge on which the fort stood.
The vale which runs between the two hills admitted our safe approach
within four hundred yards of the fort. This place was selected by Lee
to break ground. Relays of working parties being provided for every
four hours, and some of the negroes from the neighbouring plantations
being brought, by the influence of Marion, to our assistance, the
works advanced with rapidity. Such was their forwardness on the 10th,
that it was determined to summon the commandant.
A flag was accordingly despatched to Captain M'Pherson, stating to him
with truth our relative situation, and admonishing him to avoid the
disagreeable consequences of an arrogant temerity. To this the captain
replied, that, disregarding consequences, he should continue to resist
to the last moment. The retreat of Rawdon was known in the evening to
the besiegers; and in the course of the night a courier arrived from
General Greene confirming that event, urging redoubled activity, and
communicating his determination to hasten to their support. Urged by
these strong considerations, Marion and Lee persevered throughout the
night in pressing the completion of their works. On the next day,
Rawdon reached the country opposite to Fort Motte; and in the
succeeding night encamping on the highest ground in his route, the
illumination of his fires gave the joyful annunciation of his approach
to the despairing garrison. But the hour was close at hand, when this
joy was to be converted into sadness.
The large mansion in the centre of the encircling trench, left but a
few yards of the ground within the enemy's works uncovered; burning
the house must force their surrender.
Persuaded that our ditch would be within arrow shot before noon of the
next day, Marion and Lee determined to adopt this speedy mode of
effecting their object. Orders were instantly issued to prepare bows
and arrows, with missive combustible matter. This measure was
reluctantly adopted; for the destruction of private property was
repugnant to the principles which swayed the two commandants, and upon
this occasion was peculiarly distressing. The devoted house was a
large, pleasant edifice, intended for the summer residence of the
respectable owner, whose deceased husband had been a firm patriot, and
whose only marriageable daughter was the wife of Major Pinckney, an
officer in the South Carolina line, who had fought and bled in his
country's cause, and was now a prisoner with the enemy. These
considerations powerfully forbade the execution of the proposed
measure; but there were others of much cogency, which applied
personally to Lieutenant Colonel Lee, and gave a new edge to the
bitterness of the scene.
Encamping contiguous to Mrs. Motte's dwelling, this officer had, upon
his arrival, been requested in the most pressing terms to make her
house his quarters. The invitation was accordingly accepted; and not
only the lieutenant colonel, but every officer of his corps, off duty,
daily experienced her liberal hospitality, politely proffered and as
politely administered. Nor was the attention of this amiable lady
confined to that class of war which never fail to attract attention.
While her richly spread table presented with taste and fashion all the
luxuries of her opulent country, and her sideboard offered without
reserve the best wines of Europe--antiquated relics of happier
days--her active benevolence found its way to the sick and to the
wounded; cherishing with softest kindness infirmity and misfortune,
converting despair into hope, and nursing debility into strength.
Nevertheless the obligations of duty were imperative; the house must
burn; and a respectful communication to the lady of her destined loss
must be made. Taking the first opportunity which offered, the next
morning, Lieutenant Colonel Lee imparted to Mrs. Motte the intended
measure; lamenting the sad necessity, and assuring her of the deep
regret which the unavoidable act excited in his and every breast.
With a smile of complacency this exemplary lady listened to the
embarrassed officer, and gave instant relief to his agitated feelings,
by declaring, that she was gratified with the opportunity of
contributing to the good of her country, and that she should view the
approaching scene with delight. Shortly after, seeing accidentally the
bows and arrows which had been prepared, she sent for the lieutenant
colonel, and presenting him with a bow and its apparatus imported from
India, she requested his substitution of these, as probably better
adapted for the object than those we had provided.
Receiving with silent delight this opportune present, the lieutenant
colonel rejoined his troops, now making ready for the concluding
scene. The lines were manned, and an additional force stationed at the
battery, lest the enemy, perceiving his fate, might determine to risk
a desperate assault, as offering the only chance of relief. As soon as
the troops reached their several points, a flag was again sent to
M'Pherson, for the purpose of inducing him to prevent the
conflagration and the slaughter which might ensue, by a second
representation of his actual condition.
Doctor Irvine, of the legion cavalry, was charged with the flag, and
instructed to communicate faithfully the inevitable destruction
impending, and the impracticability of relief, as Lord Rawdon had not
yet passed the Santee; with an assurance that longer perseverance in
vain resistance, would place the garrison at the mercy of the
conqueror; who was not regardless of the policy of preventing waste
of time by inflicting exemplary punishment, where resistance was
maintained only to produce such waste. The British captain received
the flag with his usual politeness, and heard patiently Irvine's
explanations; but he remained immovable; repeating his determination
of holding out to the last.
It was now about noon, and the rays of the scorching sun had prepared
the shingle roof for the projected conflagration. The return of Irvine
was immediately followed by the application of the bow and arrows. The
first arrow struck and communicated its fire; a second was shot at
another quarter of the roof, and a third at a third quarter; this last
also took effect, and, like the first, soon kindled a blaze. M'Pherson
ordered a party to repair to the loft of the house, and by knocking
off the shingles to stop the flames. This was soon perceived, and
Captain Finley was directed to open his battery, raking the loft from
end to end.
The fire of our six pounder, posted close to one of the gable ends of
the house, soon drove the soldiers down; and no other effort to stop
the flames being practicable, M'Pherson hung out the white
flag. . . . . Powerfully as the present occasion called for
punishment, and rightfully as it might have been inflicted, not a drop
of blood was shed, nor any part of the enemy's baggage taken.
M'Pherson and his officers accompanied their captors to Mrs. Motte's,
and partook with them of a sumptuous dinner; soothing in the sweets of
social intercourse the ire which the preceding conflict had
engendered.
THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY.
(_From the funeral oration, 1800._)
First in war--first in peace--and first in the hearts of his
countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes
of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform,
dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around
him, as were the effects of that example lasting.
To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors kind, and to the
dear objects of his affections exemplarily tender; correct throughout,
vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering
hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his
public virtues.
His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life--although in
extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan escaped him; and with
undisturbed serenity, he closed his well-spent life. Such was the man
America has lost--such was the man for whom our nation mourns.
Methinks I see his august image, and I hear falling from his venerable
lips these deep-sinking words:
"Cease, sons of America, lamenting our separation: go on, and confirm
by your wisdom the fruits of our joint councils, joint efforts, and
common dangers; reverence religion, diffuse knowledge throughout your
land, patronize the arts and sciences; let Liberty and Order be
inseparable companions. Control party spirit, the bane of free
governments; observe good faith to, and cultivate peace with all
nations, shut up every avenue to foreign influence, contract rather
than extend national connection, rely on yourselves only; be Americans
in thought, word and deed;--thus will you give immortality to that
union which was the constant object of my terrestrial labors; thus
will you preserve undisturbed to the latest posterity the felicity of
a people to me most dear, and thus will you supply (if my happiness is
now aught to you) the only vacancy in the round of pure bliss high
Heaven bestows."
MASON LOCKE WEEMS.
~1760=1825.~
MASON LOCKE WEEMS was born at Dumfries, Virginia, and educated in
London as a clergyman. He was for some years rector of Pohick Church,
Mt. Vernon parish, of which Washington was an attendant. His health
demanding a change of occupation, he became agent for the publishing
house of Matthew Carey of Philadelphia, and was very successful, being
"equally ready for a stump, a fair, or a pulpit." He played the
violin, read, recited, and was humorous and interesting in
conversation.
His writings are attractive and often very eloquent and forcible; but
we know not how much of his narratives to believe. His "Life of
Washington" is the most popular and widely read of the many lives of
that great man; to it alone we are indebted for the Hatchet Story.
WORKS.
Life of Washington.
Life of Franklin.
Life of Marion.
Life of Penn.
The Philanthropist, [a tract prefaced by an autograph letter from
Washington.]
THE HATCHET STORY.
(_From Life of Washington._)
The following anecdote is a case in point; it is too valuable to be
lost, and too true to be doubted, for it was communicated to me by the
same excellent lady to whom I was indebted for the last, [a relative
of the Washington family.]
"When George," she said, "was about six years old, he was made the
wealthy master of a _hatchet_! of which, like most little boys, he was
immoderately fond, and was constantly going about chopping everything
that came in his way. One day, in the garden, where he often amused
himself hacking his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge
of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree,
which he barked so terribly that I don't believe the tree ever got the
better of it. The next morning the old gentleman finding out what had
befallen his tree, which, by the by, was a great favorite, came into
the house, and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author,
declaring at the same time that he would not have taken five guineas
for his tree. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Presently
George and his hatchet made their appearance. 'George,' said his
father, 'do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry-tree
yonder in the garden?' This was a _tough question_, and George
staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself; and
looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with
the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out,
'I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie; I did cut it
with my hatchet.'--'Run to my arms, you dearest boy,' cried his father
in transports, 'run to my arms. Glad am I, George, that you ever
killed my tree, for you have paid me for it a thousand-fold. Such an
act of heroism in my son, is more worth than a thousand trees, though
blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold.'"
JOHN DRAYTON.
~1766=1822.~
JOHN DRAYTON, son of William Henry Drayton, was born in South
Carolina, educated at Princeton and in England, and became a lawyer.
He was governor of South Carolina, 1800-2, and again 1808-10; and he
was District Judge of the United States at the time of his death.
WORKS.
Letters written during a tour through the Northern and Eastern
States.
A View of South Carolina.
Memoirs of the Revolution in South Carolina, [prepared mainly
from his father's manuscripts].
Governor Drayton's writings are characterized by a desire to express
the simple and exact truth. His style carries with it a conviction of
his sincerity and of the reliability of his narrative.
A REVOLUTIONARY OBJECT LESSON IN THE CAUSE OF PATRIOTISM, APRIL 1775.
(_From Memoirs of the Revolution._)
With all these occurrences, men's minds had become agitated; and it
was deemed proper to bring forth something calculated to arrest the
public attention, to throw odium on the British Administration, to put
down the Crown officers in the Province, and to invigorate the ardor
of the people. And nothing was deemed more likely to effect the same
than some public exhibition which might speak to the sight and senses
of the multitude.
For this purpose effigies were brought forward, supposed to be by the
authority or connivance of the Secret Committee. . . . They
represented the Pope, Lord Grenville, Lord North, and the Devil. They
were placed on the top of a frame capable of containing one or two
persons within it; and the frame was covered over with thick canvas,
so that those within could not be distinguished. In the front of the
frame on the top, the Pope was seated in a chair of state, in his
pontifical dress; and at a distance immediately behind him the Devil
was placed in a standing position, holding a barbed dart in his right
hand; between the Pope and the Devil, on each side, Lords Grenville
and North were stationed. Thus finished the frame and effigies were
fixed on four wheels; and early in the morning, this uncommon
spectacle was stationed between the Market and St. Michael's Church in
Broad-street to the gaze of the citizens.
Many were the surmises respecting it; but at length by its evolutions,
it soon began to explain the purposes for which it was constructed.
For no sooner did any of the Crown officers, Placemen, Counsellors, or
persons known to be disaffected to the common cause, pass by than the
Pope immediately bowed with proportioned respect to them, and the
Devil at the same moment striking his dart at the head of the Pope
convulsed the populace with bursts of laughter. While on the other
hand, the immovable effigies of Lords Grenville and North, appearing
like attendants on the Pope or criminals, moved the people with
sentiments of disgust and contempt against them and the whole British
Administration, for the many oppressive acts which they had been
instrumental in procuring to be passed through both Houses of
Parliament.
In this manner the machine was exposed; after which it was paraded
through the town the whole day by the mob; and in the evening, they
carried it beyond the town where surrounding it with tar barrels the
whole was committed to the flames. Nor did the idea or influence of
the thing end here--for boys forsook their customary sports to make
models like it, with which having amused themselves, and having roused
their youthful spirits into a detestation of oppression, they also
committed them to the flames. And many of those very boys supported
with their services and blood the rights and liberties of their
country.
THE BATTLE OF NOEWEE, BETWEEN THE SOUTH CAROLINIANS AND THE CHEROKEES,
1776.
(_From Memoirs of the Revolution in South Carolina._)
The army now crossed Cannucca Creek, and was proceeding towards Noewee
Creek when tracks of the enemy's spies were discovered about half
past ten o'clock, A. M., and the army was halted and thrown into close
order. It then proceeded on its left towards a narrow valley,
bordering on Noewee Creek, and enclosed on each side by lofty
mountains, terminated at the extremity by others equally difficult;
and commenced entering the same, for the purpose of crossing the
Appalachean Ridge, which separated the Middle Settlements from those
in the Vallies.
These heights were occupied by twelve hundred Indian Warriors; nor
were they discovered, until the advance guard of one hundred men began
to mount the height, which terminated the valley. The army having thus
completely fallen into the ambuscade of the enemy, they poured in a
heavy fire upon its front and flanks; compelling it to recoil, and
fall into confusion. Great was the perturbation which then prevailed,
the cry being, "_We shall be cut off_;" and while Col. Williamson's
attention was imperiously called to rally his men, and charge the
enemy, he was at the same time obliged to reinforce the baggage guard,
on which the subsistence of the army depended for provisions, in this
mountainous wilderness.
In this extremity, Lieutenant-Colonel Hammond caused detachments to
file off, for the purpose of gaining the eminences above the Indians,
and turning their flanks; while Lieutenant Hampton with twenty men,
advanced upon the enemy, passing the main advance guard of one hundred
men: who, being panic-struck, were rapidly retreating. Hampton,
however, clambered up the ascent, with a manly presence of mind; which
much encouraged all his followers: calling out, "_Loaded guns
advance--empty guns, fall down and load:_" and being joined by thirty
men, he charged desperately on the foe. The Indians now gave way; and
a panic passing among them from right to left, the troops rallied and
pressed them with such energy, as induced a general flight: and the
army was thereby rescued from a total defeat and massacre.
Besides this good fortune, they became possessed of so many packs of
deer skins and baggage; that they sold among the individuals of the
army, for £1,200 currency; and which sum was equally distributed among
the troops. In this engagement, the killed of Williamson's army, were
thirteen men, and one Catawba Indian; and the wounded were, thirty-two
men, and two Catawbas. Of the enemy, only four were found dead, and
their loss would have been more considerable, if many of them had not
been mistaken for the friendly Catawbas, who were in front.
WILLIAM WIRT.
~1772=1834.~
WILLIAM WIRT was born at Bladensburg, Maryland, and received an early
and excellent education. He removed to Virginia in 1791 and began the
practice of law, in which profession he rose to great and singular
eminence.
He was elected Chancellor of Virginia in 1801, led the prosecution in
the Aaron Burr trial, 1807, and was concerned in several other famous
cases. In 1817 he was appointed Attorney-General of the United States
and lived in Washington twelve years. In 1826 he delivered before
Congress the address on the death of John Adams and of Thomas
Jefferson; which occurred on the Fourth of July, of that year, just
fifty years after the Declaration of Independence.
His health giving way under his severe labors and distress for the
death of his son Robert, he resigned his office. He said, "All, all
is vanity and vexation of spirit, except religion, friendship, and
literature." He removed to Baltimore and resumed the practice of law.
He was a man of fine appearance and charming social graces. It is
related that on one occasion he kept a party of friends up all night
long, to their utter astonishment, merely by the powers of his
delightful conversation. See "Memoirs of Wirt" by Kennedy.
WORKS.
Letters of the British Spy.
Rainbow, [essays].
Life of Patrick Henry.
Addresses.
Old Bachelor, [a series of essays by a group of friends, Wirt,
Dabney Carr, George Tucker, and others].
Wirt's style both in writing and speaking has been often and justly
praised for its grace, culture, and luxuriance.
His "British Spy" is composed of ten letters supposed to be left at an
inn by a spy, giving opinions on various things and an account
especially of public men and orators that he has met in his travels in
America. These letters are esteemed Wirt's best literary work,
although his "Life of Patrick Henry" is perhaps better known on
account of its subject.
THE BLIND PREACHER, (JAMES WADDELL[6]).
(_From The British Spy._)
It was one Sunday, as I travelled through the county of Orange,
[Virginia], that my eye was caught by a cluster of horses tied near a
ruinous, old, wooden house in the forest, not far from the roadside.
Having frequently seen such objects before, in travelling through
those States, I had no difficulty in understanding that this was a
place of religious worship.
Devotion alone should have stopped me, to join in the duties of the
congregation; but I must confess that curiosity to hear the preacher
of such a wilderness, was not the least of my motives. On entering, I
was struck with his preternatural appearance. He was a tall and very
spare old man; his head which was covered with a white linen cap, his
shrivelled hands, and his voice, were all shaking under the influence
of a palsy; and a few moments ascertained to me that he was perfectly
blind.
The first emotions that touched my breast were those of mingled pity
and veneration. But how soon were all my feelings changed! The lips of
Plato were never more worthy of a prognostic swarm of bees, than were
the lips of this holy man! It was a day of the administration of the
sacrament; and his subject was, of course, the passion of our Saviour.
I have heard the subject handled a thousand times; I had thought it
exhausted long ago. Little did I suppose that in the wild woods of
America, I was to meet with a man whose eloquence would give to this
topic a new and more sublime pathos than I had ever before witnessed.
As he descended from the pulpit to distribute the mystic symbols,
there was a peculiar, a more than human solemnity in his air and
manner, which made my blood run cold, and my whole frame shiver.
He then drew a picture of the sufferings of our Saviour; his trial
before Pilate; his ascent up Calvary; his crucifixion; and his death.
I knew the whole history; but never until then had I heard the
circumstances so selected, so arranged, so colored! It was all new;
and I seemed to have heard it for the first time in my life. His
enunciation was so deliberate that his voice trembled on every
syllable; and every heart in the assembly trembled in unison. His
peculiar phrases had the force of description, that the original
scene appeared to be at that moment acting before our eyes. We saw the
very faces of the Jews; the staring, frightful distortions of malice
and rage. We saw the buffet; my soul kindled with a flame of
indignation; and my hands were involuntarily and convulsively
clinched.
But when he came to touch on the patience, the forgiving meekness of
our Saviour; when he drew, to the life, his blessed eyes streaming in
tears to heaven; his voice breathing to God a soft and gentle prayer
of pardon on his enemies, "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do,"--the voice of the preacher, which had all along
faltered, grew fainter and fainter, until, his utterance being
entirely obstructed by the force of his feelings, he raised his
handkerchief to his eyes, and burst into a loud and irrepressible
flood of grief. The effect is inconceivable. The whole house resounded
with the mingled groans, and sobs, and shrieks of the congregation.
It was some time before the tumult had subsided, so far as to permit
him to proceed. Indeed, judging by the usual, but fallacious standard
of my own weakness, I began to be very uneasy for the situation of the
preacher. For I could not conceive how he would be able to let his
audience down from the height to which he had wound them, without
impairing the solemnity and dignity of his subject, or perhaps
shocking them by the abruptness of the fall. But--no: the descent was
as beautiful and sublime as the elevation had been rapid and
enthusiastic.
The first sentence, with which he broke the awful silence, was a
quotation from Rousseau: "Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus
Christ, like a God!"
I despair of giving you any idea of the effect produced by this short
sentence, unless you could perfectly conceive the whole manner of the
man, as well as the peculiar crisis in the discourse. Never before
did I completely understand what Demosthenes meant by laying such
stress on delivery. You are to bring before you the venerable figure
of the preacher; his blindness, constantly recalling to your
recollection old Homer, Ossian, and Milton, and associating with his
performance the melancholy grandeur of their geniuses; you are to
imagine that you hear his slow, solemn, well-accented enunciation, and
his voice of affecting trembling melody; you are to remember the pitch
of passion and enthusiasm to which the congregation were raised; and
then the few moments of portentous, deathlike silence which reigned
throughout the house; the preacher removing his white handkerchief
from his aged face, (even yet wet from the recent torrent of his
tears), and slowly stretching forth the palsied hand which holds it,
begins the sentence, "Socrates died like a philosopher,"--then,
pausing, raising his other hand, pressing them both, clasped together,
with warmth and energy, to his breast, lifting his "sightless balls"
to heaven, and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice--"but
Jesus Christ--like a God!" If it had indeed and in truth been an angel
of light, the effect could scarcely have been more divine.
MR. HENRY AGAINST JOHN HOOK.
(_From Life of Patrick Henry._)
Hook was a Scotchman, a man of wealth, and suspected of being
unfriendly to the American cause. During the distresses of the
American army, consequent upon the joint invasion of Cornwallis and
Phillips in 1781, a Mr. Venable, an army commissary, had taken two of
Hook's steers for the use of the troops. The act had not been strictly
legal; and on the establishment of peace, Hook, under the advice of
Mr. Cowan, a gentleman of some distinction in the law, thought proper
to bring an action of trespass against Mr. Venable, in the district
court of New London. Mr. Henry appeared for the defendant, and is said
to have disported himself in this cause to the infinite enjoyment of
his hearers, the unfortunate Hook always excepted. After Mr. Henry
became animated in the cause, says a correspondent [Judge Stuart], he
appeared to have complete control over the passions of his audience:
at one time he excited their indignation against Hook: vengeance was
visible in every countenance; again, when he chose to relax and
ridicule him, the whole audience was in a roar of laughter. He painted
the distresses of the American army, exposed almost naked to the
rigour of a winter's sky, and marking the frozen ground over which
they marched, with the blood of their unshod feet--"where was the
man," he said, "who had an American heart in his bosom, who would not
have thrown open his fields, his barns, his cellar, the doors of his
house, the portals of his breast, to have received with open arms, the
meanest soldier in that little band of patriots? Where is the man?
_There_ he stands--but whether the heart of an American beats in his
bosom, you, gentlemen, are to judge." He then carried the jury, by the
powers of his imagination, to the plains around York, the surrender of
which had followed shortly after the act complained of: he depicted
the surrender in the most glowing and noble colors of his
eloquence--the audience saw before their eyes the humiliation and
dejection of the British, as they marched out of their trenches--they
saw the triumph which lighted up every patriot face, and heard the
shouts of victory, and the cry of "Washington and Liberty!", as it
rung and echoed through the American ranks, and was reverberated from
the hills and shores of the neighboring river--"but, hark!, what notes
of discord are these which disturb the general joy, and silence the
acclamations of victory? They are the notes of _John Hook_, hoarsely
bawling through the American camp, _beef!_ _beef!_ _beef!_"
The whole audience was convulsed: a particular incident will give a
better idea of the effect, than any general description. The clerk of
the court, unable to command himself, and unwilling to commit any
breach of decorum in his place, rushed out of the court-house, and
threw himself on the grass, in the most violent paroxysm of laughter,
where he was rolling, when Hook, with very different feelings, came
out for relief into the yard also. "Jemmy Steptoe," said he to the
clerk, "what the devil ails ye, mon?" Mr. Steptoe was only able to
say, that _he could not help it_. "Never mind ye," said Hook, "wait
till Billy Cowan gets up: _he'll show_ him the la'." Mr. Cowan,
however, was so completely overwhelmed by the torrent which bore upon
his client, that when he rose to reply to Mr. Henry, he was scarcely
able to make an intelligible or audible remark. The cause was decided
almost by acclamation. The jury retired for form's sake, and instantly
returned with a verdict for the defendant. Nor did the effect of Mr.
Henry's speech stop here. The people were so highly excited by the
tory audacity of such a suit, that Hook began to hear around him a cry
more terrible than that of _beef_; it was the cry of _tar and
feathers_: from the application of which, it is said, that nothing
saved him but a precipitate flight and the speed of his horse.
FOOTNOTE:
[6] James Waddell, it is said, was a relative of the celebrated
teacher, Dr. Moses Waddell, of Georgia, president of the State
University, 1819-29.
JOHN RANDOLPH.
~1773=1833.~
JOHN RANDOLPH of Roanoke, was born at Cawson's, Virginia, being a
descendant of Pocahontas in the seventh generation. He lost his
father early in life. His beautiful mother, to whom he was devotedly
attached, afterwards married St. George Tucker, who happily was a true
father to her children and educated John himself. Her death in 1788
was a life-long distress to her gifted son.
He was a prominent actor in all the stirring political life of the
times, being in Congress from 1800 until his death, except from 1812
to 1814, and again in 1830 when he was minister to Russia, a position
which he resigned, however, in order to return to the excitement of
politics at home. He freed his slaves by will on his death, which
occurred in Philadelphia as he was preparing to go abroad for his
health. Many anecdotes are told of him, and he is one of the most
interesting and striking figures in our history. See Benton's account
of his duel with Clay; also Life, by Garland, and by Adams.
WORKS.
Letters to a Young Relative.
Addresses.
John Randolph is noted for his wit, eloquence, and a power of sarcasm
scathing in its intensity which he often employed, thereby making many
enemies. "He is indeed original and unique in everything. His language
is simple, though polished, brief, though rich, and as direct as the
arrow from the Indian bow."--Paulding.
THE REVISION OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION.
(_From a Speech in the Legislature, 1829._)
Doctor Franklin who in shrewdness, especially in all that related to
domestic life, was never excelled, used to say that two movings were
equal to one fire. And gentlemen, as if they were afraid that this
besetting sin of republican governments, this _rerum novarum lubido_
(to use a very homely phrase, but that comes pat to the purpose), this
maggot of innovation, would cease to bite, are here gravely making
provision that this Constitution, which we should consider as a remedy
for all the ills of the body politic, may itself be amended or
modified at any future time. Sir, I am against any such provision. I
should as soon think of introducing into a marriage contract a
provision for divorce, and thus poisoning the greatest blessing of
mankind at its very source,--at its fountain-head. He has seen little,
and has reflected less, who does not know that "necessity" is the
great, powerful, governing principle of affairs here. Sir, I am not
going into that question which puzzled Pandemonium,--the question of
liberty and necessity,--
"Free will, fixed fate, foreknowledge absolute;"
but I do contend that necessity is one principal instrument of all the
good that man enjoys. The happiness of the connubial union itself
depends greatly on necessity, and when you touch this you touch the
arch, the keystone of the arch, on which the happiness and well-being
of society is founded. Look at the relation of master and slave (that
opprobrium, in the opinion of some gentlemen, to all civilized society
and all free government). Sir, there are few situations in life where
friendships so strong and so lasting are formed as in that very
relation. The slave knows that he is bound indissolubly to his master,
and must, from necessity, remain always under his control. The master
knows he is bound to maintain and provide always for his slave so long
as he retains him in his possession. And each party accommodates
himself to the situation. I have seen the dissolution of many
friendships,--such, at least, as they were called; but I have seen
that of master and slave endure so long as there remained a drop of
blood of the master to which the slave could cleave.
Where is the necessity of this provision in the Constitution? Where
is the use of it? Sir, what are we about? Have we not been undoing
what the wiser heads--I must be permitted to say so--yes, Sir, what
the wiser heads of our ancestors did more than half a century ago?
Can any one believe that we, by any amendment of ours, by any of
our scribbling on that parchment, by any amulet, by any
legerdemain--charm--Abracadabra--of ours can prevent our sons from
doing the same thing,--that is, from doing what they please, just
as we are doing as we please? It is impossible. Who can bind
posterity? When I hear gentlemen talk of making a Constitution for
"all time," and introducing provisions into it for "all time," and
yet see men here who are older than the Constitution we are about
to destroy (I am older myself than the present Constitution: it was
established when I was a boy), it reminds me of the truces and the
peaces of Europe. They always begin, "In the name of the most holy
and undivided Trinity," and go on to declare "there shall be
perfect and perpetual peace and unity between the subjects of such
and such potentates for all time to come;" and in less than seven
years they are at war again.
GEORGE TUCKER.
~1775=1861.~
GEORGE TUCKER, a relative of St. George Tucker, was, like him, born in
the Bermudas, and came to Virginia in 1787. He was reared and educated
by St. George Tucker, and practiced law in Lynchburg. He served in the
State Legislature and in Congress, and in 1825 he was elected
professor of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in the University
of Virginia, a position which he filled for twenty years. His novel,
"Valley of the Shenandoah," was reprinted in England and translated
into German.
[Illustration: ~University of Virginia.~]
WORKS.
Essays in "Old Bachelor" Series.
Letters on the Conspiracy of Slaves.
Letters on the Roanoke Navigation.
Recollections of Eleanor Rosalie Tucker.
Essays on Taste, Morals, and Policy.
Valley of the Shenandoah.
A Voyage to the Moon.
Principles of Rent, Wages, &c.
Literature of the United States.
Life of Thomas Jefferson.
Theory of Money and Banks.
Essay on Cause and Effect.
Association of Ideas.
Dangers Threatening the United States.
Progress of the United States.
Life of Dr. John P. Emmet.
History of the United States.
Banks or No Banks.
Essays Moral and Philosophical.
Political Economy.
Prof. Tucker was a voluminous writer and treated many subjects. One or
two early works of imagination and fancy gave place later to
philosophy and political economy, and his style is eminently that of a
thinker.
JEFFERSON'S PREFERENCE FOR COUNTRY LIFE.
(_From Life of Jefferson._)
He tells the Baron that he is savage enough to prefer the woods, the
wilds, and the independence of Monticello, to all the brilliant
pleasures of the gay metropolis of France. "I shall therefore," he
says, "rejoin myself to my native country, with new attachments, and
with exaggerated esteem for its advantages; for though there is less
wealth there, there is more freedom, more ease, and less misery."
Declarations of this kind often originate in insincerity and
affectation; sometimes from the wish to appear superior to those
sensual indulgences and light amusements which are to be obtained only
in cities, and sometimes from the pride of seeming to despise what is
beyond our reach. But the sentiment here expressed by Mr. Jefferson is
truly felt by many an American, and we have no reason to doubt it was
felt also by him. There is a charm in the life which one has been
accustomed to in his youth, no matter what the modes of that life may
have been, which always retains its hold on the heart. The Indian who
has passed his first years with his tribe, is never reconciled to the
habits and restraints of civilized life. And although in more
artificial and advanced stages of society, individuals, whether they
have been brought up in the town or the country, are not equally
irreconcilable to a change from one to the other, it commonly takes
some time to overcome their preference for the life they have been
accustomed to; and in many instances it is never overcome, but
continues to haunt the imagination with pleasing pictures of the past
or imaginations of the future, when hope gives assurance that those
scenes of former enjoyment may be renewed. That most of our country
gentlemen, past the heyday of youth, would soon tire of Paris, and
pant after the simple pleasures and exemption from restraint which
their own country affords, is little to be wondered at; but it is the
more remarkable in Mr. Jefferson, and more clearly illustrates the
force of early habit, when it is recollected that he found in the
French metropolis that society of men of letters and science which he
must often have in vain coveted in his own country, and that here he
met with those specimens of music, painting, and architecture, for
which he had so lively a relish. But in these comparisons between the
life we are leading and that which we have left, or are looking
forward to, we must always allow much to the force of the imagination,
and there are few men who felt its influence more than Mr. Jefferson.
In one of his letters to Mr. Carmichael, he says, "I sometimes think
of building a little hermitage at the Natural Bridge, (for it is my
property), and of passing there a part of the year at least."
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
(_From the Same._)
We have seen that the subject of education had long been a favourite
object with Mr. Jefferson, partly from his own lively relish for
literature and science, and partly because he deemed the diffusion of
knowledge among the people essential to the wise administration of a
popular government, and even to its stability. He had not long retired
from public life, before the subject again engaged his serious
attention, and, besides endeavouring to enlist men of influence in
behalf of his favourite scheme of dividing the counties of the State
into wards, and giving the charge of its elementary schools to these
little commonwealths, he also aimed to establish a college, in the
neighbourhood of Charlottesville, for teaching the higher branches of
knowledge, and which, from its central and healthy situation, might be
improved into a university.
He lived to see this object accomplished, and it owed its success
principally to his efforts. It engrossed his attention for more than
eleven years, in which time he exhibited his wonted judgment and
address, in overcoming the numerous obstacles he encountered, and a
diligence and perseverance which would have been creditable to the
most vigorous period of life. . . . . . .
In getting the university into operation, he seemed to have regained
the activity and assiduity of his youth. Everything was looked into,
everything was ordered by him. He suggested the remedy for every
difficulty, and made the selection in every choice of expedients. Two
or three times a week he rode down to the establishment to give orders
to the proctor, and to watch the progress of the work still
unfinished. Nor were his old habits of hospitality forgotten. His
invitations to the professors and their families were frequent, and
every Sunday some four or five of the students dined with him. At
these times he generally ate by himself in a small recess connected
with the dining-room; but, saving at meals, sat and conversed with
the company as usual. The number of visiters also to the University
was very great, and they seldom failed to call at Monticello, where
they often passed the day, and sometimes several days. He was so fully
occupied with his duties, as rector of the university, and he found so
much pleasure in the occupation, that for a time every cause of care
and anxiety, of which he now began to have an increased share, was
entirely forgotten; and the sun of his life seemed to be setting with
a soft but unclouded radiance.
[Illustration: ~Henry Clay.~]
THIRD PERIOD ... 1800-1850.
HENRY CLAY.
~1777=1852.~
HENRY CLAY was born at "The Slashes," Hanover County, Virginia, whence
he got his title, "Mill-Boy of the Slashes." His mother, early left a
widow, was poor, and on her second marriage, to Mr. Henry Watkins,
removed to Kentucky. Henry Clay became a clerk and then a law-student
in Richmond, Va., and in 1797 followed his mother to Kentucky, making
his home in Lexington. He rose speedily to eminence as a jury lawyer,
and in 1803 entered public life as a member of the State Legislature.
In 1806 he entered the United States Senate, and after the war of 1812
he was sent to Belgium as one of the Commissioners to treat of peace
with Great Britain.
His share in public life was most important. He was the author of the
Missouri Compromise of 1820, of the Tariff Compromise of 1832, of the
Bill for Protection and Internal Improvements; his agency in the first
two and in the Missouri Compromise of 1850, gaining for him the title
of the "Great Pacificator." With Calhoun and Webster, he formed the
triad of great statesmen who made illustrious our politics in the
first half of the nineteenth century.
He died in Washington City and was buried in Lexington, Kentucky,
where an imposing column, surmounted by his statue, marks his tomb. In
the Capitol grounds at Richmond there is also a fine monument and
statue to his memory. It has been said of him that no man ever had
more devoted friends and more bitter enemies. See Benton's account of
his duel with Randolph.
His home, "Ashland," on the suburbs of Lexington, is now a part of the
University of Kentucky. The old Court House in which so many of his
famous speeches were made still stands in Lexington, and is cherished
as an honoured reminder of his greatness in the eyes of his admiring
compatriots. See under A. H. Stephens, _Sketch in the Senate, 1850_;
also, Life, by Prentice, and by Schurz.
WORKS.
Speeches, [of which several collections have been made.]
Henry Clay was perhaps the greatest popular leader and orator that
America has produced, although his influence will not be so lasting as
that of profounder statesmen. He was a master of the feelings and
could sway the multitude before him as one man. "His style of argument
was by vivid picture, apt comparison, and forcible illustration,
rather than by close reasoning like Webster's, or impregnable logic
like that of Calhoun."--John P. McGuire.
TO BE RIGHT ABOVE ALL.
Sir, I would rather be right than be president. (_In 1850, on being
told that his views would endanger his nomination for the
presidency._)
NO GEOGRAPHICAL LINES IN PATRIOTISM.
I know no North, no South, no East, no West.
MILITARY INSUBORDINATION.
(_From the speech on the Seminole War, delivered 1819._)
I will not trespass much longer upon the time of the committee; but I
trust I shall be indulged with some few reflections upon the danger
of permitting conduct, [Gen. Jackson's arbitrary court-martial], on
which it has been my painful duty to animadvert, to pass without a
solemn expression of the disapprobation of this House. Recall to your
mind the free nations which have gone before us. Where are they now?
"Gone glimmering through the dream of things that were,
A school-boy's tale, the wonder of an hour."
And how have they lost their liberties? If we could transport
ourselves back to the ages when Greece and Rome flourished in their
greatest prosperity, and, mingling in the throng, should ask a Grecian
whether he did not fear that some daring military chieftain, covered
with glory, some Philip or Alexander, would one day overthrow the
liberties of his country, the confident and indignant Grecian would
exclaim, No! no! we have nothing to fear from our heroes; our
liberties shall be eternal. If a Roman citizen had been asked whether
he did not fear that the conqueror of Gaul might establish a throne
upon the ruins of public liberty, he would have instantly repelled the
unjust insinuation. Yet Greece fell; Cæsar passed the Rubicon, and the
patriotic arm even of Brutus could not preserve the liberties of his
devoted country. The celebrated Madame de Staël, in her last and
perhaps her best work, has said that in the very year, almost the very
month, when the president of the Directory declared that monarchy
would never show its frightful head in France, Bonaparte with his
grenadiers entered the palace of St. Cloud, and, dispersing with the
bayonet the deputies of the people, deliberating on the affairs of the
state, laid the foundation of that vast fabric of despotism which
overshadowed all Europe.
I hope not to be misunderstood; I am far from intimating that General
Jackson cherishes any designs inimical to the liberties of the
country. I believe his intentions to be pure and patriotic. I thank
God that he would not, but I thank Him still more that he could not if
he would, overturn the liberties of the Republic. But precedents, if
bad, are fraught with the most dangerous consequences. Man has been
described, by some of those who have treated of his nature, as a
bundle of habits. The definition is much truer when applied to
governments. Precedents are their habits. There is one important
difference between the formation of habits by an individual and by
government. He contracts it only after frequent repetition. A single
instance fixes the habit and determines the direction of governments.
Against the alarming doctrine of unlimited discretion in our military
commanders, when applied to prisoners of war, I must enter my protest.
It begins upon them; it will end on us. I hope our happy form of
government is to be perpetual. But if it is to be preserved, it must
be by the practice of virtue, by justice, by moderation, by
magnanimity, by greatness of soul, by keeping a watchful and steady
eye on the executive; and, above all, by holding to a strict
accountability the military branch of the public force. . . . . . .
Beware how you give a fatal sanction, in this infant period of our
republic, scarcely yet two score years old, to military
insubordination. Remember that Greece had her Alexander, Rome her
Cæsar, England her Cromwell, France her Bonaparte, and that, if we
would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.
~1780=1843.~
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY was born in Frederick county, Maryland, and was
educated at St. John's College, Annapolis. He became a lawyer, was
appointed District Attorney of the District of Columbia, and spent his
life in Washington City.
A very handsome monument has been erected to his memory in San
Francisco by Mr. James Lick: his song, the "Star-Spangled Banner,"
will be his enduring monument throughout our country. It was composed
during the attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, 1814. Key had
gone to the British vessel to get a friend released from imprisonment,
in which he succeeded, but he was kept on board the enemy's vessel
until after the attack on the fort; and the song commemorates his
evening and morning watch for the star-spangled banner on Fort
McHenry, and the appearance of the flag in "the morning's first beam"
showed that the attack had been successfully resisted. The words were
written on an old envelope. (See illustrations in the _Century
Magazine_, July, 1894.)
WORKS.
Poems, with a sketch by Chief-Justice Taney.
[Illustration: ~Star-Spangled Banner.~]
[Illustration: Obverse
Reverse
~Seal of the United States.~]
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER.
Oh! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the clouds of the fight
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O, say, does that Star-Spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
On that shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the Star-Spangled banner; O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the Star-Spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto--"_In God is our trust_"--
And the Star-Spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.
~1780=1851.~
[Illustration: ~Scene in Louisiana.~]
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON was born near New Orleans and educated in France
where he studied painting under David. While still a young man, his
father put him in charge of a country estate in Pennsylvania.
Afterwards he engaged in mercantile persuits in Philadelphia,
Louisville, New Orleans, and Henderson, Kentucky, but unsuccessfully;
for he knew and cared much more about the birds, flowers, and beasts
around him than about the kinds and prices of goods that his
neighbors needed.
His great literary and artistic work is "The Birds of America,"
consisting of five volumes of Ornithological Biographies and four
volumes of exquisite portraits of birds, life-size, in natural colors,
and surrounded by the plants which each one most likes. "Quadrupeds of
America" was prepared mainly by his sons and Rev. John Bachman of
South Carolina. These works gave him a European reputation. He died at
Minniesland, now Audubon Park, New York City.
His style in writing is pure, vivid, and so clear as to place before
us the very thing or event described. The accounts of his travels and
of the adventures he met with in his search for his birds and animals
are very natural and picturesque; and they show also his own fine
nature and attractive character.
A biography arranged from his diary by Mrs. Audubon was published in
New York, 1868. See also Samuel Smiles' "Brief Biographies." The State
Library of North Carolina possesses a set of Audubon's invaluable
works, of which there are only eight sets in America.
THE MOCKING-BIRD.
It is where the great magnolia shoots up its majestic trunk, crowned
with evergreen leaves, and decorated with a thousand beautiful
flowers, that perfume the air around; where the forests and the fields
are adorned with blossoms of every hue; where the golden orange
ornaments the gardens and groves; where bignonias of various kinds
interlace their climbing stems around the white-flowered Stuartia,
and, mounting still higher, cover the summits of the lofty trees
around, accompanied with innumerable vines, that here and there
festoon the dense foliage of the magnificent woods, lending to the
vernal breeze a slight portion of the perfume of their clustered
flowers; where a genial warmth seldom forsakes the atmosphere; where
berries and fruits of all descriptions are met with at every step; in
a word, kind reader, it is where Nature seems to have paused, as she
passed over the earth, and, opening her stores, to have strewed with
unsparing hand the diversified seeds from which have sprung all the
beautiful and splendid forms which I should in vain attempt to
describe, that the mocking-bird should have fixed his abode, there
only that its wondrous song should be heard.
But where is that favored land? It is in that great continent to whose
distant shores Europe has sent forth her adventurous sons, to wrest
for themselves a habitation from the wild inhabitants of the forest,
and to convert the neglected soil into fields of exuberant fertility.
It is, reader, in Louisiana that these bounties of nature are in the
greatest perfection. It is there that you should listen to the
love-song of the mocking-bird, as I at this moment do. See how he
flies round his mate, with motions as light as those of the butterfly!
His tail is widely expanded, he mounts in the air to a small distance,
describes a circle, and, again alighting, approaches his beloved one,
his eyes gleaming with delight, for she has already promised to be his
and his only. His beautiful wings are gently raised, he bows to his
love, and, again bouncing upwards, opens his bill and pours forth his
melody, full of exultation at the conquest which he has made.
They are not the soft sounds of the flute or of the hautboy that I
hear, but the sweeter notes of Nature's own music. The mellowness of
the song, the varied modulations and gradations, the extent of its
compass, the great brilliancy of execution, are unrivalled. There is
probably no bird in the world that possesses all the musical
qualifications of this king of song, who has derived all from Nature's
self. Yes, reader, all!
No sooner has he again alighted, and the conjugal contract has been
sealed, than, as if his breast was about to be rent with delight, he
again pours forth his notes with more softness and richness than
before. He now soars higher, glancing around with a vigilant eye to
assure himself that none has witnessed his bliss. When these
love-scenes, visible only to the ardent lover of nature, are over, he
dances through the air, full of animation and delight, and as if to
convince his lovely mate that to enrich her hopes he has much more
love in store, he that moment begins anew and imitates all the notes
which Nature has imparted to the other songsters of the grove.
THE HUMMING-BIRD.
No sooner has the returning sun again introduced the vernal season,
and caused millions of plants to expand their leaves and blossoms to
his genial beams, than the little Humming-Bird is seen advancing on
fairy wings, carefully visiting every opening flower-cup, and, like a
curious florist, removing from each the injurious insects that
otherwise would ere long cause their beauteous petals to droop and
decay. Poised in the air, it is observed peeping cautiously, and with
sparkling eyes, into their innermost recesses, while the ethereal
motions of its pinions, so rapid and so light, appear to fan and cool
the flower, without injuring its fragile texture, and produce a
delightful murmuring sound, well adapted for lulling the insects to
repose. Then is the moment for the Humming-Bird to secure them. Its
long delicate bill enters the cup of the flower, and the protruded
double-tubed tongue, delicately sensible, and imbued with a glutinous
saliva, touches each insect in succession, and draws it from its
lurking place, to be instantly swallowed. All this is done in a
moment, and the bird, as it leaves the flower, sips so small a portion
of its liquid honey, that the theft, we may suppose, is looked upon
with a grateful feeling by the flower, which is thus kindly relieved
from the attacks of her destroyers. . . . . . . . Its gorgeous throat
in beauty and brilliancy baffles all competition. Now it glows with a
fiery hue, and again it is changed to the deepest velvety black. The
upper parts of its delicate body are of resplendent changing green;
and it throws itself through the air with a swiftness and vivacity
hardly conceivable. It moves from one flower to another like a gleam
of light, upwards, downwards, to the right, and to the left.
THOMAS HART BENTON.
~1782=1858.~
THOMAS HART BENTON was born in Hillsboro, North Carolina, and was
partly educated at the State University. He left before graduation,
however, and removed with his widowed mother to Tennessee, where
twenty-five miles south of Nashville they made a home, around which a
settlement called Bentontown gradually grew up.
He studied law with St. George Tucker, began to practice in Nashville,
and was elected to the State Legislature in 1811. In 1815 he removed
to St. Louis, and was elected United States Senator in 1820 on the
admission of Missouri to the Union. He worked heartily and
successfully in the interests of settlers in the West. His title "Old
Bullion" was derived from his famous speeches on the currency, during
Jackson's administration, and they gained him a European reputation.
He and Calhoun were opposed to each other on almost every question,
and they carried on a ferocious warfare in the Senate. He was a
Senator for thirty years, 1820-50, and his great work gives an account
of men and measures during that very exciting and intensely
interesting period, in which he was himself one of the most prominent
actors.
A fine statue was erected to him in the park at St. Louis.
WORKS.
Thirty Years' View of the Workings of Our Government.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress.
Examination of the Dred Scott Case.
Benton's style as an orator was easy, full, and strong, showing him
well acquainted with his subject and confident of his powers.
The "Thirty Years' View" is noted for its excellent arrangement and
for a style easy and fluent yet not diffuse. "It is a succession of
historical tableaux," of which the following extract presents one of
the most famous.
THE DUEL BETWEEN RANDOLPH AND CLAY.
(_From Thirty Years' View._[7])
Saturday, the 8th of April (1826)--the day for the duel--had come, and
almost the hour. It was noon, and the meeting was to take place at 4½
o'clock. I had gone to see Mr. Randolph before the hour, and for a
purpose; and, besides, it was so far on the way, as he lived half-way to
Georgetown, and we had to pass through that place to cross the Potomac
into Virginia at the Little Falls Bridge. I had heard nothing from him
on the point of not returning the fire since the first communication to
that effect, eight days before. I had no reason to doubt the steadiness
of his determination, but felt a desire to have fresh assurance of it
after so many days' delay, and so near approach of the trying moment. I
knew it would not do to ask him the question--any question which would
imply a doubt of his word. His sensitive feelings would be hurt and
annoyed at it. So I fell upon a scheme to get at the inquiry without
seeming to make it. I told him of my visit to Mr. Clay the night
before--of the late sitting--the child asleep--the unconscious
tranquillity of Mrs. Clay; and added, I could not help reflecting how
different all that might be the next night. He understood me perfectly,
and immediately said, with a quietude of look and expression which
seemed to rebuke an unworthy doubt, _I shall do nothing to disturb the
sleep of the child or the repose of the mother_, and went on with his
employment . . . . which was, making codicils to his will, all in the
way of remembrance to friends. . . . . . . . . . . . I withdrew a little
way into the woods, and kept my eyes fixed on Mr. Randolph, who I then
knew to be the only one in danger. I saw him receive the fire of Mr.
Clay, saw the gravel knocked up in the same place, saw Mr. Randolph
raise his pistol--discharge it in the air; heard him say, _I do not fire
at you, Mr. Clay_; and immediately advancing and offering his hand. He
was met in the same spirit. They met halfway, shook hands, Mr. Randolph
saying, jocosely, _You owe me a coat, Mr. Clay_--(the bullet had passed
through the skirt of the coat, very near the hip)--to which Mr. Clay
promptly and happily replied, _I am glad the debt is no greater_. I had
come up and was prompt to proclaim what I had been obliged to keep
secret for eight days. The joy of all was extreme at this happy
termination of a most critical affair: and we immediately left, with
lighter hearts than we brought. . . . . . .
On Monday the parties exchanged cards, and social relations were
formally and courteously restored. It was about the last high-toned
duel that I have witnessed, and among the highest-toned that I have
ever witnessed; and so happily conducted to a fortunate issue--a
result due to the noble character of the seconds as well as to the
generous and heroic spirit of the principals. Certainly, duelling is
bad, and has been put down, but not quite so bad as its
substitute--revolvers, bowie-knives, blackguarding, and
street-assassinations under the pretext of self-defence.
FOOTNOTE:
[7] By permission of D. Appleton and Company, N. Y.
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN.
~1782=1850.~
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN is one of the greatest statesmen that America
has produced. He was of Scotch and Irish descent, and was born in
Abbeville County, South Carolina. He received his early education from
his brother-in-law, the distinguished Dr. Moses Waddell, then attended
Yale College, and studied law. Early in life, 1811, he entered the
political arena, and remained in it to the day of his death.
As Secretary of War under President Monroe, he re-organized the
department on the basis which is still maintained. He was elected
Vice-president with Adams in 1824, re-elected with Jackson, 1828, and
became United States Senator, 1832, succeeding Robert Y. Hayne who had
been chosen governor of South Carolina in the Nullification crisis.
From this time forth until his death, he was in the midst of incessant
political toil, strife, and activity, having Webster, Clay, Benton,
Hayne, Randolph, Grundy, Hunter, and Cass, for his great companions.
Edward Everett said: "Calhoun, Clay, Webster! I name them in
alphabetical order. What other precedence can be assigned them? Clay
the great leader, Webster the great orator, Calhoun the great
thinker."
As a boy he must often have heard his father say, "That government is
the best which allows the largest amount of individual liberty
compatible with social order."
His most famous political act is his advocacy of Nullification, an
explanation and defence of which are found in the extract below. He
was a devoted adherent of the Union. (See under _Jefferson Davis_.)
His life seems to have been entirely political; but he was very fond
of his home where there was always a cheerful happy household. This
home, "Fort Hill," was in the lovely upland region of South Carolina
in Oconee County. It became the property of his daughter, Mrs. Thomas
G. Clemson, and Mr. Clemson left it at his death to the State, which
has now established there an Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Mr. Calhoun died in Washington City, and was buried in St. Philip's
Churchyard, Charleston, his grave being marked by a monument. His
preeminence in South Carolina during his life has not ceased with his
death. His picture is found everywhere and his memory is still living
throughout the entire country. See Life, by Jenkins, and by Von Hoist.
See under _Stephens_.
WORKS.
Speeches and State Papers (6 vols.) edited by Richard K. Crallé.
[Illustration: Old Presbyterian Church at which Calhoun worshiped
JNO C CALHOUN
The Calhoun Homestead at Fort Hill
Calhouns Grave in St. Phillips Churchyard.]
Calhoun has been called the philosopher of statesmen, and his style
accords with this description. "His eloquence was part of his
intellectual character. It was plain, strong, terse, condensed,
concise; sometimes impassioned, still always severe. Rejecting
ornament, not often seeking far for illustration, his power consisted
in the plainness of his propositions, in the closeness of his logic,
and in the earnestness and energy of his manner."--Daniel Webster.
WAR AND PEACE.
War can make us great; but let it never be forgotten that peace only
can make us both great and free.
SYSTEM OF OUR GOVERNMENT.
(_Speech on State Rights and Union, 1834._)
I know of no system, ancient or modern, to be compared with it; and
can compare it to nothing but that sublime and beautiful system of
which our globe constitutes a part, and to which it bears, in many
particulars, so striking a resemblance.
DEFENCE OF NULLIFICATION.
(_From a Speech against the Force Bill, after the State of South
Carolina had passed the Ordinance of Nullification, 1833._)
A deep constitutional question lies at the bottom of the controversy.
The real question at issue is, Has the government a right to impose
burdens on the capital and industry of one portion of the country, not
with a view to revenue, but to benefit another? and I must be
permitted to say that after a long and deep agitation of this
controversy, it is with surprise that I perceive so strong a
disposition to misrepresent its real character. To correct the
impression which those misrepresentations are calculated to make, I
will dwell on the point under consideration a few moments longer.
The Federal Government has, by an express provision of the
Constitution, the right to lay duties on imports. The state never
denied or resisted this right, nor even thought of so doing. The
government has, however, not been contented with exercising this power
as she had a right to do, but has gone a step beyond it, by laying
imposts, not for revenue, but for protection. This the state considers
as an unconstitutional exercise of power, highly injurious and
oppressive to her and the other staple states, and has accordingly,
met it with the most determined resistance. I do not intend to enter,
at this time, into the argument as to the unconstitutionality of the
protective system. It is not necessary. It is sufficient that the
power is nowhere granted; and that, from the journals of the
Convention which formed the Constitution, it would seem that it was
refused. In support of the journals, I might cite the statement of
Luther Martin, which has already been referred to, to show that the
Convention, so far from conferring the power on the Federal
Government, left to the state the right to impose duties on imports,
with the express view of enabling the several states to protect their
own manufactures. Notwithstanding this, Congress has assumed, without
any warrant from the Constitution, the right of exercising this most
important power, and has so exercised it as to impose a ruinous burden
on the labor and capital of the state of South Carolina, by which her
resources are exhausted, the enjoyments of her citizens curtailed, the
means of education contracted, and all her interests essentially and
injuriously affected.
We have been sneeringly told that she is a small state; that her
population does not exceed half a million of souls; and that more than
one half are not of the European race. The facts are so. I know she
never can be a great state, and that the only distinction to which she
can aspire must be based on the moral and intellectual acquirements of
her sons. To the development of these much of her attention has been
directed; but this restrictive system, which has so unjustly exacted
the proceeds of her labor, to be bestowed on other sections, has so
impaired the resources of the state, that, if not speedily arrested,
it will dry up the means of education, and with it deprive her of the
only source through which she can aspire to distinction. . . . .
The people of the state believe that the Union is a union of states,
and not of individuals; that it was formed by the states, and that the
citizens of the several states were bound to it through the acts of
their several states; that each state ratified the Constitution for
itself; and that it was only by such ratification of a state that any
obligation was imposed upon the citizens; thus believing, it is the
opinion of the people of Carolina, that it belongs to the state which
has imposed the obligation to declare, in the last resort, the extent
of this obligation, so far as her citizens are concerned; and this
upon the plain principles which exist in all analogous cases of
compact between sovereign bodies. On this principle, the people of the
state, acting in their sovereign capacity in convention, precisely as
they adopted their own and the federal Constitution, have declared by
the ordinance, that the acts of Congress which imposed duties under
the authority to lay imposts, are acts, not for revenue, as intended
by the Constitution, but for protection, and therefore null and void.
[Mr. Calhoun's biographer, Mr. Jenkins, adds,
"Nullification, it has been said, was 'a little
hurricane while it lasted;' but it cooled the air, and
'left a beneficial effect on the atmosphere.' Its
influence was decidedly healthful."]
THE WISE CHOICE.
(_From a speech in 1816._)
This country is now in a situation similar to that which one of the
most beautiful writers of antiquity ascribes to Hercules in his youth.
He represents the hero as retiring into the wilderness to deliberate
on the course of life which he ought to choose. Two goddesses approach
him; one recommending a life of ease and pleasure; the other, of labor
and virtue. The hero adopts the counsel of the latter, and his fame
and glory are known to the world. May this country, the youthful
Hercules, possessing his form and muscles, be animated by similar
sentiments, and follow his example!
OFFICIAL PATRONAGE.
(_Speech in the Senate, 1835._)
Their object is to get and hold office; and their leading political
maxim . . . is that, "to the victors belong the spoils of victory!"[8]
. . . Can any one, who will duly reflect on these things, venture to
say that all is sound, and that our Government is not undergoing a
great and fatal change? Let us not deceive ourselves, the very essence
of a free government consists in considering _offices as public
trusts_, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit
of an individual or a party; and that system of political morals which
regards offices in a different light, as _public prizes_ to be won by
combatants most skilled in all the arts and corruption of political
tactics, and to be used and enjoyed as their proper spoils--strikes a
fatal blow at the very vitals of free institutions.
FOOTNOTE:
[8] William L. Marcy of New York, in the Senate, 1831.
NATHANIEL BEVERLEY TUCKER.
~1784=1851.~
BEVERLEY TUCKER, as he is usually known, was the son St. George Tucker
and half-brother to John Randolph of Roanoke. He was born at
Williamsburg, Virginia, educated at William and Mary College, and
studied law. From 1815 to 1830 he lived in Missouri and practiced his
profession with great success. He returned to Virginia, and became in
1834 professor of Law in William and Mary College, filling that
position until his death. By his public writings and by correspondence
with various prominent men, he took a leading part in the political
movements of his times.
WORKS.
The Partisan Leader, a Tale of the Future, by William Edward Sydney.
George Balcombe, [a novel.]
Life of John Randolph, [his half-brother.]
Essays, [in Southern Literary Messenger.]
Political Science.
Principles of Pleading.
Of Judge Tucker's style, his friend, Wm. Gilmore Simms, with whom he
long corresponded, says: "I regard him as one of the best prose
writers of the United States."
His novel, "The Partisan Leader," made a great sensation. It was
published in 1836; the story was laid in 1849, and described
prophetically almost the exact course of events in 1861. It was
suppressed for political reasons, but was reprinted in 1861 as a "Key
to the Disunion Conspiracy." The extract is from the beginning of the
book and introduces us at once to several interesting characters amid
the wild scenery of our mountains.
THE PARTISAN LEADER, (WRITTEN IN 1836).
[The scene is laid in Virginia, near the close of the
year 1849. By a long series of encroachments by the
federal government on the rights and powers of the
states, our federative system is supposed to be
destroyed, and a consolidated government, with the forms
of a republic and the powers of a monarchy, to be
established on its ruins. . . . . . As a mere political
speculation, it is but too probably correct. We trust
that a benign Providence will so order events as that it
may not prove also a POLITICAL PROPHECY.--Sou. Lit.
Messenger, Jan., 1837.]
Toward the latter end of the month of October, 1849, about the hour of
noon, a horseman was seen ascending a narrow valley at the Eastern
foot of the Blue Ridge. His road nearly followed the course of a small
stream, which, issuing from a deep gorge of the mountain, winds its
way between lofty hills, and terminates its brief and brawling course
in one of the larger tributaries of the Dan. A glance of the eye took
in the whole of the little settlement that lined its banks, and
measured the resources of its inhabitants. The different tenements
were so near to each other as to allow but a small patch of arable
land to each. Of manufactures there was no appearance, save only a
rude shed at the entrance of the valley, on the door of which the
oft-repeated brand of the horseshoe gave token of a smithy. There,
too, the rivulet, increased by the innumerable springs which afforded
to every habitation the unappreciated, but inappreciable luxury of
water, cold, clear, and sparkling, had gathered strength enough to
turn a tiny mill. Of trade there could be none. The bleak and rugged
barrier, which closed the scene on the west, and the narrow road,
fading to a foot-path, gave assurance to the traveller that he had
here reached the _ne plus ultra_ of social life in that
direction. . . . . At length he heard a sound of voices, and then a
shrill whistle, and all was still. Immediately, some half a dozen men,
leaping a fence, ranged themselves across the road and faced him. He
observed that each, as he touched the ground, laid hold of a rifle
that leaned against the enclosure, and this circumstance drew his
attention to twenty or more of these formidable weapons, ranged along
in the same position. . . . As the traveller drew up his horse, one of
the men, speaking in a low and quiet tone, said, "We want a word with
you, stranger, before you go any farther."
"As many as you please," replied the other, "for I am tired and
hungry, and so is my horse; and I am glad to find some one at last,
of whom I may hope to purchase something for both of us to eat."
"_That_ you can have quite handy," said the countryman, "for we have
been gathering corn, and were just going to our dinner. If you will
only just 'light, sir, one of the boys can feed your horse, and you
can take such as we have got to give you."
The invitation was accepted; the horse was taken in charge by a
long-legged lad of fifteen, without hat or shoes; and the whole party
crossed the fence together.
At the moment a man was seen advancing toward them, who, observing
their approach, fell back a few steps, and threw himself on the ground
at the foot of a large old apple-tree. Around this were clustered a
motley group of men, women, and boys, who opened and made way for the
stranger. He advanced, and bowing gracefully took off his forage cap,
from beneath which a quantity of soft curling flaxen hair fell over
his brow and cheeks. Every eye was now fixed on him, with an
expression rather of interest than of mere curiosity. Every
countenance was serious and composed, and all wore an air of business,
except that a slight titter was heard among the girls, who, hovering
behind the backs of their mothers, peeped through the crowd, to get a
look at the handsome stranger. . . . .
As the youth approached, the man at the foot of the tree arose, and
returned the salutation, which seemed unheeded by the rest. He
advanced a step or two and invited the stranger to be seated. This
action, and the looks turned towards him by the others, showed that he
was in authority of some sort among them. With him, therefore, our
traveller concluded that the proposed conference was to be
held. . . . . . . . . .
He was at length asked whence he came, and answered, from the
neighborhood of Richmond.--From which side of the river?--From the
north side.--Did he know anything of Van Courtlandt?--His camp was at
Bacon's branch, just above the town.--What force had he?
"I cannot say, certainly," he replied, "but common fame made his
numbers about four thousand."
"Is that all, on both sides of the river?" said his interrogator.
"O, no! Col. Loyal's regiment is at Petersburg, and Col. Cole's at
Manchester; each about five hundred strong; and there is a piquet on
the Bridge Island."
"Did you cross there?"
"I did not."
"Where, then?" he was asked.
"I can hardly tell you," he replied, "it was at a private ford,
several miles above Cartersville."
"Was not that mightily out of the way? What made you come so far
around?"
"It was safer travelling on that side of the river."
"Then the people on that side of the river are your friends?"
"No. They are not. But, as they are all of a color there, they would
let me pass, and ask no questions, as long as I travelled due west. On
this side, if you are one man's friend, you are the next man's enemy;
and I had no mind to answer questions."
"You seem to answer them now mighty freely."
"That is true. I am like a letter that tells all it knows as soon as
it gets to the right hand; but it does not want to be opened before
that."
"And how do you know that you have got to the right hand now?"
"Because I know where I am."
"And where are you?"
"Just at the foot of the Devil's-Backbone," replied the youth.
"Were you ever here before?"
"Never in my life."
"How do you know then where you are?" asked the mountaineer.
"Because the right way to avoid questions is to ask none. So I took
care to know all about the road, and the country, and the place,
before I left home."
"And who told you all about it?"
"Suppose I should tell you," answered the young man, "that Van
Courtlandt had a map of the country made, and gave it to me."
"I should say you were a traitor to him, or a spy upon us," was the
stern reply.
At the same moment, a startled hum was heard from the crowd, and the
press moved and swayed for an instant, as if a sort of spasm had
pervaded the whole mass.
"You are a good hand at questioning," said the youth, with a smile,
"but without asking a single question, I have found out all I wanted
to know."
"And what was that?" asked the other.
"Whether you were friends to the Yorkers and Yankees, or to poor old
Virginia."
"And which _are_ we for?" added the laconic mountaineer.
"For _old Virginia forever_," replied the youth. . . . . It was echoed
in a shout, . . . . their proud war-cry of "_old Virginia forever_."
DAVID CROCKETT.
~1786=1836.~
This renowned hunter and pioneer, commonly called Davy Crockett, was
born in Limestone, Green County, Tennessee. His free and wild youth
was spent in hunting. He became a soldier in the war of 1812: he was
elected to the Tennessee Legislature in 1821 and 1823, and to Congress
in 1829 and 1833. His eccentricity of manners, his lack of education,
and his strong common sense and shrewdness made him a marked figure,
especially in Washington. In 1835 he went to Texas to aid in the
struggle for independence; and in 1836, was massacred by General Santa
Anna, with five other prisoners, after the surrender of the Alamo,
these six being the only survivors of a band of one hundred and forty
Texans. See Life by Edward S. Ellis.
WORKS.
Autobiography.
A Tour to the North and Down East.
Life of Van Buren, Heir-Apparent to the Government.
Crockett's autobiography was written to correct various mistakes in an
unauthorized account of his life and adventures, that was largely
circulated. His books are unique in literature as he is in human
nature, and they give us an original account of things. As to literary
criticism of his works and style, see his own opinion in the extract
below.
SPELLING AND GRAMMAR--HIS PROLOGUE.
(_From A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of
Tennessee. Written by Himself. 1834._)
[Illustration: ~Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.~]
I don't know of anything in my book to be criticised on by honourable
men. Is it on my spelling?--that's not my trade. Is it on my
grammar?--I hadn't time to learn it, and make no pretensions to it.
Is it on the order and arrangement of my book?--I never wrote one
before, and never read very many; and, of course, know mighty little
about that. Will it be on the authorship of the book?--this I claim,
and I'll hang on to it, like a wax plaster. The whole book is my own,
and every sentiment and sentence in it. I would not be such a fool, or
knave either, as to deny that I have had it hastily run over by a
friend or so, and that some little alterations have been made in the
spelling and grammar; and I am not so sure that it is not the worse of
even that, for I despise this way of spelling contrary to nature. And
as for grammar, it's pretty much a thing of nothing at last, after all
the fuss that's made about it. In some places, I wouldn't suffer
either the spelling, or grammar, or anything else to be touch'd; and
therefore it will be found in my own way.
But if anybody complains that I have had it looked over, I can only
say to him, her, or them--as the case may be--that while critics were
learning grammar, and learning to spell, I, and "Doctor Jackson,
L. L. D." were fighting in the wars; and if our books, and messages,
and proclamations, and cabinet writings, and so forth, and so on,
should need a little looking over, and a little correcting of the
spelling and grammar to make them fit for use, it's just nobody's
business. Big men have more important matters to attend to than
crossing their _t's_ and dotting their _i's_--, and such like small
things.
ON A BEAR HUNT.
(_From the Life of David Crockett. Written by Himself. 1834._)
It was mighty dark, and was difficult to see my way or anything else.
When I got up the hill, I found I had passed the dogs, and so I turned
and went to them. I found, when I got there, they had treed the bear
in a large forked poplar, and it was setting in the fork. I could see
the lump, but not plain enough to shoot with any certainty, as there
was no moonlight; and so I set in to hunting for some dry brush to
make me a light; but I could find none.
At last I thought I could shoot by guess, and kill him; so I pointed
as near the lump as I could, and fired away. But the bear didn't come;
he only clomb up higher, and got out on a limb, which helped me to see
him better. I now loaded up again and fired, but this time he didn't
move at all. I commenced loading for a third fire, but the first thing
I knowed the bear was down among my dogs, and they were fighting all
around me. I had my big butcher in my belt, and I had a pair of
dressed buckskin breeches on. So I took out my knife, and stood,
determined, if he should get hold of me, to defend myself in the best
way I could. I stood there for some time, and could now and then see a
white dog I had, but the rest of them, and the bear, which were dark
coloured, I couldn't see at all, it was so miserable dark. They still
fought around me, and sometimes within three feet of me; but, at last,
the bear got down into one of the cracks that the earthquake had made
in the ground, about four feet deep, and I could tell the biting end
of him by the hollering of my dogs. So I took my gun and pushed the
muzzle of it about, till I thought I had it against the main part of
his body, and fired; but it happened to be only the fleshy part of his
foreleg. With this, I jumped out of the crack, and he and the dogs had
another hard fight around me, as before. At last, however, they forced
him back into the crack again, as he was when I had shot. . .
I made a lounge with my long knife, and fortunately stuck him right
through the heart; at which he just sank down, and I crawled out in a
hurry. In a little while my dogs all come out too, and seemed
satisfied, which was the way they always had of telling me that they
had finished him. . . . . . . .
We prepared for resting that night, and I can a-sure the reader I was
in need of it. We had laid down by our fire, and about ten o'clock
there came a most terrible earthquake, which shook the earth so, that
we were rocked about like we had been in a cradle. We were very much
alarmed; for though we were accustomed to feel earthquakes, we were
now right in the region which had been torn to pieces by them in 1812,
and we thought it might take a notion and swallow us up, like the big
fish did Jonah.
In the morning we packed up and moved to the harricane, where we made
another camp, and turned out that evening and killed a very large
bear, which made _eight_ we had now killed in this hunt.
The next morning we entered the harricane again, and in little or no
time my dogs were in full cry. We pursued them, and soon came to a
thick cane-brake in which they had stopp'd their bear. We got up close
to him, as the cane was so thick that we couldn't see more than a few
feet. Here I made my friend hold the cane a little open with his gun
till I shot the bear, which was a mighty large one. I killed him dead
in his tracks. We got him out and butchered him, and in a little time
started another and killed him, which now made ten we had killed and
we know'd we couldn't pack any more home, as we had only five horses
along; therefore we returned to the camp and salted up all our meat,
to be ready for a start homeward next morning.
The morning came and we packed our horses with the meat, and had as
much as they could possibly carry, and sure enough cut out for home.
It was about thirty miles, and we reached home the second day. I
. . . had killed in all, up to that time, fifty-eight bears, during
the fall and winter.
As soon as the time came for them to quit their houses and come out
again in the spring, I took a notion to hunt a little more, and in
about one month I had killed forty-seven more, which made one hundred
and five bears I had killed in less than one year from that
time. . . .
Motto.--Be sure you are right--then go ahead.
RICHARD HENRY WILDE.
~1789=1847.~
RICHARD HENRY WILDE was a native of Ireland but was brought to this
country when a child of nine. His father died in 1802 and the widowed
mother took up her residence in Augusta, Georgia. He studied law and
became a successful practitioner. He was Attorney-General of the
State, and served also in the Legislature and in Congress. He spent
the years 1834-40 in Europe studying chiefly Italian literature; in
his researches he discovered some old documents relating to Dante and
a portrait of him painted by Giotto on a wall which had become covered
over with whitewash. On his return to America he settled in New
Orleans and became professor of Law in the University of Louisiana. He
died there of yellow fever.
He began an epic poem, suggested by the life and adventures of his
brother, James Wilde, in the Seminole war. But it was never finished:
all that remains of it now is the fine lyric, "My Life is Like the
Summer Rose." This song was translated by Anthony Barclay into Greek
and announced to be a newly discovered ode of Alcaeus. This claim was
soon disproved by the scholars, and to Mr. Wilde was given his due
meed of poetic authorship. It appears in Stedman's "Library of
American Literature," as dedicated to Mrs. White-Beatty, daughter of
Gen. John Adair, of Ky., the beautiful "Florida White" of "Casa
Bianca," Florida.--See Life, Labors, and Grave of Wilde, by C. C.
Jones, Jr.
WORKS.
Conjectures and Researches concerning the Love, Madness, and
Imprisonment of Tasso, (containing translations of poems.)
Petrarch.
Poems, original and translated.
Life of Dante, [unfinished.]
Hesperia.
MY LIFE IS LIKE THE SUMMER ROSE.
My life is like the summer rose,
That opens to the morning sky,
And ere the shades of evening close,
Is scattered on the ground to die;
Yet on that rose's humble bed
The sweetest dews of night are shed
As though she wept such waste to see;
But none shall weep a tear for me!
My life is like the autumn leaf
Which trembles in the moon's pale ray,
Its hold is frail, its date is brief,
Restless, and soon to pass away;
Yet when that leaf shall fall and fade,
The parent tree will mourn its shade,
The wind bewail the leafless tree;
But none shall breathe a sigh for me!
My life is like the prints which feet
Have left on Tampa's desert strand,
Soon as the rising tide shall beat
Their trace will vanish from the sand;
Yet still as grieving to efface
All vestige of the human race,
On that lone shore loud moans the sea;
But none, alas! shall mourn for me!
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET.
~1790=1870.~
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET was born in Augusta, Georgia. He became
first a lawyer and was elected to the State Legislature in 1821 and
judge of the Superior Court in 1822. Later he became a clergyman in
the Methodist Church and president of Emory College, Georgia, being
afterwards successively president of Centenary College, Louisiana, of
the University of Mississippi, and of South Carolina College.
His best-known book, "Georgia Scenes," seems in his later days to have
troubled his conscience and he tried to suppress it entirely. But
sketches so amusing and so true to life would not be suppressed. See
Sketch in Miss Rutherford's American Authors, (Atlanta).
WORKS.
Essays and Articles in various magazines.
Letters to Clergymen of the Northern Methodist Church.
Letters from Georgia to Massachusetts.
Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents, in First Half Century of
the Republic, by a Native Georgian.
Master William Mitten.
NED BRACE AT CHURCH.
(_From Georgia Scenes, first edition, 1835._[9])
[Ned Brace was a real personage, Judge Edmund Bacon,
born in Virginia, 1776, lived in Edgefield, South
Carolina, and died there in 1826. He was of very social,
hospitable nature, a practical joker, and, as Dr. Maxcy
called him, "a perfect Garrick" in his conversation. He
was a lawyer of great ability, and when very young and a
student at Augusta he was appointed to deliver an
address of welcome to Washington on his Southern tour.
If the following anecdotes are not true, they might well
have been, as Judge Longstreet says.]
This being the Sabbath, at the usual hour Ned went to Church, and
selected for his morning service one of those Churches in which the
pews are free, and in which the hymn is given out and sung by the
congregation, a half recitative.
Ned entered the Church, in as fast a walk as he could possibly assume;
proceeded about half down the aisle, and popped himself down in his
seat as quick as if he had been shot. The more thoughtless of the
congregation began to titter, and the graver peeped up slily, but
solemnly at him.
The pastor rose, and, before giving out the hymn, observed that
_singing_ was a part of the service, in which he thought the whole
congregation ought to join. Thus saying, he gave out the first lines
of the hymn. As soon as the tune was raised, Ned struck in, with one
of the loudest, hoarsest, and most discordant voices that ever annoyed
a solemn assembly.
"I would observe," said the preacher, before giving out the next two
lines, "that there are some people who have not the gift of singing;
such, of course, are not expected to sing."
Ned took the hint and sang no more; but his entrance into church, and
his entrance into the hymn, had already dispersed the solemnity of
three fifths of the congregation.
As soon as the pastor commenced his sermon, Ned opened his eyes, threw
back his head, dropt his under jaw, and surrendered himself to the
most intense interest. The preacher was an indifferent one; and by as
much as he became dull and insipid, by so much did Ned become absorbed
in his discourse. And yet it was impossible for the nicest observer to
detect anything in his looks or manner, short of the most solemn
devotion. The effect which his conduct had upon the congregation, and
their subsequent remarks, must be left to the imagination of the
reader. I give but one remark: "Bless that good man who came in the
church so quick," said a venerable matron as she left the church
door, "how he was affected by the _sarment_."
Ned went to church no more on that day. About four o'clock in the
afternoon, while he was standing at the tavern door, a funeral
procession passed by, at the foot of which, and singly, walked one of
the smallest men I ever saw. As soon as he came opposite the door, Ned
stepped out and joined him with great solemnity. The contrast between
the two was ludicrously striking, and the little man's looks and
uneasiness plainly showed that he felt it. However, he soon became
reconciled to it. They proceeded but a little way before Ned inquired
of his companion who was dead.
"Mr. Noah Bills," said the little man.
"Nan?" said Ned, raising his hand to his ear in token of deafness, and
bending his head to the speaker.
"Mr. Noah Bills," repeated the little man, loud enough to disturb the
two couples immediately before him.
"Mrs. Noel's Bill!" said Ned with mortification and astonishment. "Do
the white persons pay such respect to niggers in Savannah? _I_ sha'n't
do it." So saying, he left the procession.
The little man was at first considerably nettled; but upon being left
to his own reflections, he got into an uncontrollable fit of laughter,
as did the couple immediately in advance of him, who overheard Ned's
remark. The procession now exhibited a most mortifying spectacle--the
head of it in mourning and in tears, and the foot of it convulsed with
laughter.
A SAGE CONVERSATION.
(_From Georgia Scenes, first edition, 1835._)
[Three old women over their pipes.]
_Mrs. Shad._--The old man likes a joke yet right well, the old man
does; but he's a mighty good man, and I think he prays with greater
libity, than most any one of his age I most ever seed,--don't you
think he does, Mis' Reed?
_Mrs. Reed._--Powerful.
_Mrs. Barney._.--Who did he marry?
_Mrs. Shad._--Why, he married--stop, I'll tell you directly--Why, what
does make my old head forget so?
_Mrs. Barney._--Well, it seems to me I don't remember like I used to.
Didn't he marry a Ramsbottom?
_Mrs. Reed._--No. Stay, I'll tell you who he married presently. Oh,
stay! Why I'll tell you who he married! He married old daddy Johnny
Hooer's da'ter, Mournin'.
_Mrs. Shad._--Why, la! messy on me, so he did!
_Mrs. Barney._--Why, did he marry a Hooer?
_Mrs. Shad._--Why, to be sure he did.--You knew Mournin'.
_Mrs. Barney._--Oh, mighty well; but I'd forgot that brother Smith
married her. I really thought he married a Ramsbottom.
_Mrs. Reed._--Oh no, bless your soul, honey, he married Mournin'.
_Mrs. Barney._--Well, the law me, I'm clear beat!
_Mrs. Shad._--Oh, it's so, you may be sure it is.
_Mrs. Barney._--Emph, emph, emph, emph! And brother Smith married
Mournin' Hooer! Well, I'm clear put out! Seems to me I'm gettin'
mighty forgetful somehow.
_Mrs. Shad._--Oh yes, he married Mournin', and I saw her when she
joined society.
_Mrs. Barney._--Why, you don't tell me so!
_Mrs. Shad._--Oh, it's the truth. She didn't join till after she was
married, and the church took on mightily about his marrying one out of
society. But after she joined, they all got satisfied.
_Mrs. Reed._--Why, la! me, the seven stars is 'way over here!
_Mrs. Barney._--Well, let's light our pipes, and take a short smoke,
and go to bed. How did you come on raisin' chickens this year, Mis'
Shad?
_Mrs. Shad._--La messy, honey! I have had mighty bad luck. I had the
prettiest pa'sel you most ever seed, till the varment took to killin'
'em.
_Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Barney._--The varment!!
_Mrs. Shad._--Oh, dear, yes. The hawk catched a powerful sight of
them; and then the varment took to 'em, and nat'ly took 'em fore and
aft, bodily, till they left most none at all hardly. Sucky counted 'em
up t'other day, and there warn't but thirty-nine, she said, countin'
in the old speckle hen's chickens that jist come off her nest.
_Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Barney._--Humph--h--h!
_Mrs. Reed._--Well, I've had bad luck, too. Billy's hound-dogs broke
up most all my nests.
_Mrs. Barney._--Well, so they did me, Mis' Reed. I always did despise
a hound-dog upon the face of yea'th.
_Mrs. Reed._--Oh, they are the bawllinest, squallinest, thievishest
things ever was about one; but Billy will have 'em, and I think in my
soul his old Troup's the beat of all creaters I ever seed in all my
born days a-suckin' o' hen's eggs. He's clean most broke me up
entirely.
_Mrs. Shad._--The lackaday!
_Mrs. Reed._--And them that was hatched out, some took to takin' the
gaps, and some the pip, and one ailment or other, till they most all
died. . . .
_Mrs. Barney._--I reckon they must have eat something didn't agree
with them.
_Mrs. Reed._--No, they didn't, for I fed 'em every mornin' with my own
hand.
_Mrs. Barney._--Well, it's mighty curious!
A short pause ensued, which was broken by Mrs. Barney with, "And
brother Smith married Mournin' Hooer!"
FOOTNOTE:
[9] By special kindness of Mr. Charles Edgeworth Jones, Augusta, Ga.
ROBERT YOUNG HAYNE.
~1791=1839.~
ROBERT YOUNG HAYNE was born in St. Paul's Parish, Colleton District,
South Carolina, and was educated in Charleston. He became a lawyer; he
served in the war of 1812, and was in the State Legislature from 1814
to 1818. He was Attorney-General of the United States under President
Monroe, and in 1823 was elected to the Senate. His most famous speech
is that in the debate with Daniel Webster on the Right of
Nullification.
South Carolina passed the ordinance of Nullification in November,
1832, elected Mr. Hayne governor, and when President Jackson issued a
martial proclamation against her action, she prepared for war. Mr.
Clay's Tariff Compromise prevented any outbreak.
Mr. Hayne died in Asheville, North Carolina, yet in the prime of life.
See his Life by Paul Hamilton Hayne.
WORKS.
Speeches.
Mr. Hayne was one of the leaders in the stirring times in which he
lived; the extract following gives an example of his bold, fearless
eloquence, and his power in debate.
STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND LIBERTY.
(_From the Debate with Webster in the Senate, 1830._)
Sir, there have existed, in every age and in every country, two
distinct orders of men--the _lovers of freedom_ and the devoted
_advocates of power_.
The same great leading principles, modified only by the peculiarities
of manners, habits, and institutions, divided parties in the ancient
republics, animated the Whigs and Tories of Great Britain,
distinguished in our own times the Liberals and Ultras of France, and
may be traced even in the bloody struggles of unhappy Spain. Sir, when
the gallant Riego, who devoted himself and all that he possessed to
the liberties of his country, was dragged to the scaffold, followed by
the tears and lamentations of every lover of freedom throughout the
world, he perished amid the deafening cries of "Long live the absolute
King!" The people whom I represent, Mr. President, are the descendants
of those who brought with them to this country, as the most precious
of their possessions, "an ardent love of liberty"; and while that
shall be preserved, they will always be found manfully struggling
against the consolidation of the Government as the worst of
evils. . . . . .
The Senator from Massachusetts, in denouncing what he is pleased to
call the Carolina doctrine, has attempted to throw ridicule upon the
idea that a State has any constitutional remedy, by the exercise of
its sovereign authority, against "a gross, palpable, and deliberate
violation of the Constitution." He calls it "an idle" or "a ridiculous
notion," or something to that effect, and added, that it would make
the Union a "mere rope of sand." Now, sir, as the gentleman has not
condescended to enter into any examination of the question, and has
been satisfied with throwing the weight of his authority into the
scale, I do not deem it necessary to do more than to throw into the
opposite scale the authority on which South Carolina relies; and
there, for the present, I am perfectly willing to leave the
controversy. . . . . . . .
. . . The doctrine that it is the right of a State to judge of the
violations of the Constitution on the part of the Federal Government,
and to protect her citizens from the operations of unconstitutional
laws, was held by the enlightened citizens of Boston, who assembled
in Faneuil Hall, on the 25th of January, 1809. They state, in that
celebrated memorial, that "they looked only to the State Legislature,
which was competent to devise relief against the unconstitutional acts
of the General Government. That your power (say they) is adequate to
that object, is evident from the organization of the confederacy."
. . . .
[Illustration: ~University of North Carolina.~]
Thus it will be seen, Mr. President, that the South Carolina doctrine
is the Republican doctrine of '98,--that it was promulgated by the
fathers of the faith,--that it was maintained by Virginia and Kentucky
in the worst of times,--that it constituted the very pivot on which
the political revolution of that day turned,--that it embraces the
very principles, the triumph of which, at that time, saved the
Constitution "at its last gasp," and which New England statesmen were
not unwilling to adopt when they believed themselves to be the victims
of unconstitutional legislation. Sir, as to the doctrine that the
Federal Government is the exclusive judge of the extent as well as the
limitations of its power, it seems to me to be utterly perversive of
the sovereignty and independence of the States. It makes but little
difference, in my estimation, whether Congress or the Supreme Court
are invested with this power. If the Federal Government, in all, or
any, of its departments, is to prescribe the limits of its own
authority, and the States are bound to submit to the decision, and are
not to be allowed to examine and decide when the barriers of the
Constitution shall be overleaped, this is practically, "a government
without limitation of powers." The States are at once reduced to mere
petty corporations, and the people are entirely at your mercy. I have
but one word more to add. In all the efforts that have been made by
South Carolina to resist the unconstitutional laws which Congress has
extended over her, she has kept steadily in view the preservation of
the Union, by the only means by which she believes it can be long
preserved--a firm, manly, and steady resistance against
usurpation. . . . Sir, if, acting on these high motives,--if, animated
by that ardent love of liberty, which has always been the most
prominent trait in the Southern character, we should be hurried beyond
the bounds of a cold and calculating prudence; who is there, with one
noble and generous sentiment in his bosom, who would not be disposed,
in the language of Burke, to exclaim, "You must pardon something to
the spirit of liberty"?
SAM HOUSTON.
~1793=1863.~
GENERAL SAM HOUSTON, first President of Texas, was born in Rockbridge
County, Virginia, but his widowed mother removed in his childhood to
Tennessee and settled near the Cherokee Country. Here he was much with
the Indians and was adopted by a chief named Oolooteka, who called him
Coloneh (the Rover).
In 1813 he became a soldier in the Creek war and was almost fatally
wounded at the battle of Tohopeka, or Horse-shoe Bend, Alabama. In
1818 he decided to study law and went to Nashville, where he became
quite successful as a lawyer and soon received political honors, being
elected member of Congress in 1823 and governor of Tennessee in 1827.
In 1829 he left Tennessee for the West, spent three years in Arkansas
among the Cherokees who had emigrated thither, his old friend
Oolooteka being one of them; and in 1832 went to Texas, with which
State his after life is connected. He was made Commander-in-Chief of
the Texan forces in the struggle for independence against Mexico, and
by the battle of San Jacinto, 1836, he put an end to the war, and in
the same year he was elected first President of the Republic of Texas.
He was elected again in 1841 after Lamar's administration; and when in
1845 Texas became a State in the Union, he entered the United States
Senate where he served until 1859. He was governor of Texas from 1859
to 1861 and then retired to private life. He is buried at Huntsville.
He was ever a warm friend to the Indians; he was opposed to secession,
and took little interest and no part in the Confederate war, except by
allowing his oldest son to enter its service.
His life by Rev. Wm. Carey Crane, President of Baylor University,
gives a graphic account of a most interesting and independent
character; and it contains also his literary remains, consisting of
_State Papers_, _Indian Talks_, _Letters_, and _Speeches_.
CAUSE OF THE TEXAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.
(_From a Letter to Santa Anna, 1842._)
The people of Texas were invited to migrate to this country for the
purpose of enjoying equal rights and constitutional liberty. They were
promised the shield of the Constitution of 1824, adopted by Mexico.
Confiding in this pledge, they removed to the country to encounter all
the privations of a wilderness, under the alluring promises of free
institutions. Other reasons operated also. Citizens of the United
States had engaged in the revolution of Mexico, in 1812. They fought
gallantly in the achievement of Mexican independence, and many of them
survive, and to this day occupy the soil which their privations and
valor assisted in achieving. On their removal here, they brought with
them no aspirations or projects but such as were loyal to the
Constitution of Mexico. They repelled the Indian savages; they
encountered every discomfort; they subdued the wilderness, and
converted into cultivated fields the idle waste of this now prolific
territory. Their courage and enterprise achieved that which the
imbecility of your countrymen had either neglected, or left for
centuries unaccomplished. Their situation, however, was not
disregarded by Mexico, though she did not, as might have been
expected, extend to them a protecting and fostering care, but viewed
them as objects of cupidity, rapacity, and at last jealousy.
The Texans, enduring the annoyances and oppressions inflicted upon
them, remained faithful to the Constitution of Mexico. In 1832, when
an attempt was made to destroy that Constitution, and when you, sir,
threw yourself forward as its avowed champion, you were sustained with
all the fidelity and valor that freemen could contribute. On the
avowal of your principles, and in accordance with them, the people put
down the serviles of despotism at Anahuac, Velasco, and Nacogdoches.
They treated the captives of that struggle with humanity, and sent
them to Mexico subject to your orders. They regarded you as the friend
of liberty and free institutions; they hailed you as a benefactor of
mankind; your name and your actions were lauded, and the
manifestations you had given in behalf of the nation were themes of
satisfaction and delight to the Texan patriots.
You can well imagine the transition of feeling which ensued on your
accession to power. Your subversion of the Constitution of 1824, your
establishment of centralism, your conquest of Zacatecas, characterized
by every act of violence, cruelty, and rapine, inflicted upon us the
profoundest astonishment. We realized all the uncertainty of men
awakening to reality from the unconsciousness of delirium. In
succession came your orders for the Texans to surrender their private
arms. The mask was thrown aside and the monster of despotism displayed
in all the habiliments of loathsome detestation.
There was presented to Texans the alternative of tamely crouching to
the tyrant's lash, or exalting themselves to the attributes of
freemen. They chose the latter. To chastise them for their presumption
induced your advance upon Texas, with your boasted veteran army,
mustering a force nearly equal to the whole population of this country
at that time. You besieged and took the Alamo: but under what
circumstances? Not those, surely, which should characterize a general
of the nineteenth century. You assailed one hundred and fifty men,
destitute of every supply requisite for the defence of that place. Its
brave defenders, worn by vigilance and duty beyond the power of human
nature to sustain, were at length overwhelmed by a force of nine
thousand men, and the place taken. I ask you, sir, what scenes
followed? Were they such as should characterize an able general, a
magnanimous warrior, and the President of a great nation numbering
eight millions of souls? No. Manliness and generosity would sicken at
the recital of the scenes incident to your success, and humanity
itself would blush to class you among the chivalric spirits of the age
of vandalism.[10] This you have been pleased to class as in the
"succession of your victories;" and I presume you would next include
the massacre at Goliad.
Your triumph there, if such you are pleased to term it, was not the
triumph of arms--it was the success of perfidy. Fannin and his brave
companions had beaten back and defied your veteran soldiers. Although
outnumbered more than seven to one, their valiant, hearty, and
indomitable courage, with holy devotion to the cause of freedom,
foiled every effort directed by your general to insure his success by
arms. He had recourse to a flag of truce; and when the surrender of
the little patriot band was secured by the most solemn treaty
stipulations, what were the tragic scenes that ensued to Mexican
perfidy? The conditions of surrender were submitted to you; and,
though you have denied the facts, instead of restoring them to
liberty, according to the capitulation, you ordered them to be
executed contrary to every pledge given them, contrary to the rules of
war, and contrary to every principle of humanity.
BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.
(_From General Houston's Report to Hon. D. G. Burnet, Provisional
President of the Republic of Texas, April 25, 1836._)
I have the honor to inform you that on the evening of the eighteenth
instant, after a forced march of fifty-five miles, which was effected
in two days and a half, the army arrived opposite Harrisburg. That
evening a courier of the enemy was taken, from whom I learned that
General Santa Anna, with one division of his choice troops, had
marched in the direction of Lynch's Ferry, on the San Jacinto, burning
Harrisburg as he passed down. The army was ordered to be in readiness
to march early on the next morning. The main body effected a crossing
over Buffalo Bayou, below Harrisburg, on the morning of the 19th,
having left the baggage, the sick, and a sufficient camp guard in the
rear. We continued the march throughout the night, making but one halt
in the prairie for a short time, and without refreshment.
At daylight we resumed the line of march, and in a short distance our
scouts encountered those of the enemy, and we received information
that General Santa Anna was at New Washington, and would that day take
up the line of march for Anahuac, crossing at Lynch's Ferry. The Texan
army halted within half a mile of the ferry in some timber, and were
engaged in slaughtering beeves, when the army of Santa Anna was
discovered to be approaching in battle array, having been encamped at
Clopper's Point, eight miles below. Disposition was immediately made
of our forces, and preparation for his reception. He took a position
with his infantry and artillery in the centre, occupying an island of
timber, his cavalry covering the left flank.
The artillery, consisting of one double fortified medium brass
twelve-pounder, then opened on our encampment. The infantry in column
advanced with the design of charging our lines, but were repulsed by a
discharge of grape and canister from our artillery, consisting of two
six-pounders, [called "The Twin Sisters."] The enemy had occupied a
piece of timber within rifle-shot of the left wing of our army, from
which an occasional interchange of small arms took place between the
troops, until the enemy withdrew to a position on the bank of the San
Jacinto, about three-quarters of a mile from our encampment, and
commenced fortification. . . . . . .
About nine o'clock on the morning of the 21st, the enemy were
reinforced by 500 choice troops, under the command of General Cos,
increasing their effective force to upwards of 1,500 men, whilst our
aggregate force for the field numbered 783. At half-past three o'clock
in the evening, I ordered the officers of the Texan army to parade
their respective commands, having in the meantime ordered the bridge
on the only road communicating with the Brazos, distant eight miles
from our encampment, to be destroyed, thus cutting off all possibility
of escape. Our troops paraded with alacrity and spirit, and were
anxious for the conflict. Their conscious disparity in numbers seemed
only to increase their enthusiasm and confidence, and heightened their
anxiety for the conflict. . . . . . .
Col. Sherman, with his regiment, having commenced the action upon our
left wing, the whole line, at the centre and on the right, advancing
in double-quick time, rung the war-cry, "_Remember the Alamo!_"
received the enemy's fire, and advanced within point-blank shot before
a piece was fired from our lines. Our line advanced without a halt,
until they were in possession of the woodland and the enemy's
breastwork, the right wing of Burleson's and the left wing of
Millard's taking possession of the breastwork; our Artillery having
gallantly charged up within seventy yards of the enemy's cannon, when
it was taken by our troops.
The conflict lasted about eighteen minutes from the time of close
action until we were in possession of the enemy's encampment, taking
one piece of cannon (loaded), four stands of colors, all their camp
equipage, stores, and baggage. Our cavalry had charged and routed that
of the enemy upon the right, and given pursuit to the fugitives, which
did not cease until they arrived at the bridge which I have mentioned
before--Captain Karnes, always among the foremost in danger,
commanding the pursuers. The conflict in the breastwork lasted but a
few moments; many of the troops encountered hand to hand, and not
having the advantage of bayonets on our side, our riflemen used their
pieces as war-clubs, breaking many of them off at the breech. The rout
commenced at half-past four, and the pursuit by the main army
continued until twilight. . . .
[In this battle General Houston himself was severely
wounded, one ball shattering his ankle. After this, "the
battalion of Texan infantry was gallantly charged by a
Mexican division of infantry, composed of more than five
hundred men. . . . The Commander-in-Chief, observing the
peril, dashed between the Texan and Mexican infantry,
and exclaimed, 'Come on, my brave fellows, your General
leads you.' . . . The order to fire was given by Gen.
Houston, . . . a single discharge, a rush through the
smoke, cleaving blows of rifles uplifted struck down
those whom the bullets had not slain. Only thirty-two of
the five hundred Mexicans survived to surrender as
prisoners of war. Gen. Houston's wound in the ankle,
meanwhile was bleeding profusely. His horse was dying,
and with difficulty could stagger over the slain. Still
the Commander-in-Chief witnessed every movement of his
army, and as it rolled victoriously over the field, saw
the tide of battle crowning his brave soldiers with
unparalleled success."--See Crane's Life of Sam
Houston.]
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE INDIANS.
(_From a speech on the Indian Policy of the Government, in the Senate,
January, 1855._)
Sir, if the agent appointed by Mr. Polk, who has been restored by the
present Executive--it is a bright spot in his Administration, and I
commend him for it--had never been removed, there would have been
peace to this day on the borders of Texas; but as soon as the Indian
agent who was appointed to succeed him went there, he must forsooth
establish a ranche; he must have a farm. The Indians who had been
settled there from 1843 up to 1849, had been furnished by the
Government of Texas with implements of husbandry, with seeds of every
description, and they were cultivating their little farms. They were
comfortable and independent. They were living in perfect peace. If you
can get Indians located, and place their wives and children within
your cognizance, you need never expect aggression from them. It is the
Indian who has his wife in security beyond your reach, who, like the
felon wolf, goes to a distance to prey on some flock, far removed from
his den; or like the eagle, who seeks his prey from the distance, and
never from the flocks about his eyrie.
The agent to whom I have referred lost two oxen from his ranche where
he kept his cattle. He went to the officer in command of Fort Belknap,
got a force from him, and then marched to those Indians, sixty miles
from there, and told them they must pay for the oxen. They said, "We
know nothing about your oxen; our people are here; here are our women
and children; we have not killed them; we have not stolen them; we
have enough to eat; we are happy; we have raised corn; we have sold
corn; we have corn to sell; we have sold it to your people, and they
have paid us for it, and we are happy." The agent and the military
gentlemen scared off the Indians from the limits of Texas, and drove
them across the Red River to the Wichita Mountains, taking every horse
and animal they had to pay for the two oxen. This was done by an
accredited agent of the Government, and by an officer who deserved but
little credit. Are such things tolerable, and to be tolerated in the
present age and condition of our Government?
What was the consequence? Those Indians felt themselves aggrieved.
They saw that a new _régime_ had come; they had had the era of peace
and plenty, and now they were expelled by a different influence. They
felt grateful for the benign effects of the first policy toward them,
and that only exasperated them to a greater extent against the second;
and they began to make incursions, ready to take vengeance on any
white man they might meet in their neighborhood, and slay whoever they
might find. They made their forays from the opposite side of the Red
River, from the Wichita Mountains, and came like an avalanche upon our
unprotected citizens. There is one fact showing how your interference
with the Indians within her limits has injured Texas. . . . . .
Well, sir, there is a remedy for all this, and it is very easy to
apply it; but how are we circumstanced there? Is it supposed by some
that we are deriving great aid from the army, and that the greatest
portion of the disposable forces of the United States is in Texas, and
protecting it? How can they protect us against the Indians when the
cavalry have not horses which can trot faster than active oxen, and
the infantry dare not go out in any hostile manner for fear of being
shot and scalped! Can they pursue a party who pounce down on a
settlement and take property, and reclaim that property? Have they
ever done it? Did the old rangers of Texas ever fail to do it, when
they were seated on their Texas ponies? They were men of intelligence
and adroitness in regard to the Indian character and Indian warfare.
Do you think a man fit for such service who has been educated at West
Point Academy, furnished with rich stores of learning; more educated
in the science of war than any general who fought through the
Revolution, and assisted in achieving our independence? Are you going
to take such gentlemen, and suppose that by intuition they will
understand the Indian character? Or do you suppose they can track a
turkey, or a deer, in the grass of Texas, or could they track an
Indian, or would they know whether they were tracking a wagon or a
carriage? Not at all, sir.
We wish, in the first place, to have men suited to the circumstances.
Give us agents who are capable of following out their instructions,
and who understand the Indian character. Give us an army, gentlemen,
who understand not only the science of command, but have some notions
of extending justice and protection to the Indian, against the
aggression of the whites, while they protect the whites against the
aggressions from the Indians. Then, and not till then, will you have
peace.
How is this to be done? Withdraw your army. Have five hundred
cavalry, if you will; but I would rather have two hundred and fifty
Texas rangers (such as I could raise), than five hundred of the best
cavalry now in the service. . . . . . Cultivate intercourse with the
Indians. Show them that you have comforts to exchange for their
peltries; bring them around you; domesticate them; familiarize them
with civilization. Let them see that you are rational beings, and they
will become rational in imitation of you; but take no whiskey there at
all, not even for the officers, for fear their generosity would let it
out. . . . . . I would have fields around the trading houses. I would
encourage the Indians to cultivate them. Let them see how much it adds
to their comfort, how it insures to their wives and children abundant
subsistence; and then you win the Indian over to civilization; you
charm him, and he becomes a civilized man.
FOOTNOTE:
[10] Every one in the Alamo was massacred. The inscription there now
is: "Thermopylæ had its messenger of defeat: the Alamo had none."
WILLIAM CAMPBELL PRESTON.
~1794=1860.~
WILLIAM CAMPBELL PRESTON was born in Philadelphia, being one of the
Preston family of Virginia who afterwards went to South Carolina. He
was educated at South Carolina College, being graduated in 1812,
studied law under William Wirt, and later went to Edinburgh, where he
had Hugh Swinton Legaré as fellow-student. He travelled in Europe with
Washington Irving, and was introduced to Sir Walter Scott.
[Illustration: ~Old Plantation Home.~]
In the practice of law he was very successful, and he made a high
reputation as a popular orator, even rivaling, it is said, his
uncle, Patrick Henry. His style is abundant, classical, finished. He
was in the State Legislature 1828-32, and in the United States Senate
1836-42.
From 1845 to 1851, he was president of his Alma Mater, South Carolina
College, and during his office it rose to a high point of efficiency
and became the most popular educational institution in the South.
WORKS.
Addresses.
As an example of Mr. Preston's simpler style and a description of the
charming social life of Columbia--the spirit of which still lives and
graces the capital of South Carolina--the following extract is given.
It is from a newspaper article on the death of Mr. Preston's former
law-partner, Col M'Cord, and is a noble tribute to him and to his
distinguished wife, Mrs. Louisa S. M'Cord.
LITERARY SOCIETY IN COLUMBIA, 1825.
(_Written on the Death of Colonel David J. M'Cord, 1855._)
Many will bring tributes of sorrow, of kindness and affection, and
relieve a heaving bosom by uttering words of praise and commendation;
for in truth, during many years he has been the charm and delight of
the society of Columbia, and of that society, too, when, in the
estimation of all who knew it, it was the rarest aggregation of
elegant, intellectual, and accomplished people that have ever been
found assembled in our village. Thirty years since, amidst the sincere
and unostentatious cordiality which characterized it, at a dinner
party, for example, at Judge De Saussure's, eight or ten of his
favorite associates wanted to do honor to some distinguished
stranger--for such were never permitted to pass through the town
without a tender of the hospitality of that venerable and elegant
gentleman--whose prolonged life exhibited to another generation a
pattern of old gentility, combined with a conscientious and effective
performance of not only the smaller and more graceful duties of life,
which he sweetened and adorned, but also of those graver and higher
tasks which the confidence of his state imposed upon his talents and
learning. To his elegant board naturally came the best and worthiest
of the land. There was found, of equal age with the judge, that very
remarkable man, Dr. Thomas Cooper, replete with all sorts of
knowledge, a living encyclopædia,--"_Multum ille et terris jactatus et
alto_"--good-tempered, joyous, and of a kindly disposition. There was
Judge Nott, who brought into the social circle the keen, shrewd, and
flashing intellect which distinguished him on the bench. There was
Abram Blanding, a man of affairs, very eminent in his profession of
the law, and of most interesting conversation. There was Professor
Robert Henry, with his elegant, accurate, and classical scholarship.
There were Judges Johnston and Harper, whom we all remember, and
lament, and admire.
These gentlemen and others were called, in the course of a morning
walk of the Chancellor, to meet at dinner, it might be, Mr. Calhoun,
or Captain Basil Hall, or Washington Irving; and amongst these was
sure to be found David J. M'Cord, with his genial vivacity, his
multifarious knowledge, and his inexhaustible store of amusing and
apposite anecdotes. He was the life and the pervading spirit of the
circle,--in short, a general favorite. He was then in large practice
at the bar, and publishing his Reports as State Reporter. His frank
and fine manners were rendered the more attractive by an uncommonly
beautiful physiognomy, which gave him the appearance of great youth.
M'Cord entered upon his profession in co-partnership with Henry
Junius Nott; and when a year or two subsequently, this gentleman,
following the bent of his inclination for literature, quitted the
profession, Mr. M'Cord formed a connection with W. C. Preston,--thus
introducing this gentleman, who had then but just come to Columbia,
into practice. The business of the office was extensive, and the
connexion continued until their diverging paths of life led them away
from the profession. The association was cordial and uninterrupted
throughout, whether professional or social; and the latter did not
cease until the grave closed upon M'Cord. While in the law, however,
although assiduously addicted to the study of it, his heart
acknowledged a divided allegiance with literature; which he seemed to
compromise at length by addicting himself to cognate studies--of
political economy, the jural sciences, and political ethics.
When he left the bar, and retired from the more strenuous pursuits of
life, he found occupation and delight in these favorite
studies--stimulated and enhanced by the vigorous co-operation and warm
sympathy of his highly accomplished wife, who not only participated in
the taste for, but shared in the labors of, these studies--and amidst
these congenial and participated pursuits the latter years of his life
were passed. . . . . As his early life was amidst struggle and
bustle--the _fumum strepitumque_ of the public arena--so his latter
years were amidst the repose of an elegant and lettered retirement, in
his well-cultivated fields and amongst his books. His last moments
were solaced by the tender assiduities of his congenial helpmate, of
his children, and of his old and long-familiar friends.
JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY.
~1795=1870.~
JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and received
an excellent early education. He studied law, and was much in public
life; he filled a large place in his native city as a man of culture
and a public-spirited citizen. He served in the State Assembly and in
Congress, and was Secretary of the Navy under President Fillmore when
several important expeditions took place, that of Perry to Japan, of
Lynch to Africa, of Kane to the North Pole. Kennedy Channel was named
in his honor by Dr. Kane.
He made several trips to Europe and while in Paris became well
acquainted with Thackeray. "The Virginians" was appearing as a serial,
and the printers needed a new chapter. Thackeray said to Kennedy, "I
wish you would write one for me."--"Well," said Kennedy, "so I will if
you will give me the run of the story." And he really wrote the fourth
chapter of Vol. II., describing Warrington's escape and return home
through the region about the Cumberland, which he knew well.
He drew up the plan of the Peabody Institute, and was one of the
Trustees; to it he bequeathed his library and manuscripts, the latter
not to be published till 1900. He aided Poe in his early literary life
and was always his friend. He died at Newport, whither he had gone for
his health, and was buried in Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore. See
Life by Tuckerman.
WORKS.
Essays in Red Book, [a satirical journal edited by him and Peter
Hoffman Cruse].
Swallow Barn, [novel of Virginia life].
Horse-Shoe Robinson, Tale of Tory Ascendancy in South Carolina.
Rob of the Bowl, a Legend of St. Inigoes.
Annals of Quodlibet, [political satires].
Memoirs of the late William Wirt.
Addresses, reports, &c.
Mr. Kennedy's writings were very popular during his life-time and
deserve to be so still, for his three novels give graphic and
excellent pictures of their times, and are true in their historical
details, while his Memoirs of Wirt are quite as interesting. His
"Cousin Lucretia's" remedy for chills was actually used by his
grandmother, Mrs. Pendleton of Virginia (see Tuckerman's Life of
Kennedy); and Horse-Shoe Robinson was a real hero of the Revolution
whom Kennedy met in upper South Carolina, 1818.
A COUNTRY GENTLEMAN IN VIRGINIA.
(_From Swallow Barn._)
The master of this lordly domain is Frank Meriwether. He is now in the
meridian of life--somewhere about forty-five. Good cheer and an easy
temper tell well upon him. The first has given him a comfortable,
portly figure, and the latter a contemplative turn of mind, which
inclines him to be lazy and philosophical.
He has some right to pride himself on his personal appearance, for he
has a handsome face, with a dark blue eye and a fine intellectual
brow. His head is growing scant of hair on the crown, which induces
him to be somewhat particular in the management of his locks in that
locality, and these are assuming a decided silvery hue.
It is pleasant to see him when he is going to ride to the Court House
on business occasions. He is then apt to make his appearance in a coat
of blue broad-cloth, astonishingly glossy, and with an unusual amount
of plaited ruffle strutting through the folds of a Marseilles
waistcoat. A worshipful finish is given to this costume by a large
straw hat, lined with green silk. There is a magisterial fulness in
his garments which betokens condition in the world, and a heavy bunch
of seals, suspended by a chain of gold, jingles as he moves,
pronouncing him a man of superfluities.
. . . . .
I am told he keeps the peace as if he commanded a garrison, and
administers justice like a Cadi.
He has some claim to supremacy in this last department; for during
three years he smoked segars in a lawyer's office in Richmond, which
enabled him to obtain a bird's-eye view of Blackstone and the Revised
Code. Besides this, he was a member of a Law Debating Society, which
ate oysters once a week in a cellar; and he wore, in accordance with
the usage of the most prominent law-students of that day, six cravats,
one over the other, and yellow-topped boots, by which he was
recognized as a blood of the metropolis. Having in this way qualified
himself to assert and maintain his rights, he came to his estate, upon
his arrival at age, a very model of landed gentlemen. Since that time
his avocations have had a certain literary tincture; for having
settled himself down as a married man, and got rid of his superfluous
foppery, he rambled with wonderful assiduity through a wilderness of
romances, poems, and dissertations, which are now collected in his
library, and, with their battered blue covers, present a lively type
of an army of continentals at the close of the war, or a hospital of
invalids. These have all at last given way to the newspapers--a
miscellaneous study very attractive and engrossing to country
gentlemen. This line of study has rendered Meriwether a most perilous
antagonist in the matter of legislative proceedings.
A landed proprietor, with a good house and a host of servants, is
naturally a hospitable man. A guest is one of his daily wants. A
friendly face is a necessary of life, without which the heart is apt
to starve, or a luxury without which it grows parsimonious. Men who
are isolated from society by distance, feel these wants by an
instinct, and are grateful for an opportunity to relieve them. In
Meriwether the sentiment goes beyond this. It has, besides, something
dialectic in it. His house is open to everybody, as freely almost as
an inn. But to see him when he has had the good fortune to pick up an
intelligent, educated gentleman, and particularly one who listens
well!--a respectable, assentatious stranger!--All the better if he has
been in the Legislature, and better still, if in Congress. Such a
person caught within the purlieus of Swallow Barn, may set down one
week's entertainment as certain--inevitable, and as many more as he
likes, the more the merrier. He will know something of the quality of
Meriwether's rhetoric before he is gone.
Then again, it is very pleasant to see Frank's kind and considerate
bearing towards his servants and dependents. His slaves appreciate
this, and hold him in most affectionate reverence, and, therefore, are
not only contented, but happy under his dominion.
HIS WIFE.
Whilst Frank Meriwether amuses himself with his quiddities, and floats
through life upon the current of his humor, his dame, my excellent
cousin Lucretia, takes charge of the household affairs, as one who has
a reputation to stake upon her administration. She has made it a
perfect science, and great is her fame in the dispensation thereof!
Those who visited Swallow Barn will long remember the morning stir, of
which the murmurs arose even unto the chambers, and fell upon the ears
of the sleepers; the dry-rubbing of floors, and even the waxing of the
same until they were like ice;--and the grinding of coffee-mills;--and
the gibber of ducks and chickens and turkeys; and all the multitudinous
concert of homely sounds. And then, her breakfasts! I do not wish to be
counted extravagant, but a small regiment might march in upon her
without disappointment, and I would put them for excellence and variety
against anything that ever was served upon platter. Moreover, all things
go like clock-work. She rises with the lark, and infuses an early vigor
into the whole household. And yet, she is a thin woman to look upon, and
a feeble; with a sallow complexion, and a pair of animated black eyes
which impart a portion of fire to a countenance otherwise demure from
the paths worn across it, in the frequent travel of a low-country ague.
But, although her life has been somewhat saddened by such visitations,
my cousin is too spirited a woman to give up to them; for she is
therapeutical, and considers herself a full match for any reasonable
tertian in the world. Indeed, I have sometimes thought that she took
more pride in her leechcraft than becomes a Christian woman; she is even
a little vain-glorious. For, to say nothing of her skill in compounding
simples, she has occasionally brought down upon her head the sober
remonstrances of her husband, by her pertinacious faith in the efficacy
of certain spells in cases of intermittent. But there is no reasoning
against her experience. She can enumerate the cases--"and men may say
what they choose about its being contrary to reason, and all that;--it
is their way! But seeing is believing--nine scoops of water in the
hollow of the hand, from the sycamore spring, for three mornings, before
sunrise, and a cup of strong coffee with lemon-juice, will break an
ague, try it when you will." In short, as Frank says, "Lucretia will die
in that creed."
I am occasionally up early enough to be witness to her morning
regimen, which, to my mind, is rather tyrannically enforced against
the youngsters of her numerous family, both white and black. She is in
the habit of preparing some death-routing decoction for them, in a
small pitcher, and administering it to the whole squadron in
succession, who severally swallow the dose with a most ineffectual
effort at repudiation, and gallop off, with faces all rue and
wormwood.
Everything at Swallow Barn, that falls within the superintendence of
my cousin Lucretia is a pattern of industry. In fact, I consider her
the very priestess of the American system, for, with her, the
protection of manufactures is even more a passion than a principle.
Every here and there, over the estate, may be seen, rising in humble
guise above the shrubbery, the rude chimney of a log cabin, where all
the livelong day, the plaintive moaning of the spinning-wheel rises
fitfully upon the breeze, like the fancied notes of a hobgoblin, as
they are sometimes imitated in the stories with which we frighten
children. In these laboratories the negro women are employed in
preparing yarn for the loom, from which is produced not only a
comfortable supply of winter clothing for the working people, but some
excellent carpets for the house.
It is refreshing to behold how affectionately vain our good hostess is
of Frank, and what deference she shows to him in all matters, except
those that belong to the home department; for there she is confessedly
and without appeal, the paramount power. It seems to be a dogma with
her, that he is the very "first man in Virginia," an expression which
in this region has grown into an emphatic provincialism. Frank, in
return, is a devout admirer of her accomplishments, and although he
does not pretend to have an ear for music, he is in raptures at her
skill on the harpsichord, when she plays at night for the children to
dance; and he sometimes sets her to singing "The Twins of Latona,"
and "Old Towler," and "The Rose-Tree in Full Bearing" (she does not
study the modern music), for the entertainment of his company. On
these occasions, he stands by the instrument, and nods his head, as if
he comprehended the airs.
HOW HORSE-SHOE AND ANDREW CAPTURED FIVE MEN.
(_From Horse-Shoe Robinson, a Tale of the Tory Ascendancy in
S. C._[11])
[Mistress Ramsay speaking to Horse-Shoe Robinson:]
"Who should come in this morning, just after my husband had cleverly
got away on his horse, but a young cock-a-whoop ensign, that belongs
to Ninety-Six, and four great Scotchmen with him, all in red coats;
they had been out thieving, I warrant, and were now going home again.
And who but they! Here they were, swaggering all about my house--and
calling for this--and calling for that--as if they owned the
fee-simple of every thing on the plantation. And it made my blood
rise, Mr. Horse-Shoe, to see them run out in the yard, and catch up my
chickens and ducks, and kill as many as they could string about
them--and I not daring to say a word: though I did give them a piece
of my mind, too."
"Who is at home with you?" inquired the sergeant eagerly.
"Nobody but my youngest boy, Andrew," answered the dame. "And then,
the filthy, toping rioters--" she continued, exalting her voice.
"What arms have you in the house?" asked Robinson, without heeding the
dame's rising anger.
"We have a rifle, and a horseman's pistol that belongs to John.--They
must call for drink, too, and turn my house, of a Sunday morning, into
a tavern."
[Illustration: ~State House, Columbia, S. C.~]
"They took the route towards Ninety-Six, you said, Mistress Ramsay?"
"Yes,--they went straight forward upon the road. But, look you, Mr.
Horse-Shoe, you're not thinking of going after them?"
"Isn't there an old field, about a mile from this, on that road?"
inquired the sergeant, still intent upon his own thoughts.
"There is," replied the dame; "with the old school-house upon it."
"A lop-sided, rickety log-cabin in the middle of the field. Am I
right, good woman?"
"Yes."
"And nobody lives in it? It has no door to it?"
"There ha'n't been anybody in it these seven years."
"I know the place very well," said the sergeant, very thoughtfully;
"there is woods just on this side of it."
"That's true," replied the dame; "but what is it you are thinking
about, Mr. Robinson?"
"How long before this rain began was it that they quitted this house?"
"Not above fifteen minutes."
"Mistress Ramsay, bring me the rifle and pistol both--and the
powder-horn and bullets."
"As you say, Mr. Horse-Shoe," answered the dame, as she turned round
to leave the room; "but I am sure I can't suspicion what you mean to
do."
In a few moments the woman returned with the weapons, and gave them to
the sergeant.
"Where is Andy?" asked Horse-Shoe.
The hostess went to the door and called her son, and, almost
immediately afterwards, a sturdy boy of about twelve or fourteen years
of age entered the apartment, his clothes dripping with rain. He
modestly and shyly seated himself on a chair near the door, with his
soaked hat flapping down over a face full of freckles and not less
rife with the expression of an open, dauntless hardihood of character.
"How would you like a scrummage, Andy, with them Scotchmen that stole
your mother's chickens this morning?" asked Horse-Shoe.
"I'm agreed," replied the boy, "if you will tell me what to
do." . . . . . .
Horse-Shoe now loaded the fire-arms, and having slung the pouch across
his body, he put the pistol into the hands of the boy; then
shouldering his rifle, he and his young ally left the room. Even on
this occasion, serious as it might be deemed, the sergeant did not
depart without giving some manifestation of that lightheartedness
which no difficulties ever seemed to have the power to conquer. He
thrust his head back into the room, after he had crossed the
threshold, and said with an encouraging laugh, "Andy and me will teach
them, Mistress Ramsay, Pat's point of war--we will _surround_ the
ragamuffins."
"Now, Andy, my lad," said Horse-Shoe, after he had mounted Captain
Peter, "you must get up behind me. . . . ." . . . . By the time that
his instructions were fully impressed upon the boy, our adventurous
forlorn hope, as it may fitly be called, had arrived at the place
which Horse-Shoe Robinson had designated for the commencement of
active operations. They had a clear view of the old field, and it
afforded them a strong assurance that the enemy was exactly where they
wished him to be, when they discovered smoke arising from the chimney
of the hovel. Andrew was soon posted behind a tree, and Robinson only
tarried a moment to make the boy repeat the signals agreed on, in
order to ascertain that he had them correctly in his memory. Being
satisfied from this experiment that the intelligence of his young
companion might be depended upon, he galloped across the intervening
space, and, in a few seconds, abruptly reined up his steed, in the
very doorway of the hut. The party within was gathered around a fire
at the further end, and, in the corner near the door, were four
muskets thrown together against the wall. To spring from his saddle
and thrust himself one pace inside of the door, was a movement which
the sergeant executed in an instant, shouting at the same time--
"Halt! File off right and left to both sides of the house, and wait
orders. I demand the surrender of all here," he said, as he planted
himself between the party and their weapons. "I will shoot down the
first man who budges a foot."
"Leap to your arms," cried the young officer who commanded the little
party inside of the house. "Why do you stand?"
"I don't want to do you or your men any harm, young man," said
Robinson, as he brought his rifle to a level, "but, by my father's
son, I will not leave one of you to be put upon a muster-roll if you
raise a hand at this moment."
Both parties now stood, for a brief space, eyeing each other in
fearful suspense, during which there was an expression of doubt and
irresolution visible on the countenances of the soldiers, as they
surveyed the broad proportions, and met the stern glance of the
sergeant, whilst the delay, also, began to raise an apprehension in
the mind of Robinson that his stratagem would be discovered.
"Shall I let loose upon them, Captain?" said Andrew Ramsay, now
appearing, most unexpectedly to Robinson, at the door of the hut.
"Come on, boys!" he shouted, as he turned his face towards the field.
"Keep them outside of the door--stand fast," cried the doughty
sergeant, with admirable promptitude, in the new and sudden posture of
his affairs caused by this opportune appearance of the boy. "Sir, you
see that it's not worth while fighting five to one; and I should be
sorry to be the death of any of your brave fellows; so, take my
advice, and surrender to the Continental Congress and this scrap of
its army which I command."
During this appeal the sergeant was ably seconded by the lad outside,
who was calling out first on one name, and then on another, as if in
the presence of a troop. The device succeeded, and the officer within,
believing the forbearance of Robinson to be real, at length said:--
"Lower your rifle, sir. In the presence of a superior force, taken by
surprise, and without arms, it is my duty to save bloodshed. With the
promise of fair usage, and the rights of prisoners of war, I surrender
this little foraging party under my command."
"I'll make the terms agreeable," replied the sergeant. "Never doubt
me, sir. Right hand file, advance, and receive the arms of the
prisoners!"
"I'm here, captain," said Andrew, in a conceited tone, as if it were a
mere occasion of merriment; and the lad quickly entered the house and
secured the weapons, retreating with them some paces from the door.
"Now, sir," said Horse-Shoe to the Ensign, "your sword, and whatever
else you mought have about you of the ammunitions of war!"
The officer delivered his sword and a pair of pocket pistols.
As Horse-Shoe received these tokens of victory, he asked, with a
lambent smile, and what he intended to be an elegant and condescending
composure, "Your name, sir, if I mought take the freedom?"
"Ensign St. Jermyn, of his Majesty's seventy-first regiment of light
infantry."
"Ensign, your sarvant," added Horse-Shoe, still preserving this
unusual exhibition of politeness. "You have defended your post like an
old sodger, although you ha'n't much beard on your chin; but, seeing
you have given up, you shall be treated like a man who has done his
duty. You will walk out now, and form yourselves in line at the door.
I'll engage my men shall do you no harm; they are of a marciful
breed."
When the little squad of prisoners submitted to this command, and came
to the door, they were stricken with equal astonishment and
mortification to find, in place of the detachment of cavalry which
they expected to see, nothing but a man, a boy, and a horse. Their
first emotions were expressed in curses, which were even succeeded by
laughter from one or two of the number. There seemed to be a
disposition on the part of some to resist the authority that now
controlled them; and sundry glances were exchanged, which indicated a
purpose to turn upon their captors. The sergeant no sooner perceived
this, than he halted, raised his rifle to his breast, and at the same
instant, gave Andrew Ramsay an order to retire a few paces, and to
fire one of the captured pieces at the first man who opened his lips.
"By my hand," he said, "if I find any trouble in taking you, all five,
safe away from this here house, I will thin your numbers with your own
muskets! And that's as good as if I had sworn to it."
"You have my word, sir," said the Ensign. "Lead on."
"By your leave, my pretty gentlemen, you will lead and I'll follow,"
replied Horse-Shoe. "It may be a new piece of drill to you; but the
custom is to give the prisoners the post of honor."
"As you please, sir," answered the Ensign. "Where do you take us to?"
"You will march back by the road you came," said the sergeant.
Finding the conqueror determined to execute summary martial law upon
the first who should mutiny, the prisoners submitted, and marched in
double file from the hut back towards Ramsay's--Horse-Shoe, with
Captain Peter's bridle dangling over his arm, and his gallant young
auxiliary Andrew, laden with double the burden of Robinson Crusoe
(having all the fire-arms packed upon his shoulders), bringing up the
rear. In this order victors and vanquished returned to David Ramsay's.
"Well, I have brought you your ducks and chickens back, mistress,"
said the sergeant, as he halted the prisoners at the door; "and,
what's more, I have brought home a young sodger that's worth his
weight in gold."
"Heaven bless my child! my brave boy!" cried the mother, seizing the
lad in her arms, and unheeding anything else in the present
perturbation of her feelings. "I feared ill would come of it; but
Heaven has preserved him. Did he behave handsomely, Mr. Robinson? But
I am sure he did."
"A little more venturesome, ma'am, than I wanted him to be," replied
Horse-Shoe; "but he did excellent service. These are his prisoners,
Mistress Ramsay; I should never have got them if it hadn't been for
Andy. In these drumming and fifing times the babies suck in quarrel
with their mother's milk. Show me another boy in America that's made
more prisoners than there was men to fight them with, that's all!"
FOOTNOTE:
[11] By permission of G. P. Putnam's Sons, N. Y.
HUGH SWINTON LEGARÉ.
~1797=1843.~
HUGH SWINTON LEGARÉ (pronounced Le-gr[=e]e´) was born in Charleston,
South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scotch descent. He was educated at
South Carolina College which he entered at the age of fourteen, and
became an excellent scholar, especially in the languages both ancient
and modern. He studied law, and then completed his education in the
good old way by a course of travel and study in Europe. His learning
is said to have been almost phenomenal: he was one of the founders of
the "Southern Review."
On his return from Europe, 1820, he was elected to the State
Legislature: 1830, he was made Attorney-General of the State; from
1832 to 1836 he was _chargé d'affaires_ at Brussels; in 1836 he was
elected to Congress, and in 1841 appointed Attorney-General of the
United States. He died in Boston, whither he had gone to take part in
the Bunker Hill Celebration.
Chief-Justice Story said of him: "His argumentation was marked by the
closest logic; at the same time he had a _presence_ in speaking which
I have never seen excelled." See Life, by Paul Hamilton Hayne.
WORKS.
Essays, Addresses, &c.
Journal at Brussels.
Memoir and Writings, (edited by his sister, Mrs. Bullen).
COMMERCE AND WEALTH VS. WAR.
(_From a speech in the House, 1837._)
A people well clad and well housed will be sure to provide themselves
with all the other comforts of life; and it is the diffusion of these
comforts, and the growing taste for them, among all classes of society
in Europe, it is the desire of riches, as it is commonly called, that
is gradually putting an end to the destructive and bloody game of war,
and reserving all the resources hitherto wasted by it, for enterprises
of industry and commerce, prosecuted with the fiery spirit which once
vented itself in scenes of peril and carnage.
But, sir, the result of all this is that very inequality of wealth,
that accumulation of vast masses of it in a few hands, against which
we have heard so much said lately, as if it were something
inconsistent with the liberties, the happiness, and the moral and
intellectual improvement of mankind. Gigantic fortunes are acquired by
a few years of prosperous commerce--mechanics and manufacturers rival
and surpass the princes of the earth in opulence and splendor. The
face of Europe is changed by this active industry, working with such
mighty instruments, on so great a scale.
I have travelled in parts of the continent which the spirit of gain,
with its usual concomitants, industry and improvement, has invaded
since the peace, at an interval of fifteen years, and been struck with
the revolution that is going on. There is a singularly beautiful,
though rather barren tract of country between Liege and Spa, where, in
1819, my attention had been principally attracted by the striking
features of a mountainous region, with here and there a ruin of the
feudal past, and here and there a hovel of some poor hind,--the very
haunt of the "Wild Boar of Ardennes" in the good old times of the
House of Burgundy.
I returned to it in 1835, and saw it covered with mills and factories,
begrimed with the smoke and soot of steam-engines; its romantic beauty
deformed, its sylvan solitudes disturbed and desecrated by the sounds
of active industry, and the busy hum of men. I asked what had brought
about so great a change, and found that the author of it,--a man
having a more numerous band of retainers and dependents than any
baron bold of the fourteenth century, and in every respect more
important than many of the sovereign princes on the other side of the
Rhine--was an English manufacturer, who had established himself there
some twenty years ago, without much capital, and had effected all this
by his industry and enterprise.
Such, sir, is the spirit of the age; of course, in this young and
wonderfully progressive country, it is more eager and ardent--and
therefore occasionally extravagant--than anywhere else. But it is in
vain to resist it. Nay, I believe it is worse than vain. It is
evidently in the order of nature, and we must take it with all its
good and all its evils together.
DEMOSTHENES' COURAGE.
[_From the Essay on Demosthenes._]
The charge of effeminacy and want of courage in battle seems to be
considered as better founded. Plutarch admits it fully. His foppery is
matter of ridicule to Æschines, who, at the same time, in rather a
remarkable passage in his speech on the Crown, gives us some clue to
the popular report as to his deficiency in the military virtues of
antiquity. "Who," says he "will be there to sympathize with him? Not
they who have been trained with him in the same gymnasium? No, by
Olympian Jove! for, in his youth, instead of hunting the wild boar and
addicting himself to exercises which give strength and activity to the
body, he was studying the arts that were one day to make him the
scourge of the rich." Those exercises were, in the system of the
Greeks, . . . considered as absolutely indispensable to a liberal
education. That of Demosthenes was certainly neglected by his
guardians, and the probability is that the effeminacy with which he
was reproached meant nothing more than that he had not frequented in
youth the palestra and the gymnasium, and that his bodily training had
been sacrificed to his intellectual.
That he possessed moral courage of the most sublime order is passed
all question; but his nerves were weak. If the tradition that is come
down to us in regard to his natural defects as an orator is not a
gross exaggeration, he had enough to occupy him for years in the
correction of them. But what an idea does it suggest to us of the
mighty will, the indomitable spirit, the decided and unchangeable
vocation, that, in spite of so many impediments, his genius fulfilled
its destiny, and attained at last to the supremacy at which it aimed
from the first! His was that deep love of ideal beauty, that
passionate pursuit of eloquence in the abstract, that insatiable
thirst after perfection in art for its own sake, without which no man
ever produced a masterpiece of genius. Plutarch, in his usual graphic
style, places him before us as if he were an acquaintance,--aloof from
the world; immersed in the study of his high calling, with his brow
never unbent from care and thought; severely abstemious in the midst
of dissoluteness and debauchery; a water-drinker among Greeks; like
that other Agonistes, elected and ordained to struggle, to suffer, and
to perish for a people unworthy of him:--
"His mighty champion, strong above compare,
Whose drink was only from the liquid brook."
Let any one who has considered the state of manners at Athens just at
the moment of his appearance upon the stage of public life, imagine
what an impression such a phenomenon must have made upon a people so
lost in profligacy and sensuality of all sorts. What wonder that the
unprincipled though gifted Demades, the very personification of the
witty and reckless libertinism of the age, should deride and scoff at
this strange man, living as nobody else lived, thinking as nobody else
thought; a prophet, crying from his solitude of great troubles at
hand; the apostle of the past; the preacher of an impossible
restoration; the witness to his contemporaries that their degeneracy
was incorrigible and their doom hopeless; and that another seal in the
book was broken, and a new era of calamity and downfall opened in the
history of nations.
We have said that the character of Demosthenes might be divined from
his eloquence; and so the character of his eloquence was a mere
emanation of his own. It was the life and soul of the man, the
patriot, the statesman. "Its highest attribute of all," says
Dionysius, "is the spirit of life--+to pneuma+--that pervades it."
A DUKE'S OPINIONS OF VIRGINIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA, AND GEORGIA.
[_From a Review of "Travels of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar" in 1825-6._]
In his journey through Virginia, our traveller visited Mr. Jefferson,
with whom, however, he does not appear to have been as much struck as
he had been with the late Mr. Adams. The Natural Bridge he pronounces
"one of the greatest wonders of nature he ever beheld," albeit he had
seen "Vesuvius and the Phlegrean Fields, the Giant's Causeway in
Ireland, the Island of Staffa, and the Falls of Niagara." "Finally"
(to use a favorite mode of expression of his own), he is amazed at the
profusion of militia titles in Virginia, which almost persuaded him
that he was at the headquarters of a grand army, and at the
aristocratic notions of some of the gentlemen in the same state, who
make no secret of their taste for primogeniture laws and hereditary
nobility.
He passed through North Carolina too rapidly to do anything like
justice to the many remarkable things which that respectable state
has to boast of. Accordingly, his observations are principally
confined to the inns where he stopped, the roads over which he
travelled, and the mere exterior of the towns and villages which the
stage-coach traverses in its route. He is of opinion, from what he saw
in that region, that "it would be a good speculation to establish a
glass manufactory in a country, where there is such a want of glass,
and a superabundance of pine-trees and sand." It had almost escaped
us, that he here for the first time made the acquaintance of a "great
many large vultures, called buzzards, the shooting of which is
prohibited, as they feed upon carrion, and contribute in this manner
to the salubrity of the country." This "parlous wild-fowl" has the
honor to attract the attention of his Highness again in Charleston,
where he informs us that its life is, in like manner, protected by
law, and where it is called from its resemblance to another bird, the
turkey-buzzard. . . . In Columbia, he became acquainted with most of
the distinguished inhabitants, of whose very kind attentions to him he
speaks in high terms. The following good-natured hint too may not be
altogether useless: "At Professor Henry's a very agreeable society
assembled at dinner. At that party I observed a singular manner which
is practiced; the ladies sit down by themselves at one of the corners
of the table. But I broke the old custom, and glided between them; and
no one's appetite was injured thereby." . . . .
Nothing . . . can be a stronger exemplification of the difficulties
under which a stranger labors, in his efforts to acquire a knowledge
of a country new to him, than the perpetual mistakes which our
distinguished traveller commits in his brief notices of Georgia. . . .
Even the complexion of the people of Georgia displeased him, and,
coming from a Court where French was not only the fashionable but the
common language of social intercourse, he considers the education of
women neglected, because they are not taught that language in
situations where they might never have occasion to use it.
MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR.
~1798=1859.~
MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR, second president of the Republic of Texas,
was born in Louisville, Georgia. In 1835 he emigrated to Texas and
took part in the struggle for independence against Mexico, being
major-general in the army. He was successively Attorney-General in the
cabinet of President Houston, Secretary of War, Vice-president, and in
1838 President of the Republic, the second of the four presidents that
Texas had before it became a State in the Union.
In 1857-8 he was United States minister to Central America.
WORKS.
Verse Memorials.
Lamar was rather a man of action than of letters; but the following
verses speak for him as having true poetic appreciation of beauty and
power to express it.
THE DAUGHTER OF MENDOZA.
O lend to me, sweet nightingale,
Your music by the fountain,
And lend to me your cadences,
O rivers of the mountain!
That I may sing my gay brunette,
A diamond spark in coral set,
Gem for a prince's coronet--
The daughter of Mendoza.
How brilliant is the evening star,
The evening light how tender,--
The light of both is in her eyes,
Their softness and their splendor.
But for the lash that shades their light
They were too dazzling for the sight,
And when she shuts them, all is night,--
The daughter of Mendoza.
O ever bright and beauteous one,
Bewildering and beguiling,
The lute is in thy silvery tones,
The rainbow in thy smiling;
And thine is, too, o'er hill and dell,
The bounding of the young gazelle,
The arrow's flight and ocean's swell--
Sweet daughter of Mendoza!
What though, perchance, we no more meet,--
What though too soon we sever?
Thy form will float like emerald light
Before my vision ever.
For who can see and then forget
The glories of my gay brunette--
Thou art too bright a star to set,
Sweet daughter of Mendoza!
FRANCIS LISTER HAWKS.
~1798=1866.~
FRANCIS LISTER HAWKS was born at New Berne, North Carolina, and
educated at the State University. He became a clergyman of the
Episcopal Church in 1827 and was rector of parishes in New York, New
Orleans, and Baltimore. He was the first president of the University
of Louisiana, and declined three elections to the bishopric. See Life
by Rev. N. L. Richardson.
WORKS.
History of North Carolina.
History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland.
Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
Auricular Confession in the Episcopal Church.
Egypt and Its Monuments.
Romance of Biography.
Cyclopædia of Biography.
Perry's Expedition to Japan.
Dr. Hawks was a distinguished pulpit orator as well as an able and
untiring writer. His ecclesiastical works are considered a valuable
contribution to the history of the church in the United States.
The book from which we quote, "History of North Carolina," was
undertaken as a labor of love for his native State, prepared in the
intervals of time allowed by "a laborious and responsible profession
in a large city: . . . he frankly confesses that he would undergo such
toil for no country but North Carolina. She has a claim upon his
filial duty. In her bosom his infancy found protection and his
childhood was nourished. He here lays his humble offering in her lap."
The story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke has been called "the tragedy
of American colonization."
THE FIRST INDIAN BAPTISM IN AMERICA.
(_From History of North Carolina._)
The colony [1587] was probably not without its clergyman, and the
faithful Manteo, who was among them, had by this time become in heart
an Englishmen. . .
The mother and kindred of Manteo lived on the island of Croatan, and
thither, very soon, a visit was made by the faithful Indian and a
party of the English, who endeavored, through the instrumentality of
the islanders, to establish friendly relations with the inhabitants on
the main land; but the effort was in vain. In truth, the greater
portion of the Indians around, manifested implacable ill-will, and
had already murdered one of the assistants, who had incautiously
strayed alone from the settlement on Roanoke island.
On the 13th of August, by direction of Raleigh, given before leaving
England, Manteo was baptized, (being probably the first native of this
continent who ever received this sacrament at the hands of the
English) and was also called Lord of Roanoke and of Dasamonguepeuk, as
the reward of his fidelity.
VIRGINIA DARE, THE FIRST ENGLISH CHILD BORN IN AMERICA.
A few days after, another event, not without interest in the little
colony, occupied the attention of all; and doubtless in no small
degree enlisted the sympathies of the female portion of the
adventurers. On the 18th of August, Eleanor, the daughter of Governor
White, and wife of Mr. Dare, one of the assistants, gave birth to a
daughter, the first child born of English parents upon the soil of the
United States. On the Sunday following, in commemoration of her
birth-place, she was baptized by the name of VIRGINIA.
THE LOST COLONY OF ROANOKE.
(_From the Same._)
Governor White remained but thirty-six days in North Carolina. . . .
Before he left, however, it seems to have been understood that the
colony should remove from Roanoke Island and settle on the main land:
and as, at his return, he might be at some loss to find them, it was
further agreed that in the event of their departure during his
absence, they should carve on some post or tree the name of the place
whither they had gone; and if in distress they were to carve above it
a cross, . . . [This was in 1587.]
It was not till the 20th of March, 1590, that Governor White embarked
[at London] in three ships to seek his colony and his children. . .
White found the island of Roanoke a desert. As he approached he
sounded a signal trumpet, but no answer was heard to disturb the
melancholy stillness that brooded over the deserted spot. What had
become of the wretched colonists? No man may with certainty say: for
all that White found to indicate their fate was a high post bearing on
it the letters CRO, and at the former site of their village he found a
tree which had been deprived of its bark and bore in well cut
characters the word CROATAN. There was some comfort in finding no
cross carved above the word, but this was all the comfort the unhappy
father and grandfather could find. He of course hastened back to the
fleet, determined instantly to go to Croatan, but a combination of
unpropitious events defeated his anxious wishes; storms and a
deficiency of food forced the vessels to run for the West Indies for
the purpose of refitting, wintering and returning; but even in this
plan White was disappointed and found himself reluctantly compelled to
run for the western islands and thence for England. Thus ended the
effort to find the lost colony; they were never heard of. That they
went to Croatan, where the natives were friendly, is almost certain;
that they became gradually incorporated with them is probable from the
testimony of a historian [John Lawson] who lived in North Carolina and
wrote [published] in 1714: "The Hatteras Indians who lived on Roanoke
Island or much frequented it, tell us," (says he) "that several of
their ancestors were white people and could talk in a book, as we do;
the truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being found frequently
amongst these Indians and no others."
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.
~1802=1870.~
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE was born in Preston, Connecticut, and was a
teacher and lawyer in early life. In 1830 he went to Kentucky, and a
year afterward became editor of the Louisville "Journal," which
position he held and made illustrious during the remainder of his
life. His wit and humor gave him great influence, and his paper,
afterwards consolidated with the "Courier" and known as the
"Courier-Journal," became a power in politics, commerce, and society.
A fine statue of him adorns the Courier-Journal building in
Louisville, and his fame is by no means forgotten. "Prenticeana" is a
collection of his witty and pungent paragraphs. See Memorial address
by his successor, Henry Watterson.
WORKS.
Life of Henry Clay.
Poems, edited by John James Piatt.
Prenticeana, [with life-sketch.]
Mr. Prentice's best known poem is the "Closing Year," which
elocutionists have kept before the public and which has often inspired
young poets to sad verses on the passing of time.
THE CLOSING YEAR.
(_From Poems._[12])
'Tis midnight's holy hour--and silence now
Is brooding, like a gentle spirit, o'er
The still and pulseless world. Hark! on the winds,
The bell's deep-notes are swelling. 'Tis the knell
Of the departed year.
No funeral train
Is sweeping past; yet on the stream and wood,
With melancholy light, the moonbeams rest,
Like a pale, spotless shroud; the air is stirred,
As by a mourner's sigh; and on yon cloud,
That floats so still and placidly through heaven,
The spirits of the seasons seem to stand--
Young Spring, bright Summer, Autumn's solemn form,
And Winter, with his aged locks--and breathe
In mournful cadences, that come abroad
Like the far wind harp's wild and touching wail,
A melancholy dirge o'er the dead Year,
Gone from the earth forever.
'Tis a time
For memory and for tears. Within the deep,
Still chambers of the heart a spectre dim,
Whose tones are like the wizard voice of Time,
Heard from the tomb of ages, points its cold
And solemn finger to the beautiful
And holy visions that have passed away
And left no shadow of their loveliness
On the dead waste of life. That spectre lifts
The coffin-lid of hope, and joy, and love,
And, bending mournfully above the pale,
Sweet forms that slumber there, scatters dead flowers
O'er what has passed to nothingness.
The year
Has gone, and, with it, many a glorious throng
Of happy dreams. Its mark is on each brow,
Its shadow on each heart. In its swift course
It waved its scepter o'er the beautiful,
And they are not. It laid its pallid hand
Upon the strong man, and the haughty form
Is fallen, and the flashing eye is dim.
It trod the hall of revelry, where thronged
The bright and joyous, and the tearful wail
Of stricken ones is heard, where erst the song
And reckless shout resounded. It passed o'er
The battle plain, where sword, and spear, and shield
Flashed in the light of midday--and the strength
Of serried hosts is shivered, and the grass,
Green from the soil of carnage, waves above
The crushed and mouldering skeleton. It came
And faded like a wreath of mist at eve;
Yet, ere it melted in the viewless air,
It heralded its millions to their home
In the dim land of dreams.
Remorseless Time!--
Fierce spirit of the glass and scythe! what power
Can stay him in his silent course, or melt
His iron heart to pity? On, still on
He presses and forever. The proud bird,
The condor of the Andes, that can soar
Through heaven's unfathomable depths, or brave
The fury of the Northern hurricane
And bathe his plumage in the thunder's home,
Furls his broad wings at nightfall and sinks down
To rest upon his mountain crag--but Time
Knows not the weight of sleep or weariness,
And night's deep darkness has no chain to bind
His rushing pinion. Revolutions sweep
O'er earth, like troubled visions o'er the breast
Of dreaming sorrow; cities rise and sink,
Like bubbles on the water; fiery isles
Spring, blazing, from the ocean, and go back
To their mysterious caverns; mountains rear
To heaven their bald and blackened cliffs, and bow
Their tall heads to the plain; new empires rise,
Gathering the strength of hoary centuries,
And rush down like the Alpine avalanche,
Startling the nations; and the very stars,
Yon bright and burning blazonry of God,
Glitter awhile in their eternal depths,
And, like the Pleiad, loveliest of their train,
Shoot from their glorious spheres, and pass away,
To darkle in the trackless void; yet Time,
Time, the tomb-builder, holds his fierce career,
Dark, stern, all pitiless, and pauses not
Amid the mighty wrecks that strew his path,
To sit and muse, like other conquerors,
Upon the fearful ruin he has wrought.
PARAGRAPHS.
(_From Prenticeana._)
A pin has as much head as a good many authors, and a good deal more
point.
The Turkish men hold that women have no souls, and prove by their
treatment of them that they have none themselves.
A writer in the "American Agriculturist" insists that farmers ought to
learn to make better fences. Why not establish a fencing-school for
their benefit?
The thumb is a useful member, but, because you have one, you needn't
necessarily try to keep your neighbors under it.
The greatest truths are the simplest; the greatest man and women are
sometimes so, too.
A New Orleans poet calls the Mississippi the most eloquent of rivers.
It ought to be eloquent; it has a dozen mouths.
FOOTNOTE:
[12] By permission of Robert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati.
EDWARD COATE PINKNEY.
~1802=1828.~
EDWARD COATE[13] PINKNEY was the son of the distinguished orator and
statesman, William Pinkney, of Maryland, and was born in London while
his father was minister to England. After attending the College of
Baltimore, he entered the Navy at fourteen years of age and spent much
of his time of service in the Mediterranean. On his father's death,
1822, he returned to Baltimore and engaged in the practice of law, at
the same time making some reputation by his poems. "A Health" and
"Picture Song" are considered his best--their beauty makes us mourn
his early death. At the time he was numbered one of the "five greatest
poets of the country." On his return from a journey to Mexico, taken
for his health, he was elected, in 1826, professor of Belles-lettres
in the University of Maryland, formerly called the College of
Baltimore.
WORKS.
Poems: Rodolph, a Fragment, and other Poems.
A HEALTH.
I fill this cup to one made up
Of loveliness alone;
A woman of her gentle sex
The seeming paragon;
To whom the better elements
And kindly stars have given
A form so fair, that, like the air,
'Tis less of earth than heaven.
Her every tone is music's own,
Like those of morning birds,
And something more than melody
Dwells ever in her words;
The coinage of her heart are they,
And from her lips each flows
As one may see the burdened bee
Forth issue from the rose.
Affections are as thoughts to her,
The measures of her hours;
Her feelings have the fragrancy,
The freshness of young flowers;
And lovely passions, changing oft,
So fill her, she appears
The image of themselves by turns,--
The idol of past years.
Of her bright face, one glance will trace
A picture on the brain,
And of her voice in echoing hearts
A sound must long remain;
But memory such as mine of her
So very much endears,
When death is nigh my latest sigh
Will not be life's, but hers.
I fill this cup to one made up
Of loveliness alone,
A woman, of her gentle sex
The seeming paragon--
Her health! and would on earth there stood
Some more of such a frame,
That life might be all poetry,
And weariness a name.
SONG.
We break the glass, whose sacred wine,
To some beloved health we drain,
Lest future pledges, less divine,
Should e'er the hallowed toy profane:
And thus I broke a heart that poured
Its tide of feelings out for thee,
In draughts, by after times deplored,
Yet dear to memory.
But still the old empassioned ways
And habits of my mind remain,
And still unhappy light displays
Thine image chambered in my brain;
And still it looks as when the hours
Went by like flights of living birds,
Or that soft chain of spoken flowers
And airy gems, thy words.
FOOTNOTE:
[13] Mr. Charles Weathers Bump, Ph. D. (Johns-Hopkins), says this name
should be _Coote_, as it so stands in the register of Pinkney's
baptism, which he has seen.
[Illustration: ~Tulane University, New Orleans, La.~
Limited space permits us to give view of only one of the buildings
of this great institution.]
CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR GAYARRÉ.
~1805=----.~
CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR GAYARRÉ, descended from a family which was
among the early settlers of Louisiana, was born in New Orleans. He was
educated at the College of New Orleans, studied law in Philadelphia,
and served in the State Legislature. In 1835, he was elected to the
United States Senate, but ill-health prevented his taking the seat,
and he spent the eight succeeding years in Europe. He was afterwards
Secretary of State of Louisiana, and in the seven years of his service
he did much to promote an interest in letters and history, and to
establish the State Library on a firm basis.
He sided with his State in secession, and in 1863 recommended the
emancipation and arming of the slaves. Since the war, he has spent his
time in literary work, and has written both in English and French,
gaining a distinguished place especially as a historian.
WORKS.
Histoire de la Louisiane.
Romance of the History of Louisiana.
Louisiana: Colonial History.
Louisiana, as a French Colony.
History of the Spanish Dominion in Louisiana.
History of Louisiana, to 1861.
Phillip II. of Spain.
Fernando de Lemos.
Aubert Dubayet.
School for Politics, [drama].
Dr. Bluff, comedy in 2 Acts.
Addresses.
Judge Gayarré has been an able and tireless worker in the history and
literature of his native state. His works are admirable, full of life
and color, although his style is lacking in terseness and strength.
"He has indicated in the first volume of his 'History of Louisiana'
what might be done by a gifted fiction-writer with the picturesque
legends and traditions therein heaped together in luxuriant
confusion. One feels while reading, that the writer has been hampered
here and there by the temptation to be a romancer rather than remain a
historian, and one does not experience any surprise at this in view of
the profusion of startling and strange incidents."--Maurice Thompson.
LOUISIANA IN 1750-1770.
(_From History of Louisiana, French Domination._)
It was in this year, 1751, that two ships, which were transporting two
hundred regulars to Louisiana, stopped at Hispaniola. The Jesuits of
that island obtained permission to put on board of those ships, and to
send to the Jesuits of Louisiana, some sugar canes, and some negroes
who were used to the cultivation of this plant. The canes were put
under ground, according to the directions given, on the plantation of
the reverend fathers, which was immediately above Canal street, on a
portion of the space now occupied by the Second Municipality of the
city of New Orleans. But it seems that the experiment proved abortive,
and it was only in 1796 that the cultivation of the cane, and the
manufacturing of sugar, was successfully introduced in Louisiana, and
demonstrated to be practicable. It was then that this precious reed
was really naturalized in the colony, and began to be a source of
ever-growing wealth, [owing to the enterprise of Jean Étienne de
Boré].
On board of the same ships, there came sixty girls, who were
transported to Louisiana at the expense of the King. It was the last
emigration of the kind. These girls were married to such soldiers as
had distinguished themselves for their good conduct, and who, in
consideration of their marriage, were discharged from service.
Concessions of land were made to each happy pair, with one cow and its
calf, one cock and five hens, one gun, one axe, and one spade. During
the first three years of their settlement, they were to receive
rations of provisions, and a small quantity of powder, shot, grains
and seeds of all sorts.
Such is the humble origin of many of our most respectable and wealthy
families, and well may they be proud of a social position, which is
due to the honest industry and hereditary virtues of several
generations. Whilst some of patrician extraction, crushed under the
weight of vices, or made inert by sloth, or labor-contemning pride,
and degenerating from pure gold into vile dross, have been swept away,
and have sunk into the dregs and sewers of the commonwealth. Thus in
Louisiana, the high and the low, although the country has never
suffered from any political or civil convulsions, seem to have, in the
course of one century, frequently exchanged with one another their
respective positions, much to the philosopher's edification. . .
On the 23rd of September, the intendant Commissary, Michel de la
Rouvillière, made a favorable report on the state of agriculture in
Louisiana. "The cultivation of the wax tree," says he, "has succeeded
admirably. Mr. Dubreuil, alone, has made six thousand pounds of wax.
Others have obtained as handsome results, in proportion to their
forces; some went to the seashore, where the wax tree grows wild, in
order to use it in its natural state. It is the only luminary used
here by the inhabitants, and it is exported to other parts of America
and to France. We stand in need of tillers of the ground, and of
negroes. The colony prospers rapidly from its own impulse, and
requires only gentle stimulation. In the last three years, forty-five
brick houses were erected in New Orleans, and several fine new
plantations were established." . . . .
The administration of the Marquis of Vaudreuil was long and fondly
remembered in Louisiana, as an epoch of unusual brilliancy, but which
was followed up by corresponding gloom. His administration, if small
things may be compared with great ones, was for Louisiana, with regard
to splendor, luxury, military display, and expenses of every kind,
what the reign of Louis XIV. had been for France. He was a man of
patrician birth and high breeding, who liked to live in a manner
worthy of his rank. Remarkable for his personal graces and comeliness,
for the dignity of his bearing and the fascination of his address, he
was fond of pomp, show, and pleasure; surrounded by a host of
brilliant officers, of whom he was the idol, he loved to keep up a
miniature court, in distant imitation of that of Versailles; and long
after he had departed, old people were fond of talking of the
exquisitely refined manners, of the magnificent balls, of the
splendidly uniformed troops, of the high-born young officers, and of
the many other unparalleled things they had seen in the days of the
_Great Marquis_.
. . . . . . .
The inventories made of the property of the twelve gentlemen, whom the
decree of the Spanish tribunal had convicted of rebellion, afford
interesting proofs of the Spartan simplicity which existed in the
colony. Thus the furniture of the bed-room of Madam Villeré, who was
the wife of one of the most distinguished citizens of Louisiana, and
the grand-daughter of De Lachaise, who came to the colony in 1723 as
ordaining commissary, was described as consisting of a cypress
bedstead, three feet wide by six in length, with a mattress of corn
shucks and one of feathers on the top, a bolster of corn shucks, and a
coarse cotton counterpane or quilt, manufactured probably by the lady
herself, or by her servants; six chairs of cypress wood, with straw
bottoms; some candlesticks with common wax, the candles made in the
country, &c., &c.
The rest of the house was not more splendidly furnished, and the
house itself, as described in the inventory, must have looked very
much like one of those modest and unpainted little wood structures
which are, to this day, to be seen in many parts of the banks of the
river Mississippi, and in the Attakapas and Opelousas parishes. They
are the tenements of our small planters who own only a few slaves, and
they retain the appellation of _Maisons d'Acadiens, or Acadian
houses_.
Villeré's plantation, situated at the German coast, was not large, and
the whole of his slaves, of both sexes and of all ages, did not exceed
thirty-two. His friends and brother conspirators, who were among the
first gentlemen in the land, did not live with more ostentation. All
the sequestrated property being sold, it was found that, after having
distributed among the widows and other creditors what they were
entitled to, and after paying the costs of the trial and inventories,
the royal treasury had little or nothing to receive. . . . . .
There were but humble dwellings in Louisiana in 1769, and he who would
have judged of their tenants from their outward appearance would have
thought that they were occupied by mere peasants, but had he passed
their thresholds he would have been amazed at being welcomed with such
manners as were habitual in the most polished court of Europe, and
entertained by men and women wearing with the utmost ease and grace
the elegant and rich costume of the reign of Louis XV. There, the
powdered head, the silk and gold flowered coat, the lace and frills,
the red-heeled shoe, the steel handled sword, the silver knee buckles,
the high and courteous bearing of the gentleman, the hoop petticoat,
the brocaded gown, the rich head dress, the stately bow, the slightly
rouged cheeks, the artificially graceful deportment, and the
aristocratic features of the lady, formed a strange contrast with the
roughness of surrounding objects. It struck one with as much
astonishment as if diamonds had been found capriciously set by some
unknown hand in one of the wild trees of the forest, or it reminded
the imagination of those fairy tales in which a princess is found
asleep in a solitude, where none but beasts of prey were expected to
roam.
THE TREE OF THE DEAD.
(_From History of Louisiana._)
In a lot situated at the corner of Orleans and Dauphine streets, in
the city of New Orleans, there is a tree which nobody looks at without
curiosity and without wondering how it came there. For a long time it
was the only one of its kind known in the state, and from its isolated
position it has always been cursed with sterility. It reminds one of
the warm climes of Africa or Asia, and wears the aspect of a stranger
of distinction driven from his native country. Indeed with its sharp
and thin foliage, sighing mournfully under the blast of one of our
November northern winds, it looks as sorrowful as an exile. Its
enormous trunk is nothing but an agglomeration of knots and bumps,
which each passing year seems to have deposited there as a mark of
age, and as a protection against the blows of time and of the world.
Inquire for its origin, and every one will tell you that it has stood
there from time immemorial. A sort of vague but impressive mystery is
attached to it, and it is as superstitiously respected as one of the
old oaks of Dodona. Bold would be the axe that would strike the first
blow at that foreign patriarch; and if it were prostrated to the
ground by a profane hand, what native of the city would not mourn
over its fall, and brand the act as an unnatural and criminal deed?
So, long live the date-tree of Orleans street--that time-honored
descendant of Asiatic ancestors!
In the beginning of 1727, a French vessel of war landed at New Orleans
a man of haughty mien, who wore the Turkish dress, and whose whole
attendance was a single servant. He was received by the governor with
the highest distinction, and was conducted by him to a small but
comfortable house with a pretty garden, then existing at the corner of
Orleans and Dauphine streets, and which, from the circumstance of its
being so distant from other dwellings, might have been called a rural
retreat, although situated in the limits of the city. There the
stranger, who was understood to be a prisoner of state, lived in the
greatest seclusion; and although neither he nor his attendant could be
guilty of indiscretion, because none understood their language, and
although Governor Périer severely rebuked the slightest inquiry, yet
it seemed to be the settled conviction in Louisiana, that the
mysterious stranger was a brother of the Sultan, or some great
personage of the Ottoman empire, who had fled from the anger of the
vicegerent of Mohammed, and who had taken refuge in France.
The Sultan had peremptorily demanded the fugitive, and the French
government, thinking it derogatory to its dignity to comply with that
request, but at the same time not wishing to expose its friendly
relations with the Moslem monarch, and perhaps desiring for political
purposes, to keep in hostage the important guest it had in its hands,
had recourse to the expedient of answering that he had fled to
Louisiana, which was so distant a country, that it might be looked
upon as the grave, where, as it was suggested, the fugitive might be
suffered to wait in peace for actual death, without danger or offence
to the Sultan. Whether this story be true or not is now a manner of
so little consequence that it would not repay the trouble of a strict
historical investigation.
The year 1727 was drawing to its close, when on a dark stormy night
the howling and barking of the numerous dogs in the streets of New
Orleans were observed to be fiercer than usual, and some of that class
of individuals who pretend to know everything, declared that by the
vivid flashes of the lightning, they had seen swiftly and stealthily
gliding toward the residence of the _unknown_ a body of men who wore
the scowling appearance of malefactors and ministers of blood. There
afterwards came also a report that a piratical-looking Turkish vessel
had been hovering a few days previous in the bay of Barataria. Be it
as it may, on the next morning the house of the stranger was deserted.
There were no traces of mortal struggle to be seen; but in the garden
the earth had been dug, and _there_ was the unmistakable indication of
a recent grave.
Soon, however, all doubts were removed by the finding of an
inscription in Arabic characters, engraved on a marble tablet, which
was subsequently sent to France. It ran thus: "The justice of heaven
is satisfied, and the date-tree shall grow on the traitor's tomb. The
sublime Emperor of the faithful, the supporter of the faith, the
omnipotent master and Sultan of the world, has redeemed his vow. God
is great, and Mohammed is his prophet. Allah!" Some time after this
event, a foreign-looking tree was seen to peep out of the spot where a
corpse must have been deposited in that stormy night, when the rage of
the elements yielded to the pitiless fury of man, and it thus
explained in some degree this part of the inscription, "the date-tree
shall grow on the traitor's grave."
Who was he, or what had he done, who had provoked such relentless and
far-seeking revenge? Ask Nemesis,--or, at that hour when evil spirits
are allowed to roam over the earth and magical invocations are made,
go and interrogate the tree of the dead.
MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY.
~1806=1873.~
MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY, the "Pathfinder of the Sea," was born in
Spottsylvania County, Virginia, reared in Tennessee, and entered the
Navy in 1825, rising to be lieutenant in 1837. In 1839 he met with an
accident which lamed him for life, and he thenceforward spent his time
in study and investigation of naval subjects. Under the pen-name of
"Harry Bluff," he wrote some essays for the "Southern Literary
Messenger," which produced great reforms in the Navy and led to the
establishment of the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
In 1842 he was appointed superintendent of the Hydrographical Office,
and in 1844, of the National Observatory, at Washington, the latter
position including the former. The observations of winds, currents,
and storms, which he caused to be made during nine years, are embodied
in his "Wind and Current Charts;" and the system thus begun was
adopted by all European countries and has proven of immense benefit
both to commerce and science.
[Illustration: ~Florida State Agricultural College (Main Building),
Lake City, Fla.~]
To him and to Lieutenant John M. Brooke, afterwards Com. Brooke,
C. S. N., belongs the credit of deep-sea soundings; and to him we owe
the suggestion of the submarine telegraphic cable across the Atlantic.
(_See below, letter to Secretary of the Navy._) Cyrus W. Field said,
at a dinner given in 1858 to celebrate the first cable message across
the Atlantic,--"Maury furnished the brains, England gave the money,
and I did the work."
His "Physical Geography of the Sea" has been translated into all the
languages of Europe, and caused Humboldt to say that Maury had founded
a new science. His researches and scientific labors gained him honors
and medals from all scientific societies. His "Navigation" and
"Geographies" are in popular use in our schools. His style is
irresistibly attractive, being clear, strong, elegant, and indicative
of truth in the man behind it.
He entered the Confederate service in 1861, and was employed at first
at Richmond and later as naval agent in Europe. When Lee surrendered,
he was in the West Indies on his way to put in use against Federal
vessels in Southern ports a method of arranging torpedo mines which he
had invented.
He then went to Mexico (1865) and took a position in the Cabinet of
the Emperor Maximilian; but the revolution there (1866) terminated his
relations with that government. After two years in England, he
returned to Virginia and in 1868 became professor of Physics in the
Virginia Military Institute. At this time the University of Cambridge
conferred upon him the degree of LL. D., and the Emperor of the French
invited him to Paris as superintendent of the Imperial Observatory.
His life has been written in a most engaging style by his daughter,
Mrs. Diana Fontaine Maury Corbin.
WORKS.
Navigation.
Scraps from the Lucky Bay, by Harry Bluff.
Rebuilding Southern Commerce.
Wind and Current Charts.
Sailing Directions.
Physical Geography of the Sea.
Series of Geographies.
Physical Survey of Virginia.
Resources of West Virginia (with Wm. M. Fontaine).
Lanes for Steamers Crossing the Atlantic.
Amazon and Atlantic Slopes.
Magnetism and the Circulation of the Atmosphere.
THE GULF STREAM.
(_From Sailing Directions._)
It is not necessary to associate with oceanic currents the idea that
they must of necessity, as on land, run from a higher to a lower
level. So far from this being the case, some currents of the sea
actually run up-hill, while others run on a level. The Gulf Stream is
of the first class. In a paper read before the National Institute in
1844, I showed why the bottom of the Gulf Stream ought, theoretically,
to be an inclined plane, running _upwards_. If the Gulf Stream be 200
fathoms deep in the Florida Pass, and but 100 fathoms off Hatteras, it
is evident that the bottom would be lifted 100 fathoms within that
distance; and therefore, while the bottom of the Gulf Stream runs
up-hill, the top preserves the water-level, or nearly so; for its
banks are of sea-water, and being in the ocean, are themselves on a
water-level. . .
. . . . . . .
I have also, on a former occasion, pointed out the fact, that,
inasmuch as the Gulf Stream is a bed of warm water, lying between
banks of cold water--that as warm water is lighter than
cold--therefore, the surface of the Gulf Stream ought, theoretically,
to be in the shape of a double inclined plane, like the roof a house,
down which we may expect to find a shallow surface or roof current,
running from the middle towards either edge of the stream.
The fact that this roof-current does exist has been fully
established . . . . . . by officers of the navy. Thus, in lowering a
boat to try a current, they found that the boat would invariably be
drifted towards one side or other of the stream, while the vessel
herself was drifted along in the direction of it. . .
This feature of the Gulf Stream throws a gleam of light upon the
_locus_ of the Gulf weed, by proving that its place of growth cannot
be on this side (west) of that stream. No Gulf weed is ever found west
of the axis of the Gulf Stream; and, if we admit the top of the stream
to be higher in the middle than at the edges, it would be difficult to
imagine how the Gulf weed should cross it, or get from one side of it
to the other.
The inference, therefore, would be, that as all the Gulf weed which is
seen about this stream is on its eastern declivity, the _locus_ of the
weed must be somewhere within or near the borders of the stream, and
to the east of the middle. And this idea is strengthened by the report
of Captain Scott, a most intelligent ship-master, who informs me that
he has seen the Gulf weed growing on the Bahama Banks.
DEEP-SEA SOUNDINGS.
(_From a Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, 1854, given in Mrs.
Corbin's Life of Maury._[14])
The U. S. brig "Dolphin," lieutenant commanding O. H. Berryman, was
employed last summer upon special services connected with this
office. . . . He was directed also to carry along a line of deep-sea
soundings from the shores of Newfoundland to those of Ireland. The
result is highly interesting upon the question of a submarine
telegraph across the Atlantic, and I therefore beg leave to make it
the subject of a special report.
This line of deep-sea sounding seems to be DECISIVE of the question as
to the practicability of a submarine telegraph between the two
continents _in so far as the bottom of the deep sea is concerned_.
From Newfoundland to Ireland the distance between the nearest points
is about 1600 miles, and the bottom of the sea between the two places
is a plateau which seems to have been placed there especially for the
purpose of holding the wires of the submarine telegraph, and of
keeping them out of harm's way. It is neither too deep nor too
shallow; yet it is so deep that the wires but once landed will remain
forever beyond the reach of the anchors of vessels, icebergs, and
drifts of any kind, and so shallow, that they may be readily lodged
upon the bottom. . . . . . .
A wire laid across from either of the above-named places on this side
to the north of the Grand Banks, will rest on that beautiful plateau
to which I have alluded, and where the waters of the sea appear to be
as quiet and as completely at rest as it is at the bottom of a
mill-pond. It is proper that the reasons should be stated for the
inference that there are no perceptible currents and no abrading
agents at work at the bottom of the sea upon this telegraphic plateau.
I derive this inference from the study of a physical fact, which I
little deemed, when I sought it, had any such bearings.
Lieutenant Berryman brought up, with "Brooke's deep-sea sounding
apparatus," specimens of the bottom from this plateau. I sent them to
Professor Bailey, at West Point, for examination under his microscope.
This he kindly undertook, and that eminent microscopist was quite as
much surprised to find, as I was to learn, that all these specimens of
deep-sea soundings are filled with microscopic shells. To use his own
words, "not a particle of sand or gravel exists in them." These little
shells therefore suggest the fact that there are no currents at the
bottom of the sea whence they come; that Brooke's lead found them
where they were deposited in their burial-place. . . .
Had there been currents at the bottom, they would have swept and
abraded and mingled up with these microscopic remains the _débris_ of
the bottom of the sea, such as ooze, sand, gravel, and other matter;
but not a particle of sand or gravel was found among them. Hence the
inference that these depths of the sea are not disturbed by either
waves or currents. Consequently, a telegraphic wire once laid there
would remain as completely beyond the reach of accident as it would be
if buried in air-tight cases.
HEROIC DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HERNDON.
(_From Maury's Report, in Mrs. Corbin's Life of Maury._[15])
U. S. NATIONAL OBSERVATORY,
WASHINGTON, D. C., _October 19th, 1857_.
SIR,--On the 12th day of September last, at sea, the U. S. mail
steamship "Central America," with the California mails, many of the
passengers and crew, and a large amount of treasure on board,
foundered in a gale [off Cape Hatteras]. The law requires the vessels
of this line to be commanded by officers of the Navy, and Commander
William Lewis Herndon had this one. He went down with his ship,
leaving a glowing example of devotion to duty, Christian conduct, and
true heroism. . . . .
The "Central America," at the time of her loss, was bound from
Aspinwall, viâ Havana, to New York. She had on board, as nearly as has
been ascertained, about two millions in gold, and 474 passengers,
besides a crew, all told, of 101 souls--total, 575.
She touched at Havana on the 7th September last, and put to sea again
at nine o'clock on the morning of the 8th. The ship was apparently in
good order, the time seemed propitious, and all hands were in fine
health and spirits, for the prospects of a safe and speedy passage
home were very cheering. The breeze was from the trade winds quarter
at N. E.; but at midnight on the 9th it freshened to a gale, which
continued to increase till the forenoon of Friday, September 11th,
when it blew with great violence. . .
Up to this time the ship behaved admirably; nothing had occurred
worthy of note, or in any way calculated to excite suspicions of her
prowess, until the forenoon of that day, when it was discovered that
she had sprung a leak. The sea was running high: . . . the leak was so
large that by 1 P. M. the water had risen high enough to extinguish
the fires on one side and stop the engine. . . . Crew and passengers
worked manfully, pumping and baling all Friday afternoon and night,
and when day dawned upon them the violence of the storm was still
increasing. . . . The flag was hoisted union down, that every vessel
as she hove in sight might know they were in distress and wanted
help. . . . . . . .
Finally, about noon of Saturday the 12th, the gale began to abate and
the sky to brighten. . . . At about 2 P. M. the brig "Marine," Captain
Burt, of Boston, bound from the West Indies to New York, heard
minute-guns, and saw the steamer's signals of distress. She ran down
to the sinking ship, and though very much crippled herself by the
gale, promised to lay by. . . . The steamer's boats were ordered to be
lowered--the "Marine" had none that could live in such a sea. . . .
All the women and children were first sent to the brig, and every one
arrived there in safety. Each boat made two loads to the brig,
carrying in all 100 persons.
By this time night was setting in. The brig had drifted to leeward
several miles away from the steamer; and was so crippled that she
could not beat up to her again.
Black's (the boatswain) boat alone returned the second time. Her
gallant crew had been buffeting with the storm for two days and
nights without rest, and with little or no food. The boat itself had
been badly stove while alongside with the last load of passengers. She
was so much knocked to pieces as to be really unserviceable, nor could
she have held another person. Still those brave seamen, inspired by
the conduct and true to the trust imposed in them by their Captain,
did not hesitate to leave the brig again, and pull back through the
dark for miles, across an angry sea, that they might join him in his
sinking ship, and take their chances with the rest. . . . . .
As one of the last boats was about to leave the ship, her commander
gave his watch to a passenger with the request that it might be
delivered to his wife. He wished to charge him with a message for her
also, but his utterance was choked. "Tell her----." Unable to proceed,
he bent down his head and buried his face in his hands for a moment as
if in prayer, for he was a devout man and a Christian.
In that moment, brief as it was, he endured the great agony; but it
was over now. . . . He had resolved to go down with his ship. Calm and
collected, he rose up from that mighty struggle with renewed vigour,
and went with encouraging looks about the duties of the ship as
before. . . .
After the boat which bore Mr. Payne--to whom Herndon had entrusted his
watch--had shoved off, the Captain went to his state-room and put on
his uniform; . . . . . then walking out, he took his stand on the
wheel-house, holding on to the iron railing with his left hand. A
rocket was sent off, the ship fetched her last lurch, and as she went
down he uncovered. . . .
Just before the steamer went down, a row-boat was heard approaching.
Herndon hailed her; it was the boatswain's boat, rowed by "hard hands
and gentle hearts," returning from on board the brig to report her
disabled condition. If she came alongside she would be engulfed with
the sinking ship. Herndon ordered her to keep off. She did so, and was
saved. This, as far as I have been able to learn, was his last order.
Forgetful of self, mindful of others, his life was beautiful to the
last, and in his death he has added a new glory to the annals of the
sea.
[A handsome monument to his memory stands in the Parade-ground of the
Naval School at Annapolis.]
FOOTNOTES:
[14] By permission of Mrs. Corbin.
[15] By permission of Mrs. Corbin.
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS.
~1806=1870.~
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS was born and reared in Charleston, South
Carolina. His early education was limited; he was for a while clerk in
a drug-store and then he studied law. But his decided taste for
letters soon induced him to devote his entire time and attention to
their cultivation. He wrote rapidly and voluminously, and produced
poems, novels, dramas, histories, biographies, book-reviews,
editorials,--in short, all kinds of writing. He was editor of various
journals at different times, and did all he could to inspire and
foster a literary taste in his generation. His style shows the effect
of haste and overwork.
[Illustration: ~Woodlands, S. C., Home of W. Gilmore Simms.~]
His novels dealing with Colonial and Revolutionary subjects are his
best work. They give us graphic pictures of the struggles that our
forefathers in the South had with the wild beasts, swamps, forests,
and Indians in Colonial times, and with these and the British in the
Revolutionary period. They should be read in connection with our early
history, especially the following: _Yemassee_, (_1714, Colonial
times_); _Partisan_, _Mellichampe_, and _Katharine Walton_, (_forming
the Revolutionary Trilogy_); _Eutaw_; _Scout_; _Forayers_;
_Woodcraft_, (_1775-1783_); _Wigwam and Cabin_ (_a collection of short
stories_).
Some of his poems are well worth reading, especially the legends of
Indian and Colonial life; and the Spirits' songs in "Atalantis" are
very dainty and musical.
He was the friend and helper of his younger fellow-workers in
literature, among whom were notably Paul Hamilton Hayne and Henry
Timrod. At his country home "Woodlands" and in Charleston, he
dispensed a generous and delightful hospitality and made welcome his
many friends from North, South, and West. The last few years of his
life were darkened by distress and poverty, in common with his
brethren all over the South; and his heroic struggle against them
reminds us of that of Sir Walter Scott, though far more dire and
pathetic.
A fine bust of him by Ward adorns the Battery in his native and
much-loved city. See Life, by William P. Trent.
WORKS.
NOVELS.
Martin Faber.
Book of My Lady.
Guy Rivers.
Yemassee.
Partisan.
Mellichampe.
Richard Hurdis.
Palayo.
Carl Werner and other Tales.
Border Beagles.
Confession, or the Blind Heart.
Beauchampe, [sequel to Charlemont].
Helen Halsey.
Castle Dismal.
Count Julian.
Wigwam and Cabin.
Katharine Walton.
Golden Christmas.
Forayers.
Maroon, and other Tales.
Utah.
Woodcraft.
Marie de Bernière.
Father Abbott.
Scout, [first called Kinsmen.]
Charlemont.
Cassique of Kiawah.
Vasconselos, [tale of De Soto.]
POEMS, [2 volumes.]
Atalantis.
Grouped Thoughts and Scattered Fancies.
Lays of the Palmetto.
Southern Passages and Pictures.
Areytos: Songs and Ballads of the South.
DRAMAS.
Norman Maurice.
Michael Bonham, or Fall of the Alamo.
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY, &C.
Life of General Francis Marion.
Life of Captain John Smith.
Life of Chevalier Bayard.
Geography of South Carolina.
Reviews in Periodicals [2 vols.].
Life of General Nathanael Greene.
History of South Carolina.
South Carolina in the Revolution.
War Poetry of the South.
Seven Dramas of Shakspere.
SONNET.--THE POET'S VISION.
Upon the Poet's soul they flash forever,
In evening shades, these glimpses strange and sweet;
They fill his heart betimes,--they leave him never,
And haunt his steps with sounds of falling feet;
He walks beside a mystery night and day;
Still wanders where the sacred spring is hidden;
Yet, would he take the seal from the forbidden,
Then must he work and watch as well as pray!
How work? How watch? Beside him--in his way,--
Springs without check the flow'r by whose choice spell,--
More potent than "herb moly,"--he can tell
Where the stream rises, and the waters play!--
Ah! spirits call'd avail not! On his eyes,
Sealed up with stubborn clay, the darkness lies.
THE DOOM OF OCCONESTOGA.
(_From Yemassee._)
[Occonestoga, the degenerate son of the Yemassee chief
Sanutee, has been condemned, for befriending the whites,
to a fate worse than death. The _totem_ of his tribe, an
arrow branded upon the shoulder, is to be cut and burnt
out by the executioner, Malatchie, and he is to be
declared accursed from his tribe and from their paradise
forever, "a slave of Opitchi-Manneyto," the evil
spirit.]
Occonestoga's head sank in despair, as he beheld the unchanging look
of stern resolve with which the unbending sire regarded him. For a
moment he was unmanned; until a loud shout of derision from the crowd
as they beheld the show of his weakness, came to the support of his
pride. The Indian shrinks from humiliation, where he would not shrink
from death; and, as the shout reached his ears, he shouted back his
defiance, raised his head loftily in air, and with the most perfect
composure, commenced singing his song of death, the song of many
victories.
"Wherefore sings he his death-song?" was the cry from many
voices,--"he is not to die!"
"Thou art the slave of Opitchi-Manneyto," cried Malatchie to the
captive, "thou shalt sing no lie of thy victories in the ear of
Yemassee. The slave of Opitchi-Manneyto has no triumph"--and the words
of the song were effectually drowned, if not silenced, in the
tremendous clamor which they raised about him. It was then that
Malatchie claimed his victim--the doom had been already given, but the
ceremony of expatriation and outlawry was yet to follow, and under the
direction of the prophet, the various castes and classes of the nation
prepared to take a final leave of one who could no longer be known
among them. First of all came a band of young marriageable women, who,
wheeling in a circle three times about him, sang together a wild
apostrophe containing a bitter farewell, which nothing in our language
could perfectly embody.
"Go,--thou hast no wife in Yemassee,--thou hast given no lodge to the
daughter of Yemassee,--thou hast slain no meat for thy children. Thou
hast no name--the women of Yemassee know thee no more. They know thee
no more."
And the final sentence was reverberated from the entire assembly,
"They know thee no more, they know thee no more."
Then came a number of the ancient men,--the patriarchs of the nation,
who surrounded him in circular mazes three several times, singing as
they did so a hymn of like import.
"Go--thou sittest not in the council of Yemassee--thou shalt not
speak wisdom to the boy that comes. Thou hast no name in Yemassee--the
fathers of Yemassee, they know thee no more."
And again the whole assembly cried out, as with one voice, "They know
thee no more, they know thee no more."
These were followed by the young warriors, his old associates, who
now, in a solemn band, approached him to go through a like
performance. His eyes were shut as they came, his blood was chilled in
his heart, and the articulated farewell of their wild chant failed
seemingly to reach his ear. Nothing but the last sentence he heard--
"Thou that wast a brother,
Thou art nothing now,
The young warriors of Yemassee,
They know thee no more."
And the crowd cried with them, "They know thee no more."
"Is no hatchet sharp for Occonestoga?" moaned forth the suffering
savage. But his trials were only then begun. Enoree-Mattee now
approached him with the words, with which, as the representative of
the good Manneyto, he renounced him,--with which he denied him access
to the Indian heaven, and left him a slave and an outcast, a miserable
wanderer amid the shadows and the swamps, and liable to all the doom
and terrors which come with the service of Opitchi-Manneyto.
"Thou wast the child of Manneyto,"
sung the high priest in a solemn chant, and with a deep-toned voice
that thrilled strangely amid the silence of the scene,
"Thou wast the child of Manneyto
He gave thee arrows and an eye,--
Thou wast the strong son of Manneyto,
He gave thee feathers and a wing,--
Thou wast a young brave of Manneyto,
He gave thee scalps and a war-song,--
But he knows thee no more--he knows thee no more."
And the clustering multitude again gave back the last line in wild
chorus. The prophet continued his chant:
"That Opitchi-Manneyto!--
He commands thee for his slave--
And the Yemassee must hear him,
Hear, and give thee for his slave--
They will take from thee the arrow,
The broad arrow of thy people,--
Thou shalt see no blessed valley,
Where the plum-groves always bloom--
Thou shalt hear no songs of valour,
From the ancient Yemassee--
Father, mother, name, and people,
Thou shalt lose with that broad arrow,
Thou art lost to the Manneyto,--
He knows thee no more--he knows thee no more."
The despair of hell was in the face of the victim, and he howled
forth, in a cry of agony that for a moment silenced the wild chorus of
the crowd around, the terrible consciousness in his mind of that
privation which the doom entailed upon him. Every feature was
convulsed with emotion; and the terrors of Opitchi-Manneyto's dominion
seemed already in strong exercise upon the muscles of his heart, when
Sanutee, the father, silently approached him, and with a pause of a
few moments, stood gazing upon the son from whom he was to be
separated eternally-- . . .
. . . . .
In a loud and bitter voice he exclaimed, "Thy father knows thee no
more,"--and once more came to the ears of the victim the melancholy
chorus of the multitude--"He knows thee no more, he knows thee no
more." Sanutee turned quickly away as he had spoken; and as if he
suffered more than he was willing to show, the old man rapidly
hastened to the little mound where he had been previously sitting, his
eyes averted from the further spectacle. Occonestoga, goaded to
madness by these several incidents, shrieked forth the bitterest
execrations, until Enoree-Mattee, preceding Malatchie, again
approached. Having given some directions in an under-tone to the
latter, he retired, leaving the executioner alone with his victim.
Malatchie, then, while all was silence in the crowd,--a thick silence,
in which even respiration seemed to be suspended,--proceeded to his
duty; and, lifting the feet of Occonestoga carefully from the ground,
he placed a log under them--then addressing him, as he again bared his
knife which he stuck in the tree above his head, he sung--
"I take from thee the earth of Yemassee--
I take from thee the water of Yemassee--
I take from thee the arrow of Yemassee--
Thou art no longer a Yemassee--
The Yemassee knows thee no more."
"The Yemassee knows thee no more," cried the multitude, and their
universal shout was deafening upon the ear. Occonestoga said no word
now--he could offer no resistance to the unnerving hands of Malatchie,
who now bared the arm more completely of its covering. But his limbs
were convulsed with the spasms of that dreadful terror of the future
which was racking and raging in every pulse of his heart. He had full
faith in the superstitions of his people. His terrors acknowledged
the full horrors of their doom. A despairing agony which no language
could describe had possession of his soul.
Meanwhile, the silence of all indicated the general anxiety; and
Malatchie prepared to seize the knife and perform the operation, when
a confused murmur arose from the crowd around; the mass gave way and
parted, and, rushing wildly into the area, came Matiwan, his mother,
the long black hair streaming, the features, an astonishing likeness
to his own, convulsed like his; and her action that of one reckless of
all things in the way of the forward progress she was making to the
person of her child. She cried aloud as she came, with a voice that
rang like a sudden death-bell through the ring.
"Would you keep a mother from her boy, and he to be lost to her for
ever? Shall she have no parting with the young brave she bore in her
bosom? Away, keep me not back--I will look upon him, I will love him.
He shall have the blessing of Matiwan, though the Yemassee and the
Manneyto curse."
The victim heard, and a momentary renovation of mental life, perhaps a
renovation of hope, spoke out in the simple exclamation which fell
from his lips:
"Oh, Matiwan--oh, mother!"
She rushed towards the spot where she heard his appeal, and thrusting
the executioner aside, threw her arms desperately about his neck.
"Touch him not, Matiwan," was the general cry from the crowd; "touch
him not, Matiwan,--Manneyto knows him no more."
"But Matiwan knows him--the mother knows her child, though Manneyto
denies him. Oh, boy--oh, boy, boy, boy." And she sobbed like an infant
on his neck.
"Thou art come, Matiwan--thou art come, but wherefore? To curse, like
the father--to curse, like the Manneyto?" mournfully said the captive.
"No, no, no! Not to curse, not to curse. When did mother curse the
child she bore? Not to curse, but to bless thee. To bless thee and
forgive."
"Tear her away," cried the prophet; "let Opitchi-Manneyto have his
slave."
"Tear her away, Malatchie," cried the crowd, now impatient for the
execution. Malatchie approached.
"Not yet, not yet," appealed the woman. "Shall not the mother say
farewell to the child she shall see no more?" and she waved Malatchie
back, and in the next instant drew hastily from the drapery of her
dress a small hatchet, which she had there carefully concealed.
"What wouldst thou do, Matiwan?" asked Occonestoga, as his eye caught
the glare of the weapon.
"Save thee, my boy--save thee for thy mother, Occonestoga--save thee
for the happy valley."
"Wouldst thou slay me, mother, wouldst strike the heart of thy son?"
he asked, with a something of reluctance to receive death from the
hands of a parent.
"I strike thee but to save thee, my son; since they cannot take the
totem from thee after the life is gone. Turn away from me thy
head--let me not look upon thine eyes as I strike, lest my hands grow
weak and tremble. Turn thine eyes away; I will not lose thee."
His eyes closed, and the fatal instrument, lifted above her head, was
now visible in the sight of all. The executioner rushed forward to
interpose, but he came too late. The tomahawk was driven deep into the
skull, and but a single sentence from his lips preceded the final
insensibility of the victim.
"It is good, Matiwan, it is good; thou hast saved me; the death is in
my heart." And back he sank as he spoke, while a shriek of mingled joy
and horror from the lips of the mother announced the success of her
effort to defeat the doom, the most dreadful in the imagination of the
Yemassee.
"He is not lost, he is not lost. They may not take the child from his
mother. They may not keep him from the valley of Manneyto. He is
free--he is free." And she fell back in a deep swoon into the arms of
Sanutee, who by this time had approached. She had defrauded
Opitchi-Manneyto of his victim, for they may not remove the badge of
the nation from any but the living victim.
MARION.
"_The Swamp Fox._"
(_From the Partisan._)
I.
We follow where the Swamp Fox guides,
His friends and merry men are we;
And when the troop of Tarleton rides,
We burrow in the cypress tree.
The turfy hammock is our bed,
Our home is in the red deer's den,
Our roof, the tree-top overhead,
For we are wild and hunted men.
II.
We fly by day, and shun its light,
But, prompt to strike the sudden blow,
We mount and start with early night,
And through the forest track our foe.
And soon he hears our chargers leap,
The flashing sabre blinds his eyes,
And ere he drives away his sleep,
And rushes from his camp, he dies.
III.
Free bridle-bit, good gallant steed,
That will not ask a kind caress,
To swim the Santee at our need,
When on his heels the foemen press,--
The true heart and the ready hand,
The spirit stubborn to be free,
The twisted bore, the smiting brand,--
And we are Marion's men, you see.
IV.
Now light the fire, and cook the meal,
The last perhaps that we shall taste;
I hear the Swamp Fox round us steal,
And that's a sign we move in haste.
He whistles to the scouts, and hark!
You hear his order calm and low--
Come, wave your torch across the dark,
And let us see the boys that go.
V.
We may not see their forms again,
God help 'em, should they find the strife!
For they are strong and fearless men,
And make no coward terms for life;
They'll fight as long as Marion bids,
And when he speaks the word to shy,
Then--not till then--they turn their steeds,
Through thickening shade and swamp to fly.
VI.
Now stir the fire, and lie at ease,
The scouts are gone, and on the brush
I see the colonel bend his knees,
To take his slumbers too--but hush!
He's praying, comrades; 'tis not strange;
The man that's fighting day by day,
May well, when night comes, take a change,
And down upon his knees to pray.
VII.
Break up that hoe-cake, boys, and hand
The sly and silent jug that's there;
I love not it should idly stand,
When Marion's men have need of cheer.
'Tis seldom that our luck affords
A stuff like this we just have quaffed,
And dry potatoes on our boards
May always call for such a draught.
VIII.
Now pile the brush and roll the log;
Hard pillow, but a soldier's head
That's half the time in brake and bog
Must never think of softer bed.
The owl is hooting to the night,
The cooter crawling o'er the bank,
And in that pond the flashing light
Tells where the alligator sank.
IX.
What! 'tis the signal! start so soon.
And through the Santee swamp so deep,
Without the aid of friendly moon,
And we, Heaven help us! half asleep!
But courage, comrades! Marion leads,
The Swamp Fox takes us out to-night;
So clear your swords, and spur your steeds,
There's goodly chance, I think, of fight.
X.
We follow where the Swamp Fox guides,
We leave the swamp and cypress tree,
Our spurs are in our coursers' sides,
And ready for the strife are we,--
The Tory camp is now in sight,
And there he cowers within his den,--
He hears our shouts, he dreads the fight,
He fears, and flies from Marion's men.
[Illustration: [Handwriting: Most truly & aff^ly yours
R E Lee]]
ROBERT EDWARD LEE.
~1807=1870.~
ROBERT EDWARD LEE was born at Stratford, Westmoreland County,
Virginia, descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors. He was
educated as a soldier at West Point, served with great distinction
under General Scott in the Mexican War, and commanded the troops which
suppressed the John Brown Raid in 1859. When his State seceded in
1861, he resigned his commission of Colonel in the United States Army,
and returned to Virginia. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the
Virginia forces, and later of the Confederate Army. His course during
the war has elicited the praise and admiration of all military
critics. After the war he quietly turned to the duties of a citizen.
He became president of Washington College, which is now called in his
honor Washington and Lee University. He stands with Washington a model
for young men, and many monuments in marble and bronze attest the love
and devotion of the South to her great Chief.
WORKS.
_Edited_ his father's Memoirs of the Revolution.
Letters and Addresses.
General Lee was a soldier and a man who acted rather than spoke or
wrote. When, however, it was his duty to speak or write, he did it, as
he did everything else, excellently, striving to express in simplest
language the right and proper thing rather than draw attention and
admiration to himself by any effort at grace or beauty of style. Its
simplicity reminds us of Washington.
His life has been written by John Esten Cooke, John William Jones,
J. D. McCabe, Jr., and Fitz Hugh Lee, his nephew.
TO HIS SON.
Duty is the sublimest word in the English language.
At THE SURRENDER.
Human virtue should be equal to human calamity.
GENERAL LEE'S LAST ORDER.
(_Appomattox Court-House, April 10, 1865._)
After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and
fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield
to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors
of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the
last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them;
but, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that
would compensate for the loss that would have attended the
continuation of the contest, I have determined to avoid the useless
sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their
countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return
to their homes, and remain there until exchanged.
You will take with you _the satisfaction that proceeds from the
consciousness of duty faithfully performed_; and I earnestly pray that
a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an
unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country,
and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of
myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell.
[Illustration: ~Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.~]
LETTER ACCEPTING THE PRESIDENCY OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE.
POWHATAN COUNTY, _August 24, 1865_.
GENTLEMEN:--I have delayed for some days replying to your letter of
the 5th instant informing me of my election, by the board of Trustees,
to the Presidency of Washington College, from a desire to give the
subject due consideration. Fully impressed with the responsibilities
of the office, I have feared that I should be unable to discharge its
duties to the satisfaction of the Trustees, or to the benefit of the
country. The proper education of youth requires not only great
ability, but, I fear, more strength than I now possess; for I do not
feel able to undergo the labor of conducting classes in regular
courses of instruction. I could not, therefore, undertake more than
the general administration and supervision of the institution.
There is another subject which has caused me serious reflection, and
is, I think, worthy of the consideration of the Board. Being excluded
from the terms of amnesty in the proclamation of the United States of
the 29th of May last, and an object of censure to a portion of the
country, I have thought it probable that my occupation of the position
of president might draw upon the college a feeling of hostility, and I
should therefore cause injury to an institution which it would be my
highest object to advance.
I think it the duty of every citizen, in the present condition of the
country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and
harmony, and in no way to oppose the policy of the State or general
Government directed to that object. It is particularly incumbent on
those charged with the instruction of the young to set them an example
of submission to authority, and I could not consent to be the cause
of animadversion upon the college. Should you, however, take a
different view, and think that my services, in the position tendered
me by the Board, will be advantageous to the college and the country,
I will yield to your judgment and accept it; otherwise I must most
respectfully decline the offer.
Begging you to express to the Trustees of the college my heartfelt
gratitude for the honor conferred upon me, and requesting you to
accept my cordial thanks for the kind manner in which you have
communicated its decision, I am, gentlemen, your most obedient
servant,
R. E. LEE.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
~1808=1889.~
JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Confederate States, was born in Todd
County, Kentucky, but his father removed to Mississippi soon
afterwards, and he was reared and partly educated in that state. Later
he attended Transylvania University in Kentucky, and in 1824 entered
West Point. He was graduated in 1828 and served seven years in the
army, being stationed in Missouri and Minnesota. On account of
ill-health he resigned in 1835 and travelled, and then settled on his
Mississippi plantation, "Brierfield."
He was elected to Congress in 1845; served in the Mexican War with
great distinction and was injured in eye and limb at the battle of
Buena Vista. He was Secretary of War in President Pierce's cabinet,
and was a Senator when Mississippi seceded from the Union.
He made his farewell to the Senate in January, 1861, and returned home
where he was at once appointed commander of the State troops. But he
had been elected president of the new Confederacy by the Convention at
Montgomery, and he was inaugurated, February 18, 1861. On the change
of the capital from Montgomery to Richmond, he removed to the latter
city and remained there until the war was ended.
He was imprisoned for two years at Fort Monroe, to be tried as a
traitor to the United States. Being finally released on bail, he went
for his health to England and Canada; and then he resided in Memphis
and at "Beauvoir," Mississippi, which latter place was his home when
he died. This home, "Beauvoir," he had arranged to purchase from Mrs.
Dorsey, who was a kind and devoted friend to his family and had
assisted him in his writing; but on her death in 1879, it was found
that she had left a will bequeathing it to him and to his daughter
Varina Anne. He, like Lee, had always declined the many offers of
homes and incomes made by their devoted and admiring friends.
On him, as President of the Confederacy, seems to have fallen in some
sense the whole odium of the failure of that cause; and this passage
from Winnie Davis' "An Irish Knight" has a touching application to his
case: "Thus died Ireland's true knight, sinking into the grave clothed
in all the bright promise of his youth; never to put on the sad livery
of age; never to feel the hopelessness of those who live to see the
principles for which they suffered trampled and forgotten by the
onward march of new interests and new men. Perhaps Freedom like some
deity of ancient Greece, loved him too well to let the slurs and
contumely of outrageous fortune dim the bright lustre of his virgin
fame." He is enshrined in the hearts of thousands.
His daughter, Varina Anne, or Winnie, "the Child of the Confederacy,"
as she is lovingly called, is a writer of some ability. She was
educated in Europe, and has written "An Irish Knight" [story of Robert
Emmet], and articles for magazines. Mrs. Jefferson Davis' Life of Mr.
Davis is a work of rare excellence and interest. See also _Davis
Memorial Volume_, by J. Wm. Jones.
WORKS.
Rise and Fall of the Confederacy.
Autobiography, [unfinished; it is included in Mrs. Davis' book.]
Mr. Davis' writings have a force and dignity of style that accord well
with his character. "His orations and addresses are marked by
classical purity, chaste elegance of expression, a certain nobleness
of diction, and a just proportion of sentence to idea."--John P.
McGuire.
TRIP TO KENTUCKY AT SEVEN YEARS OF AGE, AND VISIT TO GENERAL JACKSON.
(_From Autobiography in Mrs. Davis' Life of Davis._[16])
My first tuition was in the usual log-cabin school-house; though in
the summer when I was seven years old, I was sent on horseback through
what was then called "The Wilderness"--by the country of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations--to Kentucky, and was placed in a Catholic
institution then known as St. Thomas, in Washington county, near the
town of Springfield.
. . . When we reached Nashville we went to the Hermitage. Major Hinds
wished to visit his friend and companion-in-arms, General Jackson. The
whole party was so kindly received that we remained there for several
weeks. During that period I had the opportunity a boy has to observe a
great man--a stand-point of no small advantage--and I have always
remembered with warm affection the kind and tender wife who then
presided over his house.
General Jackson's house at that time was a roomy log-house. In front
of it was a grove of fine forest trees, and behind it were his cotton
and grain fields. I have never forgotten the unaffected and well-bred
courtesy which caused him to be remarked by court-trained diplomats,
when President of the United States, by reason of his very impressive
bearing and manner.
Notwithstanding the many reports that have been made of his profanity,
I remember that he always said grace at his table, and I never heard
him utter an oath. In the same connection, although he encouraged his
adopted son, A. Jackson, Jr., Howell Hinds, and myself in all contests
of activity, pony-riding included, he would not allow us to wrestle;
for, he said, to allow hands to be put on one another might lead to a
fight. He was always very gentle and considerate. . . .
Our stay with General Jackson was enlivened by the visits of his
neighbors, and we left the Hermitage with great regret and pursued our
journey. In me he inspired reverence and affection that has remained
with me through my whole life.
LIFE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Those who have intimately known the official and personal life of our
Presidents cannot fail to remember how few have left the office as
happy men as when they entered it, how darkly the shadows gathered
around the setting sun, and how eagerly the multitude would turn to
gaze upon another orb just rising to take its place in the political
firmament.
[Illustration: ~Beauvoir.~]
Worn by incessant fatigue, broken in fortune, debarred by public
opinion, prejudice, or tradition, from future employment, the wisest
and best who have filled that office have retired to private life, to
remember rather the failure of their hopes than the success of their
efforts. He must, indeed, be a self-confident man who could hope to
fill the chair of Washington with satisfaction to himself, with
assurance of receiving on his retirement the meed awarded by the
people to that great man, that he had "done enough for life and for
glory," or even feeling that the sacrifice of self had been
compensated by the service rendered to his country.
FAREWELL TO THE SENATE, 1861, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SECESSION OF
MISSISSIPPI FROM THE UNION.
I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose of announcing to the Senate
that I have satisfactory evidence that the state of Mississippi, by a
solemn ordinance of her people, in convention assembled, has declared
her separation from the United States. Under these circumstances, of
course, my functions are terminated here. It has seemed to me proper,
however, that I should appear in the Senate to announce that fact to
my associates, and I will say but very little more. The occasion does
not invite me to go into argument, and my physical condition would not
permit me to do so, if it were otherwise; and yet it seems to become
me to say something on the part of the State I here represent on an
occasion so solemn as this.
It is known to Senators who have served with me here that I have for
many years advocated, as an essential attribute of State sovereignty,
the right of a State to secede from the Union. Therefore, if I had not
believed there was justifiable cause, if I had thought that
Mississippi was acting without sufficient provocation, or without an
existing necessity, I should still, under my theory of the
government, because of my allegiance to the State of which I am a
citizen, have been bound by her action. I, however, may be permitted
to say that I do think she has justifiable cause, and I approve of her
act. I conferred with her people before that act was taken, counselled
them then that, if the state of things which they apprehended should
exist when their convention met, they should take the action which
they have now adopted.
I hope none who hear me will confound this expression of mine with the
advocacy of the right of a State to remain in the Union, and to
disregard its constitutional obligations by the nullification of the
law. Such is not my theory. Nullification and Secession, so often
confounded, are, indeed, antagonistic principles. Nullification is a
remedy which it is sought to apply within the Union, and against the
agent of the States. It is only to be justified when the agent has
violated his constitutional obligations, and a State, assuming to
judge for itself, denies the right of the agent thus to act, and
appeals to the other States of the Union for a decision; but when the
States themselves, and the people of the States have so acted as to
convince us that they will not regard our constitutional rights, then,
and then for the first time, arises the doctrine of secession in its
practical application.
A great man, who now reposes with his fathers, and who has often been
arraigned for a want of fealty to the Union, advocated the doctrine of
nullification because it preserved the Union. It was because of his
deep-seated attachment to the Union--his determination to find some
remedy for existing ills short of a severance of the ties which bound
South Carolina to the other States--that Mr. Calhoun advocated the
doctrine of nullification, which he proclaimed to be peaceful, to be
within the limits of State power, not to disturb the Union, but only
to be the means of bringing the agent before the tribunal of the
States for their judgment.
Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be
justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There was a
time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again when a better
comprehension of the theory of our Government, and the inalienable
rights of the people of the States, will prevent any one from denying
that each State is a sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which
it has made to any agent whomsoever. . .
In the course of my service here, associated at different times with a
great variety of Senators, I see now around me some with whom I have
served long; there have been points of collision, but, whatever of
offence there has been to me, I leave here. I carry with me no hostile
remembrance. Whatever offence I have given which has not been
redressed, or for which satisfaction has not been demanded, I have,
Senators, in this hour of our parting, to offer you my apology for any
pain which, in the heat of the discussion, I have inflicted. I go
hence unencumbered by the remembrance of any injury received, and
having discharged the duty of making the only reparation in my power
for any injury offered.
Mr. President and Senators, having made the announcement which the
occasion seemed to me to require, it only remains for me to bid you a
final adieu.
FOOTNOTE:
[16] By Permission of Mrs. Davis.
EDGAR ALLAN POE.
~1809=1849.~
EDGAR ALLAN POE was born in Boston while his parents were filling a
theatrical engagement there. His father's family was of Baltimore, his
grandfather being Gen. David Poe of the Revolutionary War, and his
father, also named David Poe, having been born and reared in that
city. His mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Arnold, was an
English actress of fascinating beauty and manners.
Left an orphan in 1811, Edgar was adopted by Mr. John Allan, a wealthy
merchant of Richmond, and was educated at private schools and the
University of Virginia, and in 1830 he entered West Point. But he got
himself dismissed the next year and devoted himself thereafter to a
literary life. Mr. Allan declining to aid him further, he had a
wretched struggle for existence.
He seems to have gone to Baltimore and made acquaintance with some of
his relatives; and there he won a prize of $100 by a story, "MS. Found
in a Bottle," and was kindly helped by John Pendleton Kennedy. He
became editor of the "Southern Literary Messenger," in Richmond, and
was afterward engaged on various other magazines, writing stories,
poems, book-reviews, and paragraphs, in untiring abundance.
He married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, in 1836, and their life
together was in itself ideally happy, like the life in the Valley of
the Many-Coloured Grass; and Mrs. Clemm, his aunt and mother-in-law,
was the good genius who watched over "her two strange children" with
an unwearying devotion, deserving the tribute of the love and
gratitude embalmed in his sonnet called "Mother."
His engagement with any one magazine rarely lasted long, and there is
much diversity of opinion as to the cause; some ascribing it to Poe's
dissipated, irregular habits and irritable temper, others to the
meagre support of the magazines, still others to Poe's restless
disposition and desire to establish a periodical of his own. His
uncontrolled and high-strung nature, so sensitive that a single glass
of wine or swallow of opium caused temporary insanity, the
uncertainty of his means of subsistence, his wife's frail health and
her death in 1847, were causes sufficient to render unsteady even a
more solid character than Poe seems to have possessed.
His writings produced a great sensation. When "The Raven" was
published in 1845, a friend said of its effect in New York, "Everybody
has been raven-mad about his last poem." Mrs. Browning wrote that an
acquaintance of hers who had a bust of Pallas could not bear to look
at it. His fame is as great, or perhaps greater in Europe than in
America, especially in France; and his works have been translated into
French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.
He died in Baltimore from causes never certainly known, his last
almost unconscious days being spent in a hospital; his dying words
were, "Lord, help my poor soul." He is buried in Westminster
churchyard, and in 1875 a monument was erected over his grave by the
teachers of Baltimore, generously aided by Mr. G. W. Childs of
Philadelphia. A memorial to him has been placed in the Metropolitan
Museum, New York, by the actors of the United States.
No poet has been the subject of more conflicting opinions as to his
life, habits, character, and genius, than Poe. The best lives of him
are those by John H. Ingram, an Englishman, and George E. Woodberry in
the American Men of Letters Series.
WORKS.
Poems.
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.
Literati of New York.
Conchologist's First Book (condensed from Wyatt).
Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
Raven and other Poems.
Eureka, a Prose Poem.
Gold Bug, Balloon Hoax, &c.
All his best known stories are highly artistic in finish, powerful in
theme, and often of such a nature as to make one shudder and avoid
them. "Israfel" is considered one of his most beautiful poems, and if
his self-consciousness could have allowed him to omit the last stanza,
it would have been without a flaw.
TO HELEN.
Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore,
That, gently, o'er a perfumed sea,
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.
On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece
And the grandeur that was Rome.
Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche
How statue-like I see thee stand!
The agate lamp within thy hand,
Ah! Psyche, from the regions which
Are Holy Land!
ISRAFEL.
_And the angel Israfel, whose heart-strings are a lute, and who has
the sweetest voice of all God's creatures._--_Koran._
In Heaven a spirit doth dwell
"Whose heart-strings are a lute;"
None sing so wildly well
As the angel Israfel,
And the giddy stars (so legends tell)
Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell
Of his voice, all mute.
Tottering above
In her highest noon,
The enamored moon
Blushes with love,
While, to listen, the red levin
(With the rapid Pleiades, even,
Which were seven)
Pauses in Heaven.
And they say (the starry choir
And the other listening things)
That Israfeli's fire
Is owing to that lyre
By which he sits and sings--
The trembling living wire
Of those unusual strings.
But the skies that angel trod,
Where deep thoughts are a duty--
Where Love's a grown-up God--
Where the Houri glances are
Imbued with all the beauty
Which we worship in a star.
Therefore, thou art not wrong,
Israfeli, who despisest
An unimpassioned song;
To thee the laurels belong,
Best bard, because the wisest!
Merrily live, and long!
The ecstasies above
With thy burning measures suit--
Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love,
With the fervor of thy lute--
Well may the stars be mute!
Yes, heaven is thine; but this
Is a world of sweets and sours;
Our flowers are merely--flowers,
And the shadow of thy perfect bliss
Is the sunshine of ours.
If I could dwell
Where Israfel
Hath dwelt, and he where I,
He might not sing so wildly well
A mortal melody,
While a bolder note than this might swell
From my lyre within the sky.
HAPPINESS.
The four elementary conditions of happiness are, life in the open air,
the love of a woman, forgetfulness of all ambition, and the creation
of a new ideal of beauty.--_From Domain of Arnheim._
THE RAVEN.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
Only this, and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;--vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow--sorrow for the lost Lenore--
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore--
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door--
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,--
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"--here I opened wide the door;
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore."
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore--
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;--
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door--
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door--
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no
craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore,
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning--little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door--
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered--not a feather then he fluttered--
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before.
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never--nevermore.'"
But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore--
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
_She_ shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee--by these angels he hath
sent thee
Respite--respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!--
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted--
On this home by Horror haunted--tell me truly, I implore--
Is there--_is_ there balm in Gilead?--tell me--tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us, by that God we both adore,
Tell this soul with sorrow laden, if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore--
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked,
upstarting--
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!--quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor,
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted--nevermore!
ROBERT TOOMBS.
~1810=1885.~
[Illustration: ~Robert Toombs.~]
ROBERT TOOMBS was born at Washington, Georgia, and studied at the
University of Georgia, then under the presidency of the famous Dr.
Moses Waddell; he afterwards attended Union College, Schenectady,
N. Y., and studied law at the University of Virginia. He settled in
his native town for legal practice and was so successful as to amass a
fortune within a few years. He served in the State Legislature and in
1845 was elected to Congress. In 1861, being a member of the United
States Senate, he took leave of it in order to join his State in
secession. He was appointed to the Confederate Cabinet, but soon
resigned and became a general in the field. After the war he was
ordered to be captured and held for trial as a traitor with Jefferson
Davis and Alexander H. Stephens; but he was never taken. He escaped
after much difficulty and many adventures, and went to Cuba and to
France: but he returned in 1867 to Georgia and resumed the practice
of law.
He was notoriously the Big Rebel, even after the war, and refused to
take the oath of allegiance: when asked by a Northern friend why he
had never sued for pardon, he said, "Pardon for what? I have not
pardoned you all yet." Later in life he said that he regretted not
having re-instated himself in citizenship and taken part in public
affairs. See his Life, by P. A. Stovall, and by C. C. Jones, Jr.
WORKS.
Speeches.
Mr. Toombs' speeches in Congress are said to have been fiery,
powerful, and dogmatic. As a lawyer, Chief-Justice Jackson thus
characterizes his style: "Concentrated fire was always his policy. A
single sentence would win his case. A big thought, compressed into
small compass, was fatal to his foe. It is the clear insight of a
great mind only that shapes out truth in words few and simple. Brevity
is power, wherever thought is strong."
"There is a regular mythology about Toombs at his State University.
The things he said would fill a volume of Sydney Smith, while the
pranks he played would rival the record of Robin Hood."--Stovall's
Life of Toombs.
FAREWELL TO THE SENATE, 1861.
(_From Stovall's Life of Toombs._[17])
Senators, my countrymen have demanded no new government. They have
demanded no new constitution. The discontented States have demanded
nothing but clear, distinct, constitutional rights, rights older than
the Constitution. What do these rebels demand? First, that the people
of the United States shall have an equal right to emigrate and settle
in the Territories with whatever property (including slaves) they
possess. Second, that property in slaves shall be entitled to the same
protection from the government as any other property (leaving the
State the right to prohibit, protect, or abolish slavery within its
limits). Third, that persons committing crimes against slave property
in one State and flying to another shall be given up. Fourth, that
fugitive slaves shall be surrendered. Fifth, that Congress shall pass
laws for the punishment of all persons who shall aid and abet invasion
and insurrection in any other State. . . . . .
You will not regard confederate obligations; you will not regard
constitutional obligations; you will not regard your oaths. What,
then, am I to do? Am I a freeman? Is my State a free State? We are
freemen; we have rights; I have stated them. We have wrongs; I have
recounted them. I have demonstrated that the party now coming into
power has declared us outlaws, and is determined to exclude thousands
of millions of our property from the common territory; that it has
declared us under the ban of the Union, and out of the protection of
the laws of the United States everywhere. They have refused to protect
us from invasion and insurrection by the Federal power, and the
Constitution denies to us, in the Union, the right to raise fleets and
armies for our own defence. All these charges I have proven by the
record; and I put them before the civilized world and demand the
judgment of to-day, of to-morrow, of distant ages, and of Heaven
itself, upon the justice of these causes. I am content, whatever it
be, to peril all in so holy a cause. We have appealed, time and again,
for these constitutional rights. You have refused them. We appeal
again. Restore us those rights as we had them; as your Court adjudges
them to be; just as our people have said they are. Redress these
flagrant wrongs--seen of all men--and it will restore fraternity, and
unity, and peace to us all. Refuse them, and what then? We shall then
ask you, "Let us depart in peace."[18] Refuse that, and you present us
war. We accept it, and, inscribing upon our banners the glorious
words, "Liberty and Equality," we will trust to the blood of the brave
and the God of battles for security and tranquility.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] By permission of the Cassell Publishing Company, N. Y.
[18] All we ask is to be let alone--Jefferson Davis.
OCTAVIA WALTON LE VERT.
~1810=1877.~
MADAME LE VERT, as she is usually styled, was born at Bellevue near
Augusta, Georgia, and was reared in Pensacola, Florida. She was a
granddaughter of George Walton, signer of the Declaration of
Independence, and daughter of George Walton, governor of Florida. She
learned languages easily and conversed well in French, Spanish, and
Italian. LaFayette said of her: "A truly wonderful child! She has been
conversing with intelligence and tact in the purest French. I predict
for her a brilliant career." She gave the name to the capital of
Florida, Tallahassee, a Seminole word meaning "beautiful land." She
spent several seasons in Washington; and she wrote such excellent
accounts of the speeches in Congress, that Calhoun, Webster, and Clay
frequently asked her to read to them their own speeches from her
portfolio.
In 1836 she was married to Dr. Henry S. Le Vert of Mobile and removed
to that city. She travelled in Europe in 1853 and 1855, and her
delightful journal and letters home were afterwards arranged and
published as "Souvenirs of Travel." Their spirit and style make them
charming yet, and they are valuable as pictures of the times.
Her memory is still fragrant as a most gracious and lovely woman, a
brilliant conversationalist, and a queen of society. It is said of her
that her tongue never wounded and that she never had an enemy.
WORKS.
Souvenirs of Travel.
Souvenirs of the War, [unpublished].
Souvenirs of Distinguished People, [unpublished].
TO CADIZ FROM HAVANNA, 1855.
(_From Souvenirs of Travel._)
"O lovely Spain! renowned, romantic land!"
Our last day on board, the good Dominga (our waiting-woman) awakened
us long before the dawn, saying, "Come, Señora, go with me on deck and
see the day arise." We did so and were charmed with the beautiful
scene. At first the sky was "deeply, darkly blue," and the stars were
gleaming with a brightness never seen in more northern regions. Slowly
a gauzy veil seemed wafting over them, and along the east sprang up,
as it were, banners of purple and rose-color, and the intense azure of
the heavens melted into a soft gray hue. Soon streaks of golden light
flashed through it, and the glorious sun came forth, converting the
mirror-like ocean into a sea of radiance, burnished and glittering
like myriads of gems. And this was morning upon the Atlantic!
At mid-day there was a cry of _tierra! tierra!_ (land! land!) which
sent a thrill of joy to many hearts. We had seen none, except the
island of Santa Maria (one of the Azores, near which we passed), since
we left the Antilles. We ran on deck, and in a few moments
"Fair Cadiz, rising from the dark blue sea,"
was revealed to our longing eyes. Like a great white dove, with
out-spread wings, resting upon the calm waters, appeared the distant
city. Ah! long shall I remember the delight of that first look upon
lovely Cadiz! The day was exquisite; the air fresh and balmy, and the
sea like a smooth inland lake. Gentle spirits seemed hovering around
to welcome us, while a warm glowing pleasure filled our hearts.
Nearer and nearer we approached, domes, spires, and turrets gradually
rising to view, until the entire outline of the city, with its
snow-white houses and green alamedas, was before us. . . . . . .
Cadiz is a very ancient city. It was founded by the Phoenicians,
hundreds of years before the building of Rome. Upon the coat-of-arms
of the city is the figure of Hercules, by whom the inhabitants say it
was built. Then came the dominion of the Moors, and afterwards the
Spaniards. When America was discovered, a golden prosperity beamed
upon Cadiz, which was lost as soon as the Spanish Possessions in the
New World proclaimed themselves free. It is strictly a commercial
place, and has now only a population of sixty thousand. The city is
upon a rocky point of land, joined to the peninsula by a narrow
isthmus. The sea surrounds it on three sides, beating against the
walls, and often throwing the spray over the ramparts. On the fourth
side it is protected by a strong wall and bridges over the wide ditch.
At night, they are drawn up, thus isolating the town completely. . .
. . .
Leaving the bay, we plunged into the long rolling billows of the
Atlantic, and bade
"Adieu! fair Cadiz, a long adieu!"
then turning the cape, upon which was once the Phoenician
light-house called "the Rock of the Sun," we came to St. Lucar. There
Magellan fitted out the fleet which first circumnavigated the
globe. . . . We passed the mouth of the Rio Tinto, upon which stands
the convent [La Rabida], where Columbus, an outcast and wanderer,
received charity from the kind prior, who interceded with Isabella and
thus forwarded the plans of the great discoverer.
LOUISA SUSANNAH M'CORD.
~1810=1880.~
MRS. M'CORD, daughter of the distinguished statesman, Langdon Cheves
[pron'd Cheeves, in one syllable], was born at Columbia, South
Carolina. She was educated in Philadelphia; and in 1840 she was
married to David James M'Cord, a prominent lawyer of Columbia, at one
time law-partner of Wm. C. Preston. They spent much of their time at
their plantation, "Langsyne," near Fort Motte on the Congaree.
She was a woman of strong character and of commanding intellect as her
writings show. Speaking of her home life, a contemporary says, "Mrs.
M'Cord herself illustrates her views of female life by her own daily
example. She conducts the hospital on her own large plantation,
attends to the personal wants of the negroes, and on one occasion
perfectly set a fracture of a broken arm. Thoroughly accomplished in
the modern languages of Europe, she employs her leisure in the
education of her children." See under _Wm. C. Preston_.
WORKS.
Caius Gracchus: a Tragedy.
"Sophisms of the Protective Policy," from the French.
My Dreams, [poems].
Articles in Magazines.
WOMAN'S DUTY.
(_From Enfranchisement of Woman, in "Southern Quarterly Review,"
April, 1852._)
In every error there is its shadow of truth. Error is but truth turned
awry, or looked at through a wrong medium. As the straightest rod
will, in appearance, curve when one half of it is placed under water,
so God's truths, leaning down to earth, are often distorted to our
view. Woman's condition certainly admits of improvement, (but when
have the strong forgotten to oppress the weak?) . . . Here, as in all
other improvements, the good must be brought about by working with,
not against--by seconding, not opposing--Nature's laws. Woman, seeking
as a woman, may raise her position,--seeking as a man, we repeat, she
but degrades it. . . . . . .
Each can labour, each can strive, lovingly and earnestly, in her own
sphere. "Life is real! Life is earnest!" Not less for her than for
man. She has no right to bury her talent beneath silks or ribands,
frippery or flowers; nor yet has she the right, because she fancies
not her task, to grasp at another's, which is, or which she imagines
is, easier. This is baby play. "Life is real! Life is earnest!" Let
woman so read it--let woman so learn it--and she has no need to make
her influence felt by a stump speech, or a vote at the polls; she has
no need for the exercise of her intellect (and woman, we grant, may
have a great, a longing, a hungering intellect, equal to man's) to be
gratified with a seat in Congress, or a scuffle for the ambiguous
honour of the Presidency.
Even at her own fire-side, may she find duties enough, cares enough,
troubles enough, thought enough, wisdom enough, to fit a martyr for
the stake, a philosopher for life, or a saint for heaven.
There are, there have been, and there will be, in every age, great
hero-souls in woman's form, as well as man's. It imports little
whether history notes them. The hero-soul aims at its certain duty,
heroically meeting it, whether glory or shame, worship or contumely,
follow its accomplishment. Laud and merit is due to such performance.
_Fulfill_ thy destiny; _oppose_ it not. Herein lies thy track. Keep
it. Nature's sign-posts are within thee, and it were well for thee to
learn to read them. . . . .
Many women--even, we grant, the majority of women--throw themselves
away upon follies. So, however, do men; and this, perhaps, as a
necessary consequence, for woman is the mother of the man. Woman has
allowed herself to be, alternately, made the toy and the slave of man;
but this rather through her folly than her nature. Not wholly _her_
folly, either. _Her_ folly and _man's_ folly have made the vices and
the punishment of both.
Woman has certainly not her true place, and this place she as
certainly should seek to gain. We have said that every error has its
shadow of truth, and, so far, the [Woman's Rights] conventionists are
right. But, alas! how wide astray are they groping from their goal!
Woman has not her true place, because she--because man--has not yet
learned the full extent and importance of her mission. These
innovators would seek to restore, by driving her entirely from that
mission; as though some unlucky pedestrian, shoved from the security
of the side-walk, should in his consternation seek to remedy matters,
by rushing into the thickest thoroughfare of hoofs and wheels. Woman
will reach the greatest height of which she is capable--the greatest,
perhaps, of which humanity is capable--not by becoming man, but by
becoming, more than ever, woman. By perfecting herself, she perfects
mankind.
JOSEPH G. BALDWIN.
~ca. 1811=1864.~
JOSEPH G. BALDWIN was born in Virginia but early removed to Sumter
County, Alabama, and was a jurist and writer of much influence and
popularity in that State. He removed later to California, where in
1857 he became judge of the Supreme Court and in 1863 Chief-Justice of
the State. His writings are mainly clever and humorous sketches of the
bar and of the communities in which he practised. He said the "flush
times" of Alabama did not compare in any degree with those of
California which he described in an article to the "Southern Literary
Messenger." His "Party Leaders" are able papers on Jefferson,
Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and John Randolph.
WORKS.
Flush Times in Alabama and Mississippi.
Party Leaders.
Humorous Legal Sketches.
VIRGINIANS IN A NEW COUNTRY.
(_From Flush Times in Alabama and Mississippi, published in "Southern
Literary Messenger."_)
The disposition to be proud and vain of one's country, and to boast of
it, is a natural feeling; but, with a Virginian, it is a passion. It
inheres in him even as the flavor of a York river oyster in that
bivalve, and no distance of deportation, and no trimmings of a
gracious prosperity, and no pickling in the sharp acids of adversity,
can destroy it. It is a part of the Virginia character--just as the
flavor is a distinctive part of the oyster--"which cannot, save by
annihilating, die." It is no use talking about it--the thing may be
right, or wrong;--like Falstaff's victims at Gadshill, it is past
praying for: it is a sort of cocoa grass that has got into the soil,
and has so matted over it, and so _fibred_ through it, as to have
become a part of it; at least there is no telling which is the grass
and which the soil; and certainly it is useless labor to try to root
it out. You may destroy the soil, but you can't root out the grass.
Patriotism with the Virginian is a noun personal. It is the Virginian
himself and something over. He loves Virginia _per se_ and _propter
se_: he loves her for herself and for himself--because _she is_
Virginia, and--everything else beside. He loves to talk about her: out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. It makes no odds
where he goes, he carries Virginia with him; not in the entirety
always--but the little spot he comes from is Virginia--as Swedenborg
says the smallest part of the brain is an abridgment of all of it.
"_Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt_," was made for a
Virginian. He never gets acclimated elsewhere; he never loses
citizenship to the old Home. The right of expatriation is a pure
abstraction to him. He may breathe in Alabama, but he lives in
Virginia. His treasure is there and his heart also. If he looks at the
Delta of the Mississippi, it reminds him of James River "low grounds;"
if he sees the vast prairies of Texas, it is a memorial of the meadows
of the Valley. Richmond is the centre of attraction, the _dépôt_ of
all that is grand, great, good, and glorious. "It is the Kentucky of a
place," which the preacher described Heaven to be to the Kentucky
congregation.
Those who came many years ago from the borough towns, especially from
the vicinity of Williamsburg, exceed, in attachment to their
birthplace, if possible, the _émigrés_ from the metropolis. It is
refreshing in these coster monger times, to hear them speak of
it;--they remember it when the old burg was the seat of fashion,
taste, refinement, hospitality, wealth, wit, and all social graces:
when genius threw its spell over the public assemblages and illumined
the halls of justice, and when beauty brightened the social hour with
her unmatched and matchless brilliancy.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS.
~1812=1883.~
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS was born near Crawfordville, Georgia, and
received an early and excellent education in his father's private
school and at the University of Georgia. The cost of his tuition here
was advanced by some friends, and he repaid it as soon as he began to
earn money. He taught for a year in the family of Dr. Le Conte, father
of the distinguished scientists, John and Joseph Le Conte, now of the
University of California.
He pursued his law studies alone and passed an unusually brilliant
examination. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1836, and to
Congress in 1843, where he served until 1858. He then retired to
country life at his home, "Liberty Hall." But in 1861 he was elected
Vice-President of the Confederate States. After the war he was made
prisoner and confined for some months at Fort Warren near Boston. He
spent several years in literary work and established a newspaper at
Atlanta, called the "Sun."
He was of small stature and delicate health, and met with one or two
severe accidents. His career is a wonderful illustration of the power
of the mind over the body. An amusing incident is told of him in
regard to his size. He was attending a political convention in
Charleston as one of the chief delegates; and one evening, with
several other prominent men, he was on the porch of the hotel lying on
a bench, talking with his companions who were standing about him. The
hotel-keeper coming out saw the gentlemen standing, and bustling up,
said, "Get up, my son, and let these gentlemen be seated." Mr.
Stephens at once arose and his friends burst out laughing; they
explained the situation to the hotel-keeper who was profuse in his
apologies.
An instance of his remarkable bravery is the affair with Judge Cone.
This gentleman considered himself insulted by a remark of Mr. Stephens
and demanded a retraction. After accepting an explanation, he still
insisted on a retraction, and Mr. Stephens refused to make it. Judge
Cone, a tall and powerful man, then drew a knife on him and holding
him down on the floor, cried out, "Retract, or I'll cut you to
pieces." "_Never!_" answered Stephens, "_cut!_" and caught the
descending knife in his right hand. Friends interposed; Judge Cone
apologized, and they afterwards became reconciled.
Mr. Stephens was elected to the United States Senate, 1874 and 1876:
he was governor of Georgia when he died. See his Life by R. M.
Johnston and W. H. Browne.
WORKS.
War between the States.
School History of the United States.
History of the United States.
Speeches.
LAWS OF GOVERNMENT.
(_From History of the United States._[19])
The chief end of all States, or the "_Esprit des Lois_," as
Montesquieu maintains, should be the security to each member of the
community of all "those absolute rights which are vested in them by
the immutable laws of nature."
Many writers maintain that the individuals upon entering into
society, give up or surrender a portion of their natural rights. This
seems to be a manifest error. No person has any natural right whatever
to hurt or injure another. The object of society and government is to
prevent and redress injuries of this sort; for, in a state of nature,
without a restraining power of government, the strong would viciously
impose upon the weak.
Another erroneous dogma pretty generally taught is, that the object of
governments should be to confer the greatest benefit upon the greatest
number of its constituent members. The true doctrine is, the object
should be to confer the greatest possible good upon every member,
without any detriment or injury to a single one.
SKETCH IN THE SENATE, FEB. 5, 1850.
(_From Johnston and Browne's Life of Stephens._[20])
[Illustration: ~University of Alabama.~]
Millard Fillmore, occupying the conspicuous seat erected for the
second officer of the Government. . . . His countenance is open and
bland, his chest full. His eye is bright, blue, and intelligent; his
hair thick and slightly gray. His personal appearance is striking; and
no one can look at him without feeling conscious that he is a man far
above the average. On his right, near the aisle leading to the front
door, sits Cass with hands folded in his lap . . . .; his
sleepy-looking eyes occasionally glancing at the galleries, and then
at the crowd pressing in below. Benton sits in his well-known place,
leaning back in his chair, and giving all who desire it a full view of
his person. One vacant seat is seen not far off on the same side of
the House. A vacant seat in such a crowd excites the attention of all.
"Whose seat is that?" goes in whispers around. "It's Calhoun's--not
well enough to be out yet."--"Who is that sitting by Cass?" says
one.--"That is Buchanan,--come all the way from home to hear
Clay."--"What thin-visaged man is that standing over yonder and
constantly moving?"-- . . . "That is Ritchie of the _Union_."--"Who is
that walking down the aisle with that uncouth coat and all that hair
about his chin? Did you ever see such a swaggerer? _He_ can't be a
Senator."--"That is Sam Houston."--"But where is Webster? I don't see
him."--"He is in the Supreme Court, where he has a case to argue
to-day."--See Corwin, and Badger, and Berrien, and Dawson, all near
Clay; all of them quiet while Clay pursues his writing. On the
opposite side, Butler, and Foote, and Clemens, and Douglas.
After the carriage of the motion of Mr. Mangum to proceed to the
consideration of the order of the day, Mr. Clay folds his papers and
puts them in his desk, and after the business is announced, rises
gracefully and majestically. Instantaneously there is general
applause, which Mr. Clay seems not to notice. The noise within is
heard without, and the great crowd raised such a shout that Mr. Clay
had to pause until the officers went out and cleared all the
entrances, and then he began. He spoke on that day two hours and
fifteen minutes. The speech was reported in the _Globe_ word for word
as he uttered it. I never saw such a report before. His voice was
good, his enunciation clear and distinct, his action firm, his
strength far surpassing my expectation. He had the riveted gaze of the
multitude the whole time. When he concluded, an immense throng of
friends, both men and women came up to congratulate and to _kiss_ him.
_March 31st._--The Angel of Death has just passed by, and his shadow
is seen lingering upon the startled countenances of all. A great man
has just fallen,--Calhoun! His race is ended. His restless and fiery
spirit sleeps in that deep and long repose which awaits all the
living. He died this morning about seven o'clock. Peace to his ashes!
His name will long be remembered in the history of this country. He
has closed his career at a most eventful period of that history, and
perhaps it is most fortunate for his fame that he died just at this
time.
TRUE COURAGE.
(_From a Speech, 1855._)
I am afraid of nothing on earth, or above the earth, or under the
earth, but to do wrong. The path of duty I shall endeavor to travel,
fearing no evil, and dreading no consequences. I would rather be
defeated in a good cause than to triumph in a bad one. I would not
give a fig for a man who would shrink from the discharge of duty for
fear of defeat.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] By permission of the National Publishing Co., Philadelphia.
[20] By permission of authors, and publishers, J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia.
ALEXANDER BEAUFORT MEEK.
~1814=1865.~
ALEXANDER BEAUFORT MEEK was born at Columbia, South Carolina, was
educated at the University of Alabama, and began life as a lawyer and
editor in Tuscaloosa, then capital of Alabama. He was a lieutenant in
the Seminole War. He was a judge, a member of the State Legislature
and Speaker of the House, and father of the public school system of
the state. His later years were devoted to literary pursuits and he
stands high as an orator, poet, and historian.
WORKS.
Red Eagle, [a poem].
Romantic Passages in South-Western History.
History of Alabama, [unfinished].
Songs and Poems of the South.
Pilgrims of Mt. Vernon, [unfinished poem].
The story of the Indian Chief, Red Eagle, or Weatherford, is one of
the most interesting traditions of our country. Judge Meek's writings
teem with the romantic and marvellous incidents of the early history
of Alabama, such as De Soto's march to the Mississippi, the Battle of
Mauville and defeat of the great Indian King, Tuscaloosa, or Black
Warrior, the Canoe-Fight of Dale, or Sam Thlucco, as the Indians
called him ("Big Sam"), and the attack on Fort Mims.
RED EAGLE, OR WEATHERFORD.
(_From Romantic Passages in South-Western History._)
The battle of Tohopeka put an end to the hopes of Weatherford. This
village was situated on a peninsula, within the "horse-shoe bend" of
the Tallapoosa. Here twelve hundred warriors . . . had fortified
themselves for a desperate struggle, assured by their prophets that
the Master of Breath would now interpose in their favor. Across the
neck of land, three hundred and fifty yards wide, that leads into the
peninsula, they had constructed powerful breastworks of hewn logs,
eight or ten feet high, and pierced with double rows of port-holes,
from which they could fire with perfect security. The selection of
this spot and the character of its defence did great credit to the
military genius of Weatherford,--and his eloquence, more than usually
persuasive and inspiriting, filled his devoted followers with a
courage strangely compounded of fanaticism and despair.
At an early hour in the morning, General Coffee's command having
crossed the river and encircled the bend so as to cut off all escape,
General Jackson opened his artillery upon the breastworks, and having
but in part demolished them, ordered forward the thirty-ninth regiment
to carry the place by storm. The van was gallantly led by Col.
Williams, Col. Bunch, Lieut.-Col. Benton, and Maj. Montgomery. Amidst
a most destructive fire, they pressed to the breastworks, and
desperately struggled for the command of the port-holes. But Maj.
Montgomery, impatient at the delay, cried out to his men to follow
him, and leaped upon the wall in face of the deadliest fire. For an
instant he waved his sword over his head in triumph, but the next fell
lifeless to the ground, shot through the head by a rifle ball. A more
gallant spirit never achieved a nobler death, and the name of the
young Tennesseean is preserved as a proud designation by one of the
richest counties, as well as by one of the most flourishing cities, in
the State whose soil was baptized by his blood!
The breastworks having been carried by storm, the Indians fell back
among the trees, brush, and timber of the peninsula, and kept up a
spirited contest. But, in the meantime, a portion of Coffee's command,
and some of the friendly warriors under their distinguished chief,
McIntosh, had swum across the river, fired the village of Tohopeka,
and carried off the canoes of the enemy. The followers of Weatherford
now became desperate, and from the banks, hollows, and other
fastnesses of the place, fought with fury, refusing all offers of
quarter. The fight continued in severity for five hours; and the going
down of the sun was hailed by the survivors as furnishing them some
chance of escape. But the hope was, in the main, deceptive. . . .
. . . Not more than twenty warriors are believed to have escaped,
under cover of the night. Among these, strange enough, was the
chieftain [Weatherford], whose appellation, "the Murderer of Fort
Mims," had formed the watch-word and war-cry of his enemies in this
very engagement. Favored by the thick darkness, he floated down the
river with his horse, until below the American lines, and then
reaching the shore, made his way in safety to the highlands south of
the Tallapoosa. . .
Weatherford could not consent to fly from the nation; he felt that he
owed it, as a duty to his people, not to abandon them until peace was
restored. In this state of mind he was apprised that the American
commander had set a price upon his head, and refused peace to the
other chiefs, unless they should bring him either dead, or in
confinement, to the American camp, now at Fort Jackson, near the
junction of the rivers. His determination was at once taken in the
same spirit of heroism that always marked his conduct. Accordingly,
mounting his horse, he made his way across the country, and soon
appeared at the lines of the encampment. At his request, a sentinel
conducted him to the presence of the commander-in-chief, who was
seated in his marquee, in consultation with several of his principal
officers. The stately and noble appearance of the warrior at once
excited the attention and surprise of the General, and he demanded of
the Chief his name and the purpose of his visit.
In calm and deliberate tones, the chieftain said: "I am Weatherford. I
have come to ask peace for myself and for my people."
The mild dignity with which these words were uttered, no less than
their import, struck the American commander with surprise. [He hardly
knew what to do; but he allowed some parley and Weatherford made a
speech, ending thus:] "General Jackson, you are a brave man: I am
another. I do not fear to die. But I rely on your generosity. You will
exact no terms of a conquered and helpless people, but those to which
they should accede. . . . You have told us what we may do and be safe.
Yours is a good talk and my nation ought to listen to it. They _shall_
listen to it!" . . .
General Jackson acceded to the demands of Weatherford, and assured him
of peace and safety for himself and people.
PHILIP PENDLETON COOKE.
~1816=1850.~
PHILIP PENDLETON COOKE, the elder brother of the better known John
Esten Cooke, was born in Martinsburg, Virginia, and spent his short
life happily in his native county, engaged in field sports and in
writing stories and poems for the "Southern Literary Messenger" and
other magazines. His lyric, "Florence Vane," has been very popular and
has been translated into many languages. He was said to be stately and
impressive in manner and a brilliant talker. Philip Pendleton and John
Esten Cooke were first cousins of John Pendleton Kennedy, their
mothers being sisters.
His death was caused by pneumonia contracted from riding through the
Shenandoah on a hunting trip.
WORKS.
Froissart Ballads and other Poems.
John Carpe.
Gregories of Hackwood.
Crime of Andrew Blair.
Chevalier Merlin [unfinished].
FLORENCE VANE.
I loved thee long and dearly,
Florence Vane;
My life's bright dream, and early,
Hath come again;
I renew, in my fond vision,
My heart's dear pain,
My hope, and thy derision,
Florence Vane.
The ruin lone and hoary,
The ruin old,
Where thou didst hark my story,
At even told,--
That spot--the hues Elysian
Of sky and plain--
I treasure in my vision,
Florence Vane.
Thou wast lovelier than the roses
In their prime:
Thy voice excelled the closes
Of sweetest rhyme;
Thy heart was as a river
Without a main.
Would I had loved thee never,
Florence Vane!
But fairest, coldest wonder!
Thy glorious clay
Lieth the green sod under--
Alas the day!
And it boots not to remember
Thy disdain--
To quicken love's pale ember,
Florence Vane.
The lilies of the valley
By young graves weep,
The pansies love to dally
Where maidens sleep;
May their bloom, in beauty vying,
Never wane,
Where thine earthly part is lying,
Florence Vane!
[Illustration: ~University of Kentucky (Main Building).~]
THEODORE O'HARA.
~1820=1867.~
THEODORE O'HARA, son of an Irish exile, was born in Danville,
Kentucky, and educated at St. Joseph Academy, Bardstown, where he
taught Greek to the younger classes while finishing his senior course.
He read law, was appointed clerk in the Treasury Department at
Washington, 1845, and on the outbreak of the Mexican War entered the
army as a soldier, rising to be captain and major. At the close of the
war, he returned to Washington and practised law. He was afterwards
editor of the "Mobile Register," and of the Frankfort "Yeoman," in
Kentucky, and was employed in diplomatic missions. He was a colonel in
the Confederate Army, and after the war, settled in Georgia. On his
death the Kentucky Legislature passed a resolution to remove his
remains to Frankfort and lay them beside the soldiers whom he had so
well praised in his "Bivouac of the Dead;" and there he rests, the
soldier bard, among the voiceless braves of the Battle of Buena Vista.
This poem was written for the occasion of their interment; and it has
furnished the lines of inscription over the gateways of several
military cemeteries.
WORKS.
Bivouac of the Dead.
The Old Pioneer.
THE BIVOUAC OF THE DEAD.
(_In Memory of the Kentuckians who fell at the Battle of Buena Vista,
Jan. 28, 1847._)
The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on Life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On Fame's eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead.
No rumor of the foe's advance
Now swells upon the wind;
No troubled thought at midnight haunts
Of loved ones left behind;
No vision of the morrow's strife
The warrior's dream alarms;
No braying horn nor screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.
Their shivered swords are red with rust,
Their plumèd heads are bowed;
Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,
Is now their martial shroud.
And plenteous funeral tears have washed
The red stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, by battle gashed,
Are free from anguish now.
The neighing troop, the flashing blade,
The bugle's stirring blast,
The charge, the dreadful cannonade,
The din and shout, are past;
Nor war's wild note nor glory's peal
Shall thrill with fierce delight
Those breasts that never more may feel
The rapture of the fight.
. . . . . . . . .
Full many a norther's breath has swept
O'er Angostura's plain,--
And long the pitying sky has wept
Above its mouldered slain.
The raven's scream, or eagle's flight,
Or shepherd's pensive lay,
Alone awakes each sullen height
That frowned o'er that dread fray.
Sons of the Dark and Bloody Ground,
Ye must not slumber there,
Where stranger steps and tongues resound
Along the heedless air.
Your own proud land's heroic soil
Shall be your fitter grave:
She claims from war his richest spoil--
The ashes of her brave.
Thus 'neath their parent turf they rest,
Far from the gory field,
Borne to a Spartan mother's breast
On many a bloody shield;
The sunshine of their native sky
Smiles sadly on them, here,
And kindred eyes and hearts watch by
The heroes' sepulchre.
Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead!
Dear as the blood ye gave;
No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave;
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While Fame her record keeps,
Or Honor points the hallowed spot
Where Valor proudly sleeps.
Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
In deathless song shall tell,
When many a vanished age hath flown,
The story how ye fell;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,
Nor Time's remorseless doom,
Shall dim one ray of glory's light
That gilds your deathless tomb.
FOURTH PERIOD ... 1850-1894.
GEORGE RAINSFORD FAIRBANKS.
~1820=----.~
GEORGE RAINSFORD FAIRBANKS was born in Watertown, New York, but
settled in Florida at St. Augustine in 1842 and identified himself
with his adopted state. From 1860 to 1880 his home was at Sewanee,
Tennessee, and he has been on the Board of Trustees of the "University
of the South" since 1857. During the war he served as major in the
Confederate army, 1862-65. In 1880 he returned to Florida and has
since made his home in Fernandina. His "History of Florida" is
considered the best history of that state, and is written in a clear
and interesting style.
WORKS.
History of Florida.
History and Antiquities of St. Augustine.
OSCEOLA, LEADER OF THE SEMINOLES.
(_From History of Florida._[21])
[Illustration: ~Osceola.~]
His true Indian name was As-se-se-ha-ho-lar, or Black Drink, but he
was commonly called Osceola, or Powell. He belonged to a Creek tribe
called Red Sticks, and was a half-breed. He removed to Florida with
his mother when a child, and lived near Fort King [three miles east of
Ocala]. At the beginning of the Florida war he was about thirty-one
years of age, of medium size, being about five feet eight inches in
height, resolute and manly in his bearing, with a clear, frank, and
engaging countenance. He was undoubtedly the master-spirit of the war,
and by his firmness and audacity forced the nation into the war which
a large majority were averse to engaging in, and either broke up every
attempt at negotiations or prevented their fulfillment. He was to have
been one of the leaders at Dade's massacre, but was detained at Fort
King by his determination to gratify his revenge upon General
Thompson. He participated in the battles at the ford of the
Withlacoochee and Camp Izard, and led the attack upon Micanopy, where,
with his force of less than two hundred and fifty men, within sight of
the fort, he attacked upwards of one hundred regular troops in an open
field, supported by a field-piece.
His capture, [October, 1837], by General Hernandez was due to his
audacity and self-confidence. Bad faith, and a disregard of the usages
of civilization, have been imputed to General Jesup on this occasion,
Osceola having come in under a white flag to negotiate; but that
officer contended that Osceola had broken his faith in reference to
the Fort Dade capitulation [when he had promised to emigrate] and was
to be treated as a prisoner.
From all that can be gathered of his character, Osceola was possessed
of nobler traits than usually belong to his race. His manners were
dignified and courteous, and upon the field he showed himself a brave
and cautious leader. It is said that he instructed his people in their
predatory excursions to spare the women and children. "It is not,"
said he, "upon them that we make war and draw the scalping-knife. It
is upon men. Let us act like men."
Osceola has furnished to the poet, to the novelist, and to the lover
of romance, a most attractive subject, and scarce any limit has been
placed to the virtues attributed or the exploits imagined in
connection with this renowned chief of the Seminoles. A poet has sung
of him,--
"His features are clothed with a warrior's pride,
And he moves with a monarch's tread;
He smiles with joy, as the flash of steel
Through the Everglades' grass is seen."
Upon his removal to Charleston, he became dejected and low-spirited,
and gradually pined away. All efforts to interest him in a Western
home failed to arouse him, and in a few weeks he died of a broken
heart, and was buried just outside of the principal gateway of Fort
Moultrie, where his resting-place is inclosed and a monument erected.
FOOTNOTE:
[21] By permission of the author.
RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON.
~1822=----.~
RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON was born in Hancock County, Georgia. He was
professor of Literature in the University of Georgia, 1857-1861. He
served, as colonel, in the Confederate army, and has since had a
school for boys at Sparta, Georgia, and later near Baltimore.
In connection with Prof. William Hand Browne of Johns Hopkins, he has
published a "History of English Literature" and a "Life of Alexander
H. Stephens." His tales describe life among the Georgia "Crackers" and
they have many readers and admirers. His style has the stamp of simple
truth and is irresistible. See _Sketch_ in Miss Rutherford's "American
Authors."
WORKS.
Dukesborough Tales.
Old Mark Langston.
Two Gray Tourists.
Collection of Stories.
Mr. Absalom Billingslea and other Georgia Folks.
Widow Guthrie.
History of English Literature;
Life of Alex. H. Stephens: (both with Prof. W. H. Browne.)
Ogeechee Cross-Firings.
Mr. Bill Williams.
Primes and their neighbors.
Pearce Amerson's Will.
The following extract is a true story of an old gentleman who was
Alexander H. Stephens' first client.
MR. HEZEKIAH ELLINGTON'S RECOVERY.
(_From Life of Alexander H. Stephens._[22])
The old gentleman was brought very low with malarious fever, and his
physician and family had made up their minds, that, notwithstanding
his extreme reluctance to depart from this life,--a reluctance
heightened no doubt by his want of preparation for a better,--he would
be compelled to go. The system of therapeutics in vogue at that time
and in that section included immense quantities of calomel, and
rigorously excluded cold water. Mr. Ellington lingered and lingered,
and went without water so long and to such an extent that it seemed to
him he might as well die of the disease as of the intolerable thirst
that tormented him. . . . . . . .
At last, one night, when his physicians, deeming his case hopeless,
had taken their departure, informing his family that he could hardly
live till morning, and the latter, worn down by watching, were
compelled to take a little rest, he was left to the care of his
constant and faithful servant, Shadrach, with strict and solemn charge
to notify them if any change took place in his master's condition,
and, above all, under no circumstances to give him cold water.
When the rest were all asleep, Mr. Ellington, always astute and
adroit in gaining his ends, and whose faculties at present were highly
stimulated by his extreme necessity, called out to his attendant in a
feeble voice, which he strove to make as natural and unsuggestive as
possible,--
"Shadrach, go to the spring and fetch me a pitcher of water from the
bottom."
Shadrach expostulated, pleading the orders of the doctor and his
mistress.
"You Shadrach, you had better do what I tell you, sir."
Shadrach still held by his orders.
"Shadrach, if you don't bring me the water, when I get well I'll give
you the worst whipping you ever had in your life!"
Shadrach either thought that if his master got well he would cherish
no rancor towards the faithful servant whose constancy had saved him,
or, more likely, that the prospect of recovery was far too remote to
justify any serious apprehension for his present disobedience; at all
events, he held firm. The sick man, finding this mode of attack
ineffectual, paused awhile, and then said, in the most persuasive
accents he could employ,
"Shadrach, my boy, you are a good nigger, Shadrach. If you'll go now
and fetch old master a pitcher of nice cool water, I'll set you free
and give you _Five Hundred Dollars_!" And he dragged the syllables
slowly and heavily from his dry jaws, as if to make the sum appear
immeasurably vast.
But Shadrach was proof against even this temptation. He only admitted
its force by arguing the case, urging that how could he stand it, and
what good would his freedom and five hundred dollars do him, if he
should do a thing that would kill his old master?
The old gentleman groaned and moaned. At last he bethought him of one
final stratagem. He raised his head as well as he could, turned his
haggard face full upon Shadrach, and glaring at him from his hollow
blood-shot eyes, said,
"Shadrach, I am going to die, and it's because I can't get any water.
If you don't go and bring me a pitcher of water, after I'm dead I'll
come back and HAUNT you! I'll HAUNT you as long as you live!"
"Oh Lordy! Master! You shall hab de water!" cried Shadrach; and he
rushed out to the spring and brought it. The old man drank and
drank,--the pitcherful and more. The next morning he was decidedly
better, and to the astonishment of all, soon got well.
FOOTNOTE:
[22] By permission of authors, and publishers, J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia.
JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON.
~1823=1873.~
JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON was born at Richmond, and educated at the
University of Virginia. He studied law, but practised little, and in
1847 became editor of the "Southern Literary Messenger." This position
he filled with great success for twelve years and he exerted a fine
influence on the literary taste and effort of his times. In this
magazine first appeared the writings of Donald G. Mitchell ("Dream
Life" and "Reveries of a Bachelor"), the early pieces of John Esten
Cooke, Philip Pendleton Cooke, Paul Hamilton Hayne, Henry Timrod, and
others.
His delicate health induced him to resign his place in 1859 and to go
farther south to Augusta, Georgia, as editor of the "Southern Field
and Fireside." In 1863 he travelled in Europe and his descriptive
letters are very bright and interesting. He later became literary
editor of the "Evening Post," N. Y.; in 1872 he went to Colorado in
one last but vain effort to restore his health. He died in 1873 and is
buried in Hollywood Cemetery at Richmond.
His writings, consisting of poems, letters, sketches, and editorials,
are found mainly in the "Southern Literary Messenger" and "The Land We
Love."
ASHBY.
To the brave all homage render,
Weep, ye skies of June!
With a radiance pure and tender,
Shine, oh saddened moon!
"Dead upon the field of glory,"
Hero fit for song and story,
Lies our bold dragoon.
Well they learned, whose hands have slain him,
Braver, knightlier foe
Never fought with Moor nor Paynim,
Rode at Templestowe;
With a mien how high and joyous,
'Gainst the hordes that would destroy us
Went he forth we know.
Never more, alas! shall sabre
Gleam around his crest;
Fought his fight; fulfilled his labour;
Stilled his manly breast.
All unheard sweet Nature's cadence,
Trump of fame and voice of maidens,
Now he takes his rest.
Earth that all too soon hath bound him,
Gently wrap his clay;
Linger lovingly around him,
Light of dying day;
Softly fall the summer showers,
Birds and bees among the flowers
Make the gloom seem gay.
There, throughout the coming ages,
When his sword is rust,
And his deeds in classic pages,
Mindful of her trust,
Shall Virginia, bending lowly,
Still a ceaseless vigil holy
Keep above his dust!
MUSIC IN CAMP.
Two armies covered hill and plain,
Where Rappahannock's waters
Ran deeply crimsoned with the stain
Of battle's recent slaughters.
The summer clouds lay pitched like tents
In meads of heavenly azure;
And each dread gun of the elements
Slept in its hid embrasure.
The breeze so softly blew, it made
No forest leaf to quiver,
And the smoke of the random cannonade
Rolled slowly from the river.
And now, where circling hills looked down
With cannon grimly planted,
O'er listless camp and silent town
The golden sunset slanted.
When on the fervid air there came
A strain--now rich, now tender;
The music seemed itself aflame
With day's departing splendor.
A Federal band, which, eve and morn,
Played measures brave and nimble,
Had just struck up, with flute and horn
And lively clash of cymbal.
Down flocked the soldiers to the banks,
Till, margined by its pebbles,
One wooded shore was blue with "Yanks,"
And one was gray with "Rebels."
Then all was still, and then the band,
With movement light and tricksy,
Made stream and forest, hill and strand
Reverberate with "Dixie."
The conscious stream with burnished glow
Went proudly o'er its pebbles,
But thrilled throughout its deepest flow
With yelling of the Rebels.
Again a pause, and then again
The trumpets pealed sonorous,
And "Yankee Doodle" was the strain
To which the shore gave chorus.
The laughing ripple shoreward flew,
To kiss the shining pebbles;
Loud shrieked the swarming Boys in Blue
Defiance to the Rebels.
And yet once more the bugles sang
Above the stormy riot;
No shout upon the evening rang--
There reigned a holy quiet.
The sad, slow stream its noiseless flood
Poured o'er the glistening pebbles;
All silent now the Yankees stood,
And silent stood the Rebels.
No unresponsive soul had heard
That plaintive note's appealing,
So deeply "Home Sweet Home" had stirred
The hidden founts of feeling.
Or Blue, or Gray, the soldier sees
As by the wand of fairy,
The cottage 'neath the live-oak trees,
The cabin by the prairie.
Or cold, or warm, his native skies
Bend in their beauty o'er him;
Seen through the tear-mist in his eyes,
His loved ones stand before him.
As fades the iris after rain
In April's tearful weather,
The vision vanished, as the strain
And daylight died together.
But memory, waked by music's art,
Expressed in simplest numbers,
Subdued the sternest Yankee's heart,
Made light the Rebel's slumbers.
And fair the form of music shines,
That bright celestial creature,
Who still, 'mid war's embattled lines,
Gave this one touch of Nature.
JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY.
~1825=----.~
DR. CURRY was born in Georgia, but his father removed to Alabama in
1838, and he was reared in that State. After graduation at the
University of Georgia and at the Harvard Law School, he began the
practice of law in Talladega County, Alabama. He served in the State
Legislature and in Congress, and in 1861 entered the Confederate Army.
After the war he was ordained to the Baptist ministry and became
president of Howard College, Alabama, and later, professor of English,
Philosophy, and Law, in Richmond College, Virginia, which latter
position he filled for thirteen years. From 1881 to 1885 he was agent
of the Peabody Educational Fund; in 1885 he was appointed minister to
Spain, and on his return to America resumed the agency of the Fund.
His wise administration and his well-directed efforts have done much
to further the cause of education; and his ability and effectiveness
as a speaker and writer have given him national fame.
WORKS.
Constitutional History of Spain.
Gladstone.
Southern States of the American Union [just issued, 1895].
RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.
(_From Gladstone._[23])
By his frank utterances, expressive of his admiration of the people
and the institutions of the United States, he has provoked adverse
criticism from a portion of the English press. He thinks the Senate of
the United States "the most remarkable of all the inventions of modern
politics," and the American constitution "the most wonderful work ever
struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man," and that
"its exemption from formal change, has certainly proved the sagacity
of its constructors and the stubborn strength of the fabric."
In the same essay--_Kin Beyond Sea_--speaking of our future, he says,
"She will probably become what we are now, the head servant in the
great household of the world, the employer of all employed; because
her service will be the most and the ablest." In 1856, when the
relations between Great Britain and the United States became
considerably strained, in an able speech may be found this sentence:
"It appears to me that the two cardinal aims that we ought to keep in
view in the discussion of this question are peace and a thoroughly
cordial understanding with America for one, the honor and fame of
England for the other."
In 1884, he wrote: "The convulsion of that country between 1861 and
1865 was perhaps the most frightful which ever assailed a national
existence. The efforts which were made on both sides were marked. The
exertions by which alone the movement was put down were not only
extraordinary, they were what antecedently would have been called
impossible; and they were only rendered possible by the fact that they
proceeded from a nation where every capable citizen was enfranchised
and had a direct and an energetic interest in the well-being and unity
of the State." "No hardier republicanism was generated in New England
than in the slave States of the South, which produced so many of the
great statesmen of America."
In a conversation with Mr. Gladstone in 1887, he referred to the
enormous power and responsibilities of the United States, and
suggested that a desideratum was a new unity between our two
countries. We had that of race and language, but we needed a moral
unity of English-speaking people for the success of freedom.
The English or Anglo-Saxon race is essentially the same in its more
distinguishing characteristics. Unity of language creates unity of
thought, of literature, and largely unity of civilization and of
institutions. It facilitates social and commercial intercourse, and
must produce still more marked political phenomena. We profit
naturally by inventions, by discoveries, by constitutional struggles,
by civil and religious achievements, by lessons of traditions, by
landmarks of usage and prescription. Magna Charta, Petition of Right,
Habeas Corpus, what O'Connell even called the "glorious Revolution of
1688," are as much American as English.
England claims to have originated the representative system six
hundred years ago. Our ancestors brought to this soil, "singularly
suited for their growth, all that was democratic in the policy of
England and all that was Protestant in her religion." Our revolution,
like that of 1688, was in the main a vindication of liberties
inherited. In freedom of religion, in local self-government, and
somewhat in state autonomy, our forefathers constructed for
themselves; but nearly all the personal guarantees, of which we so
much boast on our national anniversaries, were borrowed from the
mother country.
FOOTNOTE:
[23] By permission of B. F. Johnson and Co., Richmond, Va.
MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON.
~1825=----.~
MRS. PRESTON is a native of Philadelphia, the daughter of Dr. George
Junkin who in 1848 removed to Lexington, Virginia, as president of the
Washington College, and remained there till 1861. She was married in
1857 to Prof. J. T. L. Preston of the Virginia Military Institute, her
sister Eleanor being the wife of Colonel T. J. Jackson of the same
institution.
She identified herself with the South, and her "Beechenbrook: a Rhyme
of the War" contains the poems, "Stonewall Jackson's Grave" and "Slain
in Battle." Her later writings are mostly short poems, many of them
religious, articles for magazines, and sketches of travel, all of
which breathe forth a sweet and wise influence.
WORKS.
Silverwood, [novel].
Old Songs and New.
For Love's Sake.
Book of Monograms, [travels].
Beechenbrook: a Rhyme of the War.
Cartoons, [poems].
_Translated_ Dies Irae.
Tales and articles for papers [uncollected].
THE SHADE OF THE TREES.
(On the death of Stonewall Jackson, 1863, his last words being, "Let
us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.")
(_From Cartoons._[24])
[Illustration: ~Natural Bridge, Virginia.~]
What are the thoughts that are stirring his breast?
What is the mystical vision he sees?
"_Let us pass over the river and rest
Under the shade of the trees._"
Has he grown sick of his toils and his tasks?
Sighs the worn spirit for respite or ease?
Is it a moment's cool halt that he asks
Under the shade of the trees?
Is it the gurgle of waters whose flow
Ofttime has come to him borne on the breeze,
Memory listens to, lapsing so low,
Under the shade of the trees?
Nay--though the rasp of the flesh was so sore,
Faith, that had yearnings far keener than these,
Saw the soft sheen of the Thitherward Shore,
Under the shade of the trees;--
Caught the high psalms of ecstatic delight,--
Heard the harps harping, like soundings of seas,--
Watched earth's assoilèd ones walking in white
Under the shade of the trees.
O, was it strange he should pine for release,
Touched to the soul with such transports as these,--
He who so needed the balsam of peace,
Under the shade of the trees?
Yea, it was noblest for _him_--it was best,
(Questioning naught of our Father's decrees,)
_There_ to pass over the river and rest
Under the shade of the trees!
FOOTNOTE:
[24] By permission of author, and publishers, Roberts Brothers,
Boston.
CHARLES HENRY SMITH.
"BILL ARP."
~1826=----.~
CHARLES HENRY SMITH, or "Bill Arp," the "Country Philosopher," was
born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and has made a wide reputation by his
humorous letters in the Atlanta "Constitution." He served in the
Confederate Army as colonel. Since the war, he has served his country
still by giving some very sound and good advice in his "Country
Philosopher" articles, seasoned with much humor; and his sketches of
Georgian life are valuable.
WORKS.
Bill Arp's Letters.
Articles in Atlanta "Constitution."
Fireside Sketches.
Bill Arp's Scrap-Book.
BIG JOHN, ON THE CHEROKEES.
(_From Fireside Sketches._[25])
Big John had had a little war experience--that is, he had volunteered
in a company to assist in the forcible removal of the Cherokees to the
far west in 1835. It was said that he was no belligerent then, but
wanted to see the maiden that he loved a safe transit, and so he
escorted the old chief and his clan as far as Tuscumbia, and then
broke down and returned to Ross Landing on the Tennessee River. He was
too heavy to march, and when he arrived at the Landing, a prisoner was
put in his charge for safe keeping. Ross Landing is Chattanooga now,
and John Ross lived there, and was one of the chiefs of the Cherokees.
The prisoner was his guest, and his name was John Howard Payne. He was
suspected of trying to instigate the Cherokees to revolt and fight,
and not leave their beautiful forest homes on the Tennessee and Coosa
and Oostanaula and the Etowah and Connasauga rivers. He brought Payne
back as far as New Echota, or New Town, as it was called, an Indian
settlement on the Coosawattee, a few miles east of Calhoun, as now
known. There he kept the author of "Home, Sweet Home" under guard, or
on his parole of honor, for three weeks, and night after night slept
with him in his tent, and listened to his music upon the violin, and
heard him sing his own sad songs until orders came for his discharge,
and Payne was sent under escort to Washington.
Many a time I have heard Big John recite his sad adventures. "It was a
most distressive business," said he. "Them Injuns was heart-broken; I
always knowd an Injun loved his hunting-ground and his rivers, but I
never knowd how much they loved 'em before. You know they killed Ridge
for consentin' to the treaty. They killed him on the first day's march
and they wouldent bury him. We soldiers had to stop and dig a grave
and put him away. John Ross and John Ridge were the sons of two
Scotchmen, who came over here when they were young men and mixed up
with these tribes and got their good will. These two boys were
splendid looking men, tall and handsome, with long auburn hair, and
they were active and strong, and could shoot a bow equal to the best
bowman of the tribe, and they beat 'em all to pieces on the cross-bow.
They married the daughters of the old chiefs, and when the old chiefs
died they just fell into line and succeeded to the old chiefs' places,
and the tribes liked 'em mighty well, for they were good men and made
good chiefs. Well, you see Ross dident like the treaty. He said it
wasent fair and that the price of the territory was too low, and the
fact is he dident want to go at all. There are the ruins of his old
home now over there in De Soto, close to Rome, and I tell you he was a
king. His word was the law of the Injun nations, and he had their love
and their respect. His half-breed children were the purtiest things I
ever saw in my life. Well, Ridge lived up the Oostanaula River about a
mile, and he was a good man, too. Ross and Ridge always consulted
about everything for the good of the tribes, but Ridge was a more
milder man than Ross, and was more easily persuaded to sign the treaty
that gave the lands to the State and to take other lands away out to
the Mississippi.
"Well, it took us a month to get 'em all together and begin the March
to the Mississippi, and they wouldn't march then. The women would go
out of line and set down in the woods and go to grieving; and you may
believe it or not, but I'll tell you what is a fact, we started with
14,000, and 4,000 of 'em died before we got to Tuscumbia. They died on
the side of the road; they died of broken hearts; they died of
starvation, for they wouldent eat a thing; they just died all along
the way. We didn't make more than five miles a day on the march, and
my company didn't do much but dig graves and bury Injuns all the way
to Tuscumbia. They died of grief and broken hearts, and no mistake. An
Injun's heart is tender, and his love is strong; it's his nature. I'd
rather risk an Injun for a true friend than a white man. He is the
best friend in the world and the worst enemy."
FOOTNOTE:
[25] By permission of the author.
ST. GEORGE H. TUCKER.
~1828=1863.~
ST. GEORGE H. TUCKER, grandson of Judge St. George Tucker, was born
at Winchester, Virginia. He was clerk of the Virginia Legislature:
and in 1861 he entered the Confederate service and rose to be
Lieutenant-Colonel. He died from exposure in the Seven Days' Battles
around Richmond, 1862.
His "Hansford" is considered one of the best of historical romances
and gives a vivid picture of Virginia in the seventeenth century under
Governor Berkeley.
WORKS.
Hansford, A Tale of Bacon's Rebellion.
The Southern Crop.
BURNING OF JAMESTOWN IN 1676.
(_From Hansford._)
Scarcely had Berkeley and his adherents departed on their flight from
Jamestown, when some of the disaffected citizens of the town, seeing
the lights in the palace so suddenly extinguished, shrewdly suspected
their design. Without staying to ascertain the truth of their
suspicions, they hastened with the intelligence to General Bacon, and
threw open the gates to the insurgents. Highly elated with the easy
victory they had gained over the loyalists, the triumphant patriots
forgetting their fatigue and hunger, marched into the city, amid the
loud acclamations of the fickle populace. But to the surprise of all
there was still a gloom resting upon Bacon and his officers. That
cautious and far-seeing man saw at a glance, that although he had
gained an immense advantage over the royalists, in the capture of the
metropolis, it was impossible to retain it in possession long. As soon
as his army was dispersed, or engaged in another quarter of the
colony, it would be easy for Berkeley, with the navy under his
command, to return to the place, and erect once more the fallen
standard of loyalty.
While then, the soldiery were exulting rapturously over their triumph,
Bacon, surrounded by his officers, was gravely considering the best
policy to pursue.
"My little army is too small," he said, "to leave a garrison here, and
so long as they remain thus organized peace will be banished from the
colony; and yet I cannot leave the town to become again the harbour of
these treacherous loyalists."
"I can suggest no policy that is fit to pursue, in such an emergency,"
said Hansford, "except to retain possession of the town, at least
until the Governor is fairly in Accomac again."
"That, at best," said Bacon, "will only be a dilatory proceeding, for
sooner or later, whenever the army is disbanded, the stubborn old
governor will return and force us to continue the war. And besides I
doubt whether we could maintain the place with Brent besieging us in
front, and the whole naval force of Virginia, under the command of
such expert seamen as Gardiner and Larimore, attacking us from the
river. No, no, the only way to untie the Gordian knot is to cut it,
and the only way to extricate ourselves from this difficulty is to
burn the town."
This policy, extreme as it was, in the necessities of their condition
was received with a murmur of assent. Lawrence and Drummond, devoted
patriots, and two of the wealthiest and most enterprising citizens of
the town, evinced their willingness to sacrifice their private means
to secure the public good, by firing their own houses. Emulating an
example so noble and disinterested, other citizens followed in their
wake. The soldiers, ever ready for excitement, joined in the fatal
work. A stiff breeze springing up favored their designs, and soon the
devoted town was enveloped in the greedy flames.
From the deck of the _Adam and Eve_, the loyalists witnessed the
stern, uncompromising resolution of the rebels. The sun was just
rising, and his broad, red disc was met in his morning glory with
flames as bright and as intense as his own. The Palace, the State
House, the large Garter Tavern, the long line of stores, and the
Warehouse, all in succession were consumed. The old Church, the proud
old Church, where their fathers had worshipped, was the last to meet
its fate. The fire seemed unwilling to attack its sacred walls, but it
was to fall with the rest; and as the broad sails of the gay vessel
were spread to the morning breeze, which swelled them, that devoted
old Church was seen in its raiment of fire, like some old martyr,
hugging the flames which consumed it, and pointing with its tapering
steeple to an avenging Heaven.
GEORGE WILLIAM BAGBY.
~1828=1883.~
DR. BAGBY was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, and educated at
Edge Hill, New Jersey, and the University of Pennsylvania. He took his
degree in the study of medicine, and made his residence in Richmond.
He was correspondent for several papers, wrote some very witty letters
under the pen-name of "Mozis Addums," and made a reputation as a
humorous lecturer. From 1859 to 1862 he was editor of the "Southern
Literary Messenger," ably succeeding John R. Thompson in that
position: and from 1870 to 1878 he was State Librarian of Virginia.
His writings are not only witty but wise as well, and give many
interesting aspects of Southern life and manners. A selection from
them has been published by Mrs. Bagby, under the title "Writings of
Dr. Bagby" (1884-6). Among them are: My Uncle Flatback's Plantation,
Meekins's Twinses, Jud. Brownin's Account of Rubinstein's Playing,
Bacon and Greens, or the True Virginian, What I Did with my Fifty
Millions, [a sort of Utopian Prophecy.]
JUD. BROWNIN'S ACCOUNT OF RUBINSTEIN'S PLAYING.
"When he first sot down he 'peared to keer mighty little 'bout
playin', and wished he hadn't come. He tweedle-leedled a little on the
trible, and twoodle-oodle-oodled some on the bass--just foolin' and
boxin' the thing's jaws for bein' in his way. And I says to a man
settin' next to me, s'I, 'What sort of fool playin' is that?' And he
says, 'Heish!' But presently his hands commenced chasin' one 'nother
up and down the keys, like a passel of rats scamperin' through a
garret very swift. Parts of it was sweet, though, and reminded me of a
sugar squirrel turnin' the wheel of a candy cage. 'Now,' I says to my
neighbor, 'he's showing' off. He thinks he's a-doin' of it; but he
ain't got no idee, no plan of nuthin'. If he'd play me up a tune of
some kind or other, I'd'--
"But my neighbor says, 'Heish!' very impatient.
"I was just about to git up and go home, bein' tired of that
foolishness, when I heard a little bird wakin' up away off in the
woods, and callin' sleepy-like to his mate, and I looked up and I see
that Ruben was beginnin' to take interest in his business, and I set
down agin. It was the peep of day. The light come faint from the east,
the breeze blowed gentle and fresh, some more birds waked up in the
orchard, then some more in the trees near the house, and all begun
singin' together. People begun to stir, and the gal opened the
shutters. Just then the first beam of the sun fell upon the blossoms;
a leetle more and it techt the roses on the bushes, and the next thing
it was broad day; the sun fairly blazed; the birds sang like they'd
split their little throats; all the leaves was movin', and flashin'
diamonds of dew, and the whole wide world was bright and happy as a
king. Seemed to me like there was a good breakfast in every house in
the land, and not a sick child or woman anywhere. It was a fine
mornin'.
"And I says to my neighbor, 'that's music, that is.'
"But he glared at me like he'd like to cut my throat.
"Presently the wind turned; it begun to thicken up, and a kind of gray
mist come over things; I got low-spirited d'rectly. Then a silver rain
began to fall; I could see the drops touch the ground; some flashed
up like long pearl ear-rings; and the rest rolled away like round
rubies. It was pretty, but melancholy. Then the pearls gathered
themselves into long strands and necklaces, and then they melted into
thin silver streams running between golden gravels, and then the
streams joined each other at the bottom of the hill, and made a brook
that flowed silent except that you could kinder see the music
specially when the bushes on the banks moved as the music went along
down the valley. I could smell the flowers in the meadows. But the sun
didn't shine, nor the birds sing; it was a foggy day, but not cold.
Then the sun went down, it got dark, the wind moaned and wept like a
lost child for its dead mother, and I could a-got up then and there
and preached a better sermon than any I ever listened to. There wasn't
a thing in the world left to live for, not a blame thing, and yet I
didn't want the music to stop one bit. It was happier to be miserable
than to be happy without being miserable. I couldn't understand
it. . . . . . . Then, all of a sudden, old Ruben changed his tune. He
ripped and he rar'd, he tipped and he tar'd, he pranced and he charged
like the grand entry at a circus. 'Peared to me like all the gas in
the house was turned on at once, things got so bright, and I hilt up
my head, ready to look any man in the face, and not afeared of
nothin'. It was a circus, and a brass band, and a big ball, all goin'
on at the same time. He lit into them keys like a thousand of brick,
he gave 'em no rest, day nor night; he set every living joint in me
agoin', and not bein' able to stand it no longer, I jumpt spang onto
my seat, and jest hollered:
"'_Go it, my Rube!_'
"Every blamed man, woman, and child in the house riz on me, and
shouted 'Put him out! Put him out!'
"With that some several p'licemen run up, and I had to simmer down.
But I would a fit any fool that laid hands on me, for I was bound to
hear Ruby out or die.
"He had changed his tune agin. He hopt-light ladies and tip-toed fine
from eend to eend of the key-board. He played soft, and low, and
solemn. I heard the church bells over the hills. The candles in heaven
was lit, one by one. I saw the stars rise. The great organ of eternity
began to play from the world's end to the world's end, and all the
angels went to prayers. Then the music changed to water, full of
feeling that couldn't be thought, and began to drop--drip, drop, drip,
drop--clear and sweet, like tears of joy fallin' into a lake of glory.
"He stopt a minute or two, to fetch breath. Then he got mad. He run
his fingers through his hair, he shoved up his sleeves, he opened
his coat-tails a leetle further, he drug up his stool, he leaned
over, and, sir, he just went for that old pianner. He slapt her
face, he boxed her jaws, he pulled her nose, he pinched her ears,
and he scratched her cheeks, till she farly yelled. He knockt her
down and he stompt on her shameful. She bellowed like a bull, she
bleated like a calf, she howled like a hound, she squealed like a
pig, she shrieked like a rat, and then he wouldn't let her up. He
run a quarter-stretch down the low grounds of the bass, till he got
clean into the bowels of the earth, and you heard thunder galloping
after thunder, through the hollows and caves of perdition; and then
he fox-chased his right hand with his left till he got away out of
the trible into the clouds, whar the notes was finer than the pints
of cambric needles, and you couldn't hear nothin' but the shadders
of 'em. And then he wouldn't let the old pianner go. He fetchet up
his right wing, he fetcht up his left wing, he fetcht up his center,
he fetcht up his reserves. He fired by file, he fired by platoons,
by company, by regiments, and by brigades. He opened his cannon,
siege-guns down thar, Napoleons here, twelve-pounders yonder, big
guns, little guns, middle-sized guns, round shot, shell, shrapnel,
grape, canister, mortars, mines, and magazines, every livin' battery
and bomb a goin' at the same time. The house trembled, the lights
danced, the walls shuk, the floor come up, the ceilin' come down,
the sky split, the ground rockt--BANG! With that _bang!_ he lifted
hisself bodily into the ar', and he come down with his knees, his
ten fingers, his ten toes, his elbows, and his nose, strikin' every
single solitary key on that pianner at the same time. The thing
busted and went off into seventeen hundred and fifty-seven thousand
five hundred and forty-two hemi-demi-semi-quivers, and I know'd no
mo'."
SARAH ANNE DORSEY.
~1829=1879.~
MRS. DORSEY, daughter of Thomas G. P. Ellis, was born at Natchez,
Mississippi, and was a niece of Mrs. Catherine Warfield who left to
her many of her unpublished manuscripts. She was finely educated and
travelled extensively. In 1853 she was married to Mr. Samuel W. Dorsey
of Tensas Parish, Louisiana. Here she found scope for her energies in
the duties of plantation life. She established a chapel and school for
the slaves, and her account of the success of her plans gained her the
title of "Filia Ecclesiae" from the "Churchman." She afterwards used
"Filia" as a pen-name.
[Illustration: ~University of Mississippi, University P. O., Miss.~]
Their home being destroyed during the war in a skirmish which took
place in their garden, and in which several men were killed, Mr. and
Mrs. Dorsey removed to Texas. They afterwards returned to Louisiana;
and in 1875, upon the death of Mr. Dorsey, Mrs. Dorsey made her home
at "Beauvoir," her place in Mississippi. Here she spent her time in
writing, and also acted as amanuensis to Jefferson Davis in his great
work, "Rise and Fall of the Confederacy." At her death, which occurred
at New Orleans, whither she had gone for treatment, she left
"Beauvoir" by will to Mr. Davis and his daughter Winnie.
Her "Life of Allen" is of great historical and biographical merit.
WORKS.
Recollections of Henry Watkins Allen, of Louisiana.
Lucia Dare, [novel].
Atalie, or a Southern Villeggiatura.
Agnes Graham, [novel].
Panola, a Tale of Louisiana.
A CONFEDERATE EXILE ON HIS WAY TO MEXICO, 1866.
(_From Recollections of Henry W. Allen, Ex-Gov. of Louisiana._[26])
The people wept over Allen's departure. They followed him with tears
and blessings, and would have forced on him more substantial tokens of
regard than words of regret. They knew he had no money--his noble
estates had long been in possession of the enemy; hundreds of
hogsheads of sugar had been carried off from his plundered
sugar-houses; his house was burned, his plantation, a wide waste of
fallow-fields, grown up in weeds. He had nothing but Confederate and
State money. One gentleman begged him to accept $5,000, in gold, _as a
loan_, since he refused it as a gift. Allen accepted five hundred.
With this small amount, his ambulance and riding-horses, he started to
Mexico. His journey through Texas was a complete ovation, instead of a
hegira. Everybody, rich and poor, vied with each other in offering
him attention and the most eager hospitality. The roof was deemed
honored that sheltered his head for the night. He stopped at Crockett,
to say "goodbye."
. . . . . . .
This conversation occurred whilst we were returning from a visit to
Gov. Moore's family. I had driven over to their cottage in a buggy, to
invite them to join us at dinner. Allen had accompanied me. . . .
These exiles were personal friends of mine. I suffered in parting with
them: for some I suffer still--for those who are still absent and
still living! Everything was very quiet and still, nothing audible but
the low murmur of our voices, when suddenly arose from the prairie
beyond us, one of the beautiful, plaintive, cattle or "salt" songs of
Texas. These wild simple melodies had a great attraction for me. I
would often check my horse on the prairies, and keep him motionless
for a half-hour, listening to these sweet, melancholy strains. Like
all cattle-calls, they are chiefly minor. I thought them quite as
singular and beautiful as the Swiss _Ranz des Vaches_, or the Swedish
cattle-calls. They consisted of a few chanted words, with a cadence
and a long _yodl_. Sometimes the yodling was aided by what the Texan
boys called "quills"--two or more pipes made of reed--_cane_
(arundinaria macrosperma). This made a sort of limited syrinx, which
gave wonderful softness and flute-like clearness to the prolonged
tones of the voice, as it was breathed into them. The boy sang one of
his saddest "calls." I looked quickly to see if Gov. Allen had noticed
the melancholy words and mournful air. I saw he had. He ceased
talking, and his face was very grave.
The boy sang:
"Going away to leave you,
Ah-a-a-a--
Going away to leave you,
Ah-a-a-a--
Going away to-morrow,
Ah-a-a-a--
Going away to-morrow,
Ah-a-a-a--
Never more to see you,
Ah-a-a-a--
Never more to see you,
Ah a-a-a."
[Music: Go-ing a-way, Go-ing a-way,
Going a-way to leave you, Ah-a-a-a.
Going a-way to leave you, Ah-a-a.]
This had always been an affecting strain to me; it was doubly so under
the existing circumstances. The song died mournfully away. We drove on
in silence for a few moments. Gov. Allen roused himself, with a sigh:
"That boy's song is very sad."
"Yes, but he sings it very frequently. He knows nothing about you. It
is neither a prophecy nor intended to be sympathetic,--you need not
make special application of it!"
"No; but it may prove a strange coincidence."
"You shan't say that. I won't listen to such a thought. You'll only
spend a pleasant summer travelling in Mexico. We'll see you at the
opera in New Orleans, next winter."
"I hope so."
Our conversation reverted now to past years. Allen spoke of his early
friends among my relatives; of his whole career in Louisiana; of his
wife, with tenderness,--[she had died in 1850], of her beauty and her
love for him. His future was so uncertain--that he scarcely alluded to
that--never with any hopefulness. It was only in the past that he
seemed to find repose of spirit. The present was too sad, the future
too shadowy for any discussion of either . . .
During this last visit, I never renewed my arguments against his
quitting the country. I had already said and written all that I had to
say on that subject . . . . .
Besides, our minds were in such a confused state, we scarcely knew
what any of us had to expect from the victorious party, or what would
become of our whole people. So that in urging him not to leave
Louisiana, I argued more from instinct, which revolted at anything
like an abandonment of a post of duty, and from a temperament which
always sought rather to advance to meet and defy danger, than to turn
and avoid it, than from any well-grounded assurance or hope of
security for him, or any one else. I felt more anxiety for his
reputation, for his fame, than for his life and freedom. His natural
instincts would have induced similar views; but his judgment and
feelings were overpowered by the reasonings and entreaties of his
friends.
FOOTNOTE:
[26] By permission of J. A. Gresham, New Orleans.
HENRY TIMROD.
~1829=1867.~
[Illustration: ~University of State of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.~]
HENRY TIMROD was born in Charleston, the son of William Henry Timrod,
who was himself a poet, and who in his youth voluntarily apprenticed
himself to a book-binder in order to have plenty of books to read. His
son Henry, the "blue-eyed Harry" of the father's poem studied law
with the distinguished James Louis Petigru, but never practiced and
soon gave it up to prepare himself for a teacher. He spent ten years
as private tutor in families, writing at the same time. Some of his
poems are found in the "Southern Literary Messenger" with the
signature "Aglaüs."
His vacations were spent in Charleston, where he was one of the
coterie of young writers whom William Gilmore Simms, like a literary
Nestor, gathered about him in his hospitable home. His schoolmate,
Paul Hamilton Hayne, was one of these, and their early friendship grew
stronger with the passing years.
In 1860, Timrod removed to Columbia, published a volume of poems which
were well received North and South, and undertook editorial work. Life
seemed fair before him. But ill-health and the war which destroyed his
property and blighted his career, soon darkened all his prospects, and
after a brave struggle with poverty and sickness, he died of
pneumonia.
His poems are singularly free from sadness and bitterness. They have
been collected and published with a sketch of his life by his friend,
Paul Hamilton Hayne.
WORKS.
Poems.[27]
Prose Articles in the "South Carolinian."
Of all our poets none stands higher than Henry Timrod. His singing is
true and musical, and his thoughts are pure and noble. A tardy
recognition seems at last coming to bless his memory, and his poems
are in demand. One copy of his little volume recently commanded the
price of ten dollars.
SONNET.
Life ever seems as from its present site
It aimed to lure us. Mountains of the past
It melts, with all their crags and caverns vast,
Into a purple cloud! Across the night
Which hides what is to be, it shoots a light
All rosy with the yet unrisen dawn.
Not the near daisies, but yon distant height
Attracts us, lying on this emerald lawn.
And always, be the landscape what it may--
Blue, misty hill, or sweep of glimmering plain--
It is the eye's endeavor still to gain
The fine, faint limit of the bounding day.
God, haply, in this mystic mode, would fain
Hint of a happier home, far, far away!
ENGLISH KATIE.
(_From Katie._)
It may be through some foreign grace,
And unfamiliar charm of face;
It may be that across the foam
Which bore her from her childhood's home
By some strange spell, my Katie brought,
Along with English creeds and thought--
Entangled in her golden hair--
Some English sunshine, warmth, and air!
I cannot tell,--but here to-day,
A thousand billowy leagues away
From that green isle whose twilight skies
No darker are than Katie's eyes,
She seems to me, go where she will,
An English girl in England still!
I meet her on the dusty street,
And daisies spring about her feet;
Or, touched to life beneath her tread,
An English cowslip lifts its head;
And, as to do her grace, rise up
The primrose and the buttercup!
I roam with her through fields of cane,
And seem to stroll an English lane,
Which, white with blossoms of the May,
Spreads its green carpet in her way!
As fancy wills, the path beneath
Is golden gorse, or purple heath:
And now we hear in woodlands dim
Their unarticulated hymn,
Now walk through rippling waves of wheat,
Now sink in mats of clover sweet,
Or see before us from the lawn
The lark go up to greet the dawn!
All birds that love the English sky
Throng round my path when she is by:
The blackbird from a neighboring thorn
With music brims the cup of morn,
And in a thick, melodious rain
The mavis pours her mellow strain!
But only when my Katie's voice
Makes all the listening woods rejoice,
I hear--with cheeks that flush and pale--
The passion of the nightingale!
HYMN SUNG AT THE CONSECRATION OF MAGNOLIA CEMETERY, CHARLESTON, S. C.
Whose was the hand that painted thee, O Death!
In the false aspect of a ruthless foe,
Despair and sorrow waiting on thy breath,--
O gentle Power! who could have wronged thee so?
Thou rather should'st be crowned with fadeless flowers,
Of lasting fragrance and celestial hue;
Or be thy couch amid funereal bowers,
But let the stars and sunlight sparkle through.
So, with these thoughts before us, we have fixed
And beautified, O Death! thy mansion here,
Where gloom and gladness--grave and garden--mixed,
Make it a place to love, and not to fear.
Heaven! shed thy most propitious dews around!
Ye holy stars! look down with tender eyes,
And gild and guard and consecrate the ground
Where we may rest, and whence we pray to rise.
FOOTNOTE:
[27] The following extracts are made by permission of Mr. E. J. Hale,
formerly of E. J. Hale & Son.
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE.
~1830=1886.~
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE has been justly called the "Laureate of the
South." He was born at Charleston, and being left an orphan by the
death of his father, Lieutenant Hayne of the Navy, he was reared and
educated by his uncle, Robert Young Hayne. His fortune was ample, but
he studied law although he never practised. He became editor of
"Russell's Magazine" and a contributor to the "Southern Literary
Messenger." His genius and lovely nature made him a favorite with all
of his companions, among whom were notably William Gilmore Simms and
Henry Timrod.
During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army; his entire
property, the inheritance of several generations, was destroyed in the
bombardment of Charleston. From 1865 till his death he resided at
"Copse Hill," a small cottage home in the pine hills near Augusta,
Georgia, "keeping the wolf from the door only by the point of his
pen," dearly honored and loved by all who knew him or his poems.
His son, William H. Hayne, is also a poet of much ability, and has
published a volume of "Sylvan Lyrics."
WORKS.
Poems containing Sonnets Avolio Lyrics Mountain of the Lovers.
Preceded by a Sketch of the Poet by Mrs. M. J. Preston (1882).
Life of Robert Young Hayne (1878).
Life of Hugh Swinton Legaré (1878).
[Illustration: ~University of Texas (Main Building), Austin, Texas.~]
"There is no poet in America who has written more lovingly or
discriminatingly about nature in her ever varying aspects. We are sure
that in his loyal allegiance to her, he is not a whit behind
Wordsworth, and we do not hesitate to say that he has often a grace
that the old Lake-poet lacks."--Mrs. Preston.
"Hayne has the lyric gift, and his shorter poems have a ring and
richness that recall the glories of the Elizabethan period; . . . each
shows the same careful and artistic workmanship."--Collier.
THE MOCKING-BIRD.
(_At Night._)
(_From Poems, 1882._[28])
A golden pallor of voluptuous light
Filled the warm southern night;
The moon, clear orbed, above the sylvan scene
Moved like a stately Queen,
So rife with conscious beauty all the while,
What could she do but smile
At her own perfect loveliness below,
Glassed in the tranquil flow
Of crystal fountains and unruffled streams?
Half lost in waking dreams,
As down the loneliest forest dell I strayed,
Lo! from a neighboring glade,
Flashed through the drifts of moonshine, swiftly came
A fairy shape of flame.
It rose in dazzling spirals overhead,
Whence, to wild sweetness wed,
Poured marvellous melodies, silvery trill on trill;
The very leaves grew still
On the charmed trees to hearken; while, for me,
Heart-thrilled to ecstasy,
I followed--followed the bright shape that flew,
Still circling up the blue,
Till, as a fountain that has reached its height
Falls back in sprays of light
Slowly dissolved, so that enrapturing lay,
Divinely melts away
Through tremulous spaces to a music-mist,
Soon by the fitful breeze
How gently kissed
Into remote and tender silences.
SONNET.--OCTOBER.
The passionate summer's dead! the sky's aglow
With roseate flushes of matured desire,
The winds at eve are musical and low,
As sweeping chords of a lamenting lyre,
Far up among the pillared clouds of fire,
Whose pomp of strange procession upward rolls,
With gorgeous blazonry of pictured scrolls,
To celebrate the summer's past renown;
Ah, me! how regally the heavens look down,
O'ershadowing beautiful autumnal woods
And harvest fields with hoarded increase brown,
And deep-toned majesty of golden floods,
That raise their solemn dirges to the sky,
To swell the purple pomp that floateth by.
A DREAM OF THE SOUTH WIND.
O fresh, how fresh and fair
Through the crystal gulfs of air,
The fairy South Wind floateth on her subtle wings of balm!
And the green earth lapped in bliss,
To the magic of her kiss
Seems yearning upward fondly through the golden-crested calm.
From the distant Tropic strand
Where the billows, bright and bland,
Go creeping, curling round the palms with sweet, faint undertune;
From its fields of purpling flowers
Still wet with fragrant showers,
The happy South Wind lingering sweeps the royal blooms of June.
All heavenly fancies rise
On the perfume of her sighs,
Which steep the inmost spirit in a languor rare and fine,
And a peace more pure than sleep's
Unto dim half-conscious deeps,
Transports me, lulled and dreaming, on its twilight tides divine.
Those dreams! ah, me! the splendor,
So mystical and tender,
Wherewith like soft heat lightnings they gird their meaning round,
And those waters, calling, calling,
With a nameless charm enthralling,
Like the ghost of music melting on a rainbow spray of sound!
Touch, touch me not, nor wake me,
Lest grosser thoughts o'ertake me;
From earth receding faintly with her dreary din and jars--
What viewless arms caress me?
What whispered voices bless me,
With welcomes dropping dew-like from the weird and wondrous stars?
Alas! dim, dim, and dimmer
Grows the preternatural glimmer
Of that trance the South Wind brought me on her subtle wings of balm,
For behold! its spirit flieth,
And its fairy murmur dieth,
And the silence closing round me is a dull and soulless calm!
FOOTNOTE:
[28] By permission of the Lothrop Publishing Co., Boston; as also the
others following.
JOHN ESTEN COOKE.
~1830=1886.~
JOHN ESTEN COOKE was born at Winchester, Virginia, a younger brother
of Philip Pendleton Cooke and son of the eminent jurist, John Rogers
Cooke, under whom he made his law studies. He seemed, however, to
prefer literature to law, and when he was twenty-four he had already
published several works. Among them was "Virginia Comedians," a novel
of great interest and greater promise.
In 1861 he entered the Confederate service as one of General T. J.
Jackson's staff, was transferred to that of General J. E. B. Stuart at
the death of Jackson in 1863; and after Stuart's death, he was
Inspector-General of the horse artillery of the Army of Northern
Virginia till the close of the war.
His novels deal with the life and history of Virginia, the best known
of them being "Surry of Eagle's Nest," which is said to be partly
autobiographical. They hold well the popular favor. His "Stories of
the Old Dominion" are specially interesting to Virginians.
WORKS.
Leather Stocking and Silk.
Virginia Comedians.
Last of the Foresters.
Life of Stonewall Jackson.
Surry of Eagle's Nest.
Mohun, or the Last Days of Lee and his Paladins.
Out of the Foam.
Heir of Gaymount.
Dr. Vandyke.
Pretty Mrs. Gaston, and other Stories.
Professor Pressensee.
Virginia Bohemians.
Virginia: a History of the People.
Maurice Mystery.
Youth of Jefferson.
Ellie.
Henry St. John, Gentleman, sequel to Virginia Comedians.
Wearing of the Gray.
Fairfax, or Greenway Court.
Hilt to Hilt.
Hammer and Rapier [Grant and Lee].
Life of R. E. Lee.
Her Majesty the Queen.
Canolles.
Mr. Grantley's Idea.
Stories of the Old Dominion.
My Lady Pokahontas.
THE RACES IN VIRGINIA, 1765.
(_From Virginia Comedians._[29])
The races!
That word always produces a strong effect upon men in the South; and
when the day fixed upon for the Jamestown races comes, the country is
alive for miles around with persons of all classes and descriptions.
As the hour of noon approaches, the ground swarms with every species
of the genus _homo_; Williamsburg and the sea-faring village of
Jamestown turn out _en masse_, and leave all occupations for the
exciting turf.
As the day draws on the crowd becomes more dense. The splendid
chariots of the gentry roll up to the stand, and group themselves
around it, in a position to overlook the race-course, and through the
wide windows are seen the sparkling eyes and powdered locks, and
diamonds and gay silk and velvet dresses of those fair dames who lent
such richness and picturesque beauty to the old days dead now so long
ago in the far past. The fine-looking old planters too are decked in
their holiday suits, their powdered hair is tied into queues behind
with neat black ribbon, and they descend and mingle with their
neighbors, and discuss the coming festival.
Gay youths, in rich brilliant dresses, caracole up to the carriages on
fiery steeds, to display their horsemanship, and exchange compliments
with their friends, and make pretty speeches, which are received by
the bright-eyed damsels with little ogles, and flirts of their
variegated fans, and rapturous delight.
Meanwhile the crowd grows each moment, as the flood pours in from the
north, the south, the east, the west--from every point of the compass,
and in every species of vehicle. There are gay parties of the yeomen
and their wives and daughters, in carryalls and wagons filled with
straw, upon which chairs are placed: there are rollicking fast men--if
we may use a word becoming customary in our own day--who whirl in, in
their curricles: there are barouches and chairs, spring wagons and
carts, all full, approaching in every way from a sober walk to a
furious headlong dash, all "going to the races." There are horsemen
who lean forward, horsemen who lean back; furious, excited horsemen
urging their steeds with whip and spur; cool, quiet horsemen, who ride
erect and slowly; there are, besides, pedestrians of every class and
appearance, old and young, male and female, black and white--all going
to the races.
The hour at last arrives, and a horn sounding from the judges' stand,
the horses are led out in their blankets and head-coverings, and
walked up and down before the crowd by their trainers, who are for the
most part old gray-headed negroes, born and raised, to the best of
their recollection, on the turf. The riders are noble scions of the
same ancient stock, and average three feet and a half in height, and
twenty pounds in weight. They are clad in ornamental garments; wear
little close-fitting caps; and while they are waiting, sit huddled up
in the grass, sucking their thumbs, and talking confidentially about
"them there hosses."
Let us look at the objects of their attention; they are well worth it.
Mr. Howard enters the bay horse _Sir Archy_, out of Flying Dick, by
Roderick.
Mr. James enters _Fair Anna_, a white mare, dam Virginia, sire
Belgrave.
Captain Waters enters the Arabian horse _Selim_, descended in a direct
line, he is informed, from Al-borak, who carried the prophet Mahomet
up to heaven--though this pedigree is not vouched for. The said
pedigree is open to the inspection of all comers. _Note_--That it is
written in Arabic.
There are other entries, but not much attention is paid to them. The
race will be between Sir Archy and Fair Anna, and perhaps the
outlandish horse will not be "distanced."
"Prepare the horses!" comes from the judges' stand opposite.
Captain Ralph Waters leaves the ladies with a gallant bow, and pushes
his way through the swaying and excited crowd, toward the spot where
the animals are being saddled.
A tremendous hurly-burly reigns there; men of all classes, boys,
negroes, gentlemen, indented servants,--all are betting with intense
interest. The dignified grooms endeavor to keep back the crowd:--the
owners of the horses give their orders to the microscopic monkeys who
are to ride. . . . . . The riders are raised by one leg into the
saddles; they gather up the reins; the drum taps; they are off like
lightning.
The course is a mile in circumference, and they go round it before the
excited crowd can look at them a dozen times. They whirl past the
stand, and push on again.
Sir Archy leads; Fair Anna trails on a hard rein; the Arabian is two
lengths behind; but he is not running.
They thunder up the quarter stretch: Sir Archy is bounding, like some
diabolical monster, far before his companions, spite of his owner's
cries; the Arabian has come up and locks the mare; they run neck and
neck. Sir Archy whirls past the stand, and wins by a hundred yards.
The immense crowd utters a shout that shakes the surrounding
forest. . . . . . . .
The horses are again enveloped in their hoods and blankets. Captain
Ralph returns to the Riverhead carriage, [that of the Lees, in which
were Miss Henrietta Lee and her sister Clare.]
"Any more betting, sir?" says Miss Henrietta, satirically.
"Who, I?"
"Yes, sir."
"Assuredly!" says the Captain; "do not think, _chere ma'm'selle_, that
I am very much cast down. I am so far from that, I assure you, that I
am ready to take the field again."
"Well, sir."
"Then you will bet again, madam?"
"Yes, indeed."
"_Bien!_ I now stake all that is left me in the world--though not
quite. I stake my horse, Selim, against the curl and the pair of
gloves you wear, with the knot of ribbons at your girdle thrown
in--all upon the final issue."
Henrietta blushes; for, however common such gallant proposals were at
that day, she cannot misunderstand the meaning of the soldier's
glance, and reddens beneath it.
"That would be unfair, sir."
"Not so, my dear madam, for are you not sure to lose?"
"To lose?"
"Yes, indeed."
"No, sir; I am sure to win."
"Bah! you ladies have such a delicious little confidence in the things
you patronize, that it is really astonishing. You think Sir Archy will
beat Selim? Pshaw! you know nothing about it."
This piques madam Henrietta, and she smiles satirically again as she
says:
"Well, sir, I do not want your pretty horse--but if you insist, why, I
cannot retreat. I shall, at least, have the pleasure of returning him
to his master."
The Captain shakes his head.
"A bet upon such terms is no bet at all, my dearest madam," he says,
"for, I assure you, if I win, you will return home curl-less,
glove-less, and ribbon-less. All is fair in war--and love."
With which words, Captain Ralph darts a martial ogle at his companion.
This piques her more than ever.
"Well, sir," she replies, "if you are determined, have your desire."
"Good!" cries the Captain, "we are just in time. There is the
horse." . . . . . . And, with another gallant bow, the Captain rides
away towards the horses. . . .
The boys are again instructed much after the same fashion: the signal
is given in the midst of breathless suspense, and the horses dart from
their places.
They dart around, Sir Archy again leading: but this position he does
not hold throughout the first mile: he gradually falls behind, and
when they pass the winning-post he is fifty yards in the rear. His
owner tears his hair, but the crowd do not see him--they flush and
shout.
The second mile is between Fair Anna and the Arabian, and they lock in
the middle of it; but the Arabian gradually takes the lead, and when
they flash up to the stand he is ten yards ahead. Sir Archy is
distanced and withdrawn.
It would be impossible to describe the excitement of the crowd:--the
tremendous effect produced upon them by this reversal of all their
hopes and expectations. They roll about like waves, they shout, they
curse, they rumble and groan like a stormy sea.
The horses are the objects of every one's attention. Their condition
will go far to indicate the final result--and Sir Archy being led away
and withdrawn, the race now will be between Fair Anna and the Arabian.
Mr. James looks more solemn than ever, and all eyes are turned upon
him. Captain Waters is not visible--he is yonder, conversing with the
ladies.
But the horses! Fair Anna pants and breathes heavily: her coat is
drenched more completely than before with perspiration; her mouth
foams; she tosses her head; when the rake is applied to her back a
shower falls.
The Arabian is wet all over too; but he breathes regularly; his eye is
bright and his head calm. He has commenced running. The first
intention of Mr. James is to give up the race, but his pride will not
let him. He utters an oath, and gives renewed instructions to his
rider. These instructions are to whip and spur--to take the lead and
keep it, from the start.
The moment for the final struggle arrives, and Captain Ralph merely
says, "Rein free!"
The boys mount--the crowd opens; the drum taps and the animals are off
like lightning.
Fair Anna feels that all her previous reputation is at stake, and
flies like a deer. She passes around the first mile like a flash of
white light; but the Arabian is beside her. For a quarter of a mile
thereafter they run neck and neck--the rider of fair Anna lashes and
spurs desperately.
They come up to the quarter-stretch in the last mile at supernatural
speed:--the spectators rise on their toes and shout:--two shadows pass
them like the shadows of darting hawks:--the mare barely saves her
distance and the Arabian has triumphed.
If we could not describe the excitement after the second heat, what
possibility is there that we could convey an idea of the raging and
surging pandemonium which the crowd now came to resemble? Furious
cries--shouts--curses--applause--laughter--and the rattle of coin
leaving unwilling hands are some of the sounds. But here we must give
up:--as no mere pen can describe the raging of a great mass of water
lashed by an angry wind into foam and whistling spray and muttering
waves, which rise and fall and crash incessantly, so we cannot trace
the outline of the wildly excited crowd.
[Afterwards come contests with the quarter-staff, a wrestling match,
running matches, a contest of singing among "a dozen blushing
maidens," and of fiddling among twenty bold musicians: and the day is
wound up with a great banquet.]
FOOTNOTE:
[29] By permission of D. Appleton and Co., New York.
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE.
~1830=1894.~
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina, and
was educated at Washington College, Tennessee, and at the University
of North Carolina. He studied law and began its practice in Asheville.
He was soon elected to the State Legislature and to Congress; and from
1854 to his death was continuously in public life except just after
the war. His wit and eloquence made him a great favorite both on the
stump and in Congress, and the influence he wielded in his state was
unbounded. He was opposed to secession, but joined his state in her
decision and became colonel of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, one
of the best of the army.
In 1862 he was elected governor of the State and was so active and
enterprising in getting aid by sea for the cause that he was called
the "War Governor of the South." He was in favor of considering the
negotiations for peace in 1863, but he neglected no measures to insure
the success of the Confederacy. In 1865 he was held a prisoner of war
for a few weeks in Washington.
[Illustration: ~State Capitol of North Carolina.~]
His political disabilities were not removed till 1872; in 1876 he was
elected governor of North Carolina, and in 1879, United States
Senator, having been elected and his seat refused him in 1870. His
death occurred in Washington City, and he is buried in Asheville. His
State is now preparing to erect a monument expressing her honor and
devotion to her illustrious son.
WORKS.
Speeches: (in Congress and on Public Occasions.)
CHANGES WROUGHT BY THE WAR.
(_From All About it--an address before the young men of Raleigh,
N. C.; published in "Land We Love" January, 1867._)
Virginia to the north of us was settled by English Cavaliers; South
Carolina, mainly by French Huguenots, both among the noblest stocks of
Western Europe. North Carolina, with but a slight infusion of each,
was settled by a sturdier--and in some respects--a better race than
either. She was emphatically the offspring of religious and political
persecution, and the vital stream of her infant life was of
Scotch-Irish origin. A cross of those two noble races has produced a
breed of men as renowned for great deeds and modest worth as perhaps
any other in this world. Two instances will suffice for this. Perhaps
the most manly and glorious feat of arms in modern times was the
defence of Londonderry, as the boldest and most remarkable state paper
was the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Both were the work
mainly of men such as settled North Carolina.
_The Country Gentlemen._--Perhaps one of the most remarkable changes
which we may expect, is one that will soon be apparent on the face of
our country society. The abolition of slavery will do wonders here. It
puts an end to the reign of those lordly-landed proprietors, planters,
and farmers, who constituted so striking and so pleasant a feature in
our rural population. No longer the masters of hundreds of slaves
wherewith to cultivate their thousands of acres, the general cheapness
of lands in the South will prevent their forming around them a system
of dependent tenantry, since every industrious man will be able to
plough his own farm. They will therefore gradually sell off their
paternal acres, no longer within the scope of prudent management, and
seek homes in the towns and villages, or contract their establishments
to their means and altered condition. Agriculture will then pass
gradually into the hands of small farmers, and the great farms will
forever disappear.
I can scarcely imagine it possible for any one to view the steady
disappearance of the race of Southern country gentlemen without
genuine sorrow . . . the high-toned, educated, chivalrous,
intelligent, and hospitable Southern gentlemen, of whom each one who
hears me has at least a dozen in his mind's eye in Virginia and the
Carolinas: whose broad fields were cultivated by their own faithful
and devoted slaves, whose rudely splendid mansions stand where their
fathers reared them, among the oaks and the pines which greeted the
canoe of John Smith, welcomed the ships of Raleigh, and sheltered the
wild cavaliers of De Soto; whose hall doors stood wide open, and were
never shut except against a retreating guest;[30] whose cellar and
table abounded with the richest products of the richest lands in the
world, and whose hospitality was yet unstained by unrefined excess;
whose parlors and fire-sides were adorned by a courtly female grace
which might vie with any that ever lighted and blessed the home of
man; whose hands were taught from infancy to fly open to every
generous and charitable appeal, and whose minds were inured to all
self-respect and toleration, and whose strong brains were sudden death
to humbuggery, all the _isms_, and the whole family of mean and
pestilential fanaticism.
_The Negroes._--There is also a great change at hand for the
negro. . . Who that knew him as a contented, well-treated slave, did
not learn to love and admire the negro character? I, for one, confess
to almost an enthusiasm on the subject. The cheerful ring of their
songs at their daily tasks, their love for their masters and their
families, their politeness and good manners, their easily bought but
sincere gratitude, their deep-seated aristocracy--for your genuine
negro was a terrible aristocrat,--their pride in their own and their
master's dignity, together with their overflowing and never-failing
animal spirits, both during hours of labor and leisure, altogether,
made up an aggregation of joyous simplicity and fidelity--when not
perverted by harsh treatment--that to me was irresistible!
A remembrance of the seasons spent among them will perish only with
life. From the time of the ingathering of the crops, until after the
ushering in of the new year, was wont to be with them a season of
greater joy and festivity than with any other people on earth, of whom
it has been my lot to hear. In the glorious November nights of our
beneficent clime, after the first frosts had given a bracing sharpness
and a ringing clearness to the air, and lent that transparent blue to
the heavens through which the stars gleam like globes of sapphire,
when I have seen a hundred or more of them around the swelling piles
of corn, and heard their tuneful voices ringing with the chorus of
some wild refrain, I have thought I would rather far listen to them
than to any music ever sung to mortal ears; for it was the outpouring
of the hearts of happy and contented men, rejoicing over the abundance
which rewarded the labor of the closing year! And the listening, too,
has many a time and oft filled my bosom with emotions, and opened my
heart with charity and love toward this subject and dependent race,
such as no oratory, no rhetoric or minstrelsy in all this wide earth
could impart!
Nature ceased almost to feel fatigue in the joyous scenes which
followed. The fiddle and the banjo, animated as it would seem like
living things, literally knew no rest, night or day; while Terpichore
covered her face in absolute despair in the presence of that famous
_double-shuffle_ with which the long nights and "master's shoes" were
worn away together! . . . .
Who can forget the cook by whom his youthful appetite was fed? The
fussy, consequential old lady to whom I now refer, has often, during
my vagrant inroads into her rightful domains, boxed my infant jaws,
with an imperious, "Bress de Lord, git out of de way: dat chile never
kin git enuff": and as often relenting at sight of my hungry tears,
has fairly bribed me into her love again with the very choicest bits
of the savory messes of her art. She was haughty as Juno, and
aristocratic as though her naked ancestors had come over with the
Conqueror, or "drawn a good bow at Hastings," . . . and yet her pride
invariably melted at the sight of certain surreptitious quantities of
tobacco, with which I made my court to this high priestess of the
region sacred to the stomach.
And there, too, plainest of all, I can see the fat and chubby form of
my dear old nurse, whose encircling arms of love fondled and supported
me from the time whereof the memory of this man runneth not to the
contrary. All the strong love of her simple and faithful nature seemed
bestowed on her mistress' children, which she was not permitted to
give to her own, long, long ago left behind and dead in "ole
Varginney." Oh! the wonderful and touching stories of them, and a
hundred other things, which she has poured into my infant ears! How
well do I remember the marvellous story of the manner in which she
obtained religion, of her many and sore conflicts with the powers of
darkness, and of her first dawning hopes in that blessed gospel whose
richest glory is, that it is preached to the poor, such as she was!
From her lips, too, I heard my first ghost-story! Think of that! None
of your feeble make-believes of a ghost-story either, carrying
infidelity on its face; but a real bona-fide narrative, witnessed by
herself, and told with the earnestness of truth itself. How my knees
smote together, and my hair stood on end, "so called"--as I stared and
startled, and declared again and again with quite a sickly manhood
indeed, that _I wasn't scared a bit_!
Perhaps the proudest day of my boyhood was when I was able to present
her with a large and flaming red cotton handkerchief, wherewith in
turban style she adorned her head. And my satisfaction was complete
when my profound erudition enabled me to read for her on Sabbath
afternoons that most wonderful of all stories, the Pilgrim's Progress.
Nor was it uninstructive, or a slight tribute to the genius of the
immortal tinker--could I but have appreciated it--to observe the
varied emotions excited within her breast by the recital of those
fearful conflicts by the way, and of the unspeakable glories of the
celestial City, within whose portals of pearl I trust her faithful
soul has long since entered!
FOOTNOTE:
[30] As in the case of the gentleman for whom Senator Vance's native
county was named. He had over his front door the inscription:
"Buncombe Hall,
Welcome all!"
ALBERT PIKE.
~1809=1891.~
ALBERT PIKE was born in Boston, but after his twenty-second year made
his home in the South. He was a student at Harvard and taught for a
while; in 1831, he went to Arkansas, walking, it is said, five hundred
miles of the way, as his horse had run away in a storm.
He became an editor and then a lawyer, cultivating letters at the same
time, and wrote the "Hymns to the Gods." He served in the Mexican and
Civil Wars, with rank in the latter of Brigadier-General in the
Confederate army. He afterwards made his home in Washington City,
where he at first practised his profession, but later gave his
attention mostly to literature and Freemasonry.
WORKS.
Hymns to the Gods.
Prose Sketches and Poems.
Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Arkansas.
Works on Freemasonry.
Nugae, (including Hymns to the Gods).
The following poem is one of the best on that wonderful bird whose
song almost all Southern poets have celebrated. It has a classic ring
and reminds one of Keats' Odes on the Nightingale and on a Grecian
Urn.
TO THE MOCKING-BIRD.
Thou glorious mocker of the world! I hear
Thy many voices ringing through the glooms
Of these green solitudes; and all the clear,
Bright joyance of their song enthralls the ear,
And floods the heart. Over the spherèd tombs
Of vanished nations rolls thy music-tide;
No light from History's starlit page illumes
The memory of these nations; they have died:
None care for them but thou; and thou mayst sing
O'er me, perhaps, as now thy clear notes ring
Over their bones by whom thou once wast deified.
Glad scorner of all cities! Thou dost leave
The world's mad turmoil and incessant din,
Where none in other's honesty believe,
Where the old sigh, the young turn gray and grieve,
Where misery gnaws the maiden's heart within:
Thou fleest far into the dark green woods,
Where, with thy flood of music, thou canst win
Their heart to harmony, and where intrudes
No discord on thy melodies. Oh, where,
Among the sweet musicians of the air,
Is one so dear as thou to these old solitudes?
Ha! what a burst was that! The Æolian strain
Goes floating through the tangled passages
Of the still woods, and now it comes again,
A multitudinous melody,--like a rain
Of glassy music under echoing trees,
Close by a ringing lake. It wraps the soul
With a bright harmony of happiness,
Even as a gem is wrapped when round it roll
Thin waves of crimson flame; till we become
With the excess of perfect pleasure, dumb,
And pant like a swift runner clinging to the goal.
I cannot love the man who doth not love,
As men love light, the song of happy birds;
For the first visions that my boy-heart wove
To fill its sleep with, were that I did rove
Through the fresh woods, what time the snowy herds
Of morning clouds shrunk from the advancing sun
Into the depths of Heaven's blue heart, as words
From the Poet's lips float gently, one by one,
And vanish in the human heart; and then
I revelled in such songs, and sorrowed when,
With noon-heat overwrought, the music-gush was done.
I would, sweet bird, that I might live with thee,
Amid the eloquent grandeur of these shades,
Alone with nature,--but it may not be;
I have to struggle with the stormy sea
Of human life until existence fades
Into death's darkness. Thou wilt sing and soar
Through the thick woods and shadow-checkered glades,
While pain and sorrow cast no dimness o'er
The brilliance of thy heart; but I must wear,
As now, my garments of regret and care,--
As penitents of old their galling sackcloth wore.
Yet why complain? What though fond hopes deferred
Have overshadowed Life's green paths with gloom?
Content's soft music is not all unheard;
There is a voice sweeter than thine, sweet bird,
To welcome me within my humble home;
There is an eye, with love's devotion bright,
The darkness of existence to illume.
Then why complain? When Death shall cast his blight
Over the spirit, my cold bones shall rest
Beneath these trees; and, from thy swelling breast,
Over them pour thy song, like a rich flood of light.
WILLIAM TAPPAN THOMPSON.
~1812=1882.~
WILLIAM TAPPAN THOMPSON was a native of Ravenna, Ohio, the first white
child born in the Western Reserve. He removed to Georgia in 1835, and
became with Judge A. B. Longstreet editor of the "States Rights
Sentinel" at Augusta. He was subsequently editor of several other
papers, in one of which, the "Miscellany," appeared his famous
humorous "Letters of Major Jones."
From 1845 to 1850 he lived in Baltimore, editor with Park Benjamin of
the "Western Continent;" but he returned to Georgia and established
in Savannah the "Morning News" with which he was connected till his
death.
He served in the Confederate cause as aide to Gov. Joseph E. Brown,
and later as a volunteer in the ranks.
WORKS.
Major Jones's Courtship.
Major Jones's Chronicles of Pineville.
Major Jones's Sketches of Travel.
The Live Indian: a Farce.
John's Alive, and other Sketches, edited by his daughter.
_Dramatized_ The Vicar of Wakefield.
The titles of these books describe their contents, and the following
extract gives their style. The scenes are laid in Georgia; and even
when Major Jones travels, he remains a Georgian still.
MAJOR JONES'S CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO MARY STALLINGS.
(_From Major Jones's Courtship._[31])
They all agreed they would hang up a bag for me to put Miss Mary's
Crismus present in, on the back porch; and about ten o'clock I told
'em good-evenin' and went home.
I sot up till midnight, and when they wos all gone to bed, I went
softly into the back gate, and went up to the porch, and thar, shore
enough, was a great big meal-bag hangin' to the jice. It was monstrous
unhandy to git to it, but I was termined not to back out. So I sot
some chairs on top of a bench, and got hold of the rope, and let
myself down into the bag; but jist as I was gittin in, it swung agin
the chairs, and down they went with a terrible racket; but nobody
din't wake up but Miss Stallinses old cur dog, and here he come rippin
and tearin through the yard like rath, and round and round he went,
tryin to find out what was the matter. I scrooch'd down in the bag,
and didn't breathe louder nor a kitten, for fear he'd find me out;
and after a while he quit barkin.
The wind begun to blow bominable cold, and the old bag kept turnin
round and swingin so it made me sea-sick as the mischief. I was afraid
to move for fear the rope would break and let me fall, and thar I sot
with my teeth rattlin like I had a ager. It seemed like it would never
come daylight, and I do believe if I didn't love Miss Mary so powerful
I would froze to death; for my heart was the only spot that felt warm,
and it didn't beat more'n two licks a minit, only when I thought how
she would be supprised in the mornin, and then it went in a canter.
Bimeby the cussed old dog came up on the porch and begun to smell
about the bag, and then he barked like he thought he'd treed
something.
"Bow! wow! wow!" ses he. Then he'd smell agin, and try to git up to
the bag. "Git out!" ses I, very low, for fear the galls mought hear
me. "Bow! wow!" ses he. "Begone! you bominable fool!" ses I, and I
felt all over in spots, for I spected every minit he'd nip me, and
what made it worse, I didn't know wharabouts he'd take hold. "Bow!
wow! wow!" Then I tried coaxin--"Come here, good feller," ses I, and
whistled a little to him, but it wasn't no use. Thar he stood, and kep
up his everlastin barkin and whinin, all night. I couldn't tell when
daylight was breakin, only by the chickens crowin, and I was monstrous
glad to hear 'em, for if I'd had to stay thar one hour more, I don't
believe I'd ever got out of that bag alive.
Old Miss Stallins come out fust, and as soon as she seed the bag, ses
she: "What upon yeath has Joseph went and put in that bag for Mary?
I'll lay it's a yearlin or some live animal, or Bruin wouldn't bark at
it so."
She went in to call the galls, and I sot thar, shiverin all over so I
couldn't hardly speak if I tried to,--but I didn't say nothin. Bimeby
they all come runnin out on the porch.
"My goodness! what is it?" ses Miss Mary.
"Oh, it's alive!" ses Miss Kesiah. "I seed it move."
"Call Cato, and make him cut the rope," ses Miss Carline, "and let's
see what it is. Come here, Cato, and get this bag down."
"Don't hurt it for the world," ses Miss Mary.
Cato untied the rope that was round the jice, and let the bag down
easy on the floor, and I tumbled out, all covered with corn-meal from
head to foot.
"Goodness gracious!" ses Miss Mary, "if it ain't the Majer himself!"
"Yes," ses I, "and you know you promised to keep my Crismus present as
long as you lived."
The galls laughed themselves almost to death, and went to brushin off
the meal as fast as they could, sayin they was gwine to hang that bag
up every Crismus till they got husbands too. Miss Mary--bless her
bright eyes!--she blushed as beautiful as a mornin-glory, and sed
she'd stick to her word. . . . I do believe if I was froze stiff, one
look at her sweet face, as she stood thar lookin down to the floor
with her roguish eyes, and her bright curls fallin all over her snowy
neck, would have fotched me to. I tell you what, it was worth hangin
in a meal bag from one Crismus to another to feel as happy as I have
ever sense.
FOOTNOTE:
[31] By permission of T. B. Peterson and Brothers, Philadelphia.
JAMES BARRON HOPE.
~1827=1887.~
JAMES BARRON HOPE was born near Norfolk, Virginia, educated at William
and Mary College, and began the practice of law at Hampton. In 1857 he
wrote the poem for the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
settlement of Jamestown, and in 1858 an Ode for the dedication of the
Washington Monument at Richmond. He also wrote poems for the "Southern
Literary Messenger," as _Henry Ellen_. In 1861 he entered the
Confederate service and fought through the war as captain. Afterwards
he settled in Norfolk to the practice of his profession. His best
poems are considered to be "Arms and the Man," and "Memorial Ode," the
latter written for the laying of the corner-stone of the Lee Monument
in Richmond, 1887, just before his death.
WORKS.
Leoni di Monota, [poems].
Elegiac Ode and other Poems.
Under the Empire, [novel].
Arms and the Man, and other Poems.
THE VICTORY AT YORKTOWN.
(_From Arms and the Man._[32])
A Metrical Address recited on the one hundredth anniversary of the
surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, on invitation of the United
States Congress, October 19, 1881.
PROLOGUE.
Full-burnished through the long-revolving years
The ploughshare of a Century to-day
Runs peaceful furrows where a crop of Spears
Once stood in War's array.
And we, like those who on the Trojan plain
See hoary secrets wrenched from upturned sods;--
Who, in their fancy, hear resound again
The battle-cry of Gods;--
We now,--this splendid scene before us spread
Where Freedom's full hexameter began--
Restore our Epic, which the Nations read
As far its thunders ran.
Here visions throng on People and on Bard,
Ranks all a-glitter in battalions massed
And closed around as like a plumèd guard,
They lead us down the Past.
I see great Shapes in vague confusion march
Like giant shadows, moving vast and slow,
Beneath some torch-lit temple's mighty arch
Where long processions go.
I see these Shapes before me all unfold,
But ne'er can fix them on the lofty wall,
Nor tell them, save as she of Endor told
What she beheld to Saul.
WASHINGTON AND LEE.
(_From Memorial Ode._)
Our history is a shining sea
Locked in by lofty land,
And its great Pillars of Hercules,
Above the shifting sand
I here behold in majesty
Uprising on each hand.
These Pillars of our history,
In fame forever young,
Are known in every latitude
And named in every tongue,
And down through all the Ages
Their story shall be sung.
The Father of his Country
Stands above that shut-in sea,
A glorious symbol to the world
Of all that's great and free;
And to-day Virginia matches him--
And matches him with Lee.
FOOTNOTE:
[32] By permission of Mrs. Jane Barren Hope Marr.
JAMES WOOD DAVIDSON.
~1829=----.~
JAMES WOOD DAVIDSON was born in Newberry County, South Carolina, and
educated at South Carolina College, Columbia. He taught at Winnsboro
and at Columbia until the opening of the war, when he enlisted as a
volunteer in the Army of Northern Virginia, and served throughout the
great struggle. After the war he taught again in Columbia till 1871.
Then he removed to Washington and in 1873 to New York, where he
engaged in literary and journalistic work. He has also lived in
Florida and represented Dade County in the State Legislature. He is
now living in Washington City.
WORKS.
Living Writers of the South, (1869).
The Correspondent.
Poetry of the Future.
Dictionary of Southern Authors, [unfinished].
School History of South Carolina.
Bell of Doom, [a poem].
Florida of To-day.
Helen of Troy, [a romance of ancient Greece; unfinished.]
Dr. Davidson's "Living Writers of the South" has made his name well
known as a critic and student of literature, and his labors in behalf
of Southern letters entitle him to high regard.
THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE POETICAL.
(_From Poetry of the Future._[33])
The relation between the Beautiful and Beauty on the one hand, and the
Poetical and Poetry on the other, has generally been seen, when seen
at all, vaguely; that is to say, seen as the Beautiful and the
Poetical themselves have been seen--"in a mirror darkly." This
indistinctness seems to have grown out of the faulty views of nature
taken by the speculators. . . . . . . . . . In brief, then, Nature is
an effect--a product--of a Power lying behind or above it; and it
stands, accordingly, to that Power in the relation of an effect to a
cause. That cause we shall describe as Spiritual; the effect, as
Natural. The Natural, or Nature, is the material Universe embracing
the three kingdoms, known as mineral, vegetable, and animal. . . . .
Such being the case, everything in nature is a correspondent of some
thing--is expressive of and consequently representative and
exponential of something--above it or behind it; and that something is
an idea--a thing not material. It follows, then, that every object in
nature has real character in itself as a representative of an idea;
just as, say, an anchor is representative of hope, a heart, of love,
an olive branch, of peace, and a ring, of marriage. . .
We next come to consider the percipient mind. Men's minds have limited
and imperfect faculties and capabilities. That which is good, or true,
or beautiful, to one mind can hardly be the same in the same way and
degree to any other mind. It is true--as some writers have stated, but
none seems willing to push the propositions to their legitimate
conclusions--that the Good and the Beautiful are true, the Beautiful
and the True are good, and the True and the Good are beautiful. We
wish to accept the propositions in their most comprehensive scope and
with all their legitimate consequences.
Let us note, at this point, the fact, obvious enough but generally
overlooked, that in perception the result depends far more upon the
percipient mind than upon the object perceived. To a ploughboy, a
pebble is an insignificant thing, suggestive possibly of some
discomfort in walking, and fit only to shy at a bird, may be; but to
the geologist it appears worthy a volume, and speaks to him of strata
may be a million of years old, of glacial attrition, of volcanic
action, of chemical constituents, of mineralogical principles, and
crystallogenic attraction, of mathematical laws and geometric angles,
and of future geognostic changes. That is to say, the pebble contracts
and expands, as it were, with the faculties and the prejudices of the
person--of the mind--that sees it.
Or, again: The crescent moon is visible in the clear sky. _A_ sees a
bright convenience which enables him to walk better--not so good a
light as the full moon would be, but valuable as far as it goes. _B_
sees a lovely luminary to light him to his lady-love, a hallowed eye
half shut that watches with protecting radiance over her slumbers. _C_
reckons the intervening 238,000 miles, its diameter of 2,162.3 miles,
and his mind busies itself with orbits, radii, ellipses, eclipses,
azimuth, parallax, sidereal periods, satellitic inclinations, and
synodic revolutions. _D_, with a turn for symbols and history, sees in
it something of the "ornaments like the moon" that Gideon captured
from the Sheikhs Zebah and Zalmunna, something of Byzantine siege,
Ottoman ensign, the Crusades, the Knighthood of Selim, the battle of
Tours, and the city of New Orleans. . . . . . . . .
The Beautiful . . . . is a relation between the man that sees and the
object seen. A perfectly harmonious relation brings perfect beauty.
The Poetical . . . . is the beautiful; and this may be expressed
either in prose or in poetry. . . . . . . . . .
Poetry, more closely defined, is the poetical expressed in rhythmical
language.
FOOTNOTE:
[33] By permission of the author.
CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR.
~1831=1893.~
CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR., was born at Savannah, Georgia, and made
his literary fame by special study of the history of Georgia and the
life of the Southern Indians. He was by profession a lawyer, was
colonel of artillery in the Confederate Army, and from 1865 to 1877
lived and practised law in New York City. Since 1877 his home was
"Montrose" near Augusta, Georgia, where he left a fine library and
large collections of Indian curiosities and of portraits and
autographs. His style is full and flowing, and the following list
shows his great activity with his pen.
WORKS.
Indian Remains in Southern Georgia.
Ancient Tumuli and Structures in Georgia.
Dead Towns of Georgia.
Last Days of Gen. Henry Lee.
Life, Labors, and Neglected Grave of Richard Henry Wilde.
Negro Myths from the Georgia Coast.
Histories of Savannah and Augusta.
English Colonization of Georgia.
_Edited_ his father's works.
History of Georgia.
Sketch of Tomo-chi-chi.
Antiquities of the Southern Indians.
Life of Jasper: of Tatnall: of De Soto: of Purry: of Jenkins: of
Habersham: of Gen. Robert Toombs: of Elbert: of John Percival.
Addresses to Confederate Association, and Historical Society, and
on Greene, Pulaski, Stephens.
Colonel Jones is the most prolific author that Georgia has produced
and his works place him at the head of her historical writers.
SALZBURGER SETTLEMENT IN GEORGIA.
(_From History of Georgia._[34])
During the four years commencing in 1729 and ending in 1732, more than
thirty thousand Salzburgers, impelled by the fierce persecutions of
Leopold, abandoned their homes in the broad valley of the Salza, and
sought refuge in Prussia, Holland, and England, where their past
sufferings and present wants enlisted the profound sympathy of
Protestant communities. In the public indignation engendered by their
unjustifiable and inhuman treatment, and in the general desire to
alleviate their sufferings, Oglethorpe and the trustees fully shared.
An asylum in Georgia was offered.
. . . . . . .
Forty-two men with their families, numbering in all seventy-eight
souls, set out on foot for Rotterdam. They came from the town of
Berchtolsgaden and its vicinity. . . . On the 2d of December they
embarked for England. On the 8th of January, 1734 (O. S.), having a
favorable wind, they departed in the ship _Purisburg_ for Savannah.
. . . . . . .
. . . Upon the return of Mr. Oglethorpe and the commissary, Baron Von
Reck, [sent to examine the site of the new colony] to Savannah, nine
able-bodied Salzburgers were dispatched, by the way of Abercorn, to
Ebenezer, to cut down trees and erect shelters for the new colonists.
On the 7th of April the rest of the emigrants arrived, and, with the
blessing of the good Mr. Bolzius, entered at once upon the task of
clearing land, constructing bridges, building shanties, and preparing
a road-way to Abercorn. Wild honey found in a hollow tree greatly
refreshed them, and parrots and partridges made them "a very good
dish." Upon the sandy soil they fixed their hopes for a generous yield
of peas and potatoes. To the "black, fat, and heavy" land they looked
for all sorts of corn. From the clayey soil they purposed
manufacturing bricks and earthenware.
On the first of May lots were drawn upon which houses were to be
erected in the town of Ebenezer. The day following, the hearts of the
people were rejoiced by the coming of ten cows and calves,--sent as a
present from the magistrates of Savannah in obedience to Mr.
Oglethorpe's orders. Ten casks "full of all Sorts of Seeds" arriving
from Savannah set these pious people to praising God for all his
loving kindnesses. Commiserating their poverty, the Indians gave them
deer, and their English neighbors taught them how to brew a sort of
beer made of molasses, sassafras, and pine tops. Poor Lackner dying,
by common consent the little money he left was made the "Beginning of
a Box for the Poor." . . . . . . . . By appointment, Monday, the 13th
of May, was observed by the congregation as a season of
thanksgiving. . . . .
Of the town of Savannah, the Baron Von Reck favors us with the
following impressions: "I went to view this rising Town, _Savannah_,
seated upon the Banks of a River of the same Name. The Town is
regularly laid out, divided into four Wards, in each of which is left
a spacious Square for holding of Markets and other publick Uses. The
Streets are all straight, and the Houses are all of the same Model and
Dimensions, and well contrived for Conveniency. For the Time it has
been built it is very populous, and its Inhabitants are all White
People. And indeed the Blessing of God seems to have gone along with
this Undertaking, for here we see Industry honored and Justice
strictly executed, and Luxury and Idleness banished from this happy
Place where Plenty and Brotherly Love seem to make their Abode, and
where the good Order of a Nightly Watch restrains the Disorderly and
makes the Inhabitants sleep secure in the midst of a Wilderness.
"There is laid out near the Town, by order of the Trustees, a Garden
for making Experiments for the Improving Botany and Agriculture; it
contains 10 Acres and lies upon the River; and it is cleared and
brought into such Order that there is already a fine Nursery of
Oranges, Olives, white Mulberries, Figs, Peaches, and many curious
Herbs: besides which there are Cabbages, Peas, and other European
Pulse and Plants which all thrive. Within the Garden there is an
artificial Hill, said by the Indians to be raised over the Body of one
of their ancient Emperors.
"I had like to have forgot one of the best Regulations made by the
Trustees for the Government of the Town of _Savannah_. I mean the
utter Prohibition of the Use of Rum, that flattering but deceitful
Liquor which has been found equally pernicious to the Natives and new
Comers, which seldoms fails by Sickness or Death to draw after it its
own Punishment."
FOOTNOTE:
[34] By permission of Mr. Charles Edgeworth Jones.
MARY VIRGINIA TERHUNE.
~ca. 1831=----.~
[Illustration: ~Mary Washington Monument, Fredericksburg, Va.~]
MRS. TERHUNE, better known as "Marion Harland," was born in Amelia
County, Virginia, where her father, Samuel P. Hawes, a merchant from
Massachusetts, had made his home. She began writing at the early age of
fourteen. In 1856, she was married to Rev. E. P. Terhune and since 1859
has lived in the North. Her novels, dealing chiefly with Southern life,
are very popular and have made her well known North and South. "The
Story of Mary Washington" was written in order to aid the enterprise for
a monument to the mother of Washington, which was happily consummated
May 10, 1894, by its unveiling at Fredericksburg, on which occasion
Mrs. Terhune was present, an honored guest.
WORKS.
Alone.
Moss Side.
Nemesis.
Husbands and Homes.
Helen Gardner's Wedding-Day.
Ruby's Husband.
At Last.
Empty Heart.
Judith, a Chronicle of Old Virginia.
Hidden Path.
Miriam.
Husks.
Sunnybank.
Christmas Holly.
Phemie's Temptation.
Common Sense in the Household.
Eve's Daughters.
A Gallant Fight.
Story of Mary Washington.
LETTER DESCRIBING MARY [BALL] WASHINGTON WHEN A YOUNG GIRL.
(_From Story of Mary Washington._[35])
"WMSBURG, _ye 7th of Octr, 1722_.
"_Dear Sukey_, Madam Ball of Lancaster and Her Sweet Molly have gone
Hom. Mamma thinks Molly the Comliest Maiden She Knows. She is about 16
yrs old, is taller than Me, is very Sensable, Modest and Loving. Her
Hair is like unto Flax, Her Eyes are the color of Yours, and her
Chekes are like May blossoms. I wish you could see her."
We do seem to see her in lingering over the portrait done in miniature
in colors that are fresh to this day. It is, as if in exploring a
catacomb, we had happened upon a fair chamber adorned with a frescoed
portrait of a girl-princess of a legendary age. Romancist and
biographer are one as we study the picture line by line. The brush was
dipped in the limner's heart and wrought passing well.
MADAM WASHINGTON AT THE PEACE BALL.
(_From the Same._)
Her only public appearance as the hero's mother was at the Peace Ball
given in Fredericksburg during the visit of Washington to that town.
With all her majestic self-command, she did not disguise the pleasure
with which she received the special request of the managers that she
would honor the occasion with her presence. There was even a happy
flutter in the playful rejoinder that "her dancing days were pretty
well over, but that if her coming would contribute to the general
pleasure she would attend."
. . . A path was opened from the foot to the top of the hall as they
appeared in the doorway, and "every head was bowed in reverence." It
must have been the proudest moment of her life, but she bore herself
with perfect composure then, and after her son, seating her in an
armchair upon the daïs reserved for distinguished guests, faced the
crowd in prideful expectancy that all his friends would seek to know
his mother. She had entered the hall at eight o'clock, and for two
hours held court, the most distinguished people there pressing eagerly
forward to be presented to her. . . . From her slightly elevated
position, she could, without rising, overlook the floor, and watched
with quiet pleasure the dancers, among them the kingly figure of the
Commander-in-Chief, who led a Fredericksburg matron through a minuet.
At ten o'clock, she signed to him to approach, and rose to take his
arm, saying in her clear soft voice, "Come, George, it is time for old
folks to be at home." Smiling a good-night to all, she walked down the
room, as erect in form and as steady in gait as any dancer there.
One of the French officers exclaimed aloud, as she disappeared:
"If such are the matrons of America, she may well boast of illustrious
sons!" . . . . .
Lafayette's report of his interview to his friends at Mt. Vernon was:
"I have seen the only Roman matron living at this day!"
FOOTNOTE:
[35] By permission of author and publishers, Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
Boston.
AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON.
~1835=----.~
MRS. WILSON was born at Columbus, Georgia, but early removed to
Mobile, Alabama. Her first novel was "Inez: a Tale of the Alamo,"
published in 1855. She was married to Mr. L. M. Wilson of Mobile in
1868, and they had a delightful suburban home at Spring Hill. Since
Mr. Wilson's death, she resides in Mobile. Her novels, especially "St.
Elmo," have made a great sensation in the reading world: they evince
great ability and learning. See Miss Rutherford's "American Authors."
WORKS.
Inez: a Tale of the Alamo.
Macaria.
Vashti.
At the Mercy of Tiberius.
Beulah.
St. Elmo.
Infelice.
"_St. Elmo_ contains a description of that marvel of oriental
architecture, the Taj Mahal at Agra in India,--a marble tomb erected
to perpetuate the name of Noormahal, whom Tom Moore has immortalized
in his 'Lalla Rookh.' A recent traveller visiting Agra in 1891 writes
that he was surprised to find a Parsee boy almost in the shadow of the
Taj Mahal reading a copy of the London edition of Mrs. Wilson's
_Vashti_. . . . Her style has been severely criticised as pedantic,
but certainly this charge may with equal justice be brought against
George Meredith, Bulwer, and George Eliot, and it is well established
that Mrs. Wilson's books have in many instances stimulated her young
readers to study history, mythology, and the sciences, from which she
so frequently draws her illustrations."--Miss Rutherford.
A LEARNED AND INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
(_From St. Elmo._[36])
Edna had risen to leave the room when the master of the house entered,
but at his request resumed her seat and continued reading.
After searching the shelves unavailingly, he glanced over his shoulder
and asked:
"Have you seen my copy of De Guérin's Centaur anywhere about the
house? I had it a week ago."
"I beg your pardon, sir, for causing such a fruitless search; here is
the book. I picked it up on the front steps where you were reading a
few evenings since, and it opened at a passage that attracted my
attention."
She closed the volume and held it toward him, but he waved it back.
"Keep it if it interests you. I have read it once, and merely wished
to refer to a particular passage. Can you guess what sentence most
frequently recurs to me? If so, read it to me."
He drew a chair close to the hearth and lighted his cigar.
Hesitatingly Edna turned the leaves.
"I am afraid, sir, that my selection will displease you."
"I will risk it, as, notwithstanding your flattering opinion to the
contrary, I am not altogether so unreasonable as to take offense at a
compliance with my own request."
Still she shrank from the task he imposed, and her fingers toyed with
the scarlet fuchsias; but after eyeing her for a while, he leaned
forward and pushed the glass bowl beyond her reach.
"Edna, I am waiting."
"Well, then, Mr. Murray, I should think that these two passages would
impress you with peculiar force."
Raising the book, she read with much emphasis:
"'Thou pursuest after wisdom, O Melampus! which is the science of the
will of the gods; _and thou roamest from people to people, like a
mortal driven by the destinies_. In the times when I kept my
night-watches before the caverns, I have sometimes believed that I was
about to surprise the thoughts of the sleeping Cybele, and that the
mother of the gods, betrayed by her dreams, would let fall some of her
secrets. But I have never yet made out more than sounds which faded
away in the murmur of night, or words inarticulate as the bubbling of
the rivers.' . . . 'Seekest thou to know the gods, O Macareus! and
from what source, men, animals, and elements of the universal fire
have their origin? The aged ocean, the father of all things, keeps
locked within his own breast these secrets; and the nymphs who stand
around sing as they weave their eternal dance before him, to cover any
sound which might escape from his lips, half opened by slumber.
Mortals dear to the gods for their virtue have received from their
hands lyres to give delight to man, or the seeds of new plants to make
him rich, but from their inexorable lips--nothing!'
"Mr. Murray, am I correct in my conjecture?"
"Quite correct," he answered, smiling grimly.
Taking the book from her hand he threw it on the table, and tossed his
cigar into the grate, adding in a defiant, challenging tone:
"The mantle of Solomon did not fall at Le Cayla on the shoulders of
Maurice de Guérin. After all he was a wretched hypochondriac, and a
tinge of _le cahier vert_ doubtless crept into his eyes."
"Do you forget, sir, that he said, 'When one is a wanderer, one feels
that one fulfils the true condition of humanity?' and that among his
last words are these, 'The stream of travel is full of delight. Oh!
who will set me adrift on this Nile?'"
"Pardon me if I remind you, _par parenthèse_, of the preliminary and
courteous _En garde!_ which should be pronounced before a thrust. De
Guérin felt starved in Languedoc, and no wonder! But had he penetrated
every nook and cranny of the habitable globe, and traversed the vast
zaarahs which science accords the universe, he would have died at last
as hungry as Ugolino. I speak advisedly; for the true Io gad-fly,
_ennui_, has stung me from hemisphere to hemisphere, across
tempestuous oceans, scorching deserts, and icy mountain ranges. I have
faced alike the bourrans of the steppes, and the Samieli of Shamo, and
the result of my vandal life is best epitomized in those grand but
grim words of Bossuet: '_On trouve au fond du tout le vide et le
néant!_' Nineteen years ago, to satisfy my hunger, I set out to hunt
the daintiest food this world could furnish, and, like other fools,
have learned finally, that life is but a huge mellow golden Ösher,
that mockingly sifts its bitter dust upon our eager lips. Ah! truly,
_on trouve au fond du tout le vide et le néant_!"
"Mr. Murray, if you insist upon your bitter Ösher simile, why shut
your eyes to the palpable analogy suggested? Naturalists assert that
the Solanum, or apple of Sodom, contains in its normal state neither
dust nor ashes; unless it is punctured by an insect, (the Tenthredo),
which converts the whole of the inside into dust, leaving nothing but
the rind entire, without any loss of color. Human life is as fair and
tempting as the fruit of 'Ain Jidy,' till stung and poisoned by the
Tenthredo of sin."
All conceivable _suaviter in modo_ characterized his mocking
countenance and tone, as he inclined his haughty head and asked:
"Will you favor me by lifting on the point of your dissecting knife
this stinging sin of mine to which you refer? The noxious brood swarm
so teasingly about my ears that they deprive me of your cool, clear,
philosophic discrimination. Which particular Tenthredo of the buzzing
swarm around my spoiled apple of life would you advise me to select
for my _anathema maranatha_?"
"Of your history, sir, I am entirely ignorant; and even if I were not,
I should not presume to levy a tax upon it in discussions with you;
for, however vulnerable you may possibly be, I regard an _argumentum
ad hominem_ as the weakest weapon in the armory of dialectics--a
weapon too often dipped in the venom of personal malevolence. I merely
gave expression to my belief that miserable useless lives are sinful
lives." . . .
FOOTNOTE:
[36] By permission of the author, and of the publisher, G. W.
Dillingham, N. Y.
DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS.
~1836=----.~
DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS is a native of Charlestown, West Virginia, and
has reputation as a lawyer, orator, and judge. He was a soldier in the
Confederate Army and wrote his fine and best known poem, "The Land
Where We Were Dreaming," in 1865. He has served in the State
Legislature. His sister was also a poet and her verses are included in
the "Wreath of Eglantine."
WORKS.
Memoir of John Yates Bell.
Maid of Northumberland.
Ballads and Madrigals.
Wreath of Eglantine, and other Poems.
THE LAND WHERE WE WERE DREAMING.
(_From The Land We Love._[37])
Fair were our nation's visions, and as grand
As ever floated out of fancy-land;
Children were we in simple faith,
But god like children, whom nor death
Nor threat of danger drove from honor's path--
In the land where we were dreaming.
Proud were our men as pride of birth could render,
As violets our women pure and tender;
And when they spoke, their voices' thrill
At evening hushed the whip poor-will,
At morn the mocking bird was mute and still,
In the land where we were dreaming.
And we had graves that covered more of glory
Than ever taxed the lips of ancient story;
And in our dream we wove the thread
Of principles for which had bled
And suffered long our own immortal dead,
In the land where we were dreaming.
. . . . . . .
Our sleep grew troubled, and our dreams grew wild;
Red meteors flashed across our heaven's field,
Crimson the moon, between the Twins
Barbed arrows flew in circling lanes
Of light, red comets tossed their fiery manes
O'er the land where we were dreaming.
. . . . . . .
A figure came among us as we slept--
At first he knelt, then slowly rose and wept;
Then gathering up a thousand spears,
He swept across the field of Mars,
Then bowed farewell, and walked among the start,
From the land where we were dreaming.
[Illustration: [Handwriting: T. J. Jackson, LtGnrl.]]
We looked again--another figure still
Gave hope, and nerved each individual will;
Erect he stood, as clothed with power,
Self-poised, he seemed to rule the hour
With firm, majestic sway--of strength a tower--
In the land where we were dreaming.
As, while great Jove, in bronze, a warder god,
Gazed eastward from the Forum where he stood,
Rome felt herself secure and free--
So, Richmond! we on guard for thee,
Beheld a bronzèd hero, god-like Lee,
In the land where we were dreaming.
. . . . . . .
Woe! woe is us! the startled mothers cried;
While we have slept, our noble sons have died.
Woe! woe is us! how strange and sad,
That all our glorious visions fled
Have left us nothing real but our dead
In the land where we were dreaming.
"And are they really dead, our martyred slain?"
No, dreamers! Morn shall bid them rise again
From every plain, from every height
On which they seemed to die for right;
Their gallant spirits shall renew the fight
In the land where we were dreaming.
. . . . . . .
FOOTNOTE:
[37] By permission of the author.
JAMES RYDER RANDALL.
~1839=----.~
JAMES RYDER RANDALL was born in Baltimore, and his fame rests upon his
stirring war-song, "Maryland, my Maryland," which has been called the
"Marseillaise of the Confederacy." It was written in 1861 and set by
Mrs. Burton Harrison to the tune of the old college song "Lauriger
Horatius," on the wings of which it quickly flew all over the South.
His profession is that of an editor, and his delicate health has
compelled his residence in a warmer latitude than his native city, in
Louisiana and Georgia.
WORKS.
Fugitive Poems:
Maryland, My Maryland,
Sole Sentry,
Arlington,
Cameo Bracelet, and others.
MY MARYLAND.
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle-queen of yore,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
Maryland!
My Mother-State, to thee I kneel,
Maryland!
For life and death, for woe and weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,
And all thy slumberers with the just,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain,--
"_Sic semper!_" 'tis the proud refrain,
That baffles minions back amain,
Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
Maryland!
Come to thine own heroic throng
Walking with Liberty along,
And chant thy dauntless slogan-song,
Maryland, my Maryland!
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,
Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek,
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll,
Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the soul,
Maryland, my Maryland!
I hear the distant thunder hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb;
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum,--
She breathes! She burns! She'll come! She'll Come!
Maryland, my Maryland!
Written 1861.
ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN.
~1839=1886.~
FATHER RYAN, "the poet-priest," was born in Norfolk, Virginia, but
passed most of his life farther south. He lived in New Orleans,
Knoxville, Augusta, and Mobile. His death occurred in Louisville,
Kentucky. His patriotic poems are among the best known and most
admired that the South has produced; his religious poems evince a sad
view of human life together with an exalted adoration of the Divine
Will.
WORKS.
Poems.
Life of Christ, [unfinished].
Some Aspects of Modern Civilization, [a lecture].
To our great regret, we have not been permitted by the publishers to
copy any of Father Ryan's poems. Every one is familiar with his
"Conquered Banner," and "Sword of Lee"; the "Song of the Mystic" is
one of his most beautiful productions.
WILLIAM GORDON McCABE.
~1841=----.~
WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE was born near Richmond, and educated at the
University of Virginia. He was a captain in the Confederate service;
and since the war he has had at Petersburg one of the best schools
preparatory to the University. He is a poet, and has also edited
several Latin authors for school use.
WORKS.
Ballads of Battle and Bravery.
Defence of Petersburg.
DREAMING IN THE TRENCHES.[38]
I picture her there in the quaint old room,
Where the fading fire-light starts and falls,
Alone in the twilight's tender gloom
With the shadows that dance on the dim-lit walls.
Alone, while those faces look silently down
From their antique frames in a grim repose--
Slight scholarly Ralph in his Oxford gown,
And stanch Sir Alan, who died for Montrose.
There are gallants gay in crimson and gold,
There are smiling beauties with powdered hair,
But she sits there, fairer a thousand-fold,
Leaning dreamily back in her low arm-chair.
And the roseate shadows of fading light
Softly clear steal over the sweet young face,
Where a woman's tenderness blends to-night
With the guileless pride of a haughty race.
Her hands lie clasped in a listless way
On the old _Romance_--which she holds on her knee--
_Of Tristram_, the bravest of knights in the fray,
_And Iseult_, who waits by the sounding sea.
And her proud, dark eyes wear a softened look
As she watches the dying embers fall--
Perhaps she dreams of the knight in the book,
Perhaps of the pictures that smile on the wall.
What fancies I wonder are thronging her brain,
For her cheeks flush warm with a crimson glow!
Perhaps--ah! me, how foolish and vain!
But I'd give my life to believe it so!
Well, whether I ever march home again
To offer my love and a stainless name,
Or whether I die at the head of my men,--
I'll be true to the end all the same.
_Petersburg Trenches, 1864._
FOOTNOTE:
[38] By permission of the author.
SIDNEY LANIER.
~1842=1881.~
SIDNEY LANIER was born in Macon, Georgia, descended from a line of
artist ancestors, through whom he inherited great musical ability. He
was educated at Oglethorpe College, being graduated in 1860. He and
his brother Clifford entered the Confederate Army together in 1861 and
served through the war; but the exposure and hardships and
imprisonment developed consumption which finally caused his death.
After the war he lived for two years in Alabama as a clerk and a
teacher; but his health failed and he was forced to return home where
he practised law with his father till 1873. Then deciding to devote
himself to music and poetry, he went to Baltimore where he was engaged
as first flute in the Peabody Symphony Concerts and in 1879 as
lecturer on English Literature in Johns Hopkins University. His dread
disease never relaxed and he was often obliged to quit work and go to
Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania in search of
strength. His death occurred at Lynn, Polk County, North Carolina, on
his last quest for strength and life with which to continue the work
he so much loved.
His "Science of English Verse" is said to be a new and valuable
addition to the study of poetry. His poems belong to the new order of
thought and life. His "Tiger-Lilies" is a prose-poem, written in three
weeks just after the war and laid in the mountains of Tennessee and on
the eastern shore of Virginia where he was stationed. "Beauty is
holiness, and holiness is beauty," was his favorite remark on the
subject of Art. His work and influence are growing in importance in
the regard of students.
In 1876 he was invited to write the poem for the Centennial
Exposition; and the "Meditation of Columbia," composed with the
musical expression always in mind,--and so too it should be read,--was
the grand Ode that graced the opening day at Philadelphia. See under
_Waitman Barbe_.
WORKS.
POEMS:
Edited by his wife, Mary Day Lanier, with a Memorial by William Hayes
Ward.
Tiger Lilies, [novel].
Florida: its Scenery, Climate, and History.
English Novel and Principles of Its Development.
Science of English Verse.
Boy's Froissart.
Boy's King Arthur.
Boy's Mabinogion.
Boy's Percy.
SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE.
(_From Poems._[39])
Out of the hills of Habersham,
Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain,
Run the rapid and leap the fall,
Split at the rock and together again,
Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,
And flee from folly on every side
With a lover's pain to attain the plain
Far from the hills of Habersham,
Far from the valleys of Hall.
All down the hills of Habersham,
All though the valleys of Hall,
The rushes cried, _Abide, abide_,
The willful waterweeds held me thrall,
The laving laurel turned my tide,
The ferns and the fondling grass said _Stay_,
The dewberry dipped for to work delay,
And the little reeds sighed _Abide, abide,
Here in the hills of Habersham,
Here in the valleys of Hall_.
High o'er the hills of Habersham,
Veiling the valleys of Hall,
The hickory told me manifold
Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall
Wrought me her shadowy self to hold,
The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,
Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,
Said, _Pass not, so cold, these manifold
Deep shades of the hills of Habersham,
These glades in the valleys of Hall_.
And oft in the hills of Habersham,
And oft in the valleys of Hall,
The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous jewel lone,
--Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,
Ruby, garnet, and amethyst--
Made lures with the lights of streaming stone
In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,
In the beds of the valleys of Hall.
But oh, not the hills of Habersham,
And oh, not the valleys of Hall
Avail: I am fain for to water the plain,
Downward the voices of Duty call--
Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main,
The dry fields burn, and the mills are to turn,
And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,
And the lordly main from beyond the plain
Calls o'er the hills of Habersham,
Calls through the valleys of Hall.
1877.
WHAT IS MUSIC?
Music is Love in search of a word.
THE TIDE RISING IN THE MARSHES.
(_From The Marshes of Glynn._[40])
Ye marshes, how candid and simple and nothing-withholding and free
Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer yourselves to the sea!
Tolerant plains, that suffer the sea and the rains and the sun,
Ye spread and span like the catholic man who hath mightily won
God out of knowledge and good out of infinite pain
And sight out of blindness and purity out of a stain.
As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod,
Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God;
I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh-hen flies
In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and the skies:
By so many roots as the marsh-grass sends in the sod
I will heartily lay me a-hold on the greatness of God:
Oh, like to the greatness of God is the greatness within
The range of the marshes, the liberal marshes of Glynn.
And the sea lends large, as the marsh: and lo, out of his plenty,
the sea
Pours fast: full soon the time of the flood-tide must be:
Look how the grace of the sea doth go
About and about through the intricate channels that flow
Here and there,
Everywhere,
Till his waters have flooded the uttermost creeks and the low-lying
lanes,
And the marsh is meshed with a million veins,
That like as with rosy and silvery essences flow
In the rose-and-silver evening glow.
Farewell, my lord Sun!
The creeks overflow: a thousand rivulets run
'Twixt the roots of the sod; the blades of the marsh-grass stir;
Passeth a hurrying sound of wings that westward whirr;
Passeth, and all is still; and the currents cease to run;
And the sea and the marsh are one.
How still the plains of the waters be!
The tide is in his ecstasy.
The tide is at his highest height:
And it is night.
And now from the Vast of the Lord will the waters of sleep
Roll in on the souls of men,
But who will reveal to our waking ken
The forms that swim and the shapes that creep
Under the waters of sleep?
And I would I could know what swimmeth below when the tide comes in
On the length and the breadth of the marvellous marshes of Glynn.
1878.
FOOTNOTES:
[39] By permission of Mrs. Lanier, and Charles Scribner's Sons, N. Y.
[40] By permission of Mrs. Lanier, and Charles Scribner's Sons, N. Y.
JAMES LANE ALLEN.
JAMES LANE ALLEN is one of the best and most successful of the living
writers of the South. He is a Kentuckian, and his sketches and stories
have so far all dealt with life in his native State.
WORKS.
Life in the Blue Grass.
White Cowl.
Flute and Violin, and other stories.
John Gray.
Sister Dolorosa.
A Kentucky Cardinal (1895).
SPORTS OF A KENTUCKY SCHOOL IN 1795.
(_From John Gray, a Kentucky Tale of the Olden Time._[41])
A strange mixture of human life there was in Gray's school. There were
the native little Kentuckians, born in the wilderness--the first wild,
hardy generation of new people; and there were the little folk from
Virginia, from Tennessee, from North Carolina, and from Pennsylvania
and other sources, huddled together, some rude, some gentle, and
starting out now to be formed into the men and women of the Kentucky
that was to be.
They had their strange, sad, heroic games and pastimes, those
primitive children under his guidance. Two little girls would be
driving the cows home about dusk; three little boys would play Indian
and capture them and carry them off; the husbands of the little girls
would form a party to the rescue; the prisoners would drop pieces of
their dresses along the way; and then at a certain point of the
woods--it being the dead of night now, and the little girls being
bound to a tree, and the Indians having fallen asleep beside their
smouldering camp-fires--the rescuers would rush in, and there would be
whoops and shrieks, and the taking of scalps, and a happy return.
Or, some settlement would be shut up in a fort besieged. Days would
pass. The only water was a spring outside the walls, and around this
the enemy skulked in the corn and grass. But the warriors must not
perish of thirst. So, with a prayer, a tear, a final embrace, the
little women marched out through the gates to the spring, in the very
teeth of death, and brought back water in their wooden dinner-buckets.
Or, when the boys would become men with contests of running, and
pitching quoits, and wrestling, the girls would play wives and have a
quilting in a house of green alder-bushes, or be capped and wrinkled
grandmothers sitting beside imaginary spinning-wheels and smoking
imaginary pipes.
Sometimes it was not Indian warfare, but civil strife. For one morning
as many as three Daniel Boones appeared on the playground at the same
moment; and at once there was a fierce battle to ascertain which was
the genuine Daniel. This being decided, the spurious Daniels submitted
to be the one Simon Kenton, the other General George Rogers Clarke.
This was to be a great day for what he called his class in history.
Thirteen years before, and forty miles away, had occurred the most
dreadful of all the battles--the disaster of the Blue Licks; and in
town were many mothers who yet wept for sons, widows who yet dreamed
of young husbands, fallen that beautiful August day beneath the oaks
and cedars, or floating down the red-dyed river.
It was this that he had promised to tell them at noon; and a little
after twelve o'clock he was standing with them on the bank of the Town
Fork, in order to give vividness to his description. This stream flows
unseen beneath the streets of the city [Lexington] now, and with
scarce current enough to wash out its grimy channels; but then it
flashed broad and clear through the long valley which formed the town
common--a valley of scattered houses with orchards and corn-fields and
patches of cane.
A fine poetic picture he formed as he stood there amid their eager
upturned faces, bare-headed under the cool brilliant sky of May, and
reciting to them, as a prose-minstrel of the wilderness, the deeds of
their fathers.
This Town Fork of the Elkhorn, he said, must represent the Licking
River. On that side were the Indians; on this, the pioneers, a crowd
of foot and horse. There stretched the ridge of rocks, made bare by
the stamping of the buffalo; here was the clay they licked for salt.
In that direction headed the two ravines in which Boone had feared an
ambuscade. And thus variously having made ready for battle, and
looking down for a moment into the eyes of a freckly impetuous little
soul who was the Hotspur of the playground, he repeated the cry of
McGary, which had been the signal for attack:
"Let all who are not cowards follow me!"
[Hereupon the soldiers plunged through the river, not seeing the
Indians nor even knowing where they were; and in a few minutes they
were attacked and completely routed by the Indians who were concealed
in the woods and ravines of the other bank, as Boone had feared.
Boone's son was killed, and he himself narrowly escaped by dashing
through one of the ravines and swimming the river lower down. The
slaughter in the river was great, and the pursuit was continued for
twenty miles. Never had Kentucky experienced so fatal a blow as that
at the Blue Licks.--L. M.]
FOOTNOTE:
[41] By permission of J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS.
~1848=----.~
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS was born in Eatonton, Georgia, and is a lawyer:
but he has devoted much time of late years to literature, and is now
one of the editors of the "Atlanta Constitution."
[Illustration: ~Arkansas Industrial University, Fayetteville,
Washington County, Ark.~]
His dialect stories of "Uncle Remus" are a faithful reproduction of
the popular tales of the old negroes of South Carolina, Georgia, and
Alabama; for the negro dialect varies in the different States. Mr.
Harris' books have made these tales known in England.
"On the Plantation" is said to be autobiographical; it is a story of a
boy's life during the war, well and simply told.
WORKS.
Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings.
Nights with Uncle Remus.
On the Plantation.
Little Mr. Thimblefinger.
Mingo, and other Sketches.
Free Joe, and other Georgian Sketches.
Daddy Jake, the Runaway, and Short Stories Told after Dark.
THE TAR-BABY.
(_From Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings._[42])
"Didn't the fox _never_ catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?" asked the
little boy the next evening.
"He come mighty nigh it, honey, sho's you bawn--Brer Fox did. One day
atter Brer Rabbit fool 'im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk
en got 'im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentine, en fix up a
contrapshun w'at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuk dish yer Tar-Baby en he
sot 'er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see w'at
de news wuz gwineter be. En he didn't hatter wait long, nudder, kaze
bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin' down de road--lippity-clippity,
clippity-lippity--dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low.
Brer Rabbit come prancin' 'long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he
fotch up on his behine legs like he wuz 'stonished. De Tar-Baby, she
sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"'Mawnin'!' says Brer Rabbit, sezee--'nice wedder dis mawnin',' sezee.
"Tar-Baby ain't sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"'How duz yo' sym'tums seem ter segashuate?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.
"Brer Fox, he wink his eye slow, en lay low, en de Tar-Baby, she ain't
sayin' nuthin'.
"'How you come on, den? Is you deaf?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Kaze if
you is, I kin holler louder,' sezee.
"Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"'Youer stuck up, dat's w'at you is,' says Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'en I'm
gwineter kyore you, dat's w'at I'm a gwineter do,' sezee.
"Brer Fox, he sorter chuckle in his stummuck, he did, but Tar-Baby
ain't sayin' nuthin'.
"'I'm gwineter larn you howter talk ter 'specttubble fokes ef hit's de
las' ack,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Ef you don't take off dat hat en
tell me howdy, I'm gwineter bus' you wide open,' sezee.
"Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"Brer Rabbit keep on axin' 'im, en de Tar-Baby, she keep on sayin'
nuthin', twel present'y Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis', he did, en
blip he tuck 'er side er de head. Right dar's where he broke his
merlasses jug. His fis' stuck, en he can't pull loose. De tar hilt
'im. But Tar-Baby, she stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"'Ef you don't lemme loose, I'll knock you agin,' sez Brer Rabbit,
sezee, en wid dat he fotch 'er a wipe wid de udder han', en dat stuck.
Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox, he lay low.
"'Tu'n me loose, fo' I kick de nat'al stuffin' outen you,' sez Brer
Rabbit, sezee, but de Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin'. She des hilt
on, en den Brer Rabbit lose de use er his feet in de same way. Brer
Fox, he lay low. Den Brer Rabbit squall out dat ef de Tar-Baby don't
tu'n 'im loose he butt 'er cranksided. En den he butted, en his head
got stuck. Den Brer Fox, he sa'ntered fort', lookin' dez ez innercent
ez wunner yo' mammy's mockin'-birds.
"'Howdy, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee. 'You look sorter stuck up
dis mawnin',' sezee, en den he rolled on de groun', en laft en laft
twel he couldn't laff no mo'. 'I speck you'll take dinner wid me dis
time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calamus root, en I ain't
gwineter take no skuse,' sez Brer Fox, sezee."
Here Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.
"Did the fox eat the rabbit?" asked the little boy to whom the story
had been told.
"Dat's all de fur de tale goes," replied the old man. "He mout, en den
agin he moutent. Some say Jedge B'ar come 'long en loosed 'im,--some
say he didn't. I hear Miss Sally callin'. You better run 'long."
FOOTNOTE:
[42] By permission of D. Appleton & Co, N. Y.
ROBERT BURNS WILSON.
~1850=----.~
ROBERT BURNS WILSON was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, but
removed early to Frankfort, Kentucky, where he devoted himself to
landscape painting. Some of his pictures attracted attention at the
New Orleans Exposition, 1884. His poems have appeared in magazines and
have been much admired for their musical flow of deep feeling and
fancy.
WORKS.
Life And Love: Poems.
FAIR DAUGHTER OF THE SUN.
(_From Life and Love._[43])
Hail! daughter of the sun!
White-robed and fair to see, where goest thou now
In haste from thy spiced garden? Hath thy brow,
Crowned with white blooms, begun
To grow a-weary of its flagrant wreath,
And do thy temples long to ache beneath
A gilded, iron crown?
Tak'st thou the glint of Mammon's glittering car
To be the gleam of some new-risen star--
Yond clamor, for renown?
Stay, lovely one, oh stay!
Within thy gates, love-garlanded, remain:
For love this Mammon seeks not, but for gain--
He is the same alway.
This god in burnished tinsel, as of old,
Cares for no music save of clinking gold--
All else to him is vain:
His heart is flint, his ears are dull as lead;
A crown of care he bringeth for thy head,
And for thy wrists a chain.
Bide thou, oh goddess, stay!
Even in the gateway turn! The orange tree
Keeps still her snowy wreath of love for thee;
The jasmine's starry spray
Still waves thee back: O South! thy glory lies
In thine own sacred fields. There shall arise
Thy day, which fadeth not:
There--patient hands shall fill thy cup with wine,
There--hearts devoted, make thy name divine,
Their own hard fate forgot.
DEDICATION.--SONNET.
TO ELIZABETH, MY MOTHER.
The green Virginian hills were blithe in May,
And we were plucking violets--thou and I.
A transient gladness flooded earth and sky;
Thy fading strength seemed to return that day,
And I was mad with hope that God would stay
Death's pale approach--Oh! all hath long passed by!
Long years! long years! and now, I well know why
Thine eyes, quick-filled with tears, were turned away.
First loved; first lost; my mother: time must still
Leave my soul's debt uncancelled. All that's best
In me and in my art is thine:--Me-seems
Even now, we walk afield. Through good and ill,
My sorrowing heart forgets not, and in dreams,
I see thee, in the sun-lands of the blest.
FOOTNOTE:
[43] By permission of the author, and publishers, the Cassell
Publishing Co., N. Y.
"CHRISTIAN REID."
FRANCES C. TIERNAN.
MRS. TIERNAN has written many novels of Southern life. She is a
daughter of Colonel Charles F. Fisher of Salisbury, North Carolina,
who was killed in the battle of Manassas. Her best known book, "The
Land of the Sky," describes a summer tour through the grand mountains
of her native State, taken before the railroads had penetrated them.
WORKS.
Valerie Aylmer.
Mabel Lee.
Nina's Atonement.
Carmen's Inheritance.
Hearts and Hands.
Land of the Sky.
Heart of Steel.
Summer Idyl.
Roslyn's Fortune.
Morton House.
Ebb Tide.
Daughter of Bohemia.
A Gentle Belle.
A Question of Honor.
After Many Days.
Bonny Kate.
Armine.
Miss Churchill.
Land of the Sun (1895).
[Illustration: ~Mt. Mitchell, N. C. Above the Clouds.~]
ASCENT OF MOUNT MITCHELL, BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA.
(_From The Land of the Sky._[44])
The sun is shining brightly, and his golden lances light up the depths
of the forest into which we enter--an enchanted world of far-reaching
greenness, the stillness of which is only broken by the voice of the
streams which come down the gorges of the mountain in leaping
cascades. Few things are more picturesque than the appearance of a
cavalcade like ours following in single file the winding path (not
road) that leads into the marvelous, mysterious wilderness. When the
ascent fairly begins, the path is often like the letter S, and one
commands a view of the entire line--of horsemen in slouched hats and
gray coats, of ladies in a variety of attire, with water-proof cloaks
serving as riding-skirts, and hats garlanded with forest wreaths and
grasses. The guide tramps steadily ahead, leading the pack-horse, and
we catch a glimpse of his face now and then as he turns to answer some
question addressed to him. . . . . . . .
"We wind up the side of the mountain like this for several miles,"
says Eric, "then we travel along a ridge for some distance, and
finally we ascend the peak formerly called the Black Dome, now Mount
Mitchell. The whole distance is about twelve miles, and the most of it
is steady climbing." . . . . . .
"And it was in this wilderness that Professor Mitchell lost his life
sixteen or seventeen years ago, was it not?" I ask.
"Yes, Burnett [the guide] was one of the men engaged in the search for
him. He will tell you all about it. . ."
The forest around us becomes wilder, greener, more luxuriant at every
step. . . . Presently, however, the aspect of our surroundings
changes. We leave this varied forest behind, and enter the region of
the balsam, from the dark color of which the mountain takes its name.
Above a certain line of elevation no trees are found save these
beautiful yet sombre firs. They grow to an immense height and stand so
thickly together that one marvels how any animal larger than a cat can
thread its way among their stems. Overhead the boughs interlock in a
canopy, making perpetual shade beneath. No shrubs of any kind are to
be found here--only beds of thick elastic moss, richer than the
richest velvet, and ferns in plumy profusion. . . . Dan Burnett leads
on, and presently we emerge on the largest and most beautiful of the
little prairies through which we have passed. This stretch of open
ground lies at the foot of the highest peak, the abrupt sides of which
rise in conical shape before us. It is here, Mr. Burnett tells us,
that the mountaineers who were searching for Professor Mitchell found
the first trace of the way he had taken.
"We had been searchin' from Friday to Tuesday," he says, "and on
Tuesday we was pretty nigh disheartened, when Wilson--an old hunter
from over in Yancey--said he hadn't no doubt the professor had tried
to go down to Caney Valley by a trail they two had followed thirteen
years afore, and which leads that way"--he points down into the dark
wilds below us. "Well, we looked along the edge of this here prairie
till we found a track. Wilson was right--he _had_ tried to go down to
Caney Valley. We follered his trail fur about four mile, and I was one
of them what found him at last."
"He had lost his way," says Eric. "I have seen the spot--they call it
Mitchell's Falls now--where he died. A stream of considerable size
plunges over a precipice of about forty feet into a basin fourteen
feet deep by as many wide. Into this he fell, probably at night."
"But how was it possible to bring a dead body up these steeps?" Sylvia
says, addressing Mr. Burnett.
"We brought it in a sheet slung to the top of stout poles," he
answers. "Then it were carried down to Asheville, and then brought up
again, and buried there"--he nods to the peak above us.
"In the warmth of their great friendship and admiration, people
thought that he ought to rest in the midst of the scenes he had
explored so fearlessly and loved so well," says Eric. . . . Before
long we gain the top, and the first object on which our eyes rest
is--the grave. . . . . . . .
Besides the grave, the summit is entirely bare.
The view is so immense that one is forced to regard it in sections.
Far to the north east lies Virginia, from which the long waving line
of the Blue Ridge comes, and passes directly under the Black, making a
point of junction, near which it towers into the steep Pinnacle and
stately Graybeard--so called from the white beard which it wears when
a frozen cloud has iced its rhododendrons. From our greater eminence
we overlook the Blue Ridge entirely, and see the country below
spreading into azure distance, with white spots which resolve
themselves through the glasses into villages, and mountains clearly
defined. The Linville range--through which the Linville River forces
its way in a gorge of wonderful grandeur--is in full view, with a
misty cloud lying on the surface of Table Rock, while the peculiar
form of the Hawk's Bill stands forth in marked relief. Beyond, blue
and limitless as the ocean, the undulating plain of the more level
country extends until it melts into the sky.
As the glance leaves this view, and, sweeping back over the Blue
Ridge, follows the main ledge of the Black, one begins to appreciate
the magnitude of this great mountain. For miles along its dark crest
appear a succession of cone-like peaks, and, as it sweeps around
westwardly, it divides into two great branches--one of which
terminates in the height on which we stand, while numerous spurs lead
off from its base; the other stretches southward, forming the splendid
chain of Craggy. At our feet lie the elevated counties of Yancey and
Mitchell, with their surfaces so unevenly mountainous that one wonders
how men could have been daring enough to think of making their homes
amid such wild scenes. . . . Beyond these counties stretches the chain
of the Unaka, running along the line of Tennessee, with the Roan
Mountain--famous for its extensive view over seven states--immediately
in our front. Through the passes and rugged chasms of this range, we
look across the entire valley of East Tennessee to where the blue
outlines of the Cumberland Mountains trend toward Kentucky, and we see
distinctly a marked depression which Eric says is Cumberland Gap.
Turning our gaze due westward, the view is, if possible, still more
grand. There the colossal masses of the Great Smoky stand, draped in a
mantle of clouds, while through Haywood and Transylvania, to the
borders of South Carolina, rise the peaks of the Balsam Mountains,
behind which are the Cullowhee and the Nantahala, with the Blue Ridge
making a majestic curve toward the point where Georgia touches the
Carolinas. . . . .
It is enough to sit and watch the inexpressible beauty of the vast
prospect us afternoon slowly wanes into evening. There is a sense of
isolation, of solemnity and majesty, in the scene which none of us are
likely to forget. So high are we elevated above the world that the
pure vault of ether over our heads seems nearer to us than the blue
rolling earth, with its wooded hills and smiling valleys below. No
sound comes up to us, no voice of water or note of bird breaks the
stillness. We are in the region of that eternal silence which wraps
the summits of the "everlasting hills." A repose that is full of awe
broods over this lofty peak, which still retains the last rays of the
sinking sun, while over the lower world twilight has fallen.
FOOTNOTE:
[44] By permission of the author, and publishers, D. Appleton & Co.,
N. Y.
HENRY WOODFEN GRADY.
~1851=1889.~
HENRY WOODFEN GRADY was born at Athens, Georgia, and educated at the
State University. He became an editor, and in 1880 purchased an
interest in the Atlanta "Constitution" on whose staff he remained till
his death. His articles, addresses, and editorials made his name well
known throughout the country, and contributed no little to the
development of Southern industries after the war. A monument has been
erected to him in Atlanta.
WORKS.
The New South, [a series of articles].
Editorials, addresses, &c.
THE SOUTH BEFORE THE WAR.
(_From The New South, 1889._[45])
[Illustration: ~Grady Monument, Atlanta, Ga.~]
_Master and Slave._--Perhaps no period of human history has been more
misjudged and less understood than the slaveholding era in the
South. Slavery as an institution cannot be defended; but its
administration was so nearly perfect among our forefathers as to
challenge and hold our loving respect. It is doubtful if the world has
seen a peasantry so happy and so well-to-do as the negro slaves in
America. The world was amazed at the fidelity with which these slaves
guarded, from 1861 to 1865, the homes and families of the masters who
were fighting with the army that barred their way to freedom. If
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" had portrayed the rule of slavery rather than the
rarest exception, not all the armies that went to the field could have
stayed the flood of rapine and arson and pillage that would have
started with the first gun of the civil war. Instead of that, witness
the miracle of the slave in loyalty to his master, closing the fetters
upon his own limbs--maintaining and defending the families of those
who fought against his freedom--and at night on the far-off
battle-field searching among the carnage for his young master, that he
might lift the dying head to his breast and bend to catch the last
words to the old folks at home, so wrestling the meantime in agony and
love that he would lay down his life in his master's stead.
History has no parallel to the faith kept by the negro in the South
during the war. Often five hundred negroes to a single white man, and
yet through these dusky throngs the women and children walked in
safety, and the unprotected homes rested in peace. Unmarshalled, the
black battalions moved patiently to the fields in the morning to feed
the armies their idleness would have starved, and at night gathered
anxiously at the "big house to hear the news from marster," though
conscious that his victory made their chains enduring. Everywhere
humble and kindly. The body-guard of the helpless. The rough companion
of the little ones. The observant friend. The silent sentry in his
lowly cabin. The shrewd counsellor. And when the dead came home, a
mourner at the open grave. A thousand torches would have disbanded
every Southern army, but not one was lighted. When the master, going
to a war in which slavery was involved, said to his slave, "I leave my
home and loved ones in your charge," the tenderness between man and
master stood disclosed.
The Northern man, dealing with casual servants, querulous, sensitive,
and lodged for a day in a sphere they resent, can hardly comprehend
the friendliness and sympathy that existed between the master and the
slave. He cannot understand how the negro stood in slavery days,
open-hearted and sympathetic, full of gossip and comradeship, the
companion of the hunt, frolic, furrow, and home, contented in the
kindly dependence that had been a habit of his blood, and never
lifting his eyes beyond the narrow horizon that shut him in with his
neighbors and friends. But this relation did exist in the days of
slavery. It was the rule of that _régime_. It has survived war, and
strife, and political campaigns in which the drum-beat inspired and
Federal bayonets fortified. It will never die until the last
slaveholder and slave has been gathered to rest. It is the glory of
our past in the South. It is the answer to abuse and slander. It is
the hope of our future.
_Ante-bellum Civilization._--The relations of the races in slavery
must be clearly understood to understand what has followed, and to
judge of what is yet to come. Not less important is it to have some
clear idea of the civilization of that period.
That was a peculiar society. Almost feudal in its splendor, it was
almost patriarchal in its simplicity. Leisure and wealth gave it
exquisite culture. Its wives and mothers, exempt from drudgery, and
almost from care, gave to their sons, through patient and constant
training, something of their own grace and gentleness and to their
homes beauty and light. Its people, homogeneous by necessity, held
straight and simple faith, and were religious to a marked degree along
the old lines of Christian belief. This same homogeneity bred a
hospitality that was as kinsmen to kinsmen, and that wasted at the
threshold of every home what the more frugal people of the North
conserved and invested in public charities.
The code duello furnished the highest appeal in dispute. An affront to
a lad was answered at the pistol's mouth. The sense of quick
responsibility tempered the tongues of even the most violent, and the
newspapers of South Carolina for eight years, it is said, did not
contain one abusive word. The ownership of slaves, even more than of
realty, held families steadfast on their estates, and everywhere
prevailed the sociability of established neighborhoods. Money counted
least in making the social status, and constantly ambitious and
brilliant youngsters from no estate married into the families of the
planter princes. Meanwhile the one character utterly condemned and
ostracized was the man who was mean to his slaves. Even the coward was
pitied and might have been liked. For the cruel master there was no
toleration.
The _ante-bellum_ society had immense force. Working under the slavery
which brought the suspicion or hostility of the world, and which
practically beleaguered it within walls, it yet accomplished good
things. For the first sixty-four years of the republic it furnished
the president for fifty-two years. Its statesmen demanded the war of
1812, opened it with but five Northern senators supporting it, and its
general, Jackson, won the decisive battle of New Orleans. It was a
Southern statesman who added the Louisiana territory of more than
1,000,000 square miles to our domain. Under a Southern statesman
Florida was acquired from Spain. Against the opposition of the free
States, the Southern influence forced the war with Mexico, and annexed
the superb empire of Texas, brought in New Mexico, and opened the
gates of the republic to the Pacific. Scott and Taylor, the heroes of
the Mexican war, were Southern men. In material, as in political
affairs, the old South was masterful. The first important railroad
operated in America traversed Carolina. The first steamer that crossed
the ocean cleared from Savannah.
The first college established for girls was opened in Georgia. No
naturalist has surpassed Audubon; no geographer equalled Maury; and
Sims and McDonald led the world of surgery in their respective lines.
It was Crawford Long, of Georgia, who gave to the world the priceless
blessing of anæsthesia.
The wealth accumulated by the people was marvellous. And, though it is
held that slavery enriched the few at the general expense, Georgia and
Carolina were the richest States, per capita, in the Union in 1800,
saving Rhode Island. Some idea of the desolation of the war may be had
from the fact that, in spite of their late remarkable recuperation,
they are now, excepting Idaho, the poorest States, per capita, in the
Union. So rich was the South in 1860, that Mr. Lincoln spoke but
common sentiment when he said: "If we let the South go, where shall we
get our revenues?"
In its engaging grace--in the chivalry that tempered even Quixotism
with dignity--in the piety that saved master and slave alike--in the
charity that boasted not--in the honor held above estate--in the
hospitality that neither condescended nor cringed--in frankness and
heartiness and wholesome comradeship--in the reverence paid to
womanhood and the inviolable respect in which woman's name was
held--the civilization of the old slave _régime_ in the South has not
been surpassed, and perhaps will not be equalled, among men.
And as the fidelity of the slave during the war bespoke the kindness
of the master before the war, so the unquestioning reverence with
which the young men of the South accepted, in 1865, their heritage of
poverty and defeat, proved the strength and excellence of the
civilization from which that heritage had come. In cheerfulness they
bestirred themselves amid the ashes and the wrecks, and, holding the
inspiration of their past to be better than their rich acres and
garnered wealth, went out to rebuild their fallen fortunes, with never
a word of complaint, nor the thought of criticism!
FOOTNOTE:
[45] By permission of "New York Ledger," Robert Bonner's Sons, N. Y.
THOMAS NELSON PAGE.
~1853=----.~
THOMAS NELSON PAGE was born at "Oakland," Hanover County, Virginia, of
distinguished ancestry. He was educated at Washington and Lee
University, studied law, and settled in Richmond. His first writings
were poems and stories in the Virginia negro dialect, some of them in
connection with Armistead Churchill Gordon. He is now (1894) editor of
"The Drawer" in Harper's Monthly, and stands high as one of the
younger writers of our country.
WORKS.
In Ole Virginia, [stories in negro dialect].
Two Little Confederates.
Elsket, and other Stories.
Essays on the South, its literature, the Negro question, &c., in
magazines.
Befo' de Wa', (with A. C. Gordon).
On New Found River.
Pastime Stories, [written for "The Drawer"].
Among the Camps, [stories].
[Illustration: ~Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi.~]
Mr. Page delineates finely the old Virginia darkey and his dialect,
as Mr. Harris does the darkey of the Carolinas and Georgia. There is a
marked difference between them.
"The naturalness of his style, the skill with which he uses seemingly
indifferent incidents and sayings to trick out and light up his
pictures, the apparently unintentional and therefore most effective
touches of pathos, are uncommon."
MARSE CHAN'S LAST BATTLE.
(_From Marse Chan: In Ole Virginia._[46])
"Well, jes' den dey blowed boots an' saddles, an' we mounted: an' de
orders come to ride 'roun' de slope, an' Marse Chan's comp'ny wuz de
secon', an' when we got 'roun' dyah, we wuz right in it. Hit wuz de
wust place ever dis nigger got in. An' dey said, 'Charge 'em!' an' my
king! ef ever you see bullets fly, dey did dat day. Hit wuz jes' like
hail; an' we wen' down de slope (I 'long wid de res') an' up de hill
right to'ds de cannons, an' de fire wuz so strong dyar (dey had a
whole rigiment of infintrys layin' down dyar onder de cannons) our
lines sort o' broke an' stop; de cun'l was kilt, an' I b'lieve dey wuz
jes' 'bout to bre'k all to pieces, when Marse Chan rid up an' cotch
hol' de fleg, an' hollers, 'Foller me!' and rid strainin' up de hill
'mong de cannons.
"I seen 'im when he went, de sorrel four good lengths ahead o' ev'ry
urr hoss, jes' like he use' to be in a fox-hunt, an' de whole rigiment
right arfter 'im. Yo' ain' nuvver hear thunder! Fust thing I knowed,
de roan roll' head over heels an' flung me up 'g'inst de bank, like
yo' chuck a nubbin over 'g'inst de foot o' de corn pile. An' dat's
what kep' me from bein' kilt, I 'spects. Judy she say she think 'twuz
Providence, but I think 'twuz de bank. O' c'ose, Providence put de
bank dyah, but how come Providence nuver saved Marse Chan?
"When I look 'roun' de roan wuz lyin' dyah by me, stone dead, wid a
cannon-ball gone 'mos' th'oo him, an' our men had done swep' dem on
t'urr side from de top o' de hill. 'Twan' mo'n a minit, de sorrel come
gallupin' back wid his mane flyin', an' de rein hangin' down on one
side to his knee. 'Dyar!' says I, 'fo' God! I 'spects dey done kill
Marse Chan, an' I promised to tek care on him.'
"I jumped up an' run over de bank, an' dyar, wid a whole lot o' dead
men, an' some not dead yit, onder one o' de guns, wid de fleg still in
he han', an' a bullet right th'oo he body, lay Marse Chan. I tu'n him
over an' call him, 'Marse Chan!' but 'twan' no use, he wuz done gone
home, sho' 'nuff. I pick 'im up in my arms wid de fleg still in he
han's, an' toted' im back jes' like I did dat day when he wus a baby,
an' ole marster gin 'im to me in my arms, an' sez he could trus' me,
an' tell me to tek keer on 'im long ez he lived.
"I kyar'd 'im 'way off de battle-fiel' out de way o' de balls, an' I
laid 'im down onder a big tree till I could git somebody to ketch the
sorrel for me. He wuz cotched arfter a while, an' I hed some money, so
I got some pine plank an' made a coffin dat evenin', an' wrapt Marse
Chan's body up in de fleg, and put 'im in de coffin; but I didn' nail
de top on strong, 'cause I knowed ole missis wan' see 'im; an' I got
a' ambulance, an' set out for home dat night. We reached dyar de nex'
evenin', arfter travellin' all dat night an' all nex' day."
FOOTNOTE:
[46] By permission of author, and publishers, Charles Scribner's Sons,
N. Y.
MARY NOAILLES MURFREE.
"CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK."
MISS MURFREE was born at "Grantlands," near Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
the family home inherited from her great-grandfather, Colonel Hardy
Murfree, for whom the town was named. Her youth was spent here and in
Nashville, the summers being passed in the Tennessee Mountains:
shortly after the Civil War, her father removed to St. Louis, and it
was there that she began to write.
Her stories are laid mainly in the mountains of Tennessee and describe
vividly and truly the people, life, and exquisite scenery of that
region.
WORKS.
In the Tennessee Mountains, [short stories].
Down the Ravine.
In the Clouds.
Despot of Broomsedge Cove.
Phantoms of the Foot-Bridge.
Where the Battle Was Fought.
Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Story of Keedon Bluffs.
In the "Stranger People's" Country.
THE "HARNT" THAT WALKS CHILHOWEE.
(_From In the Tennessee Mountains._[47])
[Illustration: ~A Summer and Winter View of the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.~]
June had crossed the borders of Tennessee. Even on the summit of
Chilhowee Mountain the apples in Peter Giles' orchard were beginning
to redden, and his Indian corn, planted on so steep a declivity that
the stalks seemed to have much ado to keep their footing, was crested
with tassels and plumed with silk. Among the dense forests, seen by no
man's eye, the elder was flying its creamy banners in honor of June's
coming, and, heard by no man's ear, the pink and white bells of the
azalea rang out melodies of welcome. . . . . . . .
Then the two men tilted their chairs against the little porch in front
of Peter Giles' log cabin, and puffed their pipes in silence. The
panorama spread out before them showed misty and dreamy among the
delicate spiral wreaths of smoke. But was that gossamer-like illusion,
lying upon the far horizon, the magic of nicotian, or the vague
presence of distant heights? As ridge after ridge came down from the
sky in ever-graduating shades of intenser blue, Peter Giles might have
told you that this parallel system of enchantment was only "the
mountings"; that here was Foxy, and there was Big Injun, and still
beyond was another, which he had "hearn tell ran spang up into
Virginny." The sky that bent to clasp this kindred blue was of varying
moods. Floods of sunshine submerged Chilhowee in liquid gold, and
revealed that dainty outline limned upon the northern horizon; but
over the Great Smoky mountains, clouds had gathered and a gigantic
rainbow bridged the valley. . . . . . . . . Simon Burney did not speak
for a moment. . . . "That's a likely gal o' yourn," he drawled, with
an odd constraint in his voice,--"a likely gal, that Clarsie." . . .
"Yes," Peter Giles at length replied, "Clarsie air a likely enough
gal. But she air mightily sot ter havin' her own way. An' ef 't ain't
give to her peaceable-like, she jes' takes it, whether or no."
This statement, made by one presumably informed on the subject, might
have damped the ardor of many a suitor,--for the monstrous truth was
dawning on Peter Giles's mind that suitor was the position to which
this slow elderly widower aspired. But Simon Burney, with that odd,
all-pervading constraint still prominently apparent, mildly observed,
"Waal, ez much ez I hev seen of her goin's-on, it 'pears ter me az her
way air a mighty good way. An' it ain't comical that she likes
it." . . . . . . . The song grew momentarily more distinct: among the
leaves there were fugitive glimpses of blue and white, and at last
Clarsie appeared, walking lightly along the log, clad in her checked
homespun dress, and with a pail upon her head.
She was a tall lithe girl, with that delicately transparent complexion
often seen among the women of these mountains. Her lustreless black
hair lay along her forehead without a ripple or a wave; there was
something in the expression of her large eyes that suggested those of
a deer,--something free, untamable, and yet gentle. "'Tain't no wonder
ter me ez Clarsie is all tuk up with the wild things, an' critters
ginerally," her mother was wont to say; "she sorter looks like 'em,
I'm a-thinkin'."
As she came in sight there was a renewal of that odd constraint in
Simon Burney's face and manner, and he rose abruptly. "Waal," he said,
hastily, going to his horse, a raw-boned sorrel, hitched to the fence,
"it's about time I war a-startin' home, I reckons."
He nodded to his host, who silently nodded in return, and the old
horse jogged off with him down the road, as Clarsie entered the house
and placed the pail upon a shelf.
. . . . . . . . .
The breeze freshened, after the sun went down, . . . there were stars
in the night besides those known to astronomers; the stellular
fire-flies gemmed the black shadows with a fluctuating brilliancy;
they circled in and out of the porch, and touched the leaves above
Clarsie's head with quivering points of light. A steadier and an
intenser gleam was advancing along the road, and the sound of languid
footsteps came with it; the aroma of tobacco graced the atmosphere,
and a tall figure walked up to the gate.
"Come in, come in," said Peter Giles, rising, and tendering the guest
a chair. "Ye air Tom Pratt, ez well ez I kin make out by this light.
Waal, Tom, we hain't furgot ye sence ye done been hyar."
. . . . . . . .
The young man took leave presently, in great depression of
spirits. . . . Clarsie ascended the ladder to a nook in the roof which
she called her room.
For the first time in her life her slumber was fitful and restless,
long intervals of wakefulness alternating with snatches of fantastic
dreams. . . . And then her mind reverted to Tom Pratt, to old Simon
Burney, and to her mother's emphatic and oracular declaration that
widowers are in league with Satan, and that the girls upon whom they
cast the eye of supernatural fascination have no choice in the matter.
"I wish I knowed ef that thar sayin' war true," she murmured, her face
still turned to the western spurs, and the moon sinking slowly toward
them.
With a sudden resolution she rose to her feet. She knew a way of
telling fortunes which was, according to tradition, infallible, and
she determined to try it, and ease her mind as to her future. Now was
the propitious moment. "I hev always hearn that it won't come true
'thout ye try it jes' before daybreak, an' kneelin' down at the forks
of the road." She hesitated a moment and listened intently. "They'd
never git done a-laffin' at me, ef they fund it out," she
thought. . . . [She went out into the road.] She fixed her eyes upon
the mystic sphere dropping down the sky, knelt among the azaleas at
the forks of the road, and repeated the time-honored invocation: "Ef
I'm a-goin' ter marry a young man, whistle, Bird, whistle. Ef I'm
a-goin' ter marry an old man, low, Cow, low. Ef I ain't a-goin' ter
marry nobody, knock, Death, knock."
There was a prolonged silence in the matutinal freshness and perfume
of the woods. She raised her head, and listened attentively. No chirp
of half-awakened bird, no tapping of wood-pecker or the mysterious
death-watch; but from far along the dewy aisles of the forest, the
ungrateful Spot that Clarsie had fed more faithfully than herself,
lifted up her voice, and set the echoes vibrating. Clarsie, however,
had hardly time for a pang of disappointment.
While she still knelt among the azaleas, her large deer-like eyes were
suddenly dilated with terror. From around the curve of the road came
the quick beat of hastening footsteps, the sobbing sound of panting
breath, and between her and the sinking moon there passed an
attenuated one-armed figure, with a pallid sharpened face, outlined
for a moment on its brilliant disk, and dreadful starting eyes, and
quivering open mouth. It disappeared in an instant among the shadows
of the laurel, and Clarsie, with a horrible fear clutching at her
heart, sprang to her feet. . . . the ghost stood before her. She could
not nerve herself to run past him, and he was directly in her way
homeward.
. . . . . . . . .
"Ye do ez ye air bid, or it'll be the worse for ye," said the "harnt"
in a quivering shrill tone. "Thar's hunger in the nex' worl' ez well
ez in this, an' ye bring me some vittles hyar this time ter-morrer,
an' don't ye tell nobody ye hev seen me, nuther, or it'll be the worse
for ye." . . .
The next morning, before the moon sank, Clarsie, with a tin pail in
her hand, went to meet the ghost at the appointed place. . . . . .
Morning was close at hand. . . . . . the leaves fell into abrupt
commotion, and he was standing in the road, beside her. He did not
speak, but watched her with an eager, questioning intentness, as she
placed the contents of the pail upon the moss at the roadside. "I'm
a-comin' agin ter-morrer," she said, gently. . . . Then she slowly
walked along her misty way in the dim light of the coming dawn. There
was a footstep in the road behind her; she thought it was the ghost
once more. She turned, and met Simon Burney, face to face. His rod was
on his shoulder, and a string of fish was in his hand.
"Ye air a-doin' wrongful, Clarsie," he said sternly. "It air agin the
law fur folks ter feed an' shelter them ez is a-runnin' from jestice.
An' ye'll git yerself inter trouble. Other folks will find ye out,
besides me, an' then the sheriff 'll be up hyar arter ye."
The tears rose to Clarsie's eyes. This prospect was infinitely more
terrifying than the awful doom which follows the horror of a ghost's
speech. "I can't help it," she said, however, doggedly swinging the
pail back and forth. "I can't gin my consent ter starvin' of folks,
even if they air a-hidin' an' a-runnin' from jestice." . . . .
FOOTNOTE:
[47] By permission of Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, Boston.
DANSKE DANDRIDGE.
~1859=----.~
MRS. DANDRIDGE was born in Copenhagen, when her father, Honorable
Henry Bedinger, was minister to Denmark. In 1877 she was married to
Mr. Stephen Dandridge of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Her first name,
Danske, is the pretty Danish word for Dane, and is pronounced in two
syllables.
WORKS.
Joy, and other Poems.
Mrs. Dandridge's poems are as dainty and airy as if the elves
themselves had led her to their bowers and discovered to her their
secrets; and this is truly what her poetic sense has done, for the
poet is a seer and singer of the secrets of nature.
THE SPIRIT AND THE WOOD SPARROW.
(_From Joy, and other Poems._[48])
'Twas long ago:
The place was very fair;
And from a cloud of snow
A spirit of the air
Dropped to the earth below.
It was a spot by man untrod,
Just where
I think is only known to God.
The spirit, for a while,
Because of beauty freshly made
Could only smile;
Then grew the smiling to a song,
And as he sang he played
Upon a moonbeam-wired cithole
Shaped like a soul.
There was no ear
Or far or near,
Save one small sparrow of the wood,
That song to hear.
This, in a bosky tree,
Heard all, and understood
As much as a small sparrow could
By sympathy.
'Twas a fair sight
That morn of Spring,
When on the lonely height,
The spirit paused to sing,
Then through the air took flight
Still lilting on the wing.
And the shy bird,
Who all had heard,
Straightway began
To practice o'er the lovely strain;
Again, again;
Though indistinct and blurred,
He tried each word,
Until he caught the last far sounds that fell
Like the faint tinkles of a fairy bell.
Now when I hear that song,
Which has no earthly tone,
My soul is carried with the strain along
To the everlasting Throne;
To bow in thankfulness and prayer,
And gain fresh faith, and love, and patience, there.
FOOTNOTE:
[48] By permission of the author, and publishers. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
N. Y.
AMÉLIE RIVES CHANLER.
~1863=----.~
MRS. CHANLER, or AMÉLIE RIVES as she still styles herself in writing,
was born in Richmond, Virginia, but passed her early life at the
family place in Albemarle County, called "Castle Hill." She is a
granddaughter of William Cabell Rives, once minister to France and
author of "Life of Madison"; and her grandmother, Mrs. Judith Walker
Rives, was a woman of much ability, and left some writings entitled
"Home and the World," and "Residence in Europe."
She was married in 1888 to Mr. John Armstrong Chanler of New York and
has since spent much time in Paris, studying painting for which she
has as great fondness as for writing.
Her first stories were written in the style of the time of Shakspere;
the best of them is "Farrier Lass o' Piping Pebworth." They created a
sensation as they came out and were said to be the work of a girl
under twenty. She has also written stories of Virginia life and of
modern times; besides poems, and dramas, in which last her talents
seem to reach a higher plane than in any other kind of writing.
WORKS.
A Brother to Dragons.
Farrier Lass o' Piping Pebworth.
Virginia of Virginia.
The Quick or the Dead?
According to St. John.
Athelwold, [drama].
Barbara Dering, [sequel to The Quick or the Dead?]
Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story.
Story of Arnon.
Inja.
Witness of the Sun.
Herod and Mariamne, [drama].
Poems, [scattered in magazines].
Tanis, the Sang-Digger.
TANIS.
(_From Tanis, the Sang-Digger._[49])
Gilman was driving along one of the well-kept turnpikes that wind
about the Warm Springs Valley. He recognized the austere and solemn
beauty that hemmed him in from the far-off outer world; but at the
same time he was contrasting it with the sea-coast of his native
State, Massachusetts, and a certain creeping homesickness began to
rise about his heart.
[Illustration: ~Model School, Peabody Normal College.~]
In addition to this, he had left his delicate wife suffering with an
acute neuralgic headache, and also saddened by a yearning for the
picturesque old farm-house in which he had been born, and where they
had lived during the first year of marriage. The trap which Gilman
drove was filled with surveying instruments, and, as he turned into
the rough mountain road, which led towards the site of the new railway
for which he was now prospecting, the smaller ones began to rattle
together and slide from the seat beside him. Finally, as the cart
slipped against a stone, the level bounced into a puddle. He was about
to jump out when a bold, ringing voice called to him:
"Set still--A'll pick hit up."
Then a figure slid down the rocky bank at his right, her one garment
wrinkling from her bare, sturdy legs during the performance.
Gilman had never seen anything like her in his thirty years of varied
experience.
She was very tall. A curtain of rough, glittering curls hung to her
knees. Her face, clear with that clearness which only a mountain wind
can bring, was white as a seagull's breast, except where a dark, yet
vivid pink melted into the blue veins on her temples and throat. Her
round, fresh lips, smooth as a peony-leaf, were parted in a wide
laugh, over teeth large and yellow-white, like the grains on an ear of
corn. She wore a loose tunic of blue-gray stuff, which reached to the
middle of her legs, covered with grass stains and patches of mould.
Her bare feet, somewhat broadened by walking, were well-shaped, the
great toe standing apart from the others, the strong, round ankles,
although scratched and bruised, perfectly symmetrical. Her arms, bare
almost to the shoulder, were like those with which in imagination we
complete the Milo. Eyes, round and colored like the edges of broken
glass, looked out boldly from under her long black eyebrows. Her nose
was straight and well cut, but set impertinently.
As she picked up the muddy level she laughed boisterously and wiped it
on her frock.
"Thank you," said Gilman, and then, after a second's hesitation,
added: "Where are you going? Perhaps I can give you a lift on your
way? Will you get in?"
"Well, a done keer ef a do," she said, still staring at him.
She got in and took the level on her knee, then burst out laughing
again--
"A reckon yuh wonders what a'm a haw-hawin' at?" she asked, suddenly.
"Well, a'll tell yuh! 'Tiz case a feels jess like this hyuh
contrapshun o' yourn. A haint hed a bite sence five this mawnin', and
a've got a bubble in th' middle o' me, a ken tell yuh!"
She opened her flexible mouth almost to her ears, showing both rows of
speckless teeth, and roaring mirthfully again.
"I've got some sandwiches, here--won't you have one?" said Gilman.
"Dunno--what be they?" she asked, rather suspiciously, eyeing him
sidewise.
He explained to her, and she accepted one, tearing from it a huge
semi-circle, which she held in her cheek while exclaiming:
"Murder! hain't that good, though? D'yuh eat them things ev'y day? Yuh
looks hit! You're a real fine-lookin' feller--mos' ez good-lookin' ez
Bill."
"Who is Bill?" asked Gilman, much interested in this, his first
conversation with a genuine savage.
"Bill? he's muh pard, an' muh brother, too. I come down hyuh tuh git
him a drink o' water, but a hain't foun' a spring yit."
"No, there isn't one in several miles," said Gilman.
"Hyuh!" she cried. "Lemme git out." . . . And she was out, with the
bound of a deer. "You g'long," she said; "a'm sorry a rode this far
wi' you. You'll larf 'bout muh bar foots, an' this hyuh rag o' mine,
wi' them po' white trash an' niggers. Whar you fum, anyhow? You hain't
a Fuginia feller. A kin tell by yo' talk. You called roots 'ruts'
jess now, an' yuh said we'd 'sun' be whar them other fellers be. Whar
you fum?"
"From Massachusetts," said Gilman.
"S'that another langidge fuh some name a knows?"
"No--it's the real name of another State."
"Well, hit's 'nuff tuh twis' a body's tongue, fuh life, so a done
blame yuh s'much fuh yo' funny talk. Mawnin'." And she began to swing
herself upon a great lichen-crested boulder by the roadside. . . . . .
Gilman was naturally curious as to the type of the young barbarian
whom he had met on his drive to Black Creek, and, during a pause in
his work, he told a young fellow named Watkins of his adventure, and
asked him to what class the girl belonged.
"I reckon, sir, she was a sang-digger," said Watkins, laughing.
"They're a awful wild lot, mostly bad as they make 'em, with no more
idea of right an' wrong than a lot o' ground-horgs."
"But what is a 'sang-digger'?" asked Gilman, more and more curious.
"Well, sir, sang, or ginseng, ez the real name is, is a sorter root
that grows thick in the mountains about here. They make some sorter
medicine outer it. I've chawed it myself for heartburn. It's right
paying, too--sang-digging is, sir; you ken git at least a dollar a
pound for it, an' sometimes you ken dig ten pounds in a day, but
that's right seldom. Two or three pounds a day is doin' well. They're
a awful low set, sir, sang-diggers is. We call 'em 'snakes'
hereabouts, 'cause they don't have no place to live cep'in' in winter,
and then they go off somewhere or ruther, to their huts. But in the
summer and early autumn they stop where night ketches 'em, an' light a
fire an' sleep 'round it. They cert'n'y are a bad lot, sir. They'll
steal a sheep or a horse ez quick ez winkin'. Why, t'want a year ago
that they stole a mighty pretty mare o' mine, that I set a heap by,
an' rid off her tail an' mane a-tearin' through the brush with her.
She got loose somehow an' come back to me. But they stole two horses
for ole Mr. Hawkins, down near Fallin' Springs, an' he a'in't been
able to git 'em back. There's awful murders an' villainies done by
'em. But some o' them sang-digger gals is awful pretty. . . . Yes,
sir, I reckon she was a sang-digger, sure enough."
[This wild creature of the woods was treated kindly by Gilman and his
wife, and she finally sacrificed herself to save Mrs. Gilman.]
FOOTNOTE:
[49] By permission of the author, and publishers, the Town Topics
Publishing Co., N. Y.
GRACE KING.
GRACE KING was born in New Orleans, the daughter of William W. King,
and has made a reputation as a writer of short stories depicting
Creole life. Her "Balcony Stories" are like pictures in their vivid
intensity.
WORKS.
Monsieur Motte.
Earthlings.
Balcony Stories.
Bonne Maman.
Bayou L'Ombre.
History of Louisiana.
LA GRANDE DEMOISELLE.
A BALCONY STORY.
(_From the Century Magazine_,[50] Jan., 1893.)
That was what she was called by everybody as soon as she was seen or
described. Her name, besides baptismal titles, was Idalie Sainte Foy
Mortemart des Islets. When she came into society, in the brilliant
little world of New Orleans, it was the event of the season, and
after she came in, whatever she did became also events. Whether she
went, or did not go; what she said, or did not say; what she wore, and
did not wear--all these became important matters of discussion, quoted
as much or more than what the President said, or the governor thought.
And in those days, the days of '59, New Orleans was not, as it is now,
a one-heiress place, but it may be said that one could find heiresses
then as one finds type-writing girls now.
Mademoiselle Idalie received her birth and what education she had on
her parent's plantation, the famed old Reine Sainte Foy place, and it
is no secret that, like the ancient kings of France, her birth
exceeded her education.
It was a plantation, the Reine Sainte Foy, the richness and luxury of
which are really well described in those perfervid pictures of
tropical life, at one time the passion of philanthropic imaginations,
excited and exciting over the horrors of slavery. Although these
pictures were then often accused of being purposely exaggerated, they
seem now to fall short of, instead of surpassing, the truth. Stately
walls, acres of roses, miles of oranges, unmeasured fields of cane,
colossal sugar-house--they were all there, and all the rest of it,
with the slaves, slaves, slaves everywhere, whole villages of negro
cabins. And there were also, most noticeable to the natural, as well
as visionary eye--there were the ease, idleness, extravagance,
self-indulgence, pomp, pride, arrogance, in short the whole
enumeration, the moral _sine qua non_, as some people considered it,
of the wealthy slaveholder of aristocratic descent and tastes.
What Mademoiselle Idalie cared to learn she studied, what she did not
she ignored; and she followed the same simple rule untrammeled in her
eating, drinking, dressing, and comportment generally; and whatever
discipline may have been exercised on the place, either in fact or
fiction, most assuredly none of it, even so much as in a threat, ever
attainted her sacred person. When she was just turned sixteen,
Mademoiselle Idalie made up her mind to go into society. Whether she
was beautiful or not, it is hard to say. It is almost impossible to
appreciate properly the beauty of the rich, the very rich. The
unfettered development, the limitless choice of accessories, the
confidence, the self-esteem, the sureness of expression, the
simplicity of purpose, the ease of execution,--all these produce a
certain effect of beauty behind which one really cannot get to measure
length of nose, or brilliancy of the eye. This much can be said; there
was nothing in her that positively contradicted any assumption of
beauty on her part, or credit of it on the part of others. She was
very tall and very thin with small head, long neck, black eyes, and
abundant straight black hair,--for which her hair-dresser deserved
more praise than she,--good teeth of course, and a mouth that, even in
prayer, talked nothing but commands; that is about all she had _en
fait d'ornements_, as the modistes say. It may be added that she
walked as if the Reine Sainte Foy plantation extended over the whole
earth, and the soil of it were too vile for her tread.
Of course she did not buy her toilets in New Orleans. Everything was
ordered from Paris, and came as regularly through the custom-house as
the modes and robes to the milliners. She was furnished by a certain
house there, just as one of a royal family would be at the present
day. As this had lasted from her layette up to her sixteenth year, it
may be imagined what took place when she determined to make her début.
Then it was literally, not metaphorically, _carte blanche_, at least
so it got to the ears of society. She took a sheet of note-paper,
wrote the date at the top, added "I make my début in November," signed
her name at the extreme end of the sheet, addressed it to her
dressmaker in Paris, and sent it. . . . . .
That she was admired, raved about, loved even, goes without saying.
After the first month she held the refusal of half the beaux of New
Orleans. Men did absurd, undignified, preposterous things for her: and
she? Love? Marry? The idea never occurred to her. She treated the most
exquisite of her pretenders no better than she treated her Paris
gowns, for the matter of that. She could not even bring herself to
listen to a proposal patiently; whistling to her dogs, in the middle
of the most ardent protestations, or jumping up and walking away with
a shrug of the shoulders, and a "Bah!"
Well! every one knows what happened after '59. There is no need to
repeat. The history of one is the history of all. . . . . . . . .
It might have been ten years according to some calculations, or ten
eternities,--the heart and the almanac never agree about time,--but
one morning old Champigny (they used to call him Champignon) was
walking along his levee front . . . when he saw a figure approaching.
He had to stop to look at it, for it was worth while. The head was
hidden by a green barege veil, which the showers had plentifully
besprinkled with dew; a tall thin figure. . . . She was the teacher of
the colored school some three or four miles away. "Ah," thought
Champigny, "some Northern lady on a mission." . . . Old Champigny
could not get over it that he had never seen her before. But he must
have seen her, and, with his abstraction and old age, not have
noticed her, for he found out from the negroes that she had been
teaching four or five years there. And he found out also--how, it is
not important--that she was Idalie Sainte Foy Mortemart des Islets.
_La grande demoiselle!_ He had never known her in the old days, owing
to his uncomplimentary attitude toward women, but he knew of her, of
course, and of her family. . . . .
Only the good God himself knows what passed in Champigny's mind on the
subject. We know only the results. He went and married _la grande
demoiselle_. How? Only the good God knows that too.
FOOTNOTE:
[50] By permission of the author, and publishers, The Century Co.,
N. Y.
WAITMAN BARBE.
~1864=----.~
WAITMAN BARBE was born at Morgantown, West Virginia, and educated at
the State University in that town. Since the year 1884 he has been
engaged in editorial and literary pursuits, being now editor of the
_Daily State Journal_. He has already made a reputation as a speaker
on literary and educational topics: and his poems, first appearing in
periodicals, have now been collected into a volume called "Ashes and
Incense," the first edition of which was exhausted in six months. It
"has put him among the foremost of the young American poets." Edmund
Clarence Stedman says of it: "There is real poetry in the book--a
voice worth owning and exercising. I am struck with the beauty and
feeling of the lyrics which I have read--such, for example, as the
stanzas on Lanier and 'The Comrade Hills.'"
WORKS.
Ashes and Incense.
SIDNEY LANIER.
(_From Ashes and Incense._[51])
O Spirit to a kingly holding born!
As beautiful as any southern morn
That wakes to woo the willing hills,
Thy life was hedged about by ills
As pitiless as any northern night;
Yet thou didst make it as thy "Sunrise" bright.
The seas were not too deep for thee; thine eye
Was comrade with the farthest star on high.
The marsh burst into bloom for thee,--
And still abloom shall ever be!
Its sluggish tide shall henceforth bear alway
A charm it did not hold until thy day.
And Life walks out upon the slipping sands
With more of flowers in her trembling hands
Since thou didst suffer and didst sing!
And so to thy dear grave I bring
One little rose, in poor exchange for all
The flowers that from thy rich hand did fall.
FOOTNOTE:
[51] By permission of the author, and publishers, J. B. Lippincott
Co., Phila.
MADISON CAWEIN.
~1865=----.~
MADISON CAWEIN, born at Louisville, Kentucky, of Huguenot descent, is
one of our younger poets who seems overflowing with life and fancy.
His writings show a wonderful insight into nature and power of
expressing her beauties and meanings. The amount of his poetical work
is astonishing, and another volume will soon appear, entitled
"Intimations of the Beautiful."
WORKS.
Days and Dreams.
Accolon of Gaul and other Poems.
Blooms of the Berry.
Lyrics and Idyls.
Triumph of Music.
Moods and Memories.
Poems of Nature and Love.
Red Leaves and Roses.
THE WHIPPOORWILL.
(_From Red Leaves and Roses._[52])
I.
Above long woodland ways that led
To dells the stealthy twilights tread
The west was hot geranium-red;
And still, and still,
Along old lanes, the locusts sow
With clustered curls the May-times know,
Out of the crimson afterglow,
We heard the homeward cattle low,
And then the far-off, far-off woe
Of "whippoorwill!" of "whippoorwill!"
II.
Beneath the idle beechen boughs
We heard the cow-bells of the cows
Come slowly jangling towards the house;
And still, and still,
Beyond the light that would not die
Out of the scarlet-haunted sky,
Beyond the evening-star's white eye
Of glittering chalcedony,
Drained out of dusk the plaintive cry
Of "whippoorwill!" of "whippoorwill!"
III.
What is there in the moon, that swims
A naked bosom o'er the limbs,
That all the wood with magic dims?
While still, while still,
Among the trees whose shadows grope
'Mid ferns and flow'rs the dew-drops ope,--
Lost in faint deeps of heliotrope
Above the clover-scented slope,--
Retreats, despairing past all hope,
The whippoorwill, the whippoorwill.
FOOTNOTE:
[52] By permission of the author, and publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons,
N. Y.
DIXIE.
I.
I wish I wuz in de land ob cotton,
Ole times dar am not forgotten;
Look away! look away! look away!
Dixie land.
In Dixie land whar I wuz born in,
Early on one frosty mornin';
Look away! look away! look away!
Dixie land.
CHORUS.
Den I wish I were in Dixie, hooray! hooray!
In Dixie land
I'll took my stand
To lib and die in Dixie,
Away, away, away down south in Dixie,
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.
II.
Dar's buckwheat cakes and Ingen batter,
Makes you fat or a little fatter;
Den hoe it down and scratch your grabble,
To Dixie land I'm bound to trabble.
LIST OF AUTHORS.
The following is a list of other authors and works that would have
been included in the body of the book if space had allowed. It is with
great regret that only this mention of them can be made. See "List of
Southern Writers" for fuller notice.
Allan, William: Army of Northern Virginia.
Asbury, Francis: Journals.
Blair, James: State of His Majesty's Colony in Virginia.
Bledsoe, Albert Taylor: A Theodicy, Is Davis a Traitor?
Brock, R. A.: Southern Historical Society Papers.
Burnett, Mrs. Frances Hodgson: That Lass o' Lowrie's.
Cable, George Washington: Bonaventure (Acadian sketches in
Louisiana).
Caruthers, William A.: Knights of the Golden Horseshoe (tale of
Bacon's Rebellion).
Dabney, Virginius: Don Miff.
Davis, Mrs. Varina Jefferson: Jefferson Davis.
Dinwiddie Papers.
Elliott, Sarah Barnwell: John Paget.
Goulding, Francis Robert: Young Marooners.
Hearn, Lafcadio: Youma.
Hooper, Johnson Jones: Captain Suggs' Adventures.
Ingraham, Joseph Holt: Prince of the House of David.
Jones, John Beauchamp: Rebel War Clerk's Diary, Wild Western Scenes.
Kouns, Nathan Chapman: Arius the Libyan.
Le Conte, Joseph: Geology, Science and the Bible.
Loughborough, Mrs. Mary Webster: My Cave Life in Vicksburg (in
prison during the war).
McCabe, James Dabney, Jr.: Gray-Jackets.
McGuire, Mrs. Judith Walker: Diary of a Southern Refugee; (said
to be a most faithful and pathetic picture of the terrible times
in 1861-5. It was a private journal kept during the war, and Mrs.
McGuire was afterwards induced to publish it).
Mason, Emily Virginia: Popular Life of R. E. Lee.
Maury, Dabney Herndon: Recollections of a Virginian.
Meade, William: Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia.
Parker, William Harwar: Recollections of a Naval Officer.
Piatt, Mrs. Sarah Morgan Bryan: Poems.
Randolph, Innis: Good Old Rebel, Back-Log.
Randolph, Sarah Nicholas: Domestic Life of Jefferson.
Semmes, Raphael: Service Afloat, Cruise of the Alabama.
Semple, Robert Baylor: History of Virginia Baptists.
Sims, James Marion: Story of My Life.
Smedes, Mrs. Susan Dabney: A Southern Planter; (a biography of
Mrs. Smedes' father. Of this work, Hon. W. E. Gladstone says in a
letter to the author: "I am very desirous that the Old World
should have the benefit of this work. I ask your permission to
publish it in England. . . . Allow me to thank you, dear Madam,
for the good the book must do.").
Smith, Francis Hopkinson: Colonel Carter of Cartersville.
Spotswood, Alexander: Letters, 1710-22.
Stith, William: History of Virginia (before 1755).
Strother, David Hunter: Virginia Illustrated.
Taylor, Richard: Destruction and Reconstruction.
Wiley, Edwin Fuller: Angel in the Cloud.
[Illustration: ~Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for
Girls, Columbus, Miss.~]
QUESTIONS.
These questions are not recommended as essential, but merely as
suggestive and perhaps useful to teachers who prefer the Socratic
method. They might also serve to call the attention of students to
some point which they would otherwise overlook.
The general questions and those in ordinary type may be answered from
the text itself; the answers to those in italics are to be found in
other parts of the book, in a history of the United States, or in a
cyclopedia. The questions in italics may of course, like all the rest,
be omitted at the discretion of the teacher. The research required to
answer such questions, however, will be of great value to the
students, if they have the time for it. See also the suggestions given
in the Preface.
GENERAL QUESTIONS.
These questions apply to all the authors, and hence will not be
repeated under each name.
1. Give the date of birth, and the date of death of those not living.
2. Where was the author born? 3. Where did he pass his life? 4. What
was his education? 5. What was his profession and what positions, if
any, did he fill? 6. Describe his character. 7. His style of writing.
8. Give the names of his Works. 9. Title and contents of the extracts
given. 10. Learn the short extracts and poems by heart. _11. Find on
the map all the places mentioned._ (_This is of prime importance, and
I beg that this question may never be omitted_).
FIRST PERIOD, 1579-1750.
JOHN SMITH.--1. Why did Captain Smith fight against the Turks? 2. When
did he come to America? 3. How did he spend his time after 1609? _4.
What other settlement was in America at this time besides Jamestown?_
_5. By whom and when made?_
WILLIAM STRACHEY.--1. What is the special fame of this description of
a storm? 2. Give some features of it. _3. Who was ruler of England at
this time?_
JOHN LAWSON.--1. Why did he come to Carolina, and when? 2. Tell of
his sad death. 3. What is the story of "Sir Walter Raleigh's Ship"?
(_See the poem, "The Palatine Ship," by William Gilmore Simms_) _4.
Was there any settlement in South Carolina at this time?_ _5. If so
when and by whom made?_
WILLIAM BYRD.--1. What distinction has Byrd among the writers of
Virginia? 2. For what was his daughter Evelyn noted? 3. Who was
governor of North Carolina in 1713-1720? _4. Is the Dismal Swamp so
hard to cross now?_ _5. How old was George Washington when William
Byrd died?_ _6. What town is named for Governor Eden?_
SECOND PERIOD, 1750-1800.
HENRY LAURENS.--1. Why did he go to Europe in 1771? in 1779? 2. What
title was given his son John? 3. For whom was he exchanged? 4. How was
he buried? _5. What was happening in America during his imprisonment,
1779-1781?_
GEORGE WASHINGTON.--1. What did his mother say of him? 2. What is his
national title? 3. What monuments have been reared to him? 4. What
salary had he as Commander in Chief? 5. When was the Farewell Address
written? _6. Where and when did his inauguration as President take
place?_ _7. When was Washington City laid off as the Capital of the
United States?_ _8. Name the thirteen original States._
PATRICK HENRY.--1. What did Jefferson say of him? 2. What part did he
take in the Revolutionary War? 3. When did he say "If this be
treason--"? 4. When and where was his greatest speech made? _5. What
other great man died the same year that he did?_ _6. What difference
in their ages?_
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON.--1. Who went with him to be educated? 2. What
bold public statement did he make in April, 1776? _3. What battles of
the Revolution occurred in South Carolina during Drayton's life?_
THOMAS JEFFERSON.--1. What is Jefferson's title? 2. Of what political
party is he considered the founder? 3. What other ex-president died
the same day? 4. What inscription is on his tomb? 5. What does he say
of the relative positions of the upper and lower classes? _6. Who were
presidents before Jefferson?_ _7. Who, after him, up to the time of
his death?_ _8. What famous Frenchman visited Jefferson in 1825?_ _9.
Quote some of the Declaration of Independence._
DAVID RAMSAY.--1. Who was his second wife? 2. Of what profession were
their daughters? _3. Where is Fort Moultrie and for whom named?_ _4.
Where is there a statue to Sergeant Jasper?_
JAMES MADISON.--1. What is Professor Fiske's estimate of him? 2. Tell
of his marriage and of Mrs. Madison. _3. How long and when was Madison
President?_ _4. What war took place during that time?_ _5. What
disaster occurred in Washington in 1814?_ _6. What patriotic song was
written the same year?_
ST. GEORGE TUCKER.--1. When did he come to America and whom did he
marry? _2. Where is William and Mary College and when was it founded?_
_3. What famous men were teachers and students there?_
JOHN MARSHALL.--1. How long was he Chief Justice? 2. Repeat Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney's famous remark. 3. Over what great trial did
Marshall preside? 4. When was it? 5. Where are fine statues of him?
_6. Who was Pinckney?_
HENRY LEE.--1. What title had he in the Revolution? 2. Who was his
mother? 3. What well known words were first used by him? 4. Who was
his most famous son? _5. Was Mrs. Motte's house burned down?_
MASON LOCKE WEEMS.--1. Of what church was he rector?
JOHN DRAYTON.--1. Whose son was he? 2. When did the battle of Noewee
occur? _3. Who were Lord North and Lord Grenville?_ _4. What relation
was Lieutenant Hampton to General Wade Hampton, of South Carolina?_
WILLIAM WIRT.--1. What two famous speeches by Wirt are here mentioned?
2. Who was the "Blind Preacher"? 3. What did Wirt say of life, in
1829? _4. Learn something more about the "Blind Preacher."_ (_See
People's Cyclopedia, Hart's American Literature._) _5. Who were
Demothenes, Ossian, Homer, Milton, Rousseau?_
JOHN RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE.--1. From whom was he descended? 2. What does
Paulding say of him? _3. Where is found the quotation--"Free will
fixed fate, foreknowledge absolute"?_
GEORGE TUCKER.--1. To whom was he related? 2. How long was he
professor at the University of Virginia? 3. Who was founder of the
University? _4. Where is the Natural Bridge?_ (_See picture under Mrs.
Preston._) _5. When was the University established and opened?_
THIRD PERIOD, 1800-1850.
HENRY CLAY.--1. What two titles did he have, and for what reasons? 2.
Mention some of his companions in public life. 3. Of what measures was
he the author? _4. Who was Jackson?_ _5. Who were Philip, Alexander,
Cæsar, Brutus, Madame de Staël, Bonaparte?_ _6. What was the
difference in the ages of Clay, Calhoun and Webster?_
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.--1. Relate the circumstances under which the "Star
Spangled Banner" was written. _2. What city was burned by the British
in the year in which this song was composed?_
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.--1. What was his favorite pursuit? 2. Where is a
set of his works to be seen?
THOMAS HART BENTON.--1. What title did he gain, and how? 2. What is
said of his great work? _3. Who were Randolph and Clay?_ _4. What was
the cause of the duel?_ _5. What office had Clay at the time?_ _6. How
were Benton and Clay connected?_ (_Mrs. Clay was a cousin of Benton's,
she had been Miss Lucretia Hart._) _7. Whom did Benton's daughter
Jessie marry, and what did she write?_ (_See "List of Southern
Writers," Frémont._)
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN.--1. Who was his early teacher? 2. What was the
remark of Calhoun's father about government? 3. What is Calhoun's home
now? 4. What is the principle of Nullification? 5. Who first said, "To
the victors belong the spoils," as applied to public offices? 6. What
does Calhoun say of it? _7. Who are the three greatest statesmen of
the "Compromise Period" (1820-1850)?_ 8. What does Everett say of
them? _9. What does Stephens say of Calhoun in 1850?_ (_See under
A. H. Stephens._) 10. What does Webster say of him? _11. What rank
does he hold as a statesman and patriot?_ 12. Who are the others
mentioned as contemporary with Calhoun in the Senate?
NATHANIEL BEVERLEY TUCKER.--1. Whose son was he, and whose half
brother? 2. Give the plan of the "Partisan Leader." _3. When was Van
Buren president?_
DAVID CROCKETT.--1. What was his motto? 2. What does he say of the
earthquake and its effects? _3. When was the great earthquake in the
Mississippi Valley?_ _4. Where is the Alamo?_ _5. Tell something of
its defence and fall._ (_See under Houston._)
RICHARD HENRY WILDE.--1. What discoveries did he make in Italy? 2.
What is the poem by which he is known? (It is also called "The
Captive's Lament"). 3. Tell the incident of its translation. 4. Who
was Mrs. White Beatty? 5. _What else can you learn of her?_ _6. Who
were Giotto Dante Tasso and Petrarch?_
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET.--1. Who was "Ned Brace"? 2. How did Judge
Longstreet feel about "Georgia Scenes" in his later years? _3. When
did Washington make his Southern tour?_ _4. How old was Judge Bacon
then?_
ROBERT YOUNG HAYNE.--1. When and with whom was his great debate on
Nullification? 2. What action did South Carolina take in 1832? 3. What
prevented war? 4. What did Webster say the Union would be if the
doctrine of State Sovereignty should be accepted? 5. What action had
the citizens of Boston taken in 1809? _6. What was the resolution of
the Virginia Convention on adopting the Constitution of the United
States?_ _7. Who wrote Hayne's Life?_
SAM HOUSTON.--1. When did Houston go to Texas? 2. What caused the
Texan war of independence? _3. Who were the four presidents of the
Republic of Texas?_ _4. How long was Texas independent and when did
she enter the Union?_ _5. Who was then president of the United
States?_
WILLIAM CAMPBELL PRESTON.--1. What great orator was his uncle? 2. With
what distinguished men was he associated, and who were they? _3. When
was South Carolina University founded?_
JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY.--1. In what novel of Thackeray did he write a
chapter? 2. What was his connection with the Peabody Institute? 3.
What poet did he befriend? _4. Who was Horse Shoe Robinson?_ _5.
Whence his name?_ (_He was a blacksmith._)
HUGH SWINTON LEGARÉ.--1. For what was he noted? 2. What does Judge
Story say of him? _3. When did he live in Washington City?_ _4. When
was he in Belgium?_ 5. Where did he die? _6. What poet wrote his
life?_
MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR.--1. When was he president of Texas? _2. Who
succeeded him?_
FRANCIS LISTER HAWKS.--1. What induced Dr. Hawks to write a history of
North Carolina? 2. Who was the first white child born in America? 3.
When? 4. Who was the first Indian baptized? _5. Where is the town
named for him?_ 6. What probably became of the Lost Colony of Roanoke
and of the little Virginia Dare? _7. How old was she when her
grandfather came back?_ _8. When did Sir Walter Raleigh send his first
colony?_ _9. Did he ever come himself?_ _10. Tell of his life._
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.--1. What paper did he establish? _2. How many
mouths has the Mississippi River?_ _3. Who wrote his life?_ (_See
under G in "List of Southern Writers."_)
EDWARD COATE PINKNEY.--1. What position had his father in 1802? _2.
For what was his father distinguished?_ _3. Who do you think were "the
five greatest poets of the country" in his lifetime?_
CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR GAYARRÉ.--1. In what languages did he write? 2.
Who first manufactured sugar in Louisiana? 3. When? 4. Who were lords
of Louisiana in 1750-70? _5. How long was Louisiana under Spanish
domination?_ _6. When was the Louisiana Purchase made?_ _7. Tell the
story of the Acadians._
MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY.--1. What title did his sea studies acquire for
him? 2. What was his service to the Atlantic Telegraph Cable? 3. Tell
what honors he received. 4. Where is there a monument to Lieutenant
Herndon? _5. What relation were Maury and Herndon?_ _6. Learn
something of the Emperor Maximilian and the Mexican revolution._
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS.--1. What is the subject of most of Simms'
novels? 2. Who has written his life? _3. What is the usual form of
Manneyto? (Manitou)_ _4. Who were the Yemassees and when was the
Yemassee war?_ _5. Give a sketch of General Marion._ (_See also under
Ramsay._)
ROBERT EDWARD LEE.--1. Who have written the life of General Lee? 2.
What is the present name of Washington College? _3. Where are there
monuments to Lee?_ _4. When did the Civil War begin and end?_ _5.
Learn more of General Lee._
JEFFERSON DAVIS.--1. When and where was he inaugurated president of
the Confederacy? 2. What has his daughter Winnie written? _3. Who have
written the life of President Davis?_ _4. When was Pierce president of
the United States?_ _5. Where is Beauvoir?_ _6. Where is the
Hermitage?_ _7. Where is Mr. Davis buried?_
EDGAR ALLAN POE.--1. What is said of the "Raven" in 1845? 2. Where are
monuments to Poe? 3. Which are the best lives of him? _4. Who was John
Pendleton Kennedy?_ _5. What is the Koran?_ _6. "The red levin"?_
ROBERT TOOMBS.--1. What two distinguished men besides Toombs were
ordered to be captured after the war? 2. Why did he not sue for
pardon? 3. Who have written his life? _4. Learn more of him._
OCTAVIA WALTON LE VERT.--1. What was the name of her father and grand
father? 2. What did La Fayette say of her when a child? 3. What is
said of her in Washington? _4. Trace her voyage to Spain from Mobile,
Ala._ _5. Who were the Moors and when did they rule Spain?_
LOUISA SUSANNAH M'CORD.--1. Name of Mrs. M'Cord's father? 2. Learn the
last paragraph on page 292. 3. When was this article published? 4.
Where is Forte Motte? _5. For what is it noted?_ _6. Tell something of
the Women's Rights Movement in Europe and America._
JOSEPH G. BALDWIN.--1. What do you think of this sketch of Virginians?
_2. Translate the Latin._ _3. Who were Jefferson Hamilton Jackson,
Clay John Randolph?_
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS.--1. In what family did he teach? 2. Name
of his home? 3. Tell the anecdotes of him. 4. When did Calhoun die?
_5. Tell what you can of the Senators mentioned in the sketch._ _6.
How did Fillmore afterwards become president of the United Stales?_
_7. When?_
ALEXANDER BEAUFORT MEEK.--1. What system was established by him in
Alabama? 2. Tell some of the characters in his writings 3. For whom is
Montgomery named? _4. When was the Seminole war?_ _5. Who was the
American general?_ _6. What river did De Soto discover and when did he
march through Alabama?_
PHILIP PENDLETON COOKE.--1. Whose brother and whose cousin was he? 2.
What is said of the poem "Florence Vane"?
THEODORE O'HARA.--1. When was the battle of Buena Vista? 2. Where is
O'Hara buried? _3. What is meant by "the Dark and Bloody Ground"?_ _4.
What famous pioneer is also buried in Frankfort?_ _5. Mention some
others given in this book who were in the battle of Buena Vista._
FOURTH PERIOD, 1850-1895.
GEORGE RAINSFORD FAIRBANKS.--1. What other names had Osceola? _2. Find
out more about him and about the Florida War._ _3. For whom is Fort
Moultrie named?_ _4. Who wrote the lines on page 314?_
RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON.--1. What people are described in his
stories? _2. Who are they, and what are such people called in London,
in North Carolina, and in different other States?_ 3. Who was Mr.
Ellington?
JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON.--1. Of what magazine was he editor from 1847 to
1859? 2. Who were some of its contributors? _3. What other writers
edited or wrote for the "Messenger"?_ _4. Who was Ashby?_
JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY.--1. What have we inherited from England? 2.
What relation does Mr. Gladstone think should exist between England
and America? _3. What is the Peabody Educational Fund?_ _4. Learn what
you can of George Peabody and of the Peabody Institute in Baltimore._
(_See also under John Pendleton Kennedy and Sidney Lanier._)
MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON.--1. How was Mrs. Preston related to Stonewall
Jackson? 2. Where did he die? 3. What were his last words? _4. Where
is the Virginia Military Institute?_ _5. Where is the Natural Bridge?_
(_See Jefferson's Description._)
CHARLES HENRY SMITH ("BILL ARP").--1. Tell of the Cherokees and their
march to the West. 2. Who were Ridge and Ross? 3. Tell of John Howard
Payne's imprisonment. _4. Why did the Cherokees go beyond the
Mississippi?_
ST. GEORGE H. TUCKER.--1. What relation was he to St. George Tucker?
2. When was Jamestown burned? 3. When did the Seven Days' Battles
around Richmond occur? _4. When was Berkeley governor of Virginia?_
_5. Tell of Bacon's Rebellion._ (_See also Dr. Caruthers' "Knights of
the Golden Horseshoe."_) _6. What is left of Jamestown now?_ (_See
under John Smith._)
GEORGE WILLIAM BAGBY.--1. What was Dr. Bagby's pen-name? 2. Whom did
he succeed as editor of the "Southern Literary Messenger"? _3. Who was
Rubinstein?_
SARAH ANNE DORSEY.--1. How did Mrs. Dorsey gain her pen-name? 2. To
whom did she will her Mississippi home? 3. Who was H. W. Allen? 4.
What was her opinion as to going in to exile after the war? _5.
Mention some other Confederate soldiers who went to Mexico._ _6. Who
was Mrs. C. A Warfield and what did she write?_ (_See "List of
Southern Writers."_) _7. Describe the life of the mistress of a large
plantation._ (_See under Kennedy and Mrs. M'Cord; also Mrs. Smedes'
"Southern Planter."_)
HENRY TIMROD.--1. What occupation did Timrod's father choose and why?
2. Who were the companions of Timrod's vacations? 3. Who wrote a
sketch of his life? 4. In what great fire was his property destroyed
in Columbia? _5. When did it occur?_ _6. Where is Magnolia Cemetery?_
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE.--1. What title has been given him? 2. What loss
had he during the war? 3. What relation was he to Robert Young Hayne?
4. What book has his son published? 5. The name of his son?
JOHN ESTEN COOKE.--1. What relation was he to P. P. Cooke and to John
P. Kennedy? _2. Who were Jackson and Stuart?_ _3. Tell something of
Virginia History at the time the "Races" took place; of United States
History at the same time._
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE.--1. What title had he and why? 2. What race
settled North Carolina? _3. What is the origin of the term "buncombe"
as popularly used?_ _4. Tell of the Siege of Londonderry, and of the
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence._
ALBERT PIKE.--1. Tell of his trip to the West. 2. Of what does his
"Mocking-Bird" remind one? _3. Learn more of Pike and of his labors
for Freemasonry._
WILLIAM TAPPAN THOMPSON.--1. What distinction about his birth? _2.
What was the Western Reserve?_
JAMES BARRON HOPE.--1. In what year was the 250th anniversary of the
settlement of Jamestown? _2. Who is "the Man" of the Yorktown
Centennial Ode?_ _3. Tell of the surrender at Yorktown._ _4. For whom
was Lord Cornwallis exchanged?_
JAMES WOOD DAVIDSON.--1. What have been his services to Southern
literature? 2. What is the Beautiful? 3. The Poetical?
CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR.--1. What collections did he make? 2. How
stands he among Georgian writers? 3. Describe the city of Savannah in
1734. _4. Tell something of James Edward Oglethorpe._ _5. What did
Oglethorpe write?_ (_See "List of Southern Writers."_) _6. Who were
Jasper, De Soto, Pulaski?_
MARY VIRGINIA TERHUNE ("MARION HARLAND").--1. For what special purpose
was the Story of Mary Washington written? 2. When was the monument
unveiled? 3. Where is it? _4. When did Mrs. Washington die?_
AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON.--1. What was Mrs. Wilson's first novel? 2. Her
most famous one? _3. Translate the foreign phrases and look up the
unknown names in the selection._
DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS.--1. When was the poem written? _2. To whom does
the fifth stanza refer?_ _3. What was the Forum?_
JAMES RYDER RANDALL.--1. What has "My Maryland" been called? 2. When
was it written? _3. Who were Carroll, Howard, Ringgold, Watson, Lowe,
May?_
ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN.--1. What was his title? 2. Mention some of his
poems? _3. What was the Conquered Banner?_
WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE.--_1. What were the Trenches?_ _2. Who wrote
Tristram and Iseult?_
SIDNEY LANIER.--1. What kind of ancestry had he? 2. What is said of
his "Science of English Verse"? 3. What was his favorite remark on
Art? 4. Tell of the Centennial Ode. _5. To what poems does Barbe refer
in his tribute to Lanier?_ (_See under Waitman Barbe._) 6. Study well
the "Song of the Chattahoochee," its rhyme, meter, and thought. _7.
What are the marshes of Glynn?_ (_Salt marches on the coast of Ga._)
_8. What are the Peabody Symphony Concerts?_
JAMES LANE ALLEN.--1. From what States was Kentucky mainly settled? 2.
When was the battle of Blue Licks? _3. When was Kentucky admitted to
the Union?_
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS.--1. What is said of "On the Plantation"? 2. Is
the negro dialect the same in all the States? _3. Who was Uncle
Remus?_
ROBERT BURNS WILSON.--1. Who is the "Fair Daughter of the Sun"? 2. To
whom are Wilson's poems dedicated?
CHRISTIAN REID (MRS. TIERNAN).--1. In what battle was Colonel Fisher
killed? _2. When was it?_ 3. Tell of Dr. Mitchell's death and burial.
(A granite monument has been erected over his grave).
HENRY WOODFEN GRADY.--1. Of what paper was he editor? 2. Where is
there a monument to him? _3. Learn all that you can of the persons and
places mentioned in the extract._
THOMAS NELSON PAGE.--1. With whom did he first write? 2. What passage
of Grady's does the extract illustrate?
CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK (MISS MURFREE).--1. For whom was Murfreesboro
named? 2. Where are Miss Murfree's stories laid?
DANSKE DANDRIDGE.--1. Whence did Mrs. Dandridge get her first name? 2.
Learn the beautiful poem by heart.
AMÉLIE RIVES (MRS. CHANLER).--1. Who were her paternal grandparents,
and what did they write? 2. What style had she at first _3. Learn
something of the ginseng-diggers in the Alleghany Mountains._
GRACE KING.--_Describe the contrast in the life of many of the
Southern planters before and after the war._
WAITMAN BARBE.--1. To whom is the poem addressed? 2. Of what paper is
he editor?
MADISON CAWEIN.--1. Of what race is he? _2. Who were the Huguenots?_
_3. Learn something of their history._
DIXIE.--_1. Who wrote Dixie, and when?_
APPENDIX.
LIST OF SOUTHERN WRITERS.
This list is not complete. It is my desire to make it so, and I shall
be greatly obliged for information as to names, dates, residence, and
works of Southern writers. Correction of mistakes is urgently and
respectfully solicited, as well as fuller details in regard to the
names here given, which lack some of the above particulars.
Communications may be addressed to Miss Louise Manly, care B. F.
Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond, Virginia.
Valuable aid has been most kindly and generously rendered by Prof.
B. F. Meek, University of Alabama; Prof. Howard N. Ogden, University
of West Virginia (now of the University of Chicago); Mr. Charles
Weathers Bump, Ph. D., Johns Hopkins University; Prof. Charles W.
Kent, Linden-Kent Professor of English, University of Virginia; Dr.
James Wood Davidson, Washington, D. C.; Prof. B. F. Riley, University
of Georgia; Mr. Alfred Holt Stone, Greenville, Mississippi; Prof.
R. H. Willis, Arkansas University; Prof. F. C. Woodward, South
Carolina University; Prof. C. V. Waugh, Florida State College; Miss
Sara Hartman, Editor of _The Gulf Messenger_, San Antonio, Texas; Mr.
F. A. Sampson, Sedalia, Missouri; Mr. William F. Switzler, Editor of
_The Missouri Democrat_, Boonville, Missouri; Mr. Fay Hempstead,
Little Rock, Arkansas; Mr. Leonard Lemmon, Editor of _The School
Forum_, Sherman, Texas; Prof. E. M. Davis, University of Tennessee
(now of Hampden-Sidney, Va.), and other professors and scholars.
* * * * *
Those marked * are to be found in the body of the book. The following
abbreviations are used:
Bapt., Baptist.
c. e., civil engineer.
cl., clergyman.
ed., editor.
edu., educator.
jour., journalist.
Luth., Lutheran.
M. E., Methodist Episcopal.
nat., naturalist.
P. E., Protestant Episcopal.
phys., physician.
Pr., Presbyterian.
R. C., Roman Catholic.
sci., scientist.
Abbey, Richard
M. E. Cl.
Miss.
Apostolic Succession, Creed of All Men, and other religious
works.
Aiken, Mrs. J. G.
La.
Poems.
Ainslie, Hew, 1792-1878
poet
Scotland, Ky.
Ingleside, On with the Tartan, Pilgrimage to the Land of
Burns, and other poems.
Aleix, Mme Eulalie L. T.
La.
Le Livre d'Or de la Comtesse Diane, Maxime de la Vie, Les
Poésies de Lamartine.
Alfriend, Frank H.
Va.
Life of Jefferson Davis, Life of R. E. Lee.
Allan, William,--d. 1891
colonel C. S. A.
Va.
Battlefields of Virginia, Jackson's Valley Campaign, Army of
Northern Virginia.
Allen, Henry Watkins, 1820-1866
War governor of La.
Travels of a Sugar-Planter.
*Allen, James Lane
novelist
Ky.
Flute and Violin and other stories, John Gray, A Kentucky
Cardinal.
Allston, Joseph Blyth
soldier
S. C.
Battle Songs.
Allston, Washington, 1779-1843
artist and poet
S. C., Eng., Mass.
Monaldi (novel), Poems, Art writings.
Alsop, George, 1638-
colonist
England, Md.
Character of the Province of Maryland, Small Treatise on the
Wild and Naked Indians or Susquehannakes of Maryland.
Anderson, Florence
Ky.
Zenaida (novel), Poems.
Andrew, James Osgood, 1794-1871
M. E. bishop
Ga., Ala.
Miscellanies, Family Government.
Andrews, Eliza Frances, 1847 ("_Elzey Hay_")
Ga.
Family Secret, Mere Adventurers, Prince Hal, Dress Under
Difficulties (fashions in Dixie during the war), Plea for Red
Hair, and other writings.
Andry, Mme Laure
La.
Histoire de la Louisiane pour les Enfants.
Archdale, John
Quaker,
came in 1664 as governor of Carolina.
Description of Carolina.
Archer, G. W.
phys.
Md.
More than She Could Bear (Tales of Texas).
Arrington, Alfred W., 1810-1867
N. C., Mo., Ark.
Apostrophe to Water, Sketch of the South-West, Rangers and
Regulators of the Tanaha.
Asbury, Francis, 1745-1816
M. E. bishop
Eng., Va.
Journal (3 vols., travels in establishing Methodism).
Ashe, Thomas, ("T. A., Gent.")
Eng., Va.
Carolina: or a Description of the Present State of that
Country and the Natural Excellencies thereof (published in
1682, reprinted, 1836).
*Audubon, John James, 1780-1851
naturalist
La., Pa., Ky., N. Y.
Ornithological Biographies, Birds of America, Quadrupeds of
America (with Rev. John Bachman).
Augustin, George
La.
Legends of New Orleans.
Augustin, John
La.
Creole Songs, War Flowers.
Augustin, Marie
La.
Le Macandal (novel).
Bachman, John, 1790-1874
Luth. cl., nat.
N. Y., S. C.
Quadrupeds of America (with Audubon), Unity of the Human Race,
Defence of Luther.
Bacon, Julia
Tex.
Looking for the Fairies, and other poems.
*Bagby, George William, 1828-1883
humorist, essayist
Va.
Letters of Mozis Addums and other writings.
Baker, Daniel, 1791-1857
Pr. cl., edu.
Ga., Va., Tex.
Sermons, Address to Fathers, and other works.
Baker, William Munford (son of Daniel), 1825-1883
cl.
Tex., Mass.
Inside, A Chronicle of Secession, by _G. F. Harrington_,
Virginians in Texas, New Timothy, and other works.
Baker, Mrs. Marion A. (_Julie K. Wetherill_), 1858-
La.
Poems, essays, and other writings.
*Baldwin, Joseph G., 1811-1864
jurist, humorist
Ala., Cal.
Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi, Party Leaders, and
other writings.
Baldwin, James Mark
edu.
S. C., N. J.
Mental Development in the Child and the Race, Psychology.
Ball, Mrs. Caroline A. [Rutledge]
S. C.
Jacket of Gray and other Poems (1866).
Banister, John, ?-1692
botanist
Eng., Va.
Insects of Virginia, Curiosities in Virginia.
*Barbe, Waitman, 1864-
ed.
W. Va.
Addresses, Ashes and Incense, and other poems.
Barbee, William J., 1816-
cl., phys., edu.
Ky., Tenn., Mo.
Cotton Question, Life of Paul, and other writings.
Barber, Miss Catherine Webb [Mrs. Towles]
ed.
Mass., Ala., Ga.
(Ed. "Miss Barber's Weekly"), Three Golden Links, Freemason's
Fireside.
Barclay, James Turner, 1807-1874
cl.
Va., Ala.
City of the Great King.
Barde, Alexandre
La.
Histoire des Comités de Vigilance aux Attakapas.
Barnes, Annie Maria, 1857-
S. C., Ga.
Some Lowly Lives, Story of the Chattahoochee, Found in the
Sand, &c.
Barney, John, 1784-1856
Md.
Personal Recollections of Men and Things in America and Europe.
Barr, Mrs. Amelia Edith
Eng., Tex.
Remember the Alamo, Jan Vedder's Wife, and many other novels.
Barrow, Mrs. Frances Elizabeth [Mease] (_Aunt Fanny_), 1822
S. C., N. Y.
Aunt Fanny's Story-Book, Letter G, Six Nightcaps.
Bartlett, Napier
La.
Military Recollections of Louisiana, Soldier's Story of the War.
Bartley, James Avis
Va.
Lays of Virginia.
Bascom, Henry Bidleman, 1796-1850.
M. E. bishop
N. Y., Ky.
(Ed. "Southern Methodist Quarterly Review"), Sermons,
Methodism and Slavery.
Baxter, William, 1823-
cl., edu.
England, Ark.
Poems, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove, War Lyrics.
Bay
Mo.
Bench and Bar of Missouri.
Baylor, Frances Courtenay, 1848-
novelist
Ark., Va.
On Both Sides, Behind the Blue Ridge, A Shocking Example.
Beale, Helen G.
Va.
Lansdowne.
Beard, Richard, 1799-1880
Pr. cl., edu.
Tenn.
Systematic Theology, Biographical Sketches, Why I Am a
Cumberland Presbyterian.
Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, 1818-
soldier
La.
Principles and Maxims of the Art of War, Defence of Charleston.
Beck, George, 1749-1812
edu.
England, Ky.
Poems, original, and translated from Greek and Latin.
Bell, Orelia Key, 1864-
Ga.
Po' Jo, Jamestown Weed, and other poems.
Bellamy, Mrs. Elizabeth Whitfield [Croom], "_Kamba Thorp_," 1839-
Fla., Ala.
Four Oaks, Little Joanna, Penny Lancaster Farmer, Old Man
Gilbert, The Luck of the Pendennings, (Ladies' Home Journal,
1895).
Bennett, Mrs. Martha Haines Butt
Va.
Pastimes with Little Friends, Leisure Moments.
*Benton, Thomas Hart, 1782-1858
statesman
N. C., Mo.
Thirty Years in the United States Senate.
Berkeley, Sir William, 1610-1677
colonial governor of Virginia, 1641-1676
Va.
The Lost Lady, a Tragi-Comedy, 1638, Description of Virginia.
Bernard, P. V.
La.
Un Ancêtre de la Sainte Alliance.
Berrien, John Macpherson, 1781-1856
statesman
N. J., Ga.
(Called "_The American Cicero_"), Address in Congress.
Beverley, Robert, 1670-1735
statesman, historian
Va.
History of the Present State of Virginia, 1705.
Bigby, Mrs. Mary Catherine [Dougherty], 1839-
Ga.
Delilah, Death of Polk, and other poems.
Bigney, Mark F.
La.
Forest Pilgrims, Wreck of the Nautilus, and other poems.
Blackburn
Va.
Miss Washington of Virginia.
Blair, Francis Preston, 1821-1875
ed., soldier
Ky., Mo.
(Ed. "Mo. Democrat"), Life of General William O. Butler.
Blair, James, 1656-1743
first president of William and Mary College,
edu.
Scotland, Va.
State of His Majesty's Colony in Virginia, Sermons.
Blake, Mrs. Lillie [Devereux], 1835-
N. C., N. Y.
Woman's Place To-day, Fettered for Life, Southwold, Rockford,
and other stories.
Bland, Richard, ("Virginia Antiquary"), 1710-1776
Va.
Letter to the Clergy, Rights of the British Colonies.
Bledsoe, Albert Taylor, 1809-1877
cl., edu.
Ky., Tenn., Va.
(Ed. "Southern Review"), Theodicy, Is Davis a Traitor? Edwards
on the Will, Liberty and Slavery, Philosophy of Mathematics.
"Dr. Bledsoe was a giant of Southern Literature."
Bléton, C.
La.
De la Poésie dans l'Histoire.
Blount, Annie R.
(_Jenny Woodbine_)
Ga.
Poems, (1860).
Boernstein
Mo.
Mysteries of St. Louis.
Boner, John Henry, 1845-
N. C., N. Y.
(One of the editors of the Century Dictionary, and of the
Library of American Literature), Whispering Pines (poems).
Bosman, John Leeds, 1757-1823
lawyer
Md.
History of Maryland, Verses and prose articles.
Botts, John Minor, 1802-1869
Va.
Great Rebellion.
Boyce, James Petigru, 1827-1889
Bapt. cl., edu.
S. C., Ky.
(Founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary),
Systematic Theology, Catechism.
Boyle, Virginia Frazer, 1863-
Tenn.
Old Canteen, On Both Sides.
Bradley, Thomas Bibb
Va.
Poems (with his cousin, Mrs. Creswell).
Breckinridge, John Cabell, 1821-1875
statesman, soldier
Ky.
Addresses.
Breckinridge, Robert Jefferson, 1800-1871
Pr. cl., edu.
Ky.
Internal Evidences of Christianity, Knowledge of God, Travels,
and other writings.
Brewer, Willis
Ala.
Alabama.
Bringhurst, Mrs. Nettie Houston (daughter of Sam Houston)
Tex.
Poems.
Brisbane, Abbott Hall, 1861-
civil engineer
S. C.
Ralphston.
Broadus, John Albert, 1827-1895
Bapt. cl., edu.
Va., S. C., Ky.
Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, History of Preaching,
Sermons and Addresses, Commentary on Matthew, Memoir of James
P. Boyce, Harmony of the Gospels.
Brock. R. A.
Va.
Virginia and Virginians, Southern Historical Society Papers.
Brock, Miss Sallie A. (see Mrs. Putnam)
Va.
Brooks, Nathan Covington, 1819-
edu.
Md.
Shelley, History of the Mexican War, Literary Amaranth, and
other writings.
Brown, John Henry
Tex.
History of Texas.
Brown, William Hill, 1766-1793
N. C.
Poems.
Browne, Emma Alice, 1840-
Md.
Poems--"The Water-Lilies Float Away," and others.
Browne, William Hand, 1828-
edu.
Md.
English Literature, Life of Alexander H. Stephens, (with R. M.
Johnston), George and Cecilius Calvert, Maryland.
Brownlow, William Gannaway, 1805-1877
cl.
Va., Tenn.
Secession.
Bruns, John Dickson, 1836-
phys., edu.
S. C., La.
"Charleston," "Wrecked," and other poems, Lectures on Tennyson
and Timrod, medical writings.
Bryan, D.
Va.
Mountain Muse, Adventures of Daniel Boone.
Bryan, E. L.
Va.
1860-1865 (novel).
Bryan, Mrs. Mary Edwards, 1846-
Fla., Ga.
Manch, Wild Work, Poems, and other works.
Buchanan, Joseph, 1785-1829
ed., inventor
Va., Ky.
Philosophy of Human Nature.
Buckner, Mrs. R. T.
La.
Toward the Gulf.
Burke, John W.
Ireland, Ga.
Life of Robert Emmet.
Burnett, Mrs. Frances Hodgson
England, Tenn.
That Lass o' Lowrie's (1877), Surly Tim's Troubles (1872),
Haworth's (1879), Louisiana (1880), Fair Barbarian (1881),
Through One Administration (1883), Little Lord Fauntleroy
(1886), Sarah Crewe (1888), The Pretty Sister of José (1889),
Little Saint Elizabeth (1890), Giovanni and the Other (1891),
The One I Knew Best (1893), The Mind of a Child (1893),
(describing her son, the original of Fauntleroy).
Butler, William Orlando, 1791-1880
soldier
Ky.
Boatman's Horn (poem).
*Byrd, William, 1674-1744
statesman
Va.
Westover Manuscripts: History of the Dividing Line, A Journey
to the Land of Eden, Progress to the Mines.
Cable, George Washington, 1844-
La., Mass.
Old Creole Days (1879), Grandissimes (1880), Madam Delphine
(1881), Dr. Sevier (1883), Creoles of Louisiana (1884), The
Silent South (1885), Bonaventure (1887), Strange True Stories
of Louisiana, edited and revised by G. W. Cable (1889), Negro
Question (1890), John March, Southerner (1893-4).
Caldwell, Charles, 1772-1853,
phys.
N. C., Ky.
Autobiography, and other works.
Caldwell, James Fitz-James
S. C.
A Brigade of South Carolinians, Letters from Europe.
*Calhoun, John Caldwell, 1782-1850
statesman
S. C.
Addresses in Congress (6 vols).
Calvert, George Henry, 1803-1880
ed.
Md.
Poems, Goethe, Dante, St. Beuve, and other essays.
Campbell, Charles, 1807-1876
historian
Va.
Bland Papers, Introduction to the History of the Old Dominion,
Spotswood Family.
Canonge, L. Placide, 1822-
dramatist
La.
Qui Perd Gagne, Brise du Sud, Le Comte de Carmagnola,
Institutions Américaines.
Carleton, Henry Guy, 1835-
dramatist
N. M., La.
Memnon.
Cardozo, J. N.
S. C.
Reminiscences of Charleston.
Carroll, Mother Austin
La.
Annals of the Sisters of Mercy.
Caruthers, William A., 1800-1850
phys.
Va., Ga.
Knights of the Golden Horse-Shoe, Cavaliers of Virginia,
Kentuckians in New York.
Castleman, Virginia C.
edu.
Va.
A Child of the Covenant, Belmont, a Tale of the New South.
*Cawein, Madison, 1865-
poet
Ky.
Blooms of the Berry (1887), Days and Dreams, &c.
Chambers, H. E.
La.
Histories of the United States (for schools).
*Chanler, Mrs. Amélie Rives, 1863-
Va.
A Brother to Dragons and Other Stories (1888), Virginia of
Virginia (1888), The Quick or the Dead? (1888) and other
novels and dramas.
Chapman, John A.
S. C.
The Walk (poem), History of South Carolina (for schools).
Charlton, Robert M., 1807-1854
lawyer
Ga.
Leaves from the Portfolio of a Georgia Lawyer, Sketches, Poems.
Chaudron, Louis
Ala.
Madame La Marquise, and other comedies.
Chittenden, William Lawrence, 1862-
N. J., Tex.
(called "Poet-Ranchman"), Ranch Verses.
Clack, Mrs. Marie Louise
La.
Our Refugee Household (1866).
Claiborne, John Francis Hamtranck, 1809-1884
jour.
Miss.
Life and Times of General Sam. Dale, Life of J. A. Quitman
(1860), History of the War of Secession.
Clarke, Mrs. Kate Upson, 1851-
Ala., N. Y.
That Mary Ann, and other writings.
Clarke, Mrs. Mary Bayard [Devereux], 1830-
N. C.
Wood-Notes, Mosses from a Rolling Stone, Reminiscences of
Cuba, Stories, Sketches, Poems.
*Clay, Henry, 1777-1852
statesman
Va., Ky.
Addresses at the Bar and in Congress.
Clemens, Jeremiah, 1814-1865
Ala.
Rivals, Mustang Gray, and other novels.
Cleveland, Henry
Ga.
Alexander H. Stephens (1866).
Clingman, Thomas Lanier, 1812-
statesman, soldier
N. C.
Speeches, Mountains of North Carolina, Follies of the
Positive Philosophy.
Cobb, Joseph Buckham, 1819-1858
Ga., Miss.
Creole, Mississippi Scenes, Leisure Labor.
Cobb, Thomas Read Rootes, 1823-1862
lawyer
Ga.
Law of Slavery, Laws of Georgia, Addresses, Poems.
Coleman, Charles Washington, Jr
Va.
Poems, Literature in the South.
Collens, Thomas Wharton, 1812-1879
lawyer
La.
Martyr Patriots (drama), Humanics, Eden of Labor.
Collins, Clarence B.
Fla.
(Called "Sand-spur Philosopher"), Tom and Joe, (a story of the
war).
Connelly, Emma M.
Ky.
Story of Kentucky, Tilting at Windmills.
Conway, Moncure Daniel, 1832-
Va.
Idols and Ideals, Wandering Jew, Pine and Palm, Prisons of
Air, Life of Paine, and other works.
Cook, E., colonial times
Va., Md.
Sot-Weed [_Tobacco_] Factor.
*Cooke, Philip Pendleton, 1816-1850
Va.
Froissart Ballads and other Poems (1847), John Carpe, Crime of
Andrew Blair, and other stories.
*Cooke, John Esten, 1830-1886
Va.
Virginia Comedians, Surry of Eagle's Nest, and other novels.
Courmont, Félix de
La.
Le Morne Vert, L'Amour, Le Dernier des Caraïbes.
*Craddock, Charles Egbert (Miss Murfree)
Tenn.
Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains, &c.
Crafts, William, 1787-1826
lawyer
S. C.
Raciad, and other poems, essays, &c.
Crane, William Carey, 1816-1885
Bapt. cl., edu.
Va. Tex.
Life of General Sam Houston.
Crawford, J. Marshall
Va.
Mosby and His Men (1867).
Crawford, William Harris, 1772-1834
statesman
Ga.
Speeches.
Crawford, Nathaniel Macon, 1811-1871
Bapt. cl., edu.
Ga., Ky.
Christian Paradoxes.
Creswell, Mrs. Julia [Pleasants], 1827-1886
Ala.
Callamura, Apheila, Poems.
"Crim, Matt"
Ga.
Adventures of a Fair Rebel, In Beaver Cove and Elsewhere,
Elizabeth: Christian Scientist.
*Crockett, David, 1786-1836
soldier, hunter
Tenn.
Autobiography, &c.
Cross, Mrs. Jane Tandy [Chinn], 1817-1870
edu.
Ky.
Heart Blossoms, Azile, Six Months Under a Cloud (Prison Life).
Crozier, Robert Haskins
cl.
Miss.
Confederate Spy.
Cruse, Mary Ann
Ala.
Cameron Hall.
Cumming, Kate, 1835-
Ala.
Hospital Life in the Army of Tennessee.
*Curry, Jabez Lamar Monroe, 1825-
diplomate
Ala., Va.
Southern States of the American Union, &c.
Custis, George Washington Parke, 1781-1857
Va.
Memoir of Washington.
Cutler, Mrs. Lizzie [Petit], 1831-
Va.
Light and Darkness, Household Mysteries, A Romance of Southern
Life.
Dabney, Richard, 1787-1825
Va.
Poems, original and translated.
Dabney, Robert Lewis, 1820-
edu.
Va., Tex.
Defence of Virginia and the South, Life of T. J. Jackson.
Dabney, Virginius, 1835-1894
Va.
Don Miff, Gold That Did Not Glitter.
Dagg, John L., 1794-1884
Bapt. cl., edu.
Va., Ga., Ala.
Manual of Theology, Moral Philosophy.
Dalsheimer, Mrs. Alice [Solomon], 1845-1880 ("Salvia Dale")
La.
Motherhood, Twilight Shadows (poems).
Dana, Mrs., _see Shindler_
*Dandridge, Mrs. Danske [Bedinger], 1859-
W. Va.
Joy and other Poems.
Darby, John F.
Mo.
Personal Recollections.
Darden, Mrs. Fannie A. D. [Baker]
Ala., Tex.
Comanche Boy, Old Brigade, and other poems.
Dargan, Clara Victoria, 1840-
S. C.
Riverlands, Helen Howard, Poems.
Daveiss, Mrs. Maria [Thompson], 1814-
Ky.
Roger Sherman, a Tale of '76, Woman's Love, Poems.
David, Urbain
La.
Les Anglais à la Louisiane en 1814 et 1815.
*Davidson, James Wood, 1829-
edu., jour.
S. C.
Living Writers of the South (1869), Poetry of the Future, &c.
*Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889,
statesman
Miss.
Rise and Fall of the Confederacy.
Davis, Mrs. Varina Jefferson [Howell]
Miss.
Jefferson Davis.
Davis, Varina Anne, 1864 (called "Child of the Confederacy")
Miss.
An Irish Knight, Essays, &c.
Davis, Mrs. Mary Evelyn [Moore]
Ala., Tex., La.
Minding the Gap and other Poems, In War Times at La Rose
Blanche, Keren Happuch, New Orleans Sketches.
Davis, Henry Winter, 1817-1865,
statesman
Md.
War of Ahriman and Ormuzd in the Nineteenth Century, Speeches.
Davis, Noah Knowles, 1830-
edu.
Ala., Va.
Logic, Moral Philosophy, &c.
Davis, Reuben, 1813-
lawyer
Tenn., Miss.
Recollections of Mississippi.
Davis, George L. L.
Md.
History of Maryland.
Debouchel, Victor
La.
Histoire de la Louisiane.
DeBow, James D. B., 1820-1867
ed.
S. C., La.
Editorials in _DeBow's Review_, &c.
Déjacque, Joseph
La.
Les Lazaréennes, Poésies Sociales, Fables, Chansons.
De Kay, Charles, 1848-
jour.
D. C., Md.
Bohemians, Hesperus, Manmatha, &c.
Deléry, François Charles, 1815-1880
phys.
La.
L'Ecole du Peuple, Les Némésiennes Confédérées, and others.
De Leon, T. Cooper
ed.
Ala.
Four Years in Rebel Capitals, A Fair Blockade-Breaker, Creole
and Puritan, and other stories.
Dennis, James Teackle
Md.
On the Shores of an Inland Sea (Alaskan travel and life).
Dessommes, George
La.
Geoffroy le Troubadour, A Deux Morts.
De Vere, Maximilian Schele, 1820-
edu.
Sweden, Va.
Romance of American History, The Great Empress Agrippina,
Grammaire française, Studies in English, Americanisms, Modern
Magic, and other works.
Devron, G.
La.
Montézuma, and studies in Louisiana History.
Dew, Thomas Roderick, 1802-1846
edu.
Va.
Policy of the Government, Slavery, and other Essays.
Dickison, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth
S. C., Fla.
Dickison and His Men.
Didier, Franklin James, 1794-1840
phys.
Md.
Letters.
Didier, Eugene Lemoine, 1838-
Md.
Life of Poe, Madame Bonaparte.
Dimitry, Alexander, 1805-1883 ("_Guarnerius_")
edu.
La.
Greek Demetrius.
Dimitry, John Bull Smith, 1835-
ed.
La.
History and Geography of Louisiana.
Dimitry, Charles Patton, 1837- ("_Guarnerius, Jr._")
ed.
La., Va.
Braddock Field, House on Balfour Street, Poems.
Dinnies, Mrs. Annie Peyre [Shackelford], 1816-
S. C., La.
The Floral Year, and other Poems.
Dinwiddie, Robert
1752-1758 colonial gov. of Va.
Dinwiddie Papers.
Dodge, Richard Irving, 1827-
soldier, traveller
N. C.
Great West, Black Hills, &c.
Doggett, Daniel Seth, 1810-1880
M. E. bishop
Va.
War and Its Close.
Donaldson, James Lowry, 1814-1885
soldier
Md.
Sergeant Atkins (a tale of the Florida War).
*Dorsey, Mrs. Sarah Anne [Ellis], 1829-1879 ("_Filia_")
Miss., La.
Recollections of H. W. Allen, and other works.
Dorsey, Mrs. Anna Hanson, 1815-
D. C.
May Brooke, Oriental Pearls, &c.
Dorsey, James Owen, 1848-
linguist
Md.
Indian Languages and Customs.
Doussan, Gaston
La.
La Fayette en Amérique, Révolution française.
Downing, Mrs. Fanny Murdaugh, 1835-1894
Va.
Nameless, Pluto, Legend of Catawba, and other poems and
stories.
*Drayton, William Henry, 1742-1779
statesman
S. C.
Revolution in South Carolina.
*Drayton, John, 1766-1822
lawyer
gov. of S. C.
View of South Carolina, &c.
Du Bose, Mrs. Catherine Anne [Richards], 1826-
Ga.
Wachulla (poem), Pastor's Household.
Duffee, Mary Gordon, ca. 1840-
Ala.
Cleopatra, History of Alabama, Mammoth Cave, Blount Springs, &c.
Duffy, Annie V.
N. C.
Glenalban and other Poems (1878).
Dufour, Cyprien
La.
Esquisses Locales.
Duggan, Mrs. Janie Prichard
N. C.
A Mexican Ranch (1894).
Dugué, Charles Oscar, 1821-
ed.
La.
Le Cygne ou Mingo, Mila ou la Mort de La Salle, Essais
poétiques, Philosophie Morale (in French and English).
Duke, Basil W.
soldier, ed.
Ky.
(Editor _Southern Magazine_), Morgan's Cavalry.
Dupuy, Eliza Ann, 1814-1881
Va., La.
Conspirators (story of Aaron Burr), and many other novels.
Early, John, 1785-1873
M. E. bishop
Va.
Sermons.
Early, Jubal Anderson, 1816-1894
soldier
Va.
Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate
States.
Eastman, Mrs. Mary Henderson, 1818-
Va.
Dacotah, Chicora, Aunt Phillis' Cabin (answer to Uncle Tom's
Cabin).
Eaton, John Henry, 1790-1856
Tenn.
Life of Andrew Jackson.
Eaton, Thomas Treadwell, 1845-
Bapt. cl., ed.
Tenn., Va., Ky.
Talks on Getting Married, Sermons to Children, and other
sermons and addresses.
Edwards, Harry Stillwell, 1854-
Ga.
Two Runaways, and other stories.
Edwards, John Ellis, 1814-
M. E. cl.
N. C., Va.
Travels in Europe, Confederate Soldier, Log Meeting-House,
Life of J. W. Childs.
Edwards, William Emory, 1842-
M. E. cl.
Va.
John Newsom: A Tale of College Life.
Edwards, J. N.
Mo.
Shelby and His Men; Noted Guerrillas.
Edwards, Mrs.
Mo.
Life of J. N. Edwards.
Edwards, Ninian, 1775-1833
statesman
Md.
Edwards Papers.
Edwards, Wirt, 1809-
lawyer
Ky., Ill.
Life and Times of Ninian Edwards, History of Illinois.
Edwards, Richard
Mo.
Great West.
Elder, George A. M., 1794-1838
ed., edu.
Ky.
Letters to Brother Jonathan.
Elder, Mrs. Susan [Blanchard], 1835- ("_Hermine_")
La.
Loss of the Papacy, James II., Savonarola, Ellen Fitzgerald.
Ellinjay, Louise
Va.
Rising Young Men, and other tales.
Elliot, Benjamin, 1786-1836
jurist
S. C.
Refutation of Calumnies as to Slavery, Militia System of South
Carolina.
Elliott, William, 1788-1863 ("_Venator_," "_Piscator_,"
"_Agricola_")
S. C.
Fiesco (tragedy), Carolina Sports by Land and Water, and other
articles.
Elliott, Sarah Barnwell
Ga., Tenn.
Jerry, The Felmeres, John Paget.
Ely, Richard Theodore, 1854-
edu.
Md.
French and German Socialism, Political Economy, Labor Movement.
Emory, John, 1789-1835
M. E. bishop
Md.
Divinity of Christ, Defence of Our Fathers.
Emory, Robert, 1814-1848
edu.
Md.
Life of Bishop Emory, History of the Discipline of the M. E.
Church.
Emory, William Hemsley, 1811-
soldier
Md.
Notes of a Military Reconnoissance in Missouri and California.
England, John, 1786-1842
first R. C. bishop of Charleston, S. C.
Works (5 volumes).
Eve, Paul Fitzsimmons, 1806-1877
surgeon, edu.
Ga., Tenn.
What the South and West have done for American Surgery.
*Fairbanks, George Rainsford, 1820-
soldier
Fla.
History of Florida, &c.
Fanning, David, 1754-1825
freebooter
N. C.
Narrative of Adventures in North Carolina, edited by J. H.
Wheeler (1861).
Farmer, Henry Tudor, 1782-1828
phys.
Eng., S. C.
Imagination and other poems.
Farrar, F. R.
lawyer
Va.
Johnny Reb, Rip Van Winkle.
Fauquier, Francis, 1720-1768
colonial governor of Va.
Raising Money for the War.
Ficklen, Mrs. John R.
La.
Dream Poetry.
Field, Joseph M., 1810-1856 ("_Straws_")
actor
Mo.
Drama of Pokerville.
Field, Kate, 1840-
ed. "_Kate Field's Washington_"
Mo., D. C.
Charles A. Fechter, Planchette's Diary, Ten Days in Spain,
Dickens' Readings, Hap-Hazard.
Field, Miss L. A.
Ga.
History of the United States.
Filley, Mrs. C. I.
Mo.
Chapel of the Infant Jesus.
Filson, John, 1747-1788
explorer
Ky., O.
Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke.
Finley, John, 1797-1866
Va., Ind.
Hoosier's Nest and other poems.
*Fisher, Miss Frances C. (_see Reid, Christian_)
Fitzhugh, George, 1807-1881
Va., Tex.
Sociology for the South, Cannibals All.
Flash, Henry Lynden, 1835-
La., Cal.
What She Brought Me, and other poems.
Fontaine, Lamar
Va., Tex.
(One of the reputed authors of "All Quiet Along the Potomac"),
In Memoriam (poems).
Foote, Henry Stuart, 1800-1880
statesman
Va., Tenn.
Texas and Texans, War of the Rebellion, Bench and Bar of the
South-West, Personal Reminiscences.
Foote, William Henry, 1794-1869
cl., edu.
Conn., Va.
Presbyterian Church in Virginia, Sketches of Virginia,
Sketches in North Carolina.
Ford, Mrs. Sally Rochester, 1828-
Ky., Mo.
Grace Truman, Morgan and His Men, May Bunyan, Ernest Quest,
and other religious stories.
Fortier, Florent
La.
La Salle.
Fortier, Alcée
edu.
La.
Histoire de la Littérature française, Sept Grands Auteurs du
Dix-neuvième Siècle, Gabriel d'Ennerich, Louisiana Studies
(1894).
Forwood, William Stump, 1830-
phys.
Md.
History of Harford County, La Fayette's Passage through
Harford County in 1781, Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
Fraser, Charles, 1782-1860
artist
S. C.
Reminiscences of Charleston, Addresses, &c.
Freeman, Mrs. (_Mary Forrest_)
Women of the South Distinguished in Literature.
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890
soldier
Ga., the West.
Frémont's Explorations, Memoirs of My Life.
Frémont, Mrs. Jessie Benton, 1824-
Mo.
Story of the Guard, Life of Thomas Hart Benton, Souvenirs of
My Times.
French, Benjamin Franklin, 1799-
Va., La.
Historical Annals of North America, Historical Collections of
Louisiana.
French, Mrs. L. Virginia [Smith], 1830-1881
Md., Tenn.
Wind Whispers, Iztahlxo, Legends of the South.
Fuller, Edwin Wiley, 1847-1876
N. C.
Angel in the Cloud (poem), Sea-Gift (novel).
Furman, Richard, 1816-1886
Bapt. cl.
S. C.
Pleasures of Piety and other poems, Description of Table-Rock.
Gadsden, Christopher Edwards, 1785-1852
P. E. bishop
S. C.
Prayer-Book As It Is, Bishop Dehon, Sermons, &c.
Gallagher, William Davis, 1808-
jour.
O., Ky.
Wreck of the Hornet, Errato, Miami Woods, and other poems.
Garden, Alexander, 1685-1756
P. E. cl.
Scot., S. C.
Letters to Whitefield, Sermons.
Garden, Alexander, 1730-1791
phys., nat.
S. C.
Botanical Writings (_Gardenia_, or Cape Jessamine, named in
his honor).
Garden, Alexander, 1757-1829
soldier
S. C.
Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War.
Gardener, H. H. (_see Mrs. Smart_).
Garland, Hugh A., 1805-1854
lawyer
Va., Mo.
Life of John Randolph of Roanoke.
Garnett, James Mercer, 1770-1843
publicist
Va.
(Founder and first president of the U. S. Agricultural
Society), Female Education, Articles on Agriculture.
Garnett, James Mercer, 1840-
edu.
Va.
English Literature, Translations of Anglo-Saxon Poems.
Garrett
Ala.
Public Men of Alabama.
Gaston, James McFadden
S. C.
Hunting a Home in Brazil.
*Gayarré, Charles Étienne Arthur, 1805-1895
La.
History of Louisiana and other works.
Gentil, J.
La.
Elle (poésie).
Gibbes, Robert Wilson, 1809-1846
sci.
S. C.
Documentary History of the American Revolution, medical and
scientific works.
Gibbons, James, 1834-
R. C. Cardinal
Md.
Faith of Our Fathers.
Gibson, William, 1788-1868
surgeon
Md., Ga.
Rambles in Europe, Surgery.
Gilbert, David McConaughey, 1836-
Luth. cl.
Pa., Va.
Lutheran Church in Virginia, Muhlenberg's Ministry in
Virginia, &c.
Gildersleeve, Basil Lanneau, 1831-
edu.
S. C., Md.
Studies in Philology, editor of Greek texts.
Gillespie, Joseph H.
cl., edu.
N. C.
Chancellorsville, Myra, Sumter, Elsinore and other poems
(1888).
Gilman, Daniel Coit, 1831-
edu.
Conn., Md.
Life of Monroe, &c.
Gilmer, George Rockingham, 1790-1859
lawyer
Ga.
Georgiana.
Gilmor, Harry, 1838-1883
soldier
Md.
Four Years in the Saddle.
Girard, Mme D.
La.
Histoire des Etats-Unis, suivie de l'Histoire de la Louisiane.
Glenn, James
from 1744 to 1755 governor of S. C.
Description of South Carolina.
Glisan, Rodney, 1827-
surgeon
Md.
Journal of Army Life, Two Years in Europe.
Goode
Mo.
The Story of a Life.
Gordon, Armistead Churchill, 1855-
lawyer
Va.
Befo' de Wa' (with Thomas Nelson Page), Ode on the Unveiling
of the Soldiers' Monument (1894).
Gorman, John Berry, 1793-1864
phys.
S. C., Ga.
Philosophy of Animated Existence.
Goulding, Francis Robert, 1810-1881
Pr. cl.
Ga.
Little Josephine (1844), Robert and Harold or the Young
Marooners on the Florida Coast (1852 and 1866), Marooners'
Island (1868), Frank Gordon (1869), Fishing and Fishers, Life
Scenes from the Gospel History, Woodruff Stories (1870).
*Grady, Henry Woodfen, 1850-1889
ed.
Ga.
The New South.
Granberry, John Cowper, 1829-
M. E. bishop
Va.
Bible Dictionary.
Graves, Mrs. Adelia C. [Spencer], 1821-
edu.
Tenn.
Ruined Lives, Jephthah's Daughter (a drama).
Grayson, William J., 1788-1863
statesman
S. C.
Hireling and Slave, Chicora (poem), Life of J. L. Petigru,
and other works.
Green, Alexander Little Page, 1806-1874
cl.
Tenn.
Church in the Wilderness.
Green, Duff, 1791-1875
statesman
Ky.
Facts and Suggestions.
Green, Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1863
soldier
N. C.
Mississippi Expedition.
Green, William Mercer, 1798-1887
P. E. bishop
N. C., Tenn.
Memoir of Bishop Ravenscroft.
Greenhow, Robert, 1800-1854
Va.
History of Tripoli, Discovery of the Northwest Coast of North
America, History of Oregon and California.
Gregg, Alexander, 1819-
P. E. bishop
S. C., Tex.
History of Old Cheraw, Life of Bishop Otey, Church in Texas.
Griffin, Gilderoy Wells, 1840-
ed.
Ky.
Life of George D. Prentice, New Zealand.
Griffith, Mattie (cousin of Lord Bulwer-Lytton)
Ky.
Poems.
Grigsby, Hugh Blair, 1806-1881
historian
Va.
Virginia Convention of 1776, and other historical studies.
Grimké, John Faucheraud, 1752-1819
jurist
S. C.
Laws of South Carolina and other works.
Grimké, Thomas Smith, 1786-1834
lawyer
S. C.
Addresses on Science, Education, and Literature, Free
Institutions.
Grimké, Frederick, 1791-1863
lawyer
S. C.
Ancient and Modern Literature.
Grimké, Sarah Moore, 1792-1873
S. C., N. J.
Condition of Women, Anti-slavery articles.
Grisna, E.
La.
Pour un Nickel, Elégie, Pourquoi Jean Est Resté Garçon.
Grundy, Felix, 1777-1840
statesman
Va., Tenn.
Addresses, Oration on Jefferson and Adams.
Gwyn, Mrs. Laura
S. C.
Poems.
Habersham, Alexander Wylly, 1826-1883
naval officer
Ga., Md.
My Last Cruise.
Hall, James, 1744-1826
cl.
Pa., N. C.
Missionary Tour, Extraordinary Work of Religion in North
Carolina.
Hall, Robert Pleasants, 1825-1854
lawyer
S. C., Ga.
Winona, Cherokee, Poems by a South Carolinian.
Hammond, James Henry, 1807-1864
statesman
S. C.
Address on Calhoun, on the Admission of Kansas, and others.
Hammond, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, 1814-1876
statesman
S. C.
Essays, Critical History of the Mexican War.
Hammond, John
colonist in 1635
Va., Md.
Two Sisters, Leah and Rachel (meaning Virginia and Maryland).
Hamor, Raphe
colonist
Va.
True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia (1615).
Hampton, Wade, 1818-
soldier, statesman
S. C.
Addresses.
Handy, Alexander Hamilton, 1809-1883
jurist
Md., Miss.
Secession as a Right, Parallel Between the Reigns of James II.
and Abraham Lincoln.
Harby, Isaac, 1788-1828
ed.
S. C.
Alexander Severus, Gordian Knot, and other dramas.
Hardee, William J., 1817-1873
soldier
Ga., Ala.
United States Tactics.
Hardinge, Mrs. Belle Boyd
Va.
Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison.
Harney, William Wallace, 1831-
jour.
Ky., Fla.
Bitter Sweet, poems, essays, &c.
Harney, John Milton, 1789-1825
Del., Ky.
Crystalina, Whippoorwill, and other poems.
Harper, Robert Goodloe, 1765-1825
statesman
Va., Md.
Political Papers, addresses, &c.
Harris, George Washington, 1814-1869
humorist
Pa., Tenn.
Sut Lovingood's Yarns.
*Harris, Joel Chandler, 1848-
lawyer, ed.
Ga.
Uncle Remus Stories, &c.
Harrison, Mrs. Burton (née Gary), 1835-
Va., N. Y.
Anglomaniacs, Flower de Hundred, My Lord Fairfax, and other
novels.
Harrison, Hall, 1837-
P. E. cl.
Md.
Memoir of Hugh Davy Evans, and other works.
Harrison, James Albert, 1848-
edu.
Miss., Va.
Greek Vignettes, Spain, Story of Greece, Beowulf, &c.
Hatcher, John E. ("G. W. Bricks")
Va.
Katie Lyle, Poems, &c.
Hatcher, William E.
Bapt. cl.
Va.
Life of Jeremiah Bell Jeter, &c.
Haw, Miss M. J.
Va.
The Rivals: A Tale of the Chickahominy.
Hawkins, Benjamin, 1754-1816
statesman
N. C., Ga.
Topography, Indian Character (he was agent among the Creeks).
*Hawks, Francis Lister, 1798-1866
P. E. cl.
N. C., N. Y.
History of North Carolina, and ecclesiastical works.
Hawthorne, James Boardman, 1837-
Bapt. cl.
Ala., Ga.
St. Paul and the Women, Lectures, Sermons, and Addresses.
Hay, George,--died 1830 ("_Hortensius_")
jurist
Va.
Life of John Thompson, &c.
Haygood, Atticus Green, 1839-
M. E. cl.
Ga.
Our Children, Our Brother in Black, Sermons, &c.
*Hayne, Robert Young, 1791-1839
statesman
S. C.
Speeches.
*Hayne, Paul Hamilton, 1830-1886
poet
S. C., Ga.
Poems, &c.
Hayne, William Hamilton, 1856-
poet
S. C., Ga.
Sylvan Lyrics.
Haywood, John, 1753-1826
jurist
N. C., Tenn.
Laws of North Carolina, Tennessee Reports, History of Tennessee.
Hazelius, Ernest Lewis, 1777-1853
Luth. cl.
S. C.
Life of Luther, Church History, &c.
Heady, Morrison
blind and deaf poet
Ky.
Seen and Heard (poems).
Heard, Thomas Jefferson, 1814-
phys.
Ga., Texas.
Topography and Climatology of Texas.
Hearn, Lafcadio, 1850-
Greece, La., Japan.
Chita, Youma, Two Years in the French West Indies, Stray
Leaves from Strange Literature, Some Chinese Ghosts,
Unfamiliar Japan, &c.
Helper, Hinton Rowan, 1829-
N. C.
Impending Crisis, Land of Gold, &c.
Hempstead, Fay
ed.
Ark.
Random Arrows (poems), History of Arkansas.
Hendrix, Eugene Russell, 1847-
M. E. bishop
Mo.
Around the World.
Henkel, Moses Montgomery, 1798-1864
M. E. cl.
Va.
Life of Bishop Bascom, Platform of Methodism, &c.
*Henry, Patrick, 1736-1799
orator, statesman
Va.
Speeches.
Henry, William Wirt, 1831-
lawyer
Va.
Life of Patrick Henry, Defence of John Smith's History.
Henry, Mrs. Ina M. [Porter]
Ala.
Roadside Stories, None but the Brave Deserve the Fair (drama).
Hentz, Mrs. Caroline Lee [Whiting], 1800-1856
edu.
Mass., N. C., Ala., Fla.
Rena, Aunt Patty's Scrap-Bag, Mob-Cap, Linda, Planter's
Northern Bride, and other novels.
Herndon, Mrs. May Eliza [Hicks], 1820-
Ky.
Louisa Elton (reply to Uncle Tom's Cabin), Bandits of State,
Poems, &c.
Herndon, William Lewis, 1813-1857
naval officer
Va.
Explorations of the Valley of the Amazon, Vol. I.
Herrick, Mrs. Sophie McIlwaine [Bledsoe], 1837-
Va.
(Editor of the "_Southern Review_" after the death of her
father, Dr. A. T. Bledsoe), Wonders of Plant Life.
Herron, Fanny E.
Fla.
Siege of Muran, Glenelglen.
Hewat, Alexander, 1745-1829
Pr. cl.
S. C.
History of South Carolina and Charleston (the first history of
the State), Sermons, &c.
Higbee, Miss
Ky.
In God's Country (novel).
Hill, Daniel Harvey, 1821-1889
soldier, ed.
S. C., N. C.
(Editor of "_Land We Love_," 1866-1868), Algebra, Sermon on
the Mount, Crucifixion.
Hill, Theophilus Hunter, 1836-
ed.
N. C.
Hesper and other poems (1861, the first book copyrighted by
the Confederate Government), Poems (1869), Passion-Flower and
other poems (1883).
Hill, Walter Henry, 1822-
R. C. cl.
Ky.
Ethics, History of St. Louis University.
Hilliard, Henry Washington, 1808-
lawyer
N. C., S. C., Ga., Ala.
De Vane (novel), Speeches, translated "_Roman Nights_."
Hoge, Moses, 1752-1820
Pr. cl., edu.
Va.
Christian Panoply (answer to Paine's "_Age of Reason_"),
Sermons.
Hoge, Moses Drury, 1819-
Pr. cl.
Va.
Oration on Stonewall Jackson, Sermons, &c.
Holbrook, Silas Pinckney, 1796-1835
lawyer, jour.
S. C., Mass.
Amusing Letters, Sketches by Traveller, &c.
Holcombe, William Henry, 1825-
phys.
Va., La.
Southern Voices, Poems, The Sexes, Our Children in Heaven, In
Both Worlds, End of the World, Homoeopathy, New Life,
Mystery of New Orleans.
Holden, Edward Singleton, 1846-
edu., astronomer
Mo., N. C., Cal.
Astronomy, Sir William Herschel.
Holland, Edward Clifford, 1794-1824
S. C.
Odes, Naval Songs, &c.
Holley, Mrs. Mary Austin, died 1846
La.
History of Texas, Memoir of Horace Holley.
Holloway, Mrs. Elizabeth [Howel]
Tenn.
Crag and Pine, (western stories).
Holloway, Mrs. Laura Carter, 1848-
Tenn., Ky.
Ladies of the White House, Mothers of Great Men, and other
works.
Holmes, Isaac Edward, 1796-1867
statesman
S. C.
Recreations of George Taletell.
Holmes, Mrs. Mary Jane [Hawes]
Mass., Ky.
Tempest and Sunshine, Lena Rivers, and many other novels.
Holt, John Saunders, 1826-1886 ("_Abraham Page_")
lawyer
Ala., Miss.
Life of Abraham Page, The Quines, &c.
Homes, Mrs. Mary Sophie [Shaw] [Rogers], 1830-
Md., La.
Progression, or the South Defended; Wreath of Rhymes.
Hood, John Bell, 1831-1879
soldier
Ky., La.
Advance and Retreat, Personal Experiences in the United States
and Confederate Armies.
Hooper, Sue E.
Va.
Ashes of Roses and other stories.
Hooper, Johnson Jones, 1815-1863
lawyer
N. C., Ala.
Adventures of Captain Suggs, Widow Rugby's Husband.
*Hope, James Barron, 1827-1887
ed.
Va.
Arms and the Man (ode for the Centennial Celebration of the
Battle of Yorktown, 1881).
Horne, Mrs. Ida Harrell
N. C.
Under the Snow, Crushed Violets, and other poems.
Hoskins, Mrs. Josephine R.
La.
Love's Stratagem.
Hotchkiss, Jed.
Va.
Battlefields of Virginia (with Wm. Allan).
Houssaye, de la, Madame S.
La.
Le Mari de Marguerite.
*Houston, Sam, 1793-1863
soldier, president of Texas.
State Papers.
Houston, A. C.
Va.
Hugh Harrison (novel).
Howe, W. W.
La.
Municipal History of New Orleans, The Late Lamented (drama).
Howell, Robert Boyle Crawford, 1801-1868
Bapt. cl.
N. C., Va., Tenn.
Deaconship, Early Baptists of Virginia, &c.
Howison, Robert Reid, 1820-
Va.
History of Virginia, Life of Morgan, of Marion, of Gates,
History of the War, History of the United States.
Hubner, Charles W., 1835-
ed.
Md., Ga.
Historical Souvenirs, Poems, Essays, &c.
Hughes, Robert William, 1821-
ed.
Va., N. C.
American Dollar, Lives of Gen. Floyd and Gen. J. E. Johnston.
Humes, Thomas W.
Tenn.
Loyal Mountaineers of Tennessee.
Hungerford, James
Md.
The Old Plantation, Master of Beverley.
Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro, 1809-1887
statesman
Va.
Speeches.
Ingraham, Joseph Holt, 1809-1860
P. E. cl.
Me., Miss.
Southwest by a Yankee, Lafitte or Pirate of the Gulf, American
Lounger, Prince of the House of David, Pillar of Fire, Throne
of David.
Izard, Ralph, 1742-1804
statesman
S. C.
Correspondence 1774-1784.
Jackson, Mrs. Mary Ann [Morrison]
N. C.
Life of General T. J. Jackson.
Jackson, Henry Rootes, 1820-
ed., jurist
Ga.
Tallulah and other Poems.
Jamison, Mrs. C. V.
La.
Story of an Enthusiast, Lady Jane.
Janney, Samuel Macpherson, 1801-1880
Friend
Va.
Country School-House, Last of the Lenapes, Life of Penn, of
Fox, and other works.
Jarratt, Devereux, 1733-1801
P. E. cl.
Va.
Autobiography, Sermons.
*Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
statesman, third President
Va.
Autobiography, Declaration of Independence, Notes of Virginia,
and other works.
Jeffreys, Mrs. Rosa Vertner [Griffin], 1828
Miss., Ky.
Poems by Rosa, Marsh, Woodburn, Crimson Hand, and other
novels.
Jervey, Mrs. Caroline Howard [Gilman] [Glover], 1823-
S. C.
Vernon Grove, Helen Courtenay's Promise, Poems, &c.
Jeter, Jeremiah Bell, 1802-1880
ed., Bapt. cl.
Va.
Life of Mrs. Shuck, of A. Broaddus, Recollections of a Long
Life, &c.
Johns, John, 1796-1876
P. E. bishop
Va.
Memorial of Bishop Meade.
Johnson, Richard W., 1827-
soldier
Ky.
Life of General G. H. Thomas, A Soldier's Reminiscences.
Johnson, Mrs. Sarah [Barclay], 1837-1885
Va., Syria.
Hadji in Syria.
Johnson, William, 1771-1834
jurist
S. C.
Life and Correspondence of Major-General Greene.
Johnson, Joseph, 1776-1862
phys.
S. C.
Traditions and Reminiscences of the Revolution.
Johnson, William Bullien, 1782-1862
Bapt. cl.
S. C.
Memoir of N. P. Knapp, and other works.
Johnston, Joseph Eggleston, 1807-1891
soldier
Va.
Narrative of Military Operations during the Late War.
*Johnston, Richard Malcolm, 1822-
Ga., Md.
Dukesborough Tales, &c.
Johnston, William Preston, 1831-
edu.
Ky., La.
Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston, Shakspere Studies, My
Garden Walk (poems).
Jones, Buehring H., 1823-
soldier
W. Va.
The Sunny Land, or Prison Prose and Poetry.
Jones, Charles Colcock, 1804-1863
Pr. cl.
Ga.
Religious Instruction for Negroes, Church of God.
*Jones, Charles Colcock, Jr., 1831-1893
lawyer
Ga.
History of Georgia, &c.
Jones, Hugh, 1669-1760
P. E. cl.
Eng., Va.
Present State of Virginia.
Jones, John Beauchamp, 1810-1866
ed.
Md., Pa., Va.
Books of Visions, Rural Sports (poem), Western Merchant, Wild
Western Scenes, Rival Belles, Adventures of Col. Vanderbomb,
Monarchist, Country Merchant, Freaks of Fortune, Rebel War
Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital (1866).
Jones, John William, 1836-
Bapt. cl.
Va.
Army of Northern Virginia, Christ in the Camp, Personal
Reminiscences of R. E. Lee, Davis Memorial Volume, &c.
Jones, Joseph Seawell, 1811-1855
N. C.
Revolutionary History of North Carolina, Memorials of North
Carolina.
Jordan, Mrs. Cornelia Jane [Matthew], 1830-
Va.
Richmond, Corinth, Flowers of Hope and Memory.
Jordan, Thomas, 1819-
soldier
Va., Tenn.
Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. Forrest.
Joynes, Edward Southey, 1834-
edu.
Va., S. C., Tenn.
Study of the Classics, Modern Languages, Text-books, &c.
Kavanaugh, Benjamin Taylor, 1805-1888
Ky.
Great Central Valley of North America, Notes of a Western
Rambler, Electricity the Motor Power of the Solar System.
Keiley, Anthony M.
Va.
In Vinculis, or the Prisoner of War (1866).
Kendall, George Wilkins, 1809-1867
ed.
La., Texas.
(Founder of the N. O. _Picayune_), Santa Fé Expedition, War
between the United States and Mexico.
Kenly, John Reese, 1822-
soldier
Md.
Memoirs of a Maryland Volunteer.
*Kennedy, John Pendleton, 1795-1870
Md.
Horse-Shoe Robinson, &c.
Kennedy, William, 1799-1849
English consul
Scot., Texas.
Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas, Texas,
its Geography, Natural History, and Topography.
Kenney, Martin Joseph, 1819-1861
ed., lawyer
Md.
Histories and Biographies for school use.
Kercheval, S.
Va.
History of the Valley of Virginia (1833, 1850).
Ketchum, Mrs. Annie Chambers, 1824-
edu.
Ky., Tenn.
Lotus-Flowers (poems), Rilla Motto (novel), Nellie Bracken,
Benny, Teacher's Empire.
*Key, Francis Scott, 1780-1843
lawyer
Md.
Star-Spangled Banner, and other poems.
King, Mrs. Sue Petigru
S. C.
Busy Moments of an Idle Woman, Lily, Sylvia's World, and other
novels.
*King, Grace
La.
Balcony Stories, History of Louisiana, &c.
Kinloch, Francis, 1755-1826
statesman
S. C.
Letters from Geneva, Eulogy on George Washington.
Knott, James Proctor, 1830-
statesman
Ky.
Duluth Speech.
Kouns, Nathan Chapman, 1833-
Mo.
Arius the Libyan, Dorcas the Daughter of Faustina.
Kroeger, Adolph Ernst, 1837-1882
ed.
Mo.
Minnesingers of Germany.
La Borde, Maximilian, 1804-1873
edu.
S. C.
History of South Carolina College, Story of Lethea and Verona.
La Costa, Marie
Ga.
Somebody's Darling.
Ladd, Mrs. Catharine [Stratton], 1809-
edu.
Va., S. C.
Tales, Essays, and Poems.
Ladd, Joseph Brown, 1764-1786
phys.
R. I., S. C.
Poems of Arouet.
Lamal, P.
La.
Voyage en Océanie.
*Lamar, Mirabeau Buonaparte, 1798-1859
Ga., Tex.
(Second president of Texas), Verse Memorials.
Lamar, John B., 1819-1862
Ga.
Polly Peachblossom's Wedding, Blacksmith of Smoky Mountain.
Lance, William, 1791-1840
lawyer
S. C., Tex.
Life of Washington (in Latin), Essays.
*Lanier, Sidney, 1842-1881
poet
Ga., Md.
Poems, Tiger-Lilies (novel), &c.
Lanier, Clifford Anderson
Ga., Ala.
Thorn Fruit, Two Hundred Bales (novels), Poems, and Essays.
Latil, Alexandre
La.
Ephémères, Essais poétiques, &c.
Latrobe, John Hazlehurst Boneval, 1803-
lawyer, inventor
Md.
Picture of Baltimore, History of Maryland, Biography of
Charles Carroll, Reminiscences of West Point, and other
writings.
*Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792
statesman
S. C.
Confinement in Tower of London, political and State papers.
Laurens, John, 1756-1782 (called "Bayard of the Revolution")
S. C.
Letters (edited by Wm. Gilmore Simms).
*Lawson, John, died 1712
Scot., N. C.
A New Voyage to Carolina (history of North Carolina).
Lay, Henry Champlin, 1823-1885
P. E. bishop
Va., Md.
Studies in the Church and Nation.
Le Conte, John Eatton, 1784-1860
naturalist
N. J., Ga.
North American Butterflies.
Le Conte, John, 1818-1891
physicist
Ga., Cal.
Physics and Meteorology.
Le Conte, Joseph, 1823-
geologist
Ga., Cal.
Manual of Geology, Light, Evolution, &c.
Lederer, John, traveller in 1669-70
Discoveries of John Lederer in Three Marches in Virginia and
Carolina (in Latin).
Lee, Arthur, 1740-1792
diplomate
Va.
Monitor's Letters, Junius Americanus.
Lee, Fitz Hugh, 1835-
soldier
Va.
Life of Robert Edward Lee.
*Lee, Henry, 1756-1818
soldier
Va.
Champe's Adventure, War in the Southern Department.
Lee, Henry, 1787-1837
Va.
Campaign of 1781 in South Carolina, Writings of Thomas
Jefferson, Life of Napoleon.
Lee, Jesse, 1758-1816
M. E. cl.
Va., Md.
History of Methodism.
Lee, Leroy Madison, 1808-1882
M. E. cl.
Va.
Life of Jesse Lee, Sermons, &c.
Lee, Mary Elizabeth, 1813-1849
S. C.
Historical Tales for Youth, Poems.
Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794
orator and statesman
Va.
Speeches and Letters in Revolutionary Times.
Lee, Richard Henry, 1802-1865
Va.
Life of R. H. Lee (his grandfather), Life of Arthur Lee.
*Lee, Robert Edward, 1807-1870
soldier, edu.
Va.
Orders, Letters, &c.
Lee, Samuel Phillips, 1812-
Va.
Cruise of the Dolphin.
Lee, Mrs. Susan Pendleton
Va.
Life of Gen. William N. Pendleton, History of the United
States (in press).
*Legaré, Hugh Swinton, 1797-1843
jurist
S. C.
Essays, Speeches, Diary.
Legaré, Mary Swinton (Mrs. Bullen)
S. C.
Memoir and Writings of Hugh Swinton Legaré.
Legaré, James Matthews, 1823-1859
inventor, poet
S. C.
Orta-Undis, and other Poems.
Leighton, William, Jr., 1833-
Mass., W. Va.
Sons of Godwin, Change, Hamlet, Price of the Present Paid by
the Past.
Leonard, Agnes (see Mrs. Scanland)
*Le Vert, Mrs. Octavia Walton, 1810-1877
Ga., Fla., Ala.
Souvenirs of Travel.
Levy, Samuel Yates, 1827-
Ga.
Italian Bride (drama).
Lieber, Francis, 1800-1872
edu.
Ger., Pa., S. C.
Civil Liberty and Self-Government, Encyclopaedia Americana,
Political Ethics, Character of Gentlemen, &c.
Lindsay, John Summerfield, 1842-
P. E. cl.
Va.
St. John's Church, Hamilton Parish, True American Citizen.
Lipscomb, Andrew Adgate, 1816-
M. E. cl., edu.
Ga. Ala., Va.
Studies in the Forty Days, and other essays.
Lloyd, Mrs. Annie Creight
Ala.
Garnet, Hagar, Pearl (novels).
Logan, John Henry, 1822-1885
phys.
S. C.
History of the Upper Country of South Carolina.
Long, Armistead Lindsay, 1827-
soldier
Va.
Memoir of R. E. Lee (1866).
Long, Charles Chaillé, 1842-
soldier
Md.
Central Africa, The Three Prophets, &c.
Long, Crawford W., 1815-1878
phys.
Ga.
(Discoverer of Anæsthesia), medical writings.
Long, Mrs. Ellen Call
Fla.
Romance of Tallahassee.
*Longstreet, Augustus Baldwin, 1790-1870
edu.
Ga.
Georgia Scenes and other writings.
Lord, Mrs. Alice E.
Md.
The Days of Lamb and Coleridge, (1894).
Loughborough, Mrs. Mary Webster, 1836-1887
Ark.
My Cave Life in Vicksburg (1864), For Better, For Worse, and
other Stories.
Lowndes, Rawlins, 1722-1800
statesman
W. Indies, S. C.
Political addresses.
*Lucas, Daniel Bedinger, 1836-
jurist
W. Va.
Land Where We Were Dreaming, and other poems, &c.
Lussan, A.
La.
Les Martyrs de la Louisiane (tragedy).
Lynch, James Daniel, 1836-
lawyer
Va., Miss., Tex.
Clock of Destiny, Star of Texas, Siege of the Alamo, Bench and
Bar of Mississippi, Bench and Bar of Texas.
Lynch, Patrick Niesen, 1817-1882
R. C. bishop
Ireland, S. C.
Vatican Council and other religious writings.
Lynch, William Francis, 1800-1865
naval officer
Va., Md.
United States Expedition to the Jordan and Dead Sea.
McAdoo, William Gibbs, 1820-
jurist
Tenn.
Poems, Elementary Geology of Tennessee.
McAdoo, Mrs. Mary Faith [Floyd], 1832-
Tenn.
Nereid, Antethusia.
McAfee, Robert Breckenridge, 1784-1849
lawyer
Ky.
History of the War of 1812.
McAfee, Mrs. Nelly Nichol [Marshall], 1845-
Ky.
Eleanor Morton or Life in Dixie, As by Fire, Wearing the
Cross, and other novels.
McAnally, David Rice, 1810-
Tenn.
Martha Laurens Ramsay, Lives of Rev. William and Rev. Samuel
Patton.
McCabe, John Collins, 1810-1875
P. E. cl.
Va.
Scraps (poems).
McCabe, James Dabney, Jr., 1842-
Va.
Gray-Jackets, Life of Jackson, Life of A. S. Johnston, Paris
by Gaslight and Sunlight, Life of Gen. Lee, Centennial History
of the United States, Young Folks Abroad, &c.
*McCabe, William Gordon, 1841-
edu.
Va.
Ballads of Battle and Bravery (1873), Defence of Petersburg in
Campaign 1864-5 (1876).
McCaleb, Thomas
La.
Anthony Melgrave.
McCall, Hugh, 1767-1824
soldier
Ga.
History of Georgia.
McCalla, William Latta, 1788-1859
Pr. cl.
Ky., La.
Adventures in Texas 1840, Doctorate of Divinity, Sermons.
McClelland, Mary Greenway
Va.
Oblivion, Norwood, White Heron, Eleanor Gwynn, Princess, Jean
Monteith, Madam Silva, Burkett's Lock.
McClung, John Alexander, 1804-1859
Pr. cl.
Ky.
Sketches of Western Adventure.
McClurg, James, 1747-1825
phys.
Va.
Belles of Williamsburg (poem, in John Esten Cooke's "Virginia
Comedians").
*M'Cord, Mrs. Louisa Susannah [Cheves], 1810-1880
S. C.
My Dreams (poems), Essays, &c.
McCulloh, James Haines, 1793-
Md.
American Aboriginal History.
McDowell, Mrs. Katharine Sherwood [Bonner], 1849-1884
Miss.
Like unto Like, Dialect Tales, "Radical Club" (poem).
McDowell, Silas, 1795-1879
artisan
S. C., N. C.
Above the Clouds, Theory of the Thermal Zone.
McDuffie, George, 1788-1851
statesman
governor of S. C.
Speeches, Eulogy on R. Y. Hayne (1840).
McFerrin, John Berry, 1807-1887
M. E. cl.
Tenn.
History of Methodism in Tenn.
McGarvey, John William, 1829-
cl., edu.
Ky.
Commentary on Acts, Matthew, and Mark, Lands of the Bible,
Text and Canon.
McGuire, Mrs. Judith Walker [Brockenbrough], 1813-
Va.
Diary of a Southern Refugee during the War, by a lady of
Virginia (1861-5), Life of Lee (for Sunday-Schools).
McGuire, Hunter Holmes, 1835-
surgeon
Va.
Medical Writings, Account of the Death of Stonewall Jackson
(whose attending physician he was), Life of Jackson (yet
unpublished).
McIntosh, Maria Jane, 1803-1878 ("_Aunt Kitty_")
Ga., N. J.
To Seem and To Be, Woman in America, Two Lives, Blind Alice,
and other stories for girls.
McKenney, Thomas Lorraine, 1785-1859
Md.
Tour to the Lakes, Travels among Northern and Southern
Indians.
Mackey, John, 1765-1831
edu.
S. C.
Text-book on Arithmetic (the first one published in America).
Mackey, Albert Gallatin, 1807-1881
phys.
S. C.
Free Masonry, Mystic Tie, and other Masonic works.
McLeod, Mrs. Georgiana A. [Hulse]
edu.
Fla.
Sunbeams and Shadows, Ivy Leaves from the Old Homestead.
McMahon, John Van Lear, 1800-1871
Md.
Historical View of Maryland.
Macon, John Alfred, 1851-
jour.
Ala.
Uncle Gabernarius, Uncle Gabe Tucker, Christmas at the
Quarters, and other dialect poems.
McRee, John Griffith, 1820-1872
lawyer
N. C.
Life of James Iredell.
McSherry, James, 1819-1869
lawyer
Md.
History of Maryland, Père Jean, Willitoft.
McSherry, Richard, 1817-1885
phys.
W. Va., Md.
El Puchero, or a Mixed Dish from Mexico, Medical Essays.
McTyeire, Holland Nimmons, 1824-
M. E. bishop
S. C.
Duties of Christian Masters, Catechism, History of the
Methodist Discipline.
*Madison, James, 1751-1836
statesman, fourth President
Va.
State papers.
Madison, Mrs. Dorothy [Payne] [Todd], 1772-1849
N. C., Va.
Letters (edited by her grand-niece).
Maffit, John Newland, 1795-1850
M. E. cl.
Ala., Ark.
Pulpit Sketches, Poems, Autobiography.
Magill, Mary Tucker, 1832-
Va.
The Holcombes (novel), Chronicle of the Late War, History of
Virginia.
Magruder, Allan Bowie, 1755-1822
statesman
Ky.
Cession of Louisiana, Character of Jefferson, Indians
(unfinished).
Magruder, Allan B.
Va.
Life of John Marshall.
Magruder, Julia, 1854-
Va.
Across the Chasm, At Anchor, Honored in the Breach,
Magnificent Plebeian, A Beautiful Alien, and other stories.
Mallary, Charles Dutton, 1801-1864
Bapt. cl.
S. C., Ga.
Memoir of Jesse Mercer, Life of Edmund Botsford.
Mangum, A. W., 1834-
M. E. cl.
N. C.
Myrtle Leaves, Safety Lamp.
Mann, Ambrose Dudley, 1801-
diplomate
Va.
Memoirs.
Marean, Mrs. Beatrice
Fla.
Tragedies of Oakhurst, Her Shadowed Life, &c.
Marigny, Bernard de
La.
La Politique des Etats-Unis.
Marks, Elias, 1790-1886
edu.
S. C.
Elfreide of Guldal, and other poems.
Marr, Frances Harrison, 1835-
Va.
Heart Life in Song, Virginia, and other poems.
*Marshall, John, 1755-1835
jurist
Va.
Life of Washington, Decisions of the Supreme Court.
Marshall, Charles, 1830-
lawyer
Va.
Life of R. E. Lee.
Marshall, Humphrey, 1756-1841
statesman
Va., Ky.
History of Kentucky.
Marshall, Thomas Francis, 1801-1864
orator, lawyer
Ky.
Speeches.
Martin, Mlle Désirée
La.
Le Destin d'un Brin de Mousse.
Martin, François Xavier, 1764-1846
jurist
N. C., La.
History of North Carolina, History of Louisiana.
Martin, Joseph Hamilton, 1825-1887
Pr. cl.
Tenn., S. C., Va., Ky.
Historical poems: Smith and Pocahontas, Declaration of
Independence, &c.
Martin, Luther, 1748-1826
lawyer
N. J., Md.
Defence of Captain Cresap, Modern Gratitude, Speeches.
Martin, Mrs. Margaret Maxwell, 1807-
edu.
S. C.
Heroines of Early Methodism, Scenes in South Carolina,
Day-Spring, Christianity in Earnest, Poems.
Martin, Mrs. Sallie M. [Davis]
S. C., Ga.
Lalla de Vere, Women of France.
Marvin, Enoch Mather, 1823-1877
M. E. bishop
Mo.
Work of Christ, To the East by Way of the West.
Mason, George, 1725-1792
statesman
Va.
Speeches.
Mason, Emily Virginia, 1815-
Ky., Va.
Life of R. E. Lee, _Edited_ Southern Poems of the War.
Mason, Otis Tufton
scientist
D. C.
Woman's Share in Primitive Culture (1894).
*Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 1806-1873
naval officer, sci.
Tenn., Va.
Physical Geography of the Sea, &c.
Maury, Ann, 1803-1876
Memoirs of a Huguenot Family.
Maury, Mrs. Sarah Mytton [Hughes], 1803-1849
Eng., Va.
English Women in America, Statesmen of America, Etchings from
the Caracci.
Maury, Dabney Herndon, 1822-
soldier
Va.
Skirmish Drill, Recollections of a Virginian (1894).
Maxcy, Jonathan, 1768-1820
edu.
Mass., S. C.
(First president of South Carolina College), Orations,
Sermons, Addresses (ed. by R. Elton, D. D.).
Maxwell, Hu
W. Va.
Idylls of Golden Shore, poems.
Maxwell, William, 1784-1857
ed. Va. Historical Register
Va.
Memoir of Rev. John H. Rice.
Mayer, Brantz, 1809-1879
Md.
Journal of Charles Carroll, Baltimore, Captain Canot, Mexico.
Mayo, Joseph
Va.
Woodburne (novel of Virginia and Maryland).
Mayo, Robert, 1784-1864
ed.
Va., D. C.
Mayo Family, System of Mythology, Ancient Geography and
History, Treasury Department.
Mead, Edward C.
Va.
History of the Lee Family in Virginia and Maryland from A. D.
1200 to 1866.
Meade, William, 1789-1862
P. E. bishop
Va.
Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia, Sermons,
The Bible and the Classics.
*Meek, Alexander Beaufort, 1814-1865
Ala.
Red Eagle, Romantic Passages, &c.
Mell, Patrick Hues, 1814-1888
Bapt. cl., edu.
Ga.
Parliamentary Practice, Philosophy of Prayer, Baptism, Church
Discipline.
Memminger, Charles Gustavus, 1803-
Ger., S. C.
Book of Nullification.
Mercier, Alfred
La.
L'Habitation St. Ybars, La Rose de Smyrne, L'Hermite de
Niagara, La Fille du Prêtre.
Meriwether, Elizabeth Avery
Miss.
Master of Red Leaf.
Meriwether, Lee, 1862-
Miss.
European Labor, Tramp Trip, How to See Europe on Fifty Cents a
Day.
Méry, Gaston Étienne, 1793-1844
La.
La Légende du Corsaire Lafitte, La Politique Américaine et Les
Indiens.
Messenger, Mrs. Lilian Rozelle, 1853-
Ky., Ala., Ark.
Poems.
Metcalfe, Samuel L., 1798-1856
phys.
Va., Ky.
Indian Warfare in the West, Caloric, &c.
Michel, William Middleton, 1822-
phys.
S. C.
(_Editor, Medical and Surgical Journal_), Development of the
Opossum.
Middleton, Arthur, 1742-1787 ("_Andrew Marvell_")
S. C.
Political Essays, Speeches, &c.
Middleton, John Izard, 1785-1849
S. C.
Grecian Remains in Italy, Cyclopean Walls.
Middleton, Henry, 1797-1876
S. C.
Prospects of Disunion, Government and Currency, Causes of
Slavery, Universal Suffrage.
Miles, George Henry, 1824-1871
dramatist
Md.
Mahomet, De Soto, Mary's Birthday, Aladdin's Palace, Señor
Valiente, Cromwell, Seven Sisters, Abou Hassan the Wag,
Landing of the Pilgrims of Maryland, Christine (story in
verse), Inkerman (lyric), Glimpses of Tuscany, Loretto or the
Choice, Truce of God, Review of Hamlet.
Miller, Mrs. Mary [Ayer], ("_Luola_")
N. C.
Wood Notes (poems), and Sunday-school books.
Miller, Stephen Franks, 1810-1867
lawyer
N. C., Ga.
Bench and Bar of Georgia, Wilkins Wilder, Memoir of Gen. David
Blackshear.
Milligan, Robert, 1814-1875
edu., cl.
Ireland, Ky.
Prayer, Reason and Revelation, Annals of the New Testament,
Great Commission, Commentary on Hebrews.
Mills, Robert, 1781-1855
architect
S. C.
(Designer of the Washington Monument at Washington),
Statistics of South Carolina, American Pharos.
Mitchell, Ormsby McKnight, 1809-1862
astronomer
Ky., S. C.
Planetary and Stellar Worlds, Orbs of Heaven, Physical
Geography, &c.
Mitchell, Elisha, 1793-1857
sci.
Conn., N. C.
Elements of Geology. (See account under _Christian Reid_.)
Mitchell, Miss F. L.
Ga.
Georgia Land and People.
Moise, Penina, 1797-1830
S. C.
Fanny's Sketch-Book (poems).
Monroe, James, 1758-1831
statesman, fifth President
Va.
State Papers, "Monroe Doctrine."
Montgomery, Sir Robert, 1680-1731
colonist
Establishment of a New Colony to the south of Carolina, in the
most delightful Country of the Universe.
Moore, Hight C.
N. C.
Select Poetry of North Carolina (1894).
Moore, John W.
N. C.
History of North Carolina.
Moore, Thomas Vernon, 1818-1871
Pr. cl.
Va., Tenn.
God's Universe, Commentaries on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi,
Culdee Church, &c.
Mordecai, S.
Va.
Richmond in By-Gone Days.
Morehead, James Turner, 1797-1854
Ky.
First Settlers of Kentucky, Law in Kentucky.
Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-
soldier
Va.
War Reminiscences.
Mosby, Mary Webster, 1791-1844
Va.
Pocahontas.
Moultrie, William, 1731-1805
soldier
S. C.
Memoirs of the American Revolution in North and South Carolina
and Georgia.
Muir, James, 1757-1820
Pr. cl.
Scot., Va.
Examination of the "Age of Reason."
Mullany, Patrick Francis, 1847-
edu., ("Brother Azarias")
Md.
Psychological Aspects of Education, Philosophy of Literature,
Dante, Aristotle and the Church, English Thought.
Munford, Robert
dramatist
Va.
Candidate, Patriots, (dramas, pub'd 1798).
Munford, William, 1775-1825 (son of Robert)
Va.
Poems, Translation of the Iliad, Reports of the Court of
Appeals.
*Murfree, Mary Noailles (see Craddock)
Murfree, Fannie D. (sister of Mary)
Tenn.
Felicia (novel).
Murphy, Mrs. Rosalie Miller
S. C., Ala., N. Y.
Destiny, or Life As It Is, Mistrust, Waifs (poems).
Musick, John R., 1851-
Mo.
Pocahontas, Columbian Novels, Calamity Row.
Nagle, J. E.
phys.
La.
A Home That I Love, and other Poems.
Neville, L.
Va.
Edith Allen (Life in Virginia).
Nicholson, Mrs. Eliza Jane [Poitevent], ("_Pearl Rivers_")
Miss., La.
(_Editor_ "New Orleans Picayune"), Burial and Resurrection of
Love, and other lyrics and writings.
Norman, Benjamin Moore, 1809-1860
N. Y., La.
New Orleans and Environs (1845), Rambles in Yucatan, Rambles
by Land and Water.
Norton, John Nicholas, 1820-1881
P. E. cl.
N. Y., Ky.
Lives of the Bishops, Boy Trained to be a Clergyman, Full
Proof of the Ministry, and many other works.
Norwood, Colonel
England.
Voyage to Virginia, 1649.
Nott, Henry Junius, 1797-1837
S. C.
Novelettes of a Traveller, Essays, &c.
Nott, Josiah Clark, 1804-1873
phys., sci.
S. C., Ala.
Types of Mankind, History of the Jewish Race, Indigenous Races
of the East.
Nourse, James Duncan, 1817-1854
jour.
Ky., Mo.
Forest Knight, Leavenworth, God in History.
Oglethorpe, James Edward, 1698-1785
Eng., Ga.
St. Augustine Campaign (1742), Colonies of South Carolina and
Georgia.
*O'Hara, Theodore, 1820-1867
soldier
Ky., Ga.
Bivouac of the Dead, and other poems.
O'Neall, John Belton, 1793-1863
jurist
S. C.
Annals of Newberry, Bench and Bar of South Carolina.
Otts, John Martin Philip, 1838-
Pr. cl.
S. C., Ala.
Southern Pen and Pulpit, Light and Life, Sermons.
Overall, John W.
ed.
Va., Ala., La.
"76 and 61," Bards, and other poems.
Owen, William Miller
La.
In Camp and Battle, Washington Artillery.
Page, John, 1744-1808
governor of Va.
Addresses to the People.
Page, Richard Channing Moore, 1841-
phys.
Va.
Page Family in Virginia.
*Page, Thomas Nelson, 1853-
Va.
In Ole Virginia, &c.
Paine, Robert, 1799-1882
M. E. bishop
N. C., Miss.
Life of Bishop McKendree.
Painter, F. V. N.
edu.
Va.
History of Education, Luther and Education, Study of English
Literature.
Palmer, Benjamin Morgan, 1818-
Pr. cl.
S. C., La.
Life of J. H. Thornwell, Formation of Character, Sermons.
Palmer, John Williamson, 1825-
Md.
Stonewall Jackson's Way and other poems, Golden Dagon, Old and
New, After His Kind (novel).
Palmer, Mrs. Henrietta Lee, 1834-
Md.
Stratford Gallery or Shakespearean Sisterhood, Home Life in
the Bible.
Parker, William Harwar, 1827-
naval officer
Va.
Recollections of a Naval Officer (1883), Talks on Astronomy,
Naval Writings.
Parrish, John, 1729-1807
Friend
Md.
Remarks on the Slavery of the Black Race.
Paschall, Edwin, 1799-1869
ed., edu.
Va., Tenn.
Old Times, or Tennessee History.
Pattie, James Ohio, 1804-
Ky.
Journal of an Expedition from Kentucky to the Pacific and
through Mexico, 1824-28.
Peck, Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth
Ala.
Dictionary of Similes and Figures, Stories.
Peck, Samuel Minturn, 1854-
Ala.
Rings and Love-Knots, Cap and Bells (poems).
Peck, William Henry, 1830-
edu.
Ga.
The McDonalds, Maids and Matrons of Virginia, Conspirators of
New Orleans, and many other novels.
Pendleton, Edmund, 1721-1803
statesman
Va.
Political and State Papers.
Pendleton, James Madison, 1811-1891(?)
Bapt. cl.
Va., Pa., Ky.
Old Landmarks Re-Set, Sermons, &c.
Pendleton, William Nelson, 1809-1883
edu.
Va.
Science a Witness for the Bible.
Penick, Charles Clifton, 1843-
P. E. bishop
Va.
More Than a Prophet.
Penny, Virginia, 1826-
Ky.
Employments of Women, and other works.
Percy, George, 1586-1632
colonist and governor of Va.
Plantations of the Southern Colonies in Virginia.
Perry, Benjamin Franklin, 1805-1886
S. C.
Reminiscences of Public Men.
Pettigrew, James Johnston, 1828-1863
soldier
N. C.
Spain and the Spaniards.
Peyton, John Lewis, 1824-
Va.
Over the Alleghanies, Memoir of William Peyton, History of
Augusta County, Virginia, and other writings.
Phelan, James, 1856-
Miss., Tenn.
Philip Massinger, History of Tennessee.
Piatt, Mrs. Sarah Morgan Bryan, 1836-
Ky.
A Woman's Poems (1871), Voyage to the Fortunate Isles (1874),
That New World and other Poems (1876), Poems in Company with
Children (1877), Dramatic Persons and Moods (1879), Irish
Garland (1884), In Primrose Time (1885), Child's-World Ballads
(1887), two volumes of poems with her husband, John James
Piatt (1864, 1884).
Pickett, Albert James, 1810-1858
N. C., Ala.
History of Alabama.
Pierce, George Foster, 1811-1884
M. E. bishop
Ga.
Incidents of Western Travel.
*Pike, Albert, 1809-1891
ed., soldier
Mass., Ark.
Hymns to the Gods, Freemasonry, &c.
Pilsbury, Charles A., 1839-
La.
Pepita and I (poems).
Pinckney, Mrs. Eliza [Lucas], 1721-1792
S. C.
Letters.
Pinckney, Charles, 1758-1824
statesman
S. C.
Political Papers (by "_Republican_").
Pinckney, Henry Laurens, 1794-1863
ed.
S. C.
Orations, Memoirs of Maxcy, Hayne, Jackson, &c.
Pinkney, William, 1764-1822
statesman
Md.
Legal and Political Speeches.
*Pinkney, Edward Coate (or Coote), 1802-1828
Md.
Poems.
Pinkney, Ninian, 1776-1825
soldier
Md.
Travels in the South of France.
Pinkney, William, 1810-1883
P. E. bishop
Md.
Life of Wm. Pinkney (his uncle), Memoir of John H. Alexander.
Pise, Charles Constantine, 1802-1866
R. C. cl.
Md.
History of the Church, Lives of the Saints, Poems, Father
Rowland, Indian Cottage, Horæ Vagabundæ, Alethia, Ignatius and
His First Companions, Christianity and the Church, and other
writings.
Plumer, William Swan, 1802-1880
Pr. cl.
Pa., S. C.
Vital Godliness, Sermons to Children, Bible True, and other
religious works.
*Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
Va., Md.
Poems, Tales, &c.
Poinsett, Joel Roberts, 1779-1851
statesman
S. C.
Notes on Mexico (_Poinsettia_ named in his honor), Addresses,
Letters, &c.
Points, Marie L.
La.
Stories of Louisiana.
Polk, James Knox, 1795-1849
eleventh President
N. C., Tenn.
State Papers.
Pollard, Edward Albert, 1828-1872
jour.
Va.
Lost Cause, Letters of the Southern Spy, Lee and His
Lieutenants, Black Diamonds, and other works.
Pope, John, 1822-
soldier
Ky.
Expedition from the Red River to the Rio Grande, Campaign of
Virginia in July and August, 1862.
Pope, Mrs. Mary E. [Foote]
Ala., Tenn.
Poems.
Porcher, Francis Peyre, 1825-
phys.
S. C.
Medical Botany of South Carolina, and other medical writings.
Pory, John, 1570-1635
pioneer
Eng., Va.
Excursion among the Indians in Captain Smith's "Generall
Historie."
Powell, William Byrd, 1799-1867
phys.
Ky.
Natural History of the Human Temperament, Study of the Brain.
Poydras, Julien, 1740-1824
pioneer, planter
France, La.
La Prise du Morne du Bâton Rouge (poem).
*Prentice, George Denison, 1802-1870
ed.
Ky.
Life of Henry Clay, Poems, Paragraphs.
Prentiss, Sargent Smith, 1808-1850
orator
Me., Miss.
Political Speeches.
*Preston, William Campbell, 1794-1860
orator, edu.
S. C.
Addresses, Letters, &c.
Preston, John Smith, 1809-1881
orator, soldier
S. C.
Orations.
*Preston, Mrs. Margaret Junkin, 1825-
Va.
Beechenbrook: a Rhyme of the War, and other poems.
Preston, Thomas Lewis, 1812-
Va.
Life of Elizabeth Russell.
Price, Bruce, 1845-
architect
Md.
(Designer of the Lee Memorial Church at Lexington, Va.) A
Large Country House.
Prince, Oliver Hillhouse, 1787-1837
statesman
Conn., Ga.
"A Military Muster" in "Georgia Scenes," and other humorous
sketches, Laws of Georgia.
Prince, Oliver Hillhouse, Jr., 1823-1875
Ga.
Billy Woodpile's Letters.
Pugh, Mrs. Eliza Lofton [Phillips], 1841- ("_Arria_")
La.
Not a Hero, In a Crucible, and many other novels.
Putnam, Mrs. Sallie A. [Brock], 1845- ("_Virginia Madison_")
Va.
Richmond During the War, Kenneth My King, Southern Amaranth.
Pyrnelle, Mrs. Louise Clarke
Ala., Ga.
Diddie, Dumps, and Tot: Plantation Child-Life.
Ralston, Thomas Neely, 1806-
edu., M. E. cl.
Ky.
Evidences of Christianity, Ecce Unitas.
*Ramsay, David, 1749-1815
surgeon
Pa., S. C.
History of South Carolina, &c.
Ramsey, James Gattys McGregor, 1796-1884
Tenn.
Annals of Tennessee.
Ranck, G. W.
Ky.
History of Lexington, O'Hara.
*Randall, James Ryder, 1839-
Md., La.
My Maryland, and other poems.
Randolph, Sir John, 1693-1737 (uncle of William Stith)
Va.
Breviate Book.
Randolph, Edmund Jennings, 1753-1813
Va.
Political Truth, and other Papers.
*Randolph, John, of Roanoke, 1773-1833
statesman
Va.
Addresses, &c.
Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, 1792-1875
Va.
Sixty Years of the Currency of the United States.
Randolph, Sarah Nicholas, 1839-
edu.
Va., Md.
Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson (her great-grandfather), and
other writings.
Randolph, Innis
Va.
Back-Log, Good Old Rebel, and other humorous poems.
Ravenscroft, John Stark, 1772-1820
first P. E. bishop of N. C.
Sermons, and other writings.
Reese, Thomas, 1742-1794
Pr. cl., edu.
S. C.
Influence of Religion on Civil Society.
Reese, Lizette Woodworth, 186--
Md.
A Branch of May (poems).
Reeves, Marian Calhoun Legaré, ca. 1854- ("_Fadette_")
S. C.
Ingemisco, Randolph Honor, Sea-Drift, Maid of Acadie, and
other stories.
Reichel, Levin Theodore, 1812-1878
Moravian bishop
Moravians in North Carolina (1857).
*Reid, Christian
N. C.
Land of the Sky, and other novels, Land of the Sun (1895).
Reid, Sam Chester, 1818-
lawyer
N. Y., Miss.
McCulloch's Texas Rangers, Raid of John H. Morgan.
Relf, Samuel, 1776-1823
jour.
Va.
Infidelity, or the Victims of Sentiment.
Rémy, Henri
La.
Histoire de la Louisiane.
Renö, Itti Kinney, 1862-
Tenn.
Miss Breckenridge, An Exceptional Case.
Requier, Augustus Julian, 1825-1887
ed.
S. C., Ala.
Legend of Tremaine, Christalline, Old Sanctuary, Spanish
Exile, Marco Bozzaris, Ode to Victory, Ashes of Glory (reply
to Ryan's "Conquered Banner").
Ribaut, Jean, 1520-1565
discoverer
France, Florida.
The Whole and True Discovery of Florida.
Rice, David, 1733-1816
Pr. cl.
Va., Ky.
To Presbyterians of Kentucky, Divine Decrees, Baptism, &c.
Rice, Nathan Lewis, 1804-1877
Pr. cl.
Ky.
Our Country and the Church, &c.
Rich, R.
Eng., Va.
Newes from Virginia, 1610.
Riddell, John Leonard, 1807-1867
phys.
La.
Flora of the Western States, (_Riddellia_ named in his honor).
Rivers, Richard Henderson, 1814-
edu.
Tenn., Ala., Ky.
Life of Bishop Paine, Mental and Moral Philosophy.
Rivers, William James, 1822-
edu.
S. C.
History of South Carolina, Poems.
Rives, William Cabell, 1793-1868
Va.
Life of James Madison, Life of John Hampden, Ethics of
Christianity.
Rives, Mrs. Judith Page Walker, 1802-1882
Va.
Souvenirs of a Residence in Europe, Home and the World.
*Rives, Amélie (see Mrs. Chanler).
Robertson, John, 1787-1873
jurist
Va.
Riego, or the Spanish Martyr, Opuscula (poems).
Robertson, Thomas Bolling, 1773-1828
Va., La.
Events in Paris (1816).
Robertson, Wyndham, 1803-1888
governor of Va.
Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, and her Descendants.
Robinson, Fayette,--d. 1859
Va., N. Y.
Mexico and Her Military Chieftains, California and the Gold
Regions, Wizard of the Wave, and other works.
Robinson, Mrs. Martha Harrison
Va.
Helen Erskine (novel).
Rogers, James Webb, 1822-
lawyer
N. C.
Arlington, Lafitte, Madame Surratt (tragedy), Poems.
Rolfe, John, d. 1622
colonist, husband of Pocahontas
Va.
Letter to Sir Thomas Dale.
Roman, Alfred
La.
Military Operations of General Beauregard.
Rosenthal, Lewis, 1856-
jour.
Md.
America and France.
Rouen, B.
La.
Cent Huit Ans, Rayon de Soleil.
Rouquette, François Dominique, 1810-
La.
Les Meschacébéennes, Fleurs d'Amérique.
Rouquette, Adrien Emanuel, 1813-1887
La.
La nouvelle Atala, L'Antoniade, Les Savanes, and other poems.
Rowland, Kate Mason
Va.
Life of George Mason of Gunston, Charles Carroll of
Carrollton.
Rozier, Firman A.
Mo.
History of the Early Settlement of the Mississippi Valley.
Ruffner, Henry, 1789-1861
edu.
Va.
Judith Ben-saddi, Fathers of the Desert, Future Punishment.
Rumple, Jethro, 1827-
Pr. cl.
N. C.
History of Davidson College, of Rowan County, of the
Presbyterians in North Carolina.
Russell, Irwin, 1853-1879
Miss.
Dialect Poems (1888).
Rutherford, Mildred
Ga.
English Authors, American Authors (1894).
Rutledge, John, 1739-1800
statesman, and governor of S. C.
Speeches.
*Ryan, Abram Joseph, 1839-1886
Va., Ala.
Conquered Banner, and other poems.
Safford, William Harrison, 1821-
lawyer
W. Va.
Life of Blennerhassett.
Sanders, John, 1810-1858
civil engineer
Ky.
Resources of the Valley of the Ohio.
Sands, Alexander Hamilton, 1828-1887
lawyer, Bapt. cl.
Va.
Recreations of a Southern Barrister, Sermons by a Village
Pastor, &c.
Sandys, George, 1577-1644
colonist
Va.
Translation of Ovid (the first literary production of
America), A Journey in the East, Poems.
Sawyer, Lemuel, 1777-1852
N. C.
Life of John Randolph of Roanoke, Autobiography, Dramas.
Scanland, Mrs. Agnes Leonard, 1842-
Ky.
Myrtle Blossoms, Heights and Depths, Vanquished.
Scharf, John Thomas, 1843-
Md.
History of Maryland, of Baltimore, of St. Louis, of
Philadelphia, of Delaware, History of the Confederate States.
Schoolcraft, Mrs. Mary Howard
S. C., N. Y.
Black Gauntlet, a Tale of Plantation Life in South Carolina.
Scott, Charles, 1811-1861
lawyer
Tenn., Miss.
Analogy of Ancient Free-Craft Masonry to Natural and Revealed
Religion.
Scott, Walter, 1796-1861 (akin to Sir Walter Scott)
Scot., Ky.
Gospel Restored, Messiahship.
Screven, William, 1629-1713
Bapt. cl.
Eng., S. C.
Ornament for Church Members.
Searing, Mrs. Laura Catherine [Redden], 1840- (deaf and dumb)
Md.
("_Howard Glyndon_"), Notable Men of the Thirty-Seventh
Congress, Idyls of Battle and Poems of the Rebellion, Sounds
from Secret Chambers.
Seaton, William Winston, 1785-1866
jour.
Va., N. C.
Annals of Congress 1798-1824 (42 vols.), Debates of Congress
1824-1837.
Seawell, Molly Elliott
Va.
Throckmorton, Maid Marian, Hale-Weston, Young Heroes of the
Navy, Paul Jones, Decatur and Somers, &c.
Seemüller, Mrs. Anne Moncure [Crane], 1838-1871
Md.
Emily Chester, Opportunity, &c.
Séjour, Victor, 1809-
La.
Le Retour de Napoléon, and other dramas.
Semmes, Raphael, 1809-1877
naval officer
Md., Ala.
Service Afloat and Ashore during the Mexican War, Cruise of
the Alabama.
Semmes, Alexander Jenkins, 1828-
phys.
D. C., La., Ga.
Surgical Journal of the War, Medical Sketches.
Semple, Robert Baylor, 1769-1831
Bapt. cl.
Va.
History of Virginia Baptists, Catechism.
Shaffner, Taliaferro Preston, 1818-1881
Va.
Secession War in America, History of America.
Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate, 1841-
geologist
Ky., Mass.
Geological Survey of Kentucky, History of Kentucky,
Interpretation of Nature, Sea and Land.
Shaw, John, 1778-1809
surgeon
Md.
Poems.
Sheldon, George William, 1843-
art critic
S. C., N. Y.
American Painters.
Shepherd, E. H.
Mo.
Early History of St. Louis, Autobiography.
Shindler, Mrs. Mary Stanley Bunce [Palmer] [Dana], 1810-
S. C.
Pass under the Rod, and other Poems, Southern Harp, Northern
Harp, Young Sailor, and other works.
Shipp, Alfred Micajah, 1819-
edu., M. E. cl.
N. C., S. C.
History of Methodism in South Carolina.
Shipp, Bernard, 1813-
Miss., Ky.
Fame and other Poems, Progress of Freedom.
Shober, Gottlieb, 1756-1838
Lutheran cl.
Pa., N. C.
Rise and Progress of the Christian Church, by Dr. Martin Luther.
Shreve, Thomas H., 1808-1853
jour.
Va., Ky.
Drayton, an American Tale, Poems.
Shuck, John Lewis, 1812-1863
Bapt. missionary
Va., S. C.
Portfolio Chinensis.
Shuck, Mrs. Henrietta Hall, 1817-1844
Va.
Scenes in China.
Simmons, William Hayne, 1785-
S. C.
Onea (poem), History of the Seminoles.
Simmons, James Wright
S. C.
Blue Beard, Greek Girl, and other Poems.
*Simms, William Gilmore, 1807-1870
S. C.
Yemassee, Partisan, &c.
Sims, Alexander Dromgoole, 1803-1848
Va., S. C.
Slavery, Bevil Faulcon (novel).
Sims, James Marion, 1813-1883
surgeon
S. C., N. Y.
Story of My Life, Medical Works.
Sinclair, Carrie Bell, 1839-
Ga.
Heart Whispers (poems).
Skinner, Thomas E.
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Reminiscences, Sermons and Addresses (1894).
Slaughter, Philip, 1808-
P. E. cl.
Va.
Life of Randolph Fairfax, Life of Joshua Fry, Colonial Church
of Virginia, and other works.
Smart, Mrs. Helen Hamilton [Gardener], 1853-
Va.
Men, Women, and Gods, An Unofficial Patriot, Sex in Brain, Is
This Your Son, My Lord?, A Thoughtless Yes, &c.
Smedes, Mrs. Susan Dabney, 1840-
Miss.
A Southern Planter.
Smith, Ashbel, 1806-
phys., lawyer
Conn., Tex.
State and Scientific Papers.
Smith, Buckingham, 1810-1871
consul in Spain
Ga.
De Soto's Conquest of Florida, Spanish Discoveries and
Settlements, Essays on Florida History and Spanish Historical
Writings.
*Smith, Charles Henry, 1826- ("_Bill Arp_")
Ga.
Bill Arp's Scrap-Book, &c., School History of Georgia.
Smith, Eugene Allen, 1841-
geologist
Ala.
Geology of Alabama.
Smith, Francis Henney, 1812-
edu.
Va.
College Reforms, Scientific Education in Europe, Text-books on
Arithmetic and Algebra (with R. M. T. Duke).
Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-
c. e., artist
Md.
Colonel Carter of Cartersville, and other stories.
Smith, James, 1737-1812
pioneer
Pa., Ky.
Life and Travels of James Smith, Shakerism Developed.
*Smith, John, 1579-1631
soldier, traveller
Eng., Va.
Generall Historie, &c.
Smith, John Lawrence, 1818-1883
scientist
S. C., Ky.
Mineralogy, Chemistry.
Smith, Nathan Ryno, 1797-1877
phys. ("_Viator_")
Ky., Md.
Legends of the South, Medical Works.
Smith, William Andrew, 1802-1870
M. E. cl.
Va.
Philosophy of Slavery.
Smith, William Loughton, 1758-1812
diplomate
S. C.
Constitution of the United States, Speeches, Essays, &c.
Smith, William Russell, 1813-
Ala.
The Alabama Justice, Uses of Solitude, As It Is (novel),
Bridal Eve (poem), College Musings.
Smith, William Waugh, 1845-
edu.
Va.
Outlines of Psychology, Chart of Comparative Syntax of Greek,
Latin, French, German, and English.
Smith, Zachariah Frederick, 1827-
Ky.
History of Kentucky.
Smyth, John Ferdinand, 17--
Eng., Va.
Tour in the United States of America (1784).
Smyth, Thomas, 1808-1873
Ireland, S. C.
Unity of the Human Race, Calvin, Presbyterian Doctrine.
Somerville, William Clarke, 1790-1826
Md.
Letters from Paris on the French Revolution, On Choosing the
President.
Southworth, Miss Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, 1819-
D. C.
Retribution, Fatal Secret, Unknown, Gloria, Trail of the
Serpent, Nearest and Dearest, The Mother's Secret, An Exile's
Bride, and many other novels.
Spalding, Martin John, 1810-1872
R. C. archbishop
Ky., Md.
Early Catholic Missions in Kentucky, Miscellaneous,
Theological Writings.
Spalding, John Lancaster, 1840-
R. C. bishop
Ky.
Life of Archbishop Spalding, Essays, and other writings.
Sparks, William Henry, 1800-1882
lawyer
Ga.
Memories of Fifty Years, Dying Year, Old Church Bell, and
other poems.
Sparrow, William, 1801-1874
edu., P. E. cl.
Mass., Va.
Life and Correspondence.
Specht, Mrs.
Mo.
Alfrieda (novel).
Speece, Conrad, 1776-1836
Pr. and Bapt. cl.
Va.
The Mountaineer (essays), Hymns.
Spelman Henry, 1600-1622
interpreter
Eng., Va.
(Killed by Indians), Relation of Virginia.
Spencer, Mrs. Cornelia [Phillips]
N. C.
History of North Carolina, Last Ninety Days of the War in
North Carolina.
Spencer, Edward, 1834-
dramatic ed.
Md.
Kit (drama).
Spencer, Mrs. W. L. [Nuñez]
Fla.
Salt Lake Fruit.
Spotswood, Alexander, 1676-1740
governor of Va.
Official Letters of Alexander Spotswood from 1710 to 1722,
Speeches, (in Virginia Historical Register).
Stanton, Frank Lebby, 1858-
Ga.
Poem on the Death of Henry W. Grady, Songs of a Day, Dialect
Poems.
Stanton, Henry Thompson, 1834-
ed.
Va., Ky.
Moneyless Man, Jacob Brown, and other poems.
St. Céran, Tullius
La.
Rien ou Moi, 1814 et 1815.
Steiner, Lewis Henry, 1827-
phys.
Md.
Diary of a Rebel, Occupation of Frederick, Md., Cantate
Domino.
*Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812-1883
statesman, governor of Ga.
War between the States, History of the United States, and
other works.
Stephens, William, 1671-1753
president of the colony of Ga.
Journal of the Proceedings in Georgia from 1737 to 1741, State
of the Province.
Stephens, Thomas (son of the preceding)
Castle-Builder, or History of William Stephens of the Isle of
Wight.
Stibbes, Mrs. Agnes Jean
Ga.
Earls of Sunderland, Stories, &c.
Stiles, William Henry, 1808-1865
lawyer
Ga.
History of Austria.
Stith, William, 1689-1755
edu.
Va.
History of Virginia.
Stovall, Pleasant A.
Ga.
Life of Robert Toombs.
*Strachey, William
from 1609 to 1612 secretary of the colony of Va.
True Repertory, &c.
Strange, Robert, 1796-1854
Va., N. C.
Eoneguski, or The Cherokee Chief.
Strobel, Philip
S. C., Ga.
History of the Salzburg Colony at Ebenezer, Georgia.
Strother, David Hunter, 1816-1888 (_Porte Crayon_)
W. Va.
Virginia Illustrated, Blackwater Chronicle.
Stuart, Mrs. Ruth McEnery
La.
Golden Wedding, Christmas Gifts, Carlotta's Intended, Camelia,
Ricardo, and others.
Stuart, Alexander Hugh Holmes, 1807-
statesman
Va.
Narrative of Virginia in 1869.
Summers, Thomas Osmond, 1812-
M. E. cl.
Eng., Va., Tenn.
Commentary on the Gospels and Acts, Talks Pleasant and
Profitable, Golden Censer.
Swain, David Lowry, 1801-1868
edu., statesman, governor of N. C.
British Invasion of North Carolina, Revolutionary History of
North Carolina.
Swain, Margie P.
Ala.
Lochlin (published 1864, Selma, Ala.)
Switzler, William F.
ed.
Mo.
Illustrated History of Missouri.
Tabb, John B.
Md.
Poems.
Tailfer, Patrick
colonist in 18th Century
Ga., S. C.
Colony of Georgia in America, 1741.
Talley, Susan Archer (see Mrs. Von Weiss)
Taney, Roger Brooke, 1777-1864
jurist
Md.
Autobiography, Supreme Court Decisions, (one of them being in
the Dred Scott Case).
Tardy, Mrs. Mary ("_Ida Raymond_")
Ala.
Southland Writers, Living Female Writers of the South.
Taylor, Alexander Smith, 1817-1876
S. C., Cal.
First Voyage to California, Grasshoppers and Locusts of the
United States.
Taylor, George Boardman, 1832-
Bapt. cl.
Va., Italy.
Oakland Stories, Walter Ennis, Letters, &c.
Taylor, James Barnett, 1819-1871
Bapt. cl.
Eng., Va.
Life of Lot Cary, Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers, Memoir
of Luther Rice, &c.
Taylor, John, 1750-1824, ("_Arator_")
Va.
New View of the Constitution, Construction Construed, Tyranny
Unmasked, Agricultural Essays.
Taylor, Richard, 1826-1879 (son of Zachary Taylor)
La.
Destruction and Reconstruction.
Taylor, William Herron, 1838-
Va.
Four Years with General Lee.
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
twelfth President
Va.
Messages.
*Terhune, Mrs. Mary Virginia [Hawes]
Va., N. Y.
("_Marion Harland_"), Alone, Hidden Path, Mary the Mother of
Washington, &c.
Testut, Charles
La.
Les Echos (poems), Le Vieux Salomon, Les Filles de Monte
Cristo (novels).
Tevis, Mrs. Julia
edu.
Ky.
Autobiography.
Tharin, Robert Seymour Symmes, 1830-
lawyer
S. C.
Arbitrary Arrests in the South, Political Situation (1871).
Thierry, Camille
La.
Les Vagabondes, and other poems.
Thom, William Taylor, 1849-
Va.
Shakespeare and Chaucer Examinations (1887), Course of
Shakespeare Historical Reading.
Thomas, Ebenezer Smith, 1780-1844
edu.
Mass., S. C.
Reminiscences of the last Sixty-five years, Reminiscences of
South Carolina.
Thomas, Frederick William, 1811-1866
ed.
S. C., Md., Ala.
"'Tis Said that Absence Conquers Love," and other lyrics,
Emigrant, East and West, &c.
Thomas, Lewis Foulke, 1815-1868
Md., Ky., Mo.
Inda and other Poems, Osceola, Cortez, (dramas).
Thomas, Martha McCannon, 1823-
Md.
Life's Lessons, Captain Phil (story of the Civil War).
Thomas, Mary Von Erden, 1825-
S. C.
Winning the Battle.
Thompson, John, 1777-1799 ("_Casca_," "_Gracchus_")
Letters of Curtius.
*Thompson, John Reuben, 1823-1873
ed.
Va.
Poems, Editorials, &c.
Thompson, Maurice, 1844-
c. e., lawyer
Ga., La., Ind.
Tallahassee Girl, Creole Literature, Story of Louisiana,
By-Ways and Bird-Notes, Songs of Fair Weather, At Love's
Extremes, A Banker of Bankersville, Sylvan Secrets, Poems,
Essays, &c.
Thompson, Waddy, 1798-1868
S. C., Fla.
Recollections of Mexico (1846).
*Thompson, William Tappan, 1812-1882
ed.
O., Ga.
Major Jones's Courtship, &c.
Thomson, Samuel Harrison, 1813-1882
Ky.
Mosaic Account of Creation, Geology an Interpretation of
Scripture.
Thornton, Thomas C., 1794-1860
Va., Miss.
History of Slavery in the United States.
Thornwell, James Henley, 1812-1862
Pr. cl., edu.
S. C.
Discourses on the Truth, Rights and Duties of Masters, State
of the Church.
Tice, J. H.
Mo.
Over the Plains and on the Mountains.
Ticknor, Francis Orrery, 1822-1874
phys.
Ga.
Virginians of the Valley, and other poems (edited by Paul H.
Hayne, 1879).
Tiffany, Osmond, 1823-
Md.
Brandon: A Tale of the American Colonies, Life of Gen. Otho H.
Williams.
Timrod, William Henry, 1792-1838
S. C.
Lyrics.
*Timrod, Henry, 1829-1867
edu., ed.
S. C.
Poems.
T. M.
Va.
Account of Bacon's Rebellion, (dated 1705, thirty years after,
found in manuscript).
*Toombs, Robert, 1810-1885
statesman
Ga.
Speeches.
Toulmin, Henry, 1767-1823
Eng., Ky., Ala.
Description of Kentucky in 1792, Laws of Alabama (1823), and
other legal works.
Townsend, Mrs. Mary Ashley [Van Voorhis], 1836- ("_Xariffa_")
La.
Down the Bayou and other Poems, Captain's Story, and other
works.
Toy, Crawford Howell, 1836-
edu., linguist
Va., Ky., Mass.
History of the Religion of Israel, Quotations in the New
Testament.
Trescot, William Henry, 1822-
diplomate
S. C.
Foreign Policy of the United States, Diplomacy of the
Revolution, Diplomatic History of the Administrations of
Washington and Adams.
Trent, William P.
edu.
Tenn.
Life of William Gilmore Simms.
Trott, Nicholas, 1663-1740
Eng., S. C.
Laws of South Carolina, Clavis Linguæ Sanctæ, Laws of Church
and Clergy in America.
*Tucker, George, 1775-1861
edu.
Va.
Life of Thomas Jefferson, &c.
Tucker, Henry Holcombe, 1819-
Bapt. cl., ed.
Ga.
Gospel in Enoch, Old Theology Restated, and other writings.
Tucker, John Randolph, 1823-
edu., statesman
Va.
Speeches.
Tucker, Mrs. Mary Eliza [Perrine], 1838-
Ala., Ga.
(now Mrs. Lambert, of Philadelphia), Poems, Loew's Bridge, &c.
*Tucker, Nathaniel Beverley, 1784-1851
lawyer, edu.
Va.
Partisan Leader, &c.
*Tucker, St. George, 1752-1828
jurist, edu.
Va.
Poems, Legal writings, &c.
*Tucker, St. George H., 1828-1863
soldier
Va.
Hansford, a Tale of Bacon's Rebellion.
Tupper, Henry Allen, 1828-
Bapt. cl.
S. C., Ga., Va.
A Decade of Foreign Missions, First Century of the First
Baptist Church of Charleston, Truth in Romance (novel).
Turner, William Mason, 1835-
phys.
Va., Pa.
Under Bail, Ruby Ring, and other novels.
Turner, William Wilberforce, 1830-
Ga.
Jack Hopeton.
Upshur, Mary Jane Stith, 1828- ("_Fanny Fielding_")
Va.
(now Mrs. Sturges of New York), Confederate Notes (novel),
Poems.
Vance, Robert B.
N. C.
Heart-Throbs from the Mountains.
Vance, Mrs. Sally Ada [Reedy]
Miss., Ky.
Charity, The Sisters, and other poems.
*Vance, Zebulon Baird, 1830-1894
statesman, governor of N. C.
Last Days of the War in North Carolina, Addresses, &c.
Vasconcellos, Andres de, fifteenth century
Portuguese navigator
History of Florida, (in Spanish).
Villeneufve, Le Blanc de
La.
Poucha Houmma (drama).
Von Weiss, Mrs. Susan Archer [Talley]
Va.
Poems.
Waddell, Alfred Moore, 1834-
N. C.
Colonial Officer and His Times (in manuscript).
Waddell, Moses, 1770-1840
edu.
N. C., S. C., Ga.
(President of the University of Georgia), Memoir of Miss C. E.
Smelt.
Wakelee, Kate C.
Conn., Ga.
Forest City Bride, India Morgan.
Walker, Alexander, 1819-
Va., La.
Jackson and New Orleans, Life of Andrew Jackson, History of
the Battle of Shiloh, Butler at New Orleans.
Walker, Cornelius, 1819-
P. E. cl.
Va.
Life of William Duval, William Sparrow, Dr. Andrews, articles
on Theology, &c.
Walker, Norman McF.
La.
Geographical Nomenclature of Louisiana.
Wallis, Severn Teackle, 1816-
Md.
Prayer for Peace, Guerrilla Warfare, Life of George Peabody.
Walsh, Robert, 1784-1859
diplomate
Md.
American Revolution, Future State of Europe.
Walworth, Mrs. Jeannette Ritchie [Hademann], 1837-
Miss., La.
Southern Silhouettes, Stories of a Southern County, A Little
Radical, A Splendid Egotist, That Girl from Texas, &c.
Ward, Matt Flournoy, 1826-1862
Ky.
Letters from Three Continents, English Items.
Warfield, Mrs. Catherine Anne [Ware], 1816-1877
Miss., Ky.
Household of Bouverie, Romance of Beauseincourt, Poems, and
other novels.
Warren, E. W.
Ga.
Nellie Norton (novel).
*Washington, George, 1732-1799
first President
Va.
State Papers, Letters, &c.
Watson, Asa Rogers, 1837-
Va., Ga.
Minstrel of Elsinore, Kin.
Watterson, Henry, 1840-
ed.
Ky.
Oddities of Southern Life and Character, Editorials,
Addresses, &c.
Webb, Mrs. Laura S. ("_Stannie Lee_")
Ala.
Heart-Leaves (poems).
Webber, Charles Wilkins, 1819-1856
Ky.
Old Hicks the Guide, Texas Virago, Tales of the Southern
Border, Shot in the Eye.
Weber, John Langdon
S. C.
History of South Carolina.
*Weems, Mason Locke, 1760-1825
Va.
Life of Washington, &c.
Welby, Mrs. Amelia B. [Coppuck]
Md., Ky.
Poems by Amelia (1844, 1850).
Westmoreland, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth [Jourdan]
Ga.
Poems, Soldier's Wife, Soldier's Trials (dramas, played in
Atlanta during the war).
Wharton, E. C.
La.
Life of Gayarré, War of the Bachelors, Toodles, Young Couple
(comedy).
Wharton, Morton Bryan, 1839-
Bapt. cl.
Va.
What I Saw in the Old World, Famous Women of the Old
Testament, Famous Women of the New Testament.
Wheeler, John Hill, 1806-1882
N. C.
History of North Carolina, Reminiscences of North Carolina.
Whitaker, Alexander, 1585-1613
P. E. cl.
Eng., Va.
(Baptized and married Pocahontas), Good Newes from Virginia
(1613).
Whitaker, Mrs. Mary Scrimzeour [Furman] [Miller], 1820-
S. C.
Albert Hastings (novel), Poems.
White, Henry Alexander
Pr. cl.
Va.
Origin of the Pentateuch in the Light of the Ancient Monuments
(1894).
White, Henry Clay, 1850-
Md.
Complete Chemistry of the Cotton Plant, &c.
White, John Blake, 1781-1859
artist
S. C.
Foscari, Mysteries of the Castle, Triumph of Liberty or
Louisiana Preserved.
Whittlesey, Sarah Johnson Cogswell, 1825-
N. C.
Heart-Drops from Memory's Urn (poems), The Stranger's
Stratagem, Summer Blossoms, &c.
*Wilde, Richard Henry, 1789-1847
Ga., La.
My Life is Like the Summer Rose, &c.
Wiley, Calvin Henderson, 1819-1887
N. C., S. C.
Roanoke, or Where is Utopia?, Alamance, Early Life at the
South.
Wilkinson, Andrew
La.
Sketches of Plantation Life.
Wilkinson, James, 1757-1825
Md., Mex.
Memoirs of My Times.
Wilkinson, John, 1821-
naval officer
Va.
Narrative of a Blockade-Runner.
Willey, Waitman Thomas, 1811-
statesman
W. Va.
Lectures, Speeches, &c.
Williams, Mrs. Bessie W. [Johnson]
S. C., Ga.
In Memory of Captain Herndon (poem), Ciaromski and His
Daughter.
Williams, Espy W. H.
La.
Parrhasius, Witchcraft, and other poems and dramas.
Williams, John Wilson Montgomery, 1820-
Bapt. cl.
Va., Md.
Reminiscences of a Pastorate of Thirty-three Years, Pastor and
People.
Williams, Mrs. Mary Bushnell, 1826-
La.
Serfs of Châteney, Tales and Legends of Louisiana.
Wilmer, Richard Hooker, 1816-
P. E. bishop
Ala.
Recent Past, from a Southern Standpoint (1887), Reminiscences
of a Grandfather.
*Wilson, Mrs. Augusta Jane [Evans], 1835-
Ala.
St. Elmo, and other novels.
Wilson, John Leighton, 1809-1886
missionary
S. C.
Western Africa, &c.
Wilson, John Lyde, 1784-1849
S. C.
Code of Honor, Cupid and Psyche.
*Wilson, Robert Burns, 1850-
artist
Pa., Ky.
Life and Love (poems).
Wilson, Samuel Farmer, 1805-1870
Conn., La.
History of the American Revolution.
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-
edu.
Va., N. J.
An Old Master and other political Essays, Disunion and
Reunion, National Revenues, Congressional Government, &c.
Winchester, Boyd
Ky.
The Swiss Republic.
*Wirt, William, 1772-1834
jurist
Md., Va.
British Spy, Life of Patrick Henry, &c.
Wise, Henry Alexander, 1806-1876
governor of Va.
Seven Decades of the Union.
Withers, Emma
W. Va.
Wildwood Chimes (poems).
Wood, Mrs. Jean Moncure, 1754-1823
Va.
Flowers and Weeds of the Old Dominion (1859).
Wood, William Maxwell, 1809-1880
phys.
N. C.
Wandering Sketches in South America, Polynesia, California,
&c., A Shoulder to the Wheel of Progress.
Woods, Mrs. Katharine Pearson
W. Va.
Metzerott Shoemaker, Mark of the Beast, Web of Gold.
Wright, Marcus Joseph, 1831-
Tenn.
Reminiscences of McNairy County, Tenn., Life of Gov. William
Blount, General Scott.
Wylie, Mrs. Lollie Belle [Moore]
ed. "_Society_"
Ala.
Morning-Glory, and other Poems.
Wynne, Mrs. Emma [Moffett], 1844- ("_Lola_")
Ala., Ga.
Crag-Font.
Yancey, William Lowndes, 1814-1863
statesman
Ga., Ala.
Speeches and Letters.
Yeaman, George Helm, 1829-
lawyer
Ky.
Naturalization, Privateering, Study of Government.
Yonge, Francis
colonist
S. C.
Proceedings of the People of South Carolina in 1719, Voyage to
Virginia and the Chesapeake.
Young, Edward, 1818-
Eng., S. C.
Ladye Lillian, and other Poems.
Young, Mrs. Maud J. [Fuller]
N. C., Tex.
(Descendant of Pocahontas), Song of the Texas Rangers,
Cordova, a Legend of Lone Lake.
A SUPPLEMENTARY LIST, JULY, 1895.
Corrections and further information are earnestly requested. Address
Miss LOUISE MANLY, care B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond,
Va.
Afflick, Mrs. Mary Hunt
Ky., Tex.
Gates Ajar, and other Poems.
Alexander, Archibald, 1772-1851
Pr. cl., edu.
Va., N. J.
Distinguished American Clergymen, History of the Presbyterian
Church in Virginia (1854), and many theological writings.
Alexander, Joseph Waddel, 1804-
Pr. cl., edu.
Va., N. J.
Biography of Dr. Archibald Alexander, Family Worship, and
theological writings.
Anderson, Archer
soldier
Va.
Addresses: Battle of Chickamauga, Robert E. Lee, &c.
Anderson, L. B.
Va.
Biographies of Virginia Physicians of Olden Times (1891).
Andrews, Garnett
Ga.
Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer (1870).
Archer, Branch T.
Va., Tex.
Addresses, Essays, &c.
Avery, I. W.
Ga.
History of Georgia (1881).
Bachman, Catherine Louise
S. C.
Life of John Bachman (her father).
Badger, Mrs. E. M.
Fla., Tex.
Silent Influence, and other poems.
Barbour, Benjamin Johnson, -1895
Va.
Addresses.
Barton, W. S.
Va.
Diocese of Virginia.
Bartram, William, 1739-1823
botanist
England.
Travels through Carolina, Georgia, Florida, &c. (1791).
Battle, Kemp Plummer, 1831-
edu.
N. C.
History of Raleigh, Benjamin Smith, Z. B. Vance, General
Sumner, and other addresses, essays, &c.
Beale, Maria
N. C.
Jack O'Doon.
Beckwith, Paul
Mo.
History of the Beckwith Family (1891), Creoles of St. Louis
(1893).
Bedinger, Henry, 1810-
Va.
Poems.
Bell, J. M.
Va.
Life of Ex-Governor William Smith (1891).
Bennet, W. W.
cl.
Va.
The Great Revival in the Southern Army, Methodism in Virginia.
Berney, Saffold
Ala.
Industrial History of Alabama.
Bernheim, G. D., 1827-
Luth. cl.
N. C.
German Settlement and Lutheran Church in N. C. and S. C.
Bickley, G. W. L.
Va.
History of Tazewell County.
Biggs, Joseph, 1776-1844
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Kehukee Baptist Association (1837, continuation of Burkitt's
History).
Bigham, Robert Williams, 1824-
M. E. cl.
Ga.
Vinny Leal's Trip, Uncle Viv's Story, Gold Field Scenes, Joe a
Boy in the War Times.
Billon, Frederick L.
Mo.
Annals of St. Louis (1886).
Bishop, P. P.
Bapt. cl.
N. Y., Fla. The Psychologist (novel), Heart of Man, American
Citizen.
Bouldin, Powhatan
Va.
Reminiscences of John Randolph of Roanoke (1878), The Old
Trunk.
Boyd, C. R.
Va.
History of Washington County, Geological Treatises.
Bradley, Mary E.
Va.
Douglas Farm.
Branch, William, Jr.
Va.
Life, and other poems (1819).
Brent, Frank P.
Va.
Eastern Shore of Virginia (1891).
Broaddus, Andrew, 1770-
Bapt. cl.
Va.
History of the Bible, Sermons, Letters, &c.
Broadhead, Garland C.
edu.
Mo.
Missouri Geological Survey Reports, and many scientific and
historical papers.
Brown, B. Gratz, 1826-
lawyer
Mo.
Geometry Old and New (1879), State Papers.
Brown, George William, 1812-1890
jurist
Md.
Baltimore and the 19th of April, 1861, Life of Thomas
Donaldson, Origin and Growth of Civil Liberty in Maryland, &c.
Brown, John, 1771-1850
Ger., Va.
Sermons (1818).
Brown, Mrs. Mary Mitchel
Conn., Mo., Tex.
School History of Texas, Burial of Governor Henry Smith, The
Golden Wedding, To Ex-President Jefferson Davis, and other
poems.
Brown, Samuel, 1769-
phys.
Va.
Description of a Cave on Crooked Creek.
Browne, Alexander
Va.
Genesis of the United States (1891).
Browne, Henry
Va.
Captives of Abb's Valley, The Great Supper.
Bruce, Philip A.
Va.
Virginia Historical Society Papers, Plantation Negro as a
Freeman, &c.
Bruce, Thomas
Va.
Historical Sketches of Roanoke, Cupid and Duty, That Bruisin'
Lad o' Greystone Lodge, &c.
Bryan, W. S.
publisher
Mo.
History of Pioneer Families of St. Louis.
Bryant, Edgar S.
lawyer
Ark.
Orations.
Buchannan, ----
cl.
Ark.
The World and the Book (1893).
Burgwyn, C. P. E.
Va.
The Huguenot Lovers, and other poems.
Burkitt, Lemuel, 1750-1807
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Kehukee Baptist Association (with Jesse Read, 1803, and 1850,
"earliest volume issued in the State on any part of her
history").
Burk, John Daly, -1808
Ireland, Va.
History of Virginia, 1804-1816 (3 volumes by Burk, the 4th by
Louis Hue Girardin and Skelton Jones), Poems, Dramas, and
other works.
Burwell, Letitia McCreery
Va.
A Girl's Life in Virginia before the War, Poems, &c.
Burwell, William McCreery, 1809-1888
ed.
Va.
White Acre against Black Acre, Exile and Empire, Essays on
Economics, Politics, &c., (editor of "_De Bow's Review_").
Bushnell, J. E.
Va.
Baptism, Consecrated Giving, Deaconess Work (1889).
Cabell, Ellen Mayo
Va.
An Odd Volume of Fact and Fiction (1852).
Cabell, Mrs. I. C.
Va.
Historical and Biographical Sketches, &c.
Cabell, Mrs. Margaret Couch [Anthony], 1814-1883
Va.
Recollections of Lynchburg.
Caldwell, Howard Hayne, 1831-1858
lawyer
S. C.
Oliata (1855), Poems (1858), Prose Articles.
Caldwell, Mrs. M. M.
Ga.
The Tie that Binds (1895).
Cameron, John
N. C.
Hand-book of North Carolina.
Campbell, Alexander, 1786-1866
cl.
Ireland, W. Va.
Sermons (Founder of the Church of the Disciples).
Campbell, Jesse H., 1807-
Bapt. cl.
Ga.
Georgia Baptists (1847).
Campbell, John Lyle, 1818-
Va.
Geology of James River Valley (1892), Agriculture.
Campbell, John Poage, 1767-
Va.
The Passenger (1804), Vindex (1806), Answer to Jones (1812),
&c.
Campbell, John Wilson
Va.
History of Virginia to 1781 (1813).
Carter, St. Leger Landon
Va.
Nugae by Nugator (Poems).
Carter, William Page
Va.
Poems.
Caruthers, Eli W., -1865
N. C.
Life of Rev. David Caldwell, D. D., Revolutionary Incidents in
the "Old North State."
Carwile, John Brown, 1825-
banker
S. C.
Reminiscences of Newberry.
Casselberry, Evans
lawyer
Mo.
Spanish Laws, Missouri Land Laws, &c.
Chappell, Absalom Harris, 1801-1878
lawyer
Ga.
Miscellanies of Georgia (1874).
Charlton, Thomas U. P.
jurist
Md., Ga.
Life of Major-General James Jackson (1809).
Child, Jacob
ed.
Mo.
The Pearl of Asia (1892).
Clayton, Augustine Smith, 1783-
Va.
Crockett's Life of Van Buren.
Claytor, Graham
Va.
Otterdale, Among the Hills, Pleasant Waters.
Clark, Walter, 1846-
jurist
N. C.
_Editor_ Records of North Carolina (after 1776), historical
and legal papers.
Clark, ----
Mo.
History of William Jewell College.
Clarke, William
Va.
Lewis and Clarke Expedition (with Lewis).
Cleland, John, 1709-1789 (son of Colonel Cleland, _Will Honeycomb_
of the _Spectator_).
Tombo-Chiqui (1758).
Clover, Lewis P.
P. E. cl.
Va.
Old Churches in Virginia.
Cocke, Philip St. George, 1808-1861
Va.
Plantation and Farm Instruction (1852).
Coghill, James H.
Va.
Abroad (1867), Family of Coghill, 1379 to 1879.
Coles, J. J.
Va.
Africa in Brief (1886).
Colwell, Stephen, 1800-1871
Va.
Foreign Commerce, New Themes for the Protestant Clergy,
Politics for American Citizens, Christianity in the United
States, The South, &c.
Conant, A. J.
Mo.
Footprints of Vanished Races (1878).
Cook, Mrs. Mary Louisa [Redd], -1891
Ga.
Ante Bellum, or Southern Life as It Was, A Woman's Perils,
Poems, &c.
Cooke, Philip St. George, 1809-
soldier
Va.
Scenes and Adventures in the Army (1856), Conquest of New
Mexico and California (1878).
Corbin, Mrs. Diana Fontaine Maury
Va.
Life of Matthew F. Maury (her father).
Cox, Edward Travers, 1821-
Va.
Geological and Scientific Treatises.
Coxe, Henry Carlton, 1785-
Va.
Liberty and Necessity, The Will.
Coyner, ----
Va.
The Lost Trappers (sequel to Lewis and Clarke Expedition).
Dabney, Heath H., 1859-
Va.
History of the French Revolution (1889).
Dannelly, Mrs. Elizabeth O. [Marshall]
Ga., Tex.
Cactus; or Thorns and Blossoms (poems).
Davis, John A. G., 1801-1840
lawyer
Va.
Legal Treatises.
De Graffenreidt, Christopher
baron
Switzerland, N. C.
Narrative (of the colony of Swiss at New Bern, N. C.).
Derry, Joseph T.
edu.
Ga.
Story of the Confederate States, School History of the United
States.
Dixon, Sam Houston
Tex.
Poets and Poetry of Texas.
Doddridge, Joseph, 1769-1826
P. E. cl.
W. Va.
Notes on Virginia and Pennsylvania, Logan.
Dove, John
phys.
Va.
_Edited_ Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Masons from 1773 to
1822, History of the Grand Lodge in Virginia, &c.
Du Bose, John Witherspoon, 1836-
ed.
S. C., Ala.
Mineral Wealth of Alabama, Life and Times of William L. Yancey
(1892).
Du Bose, ----
edu.
Tenn.
Soteriology.
Dudley, Thomas U.
P. E. bishop
Va., Ky.
A Nice Discrimination the Church's Need, A Sunday School
Question Book.
Dugan, Mrs. George E. ("_May Myrtle_")
Mo.
Myrtle Leaves (poem, 1885).
Dugger, Shepherd Monroe
N. C.
Balsam Groves of the Grandfather Mountain.
Duke, R. T. W., Jr.
Va.
Poems.
Duncan, R. S.
Bapt. cl.
Mo.
History of Baptists in Missouri (1882).
Durrett, Reuben Thomas, 1824-
Ky.
Life of John Filson, the first historian of Kentucky, Essays,
&c.
Early, Mrs. Mary Washington [Cabell], 1846-
Va.
Sambo's Banishment, Virginia before the War, and other
Sketches, Stories, and Essays.
Efnor, Mrs. Lottie
Tex.
Poems, Sketches, and other writings.
Elliott, Stephen, 1771-1830
nat.
S. C., Ga.
Botany of South Carolina and Georgia (1821).
Elliott, ----
P. E. bishop
S. C., Ga.
Religious writings.
Elliott, Charles, 1792-
ed., M. E. cl.
Ireland, Mo.
Southwestern Methodism (1868), and other works.
Elliott, Richard Smith
Mo.
Notes on St. Louis (1883).
Ellison, Matthew, 1804-
Bapt. cl.
Va.
Dunkerism, a Plea for the Union of Baptists.
Evans, Lawton B., 1862-
edu.
Ga.
History of Georgia (1884).
Ewell, Alice Maud
Va.
The White and the Red (1889), Stories and Sketches.
Ewing, Finis, 1773-
cl.
Va.
Lectures on Divinity (1839).
Ezekiel, H. C.
Va.
The Book Buyer and Seller (1892).
Festetits, Mrs. Kate Neely, 1837-
Va.
Ellie Randolph, and other stories for children.
Fielder, Herbert
Ga.
Life and Times of Joseph E. Brown (1883).
Filhive, Don Juan
Spain, Ark.
Description of Hot Springs, Arkansas (in Spanish, 1796).
Fitzhugh, William
Va.
History of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Fitzhugh, William Henry, 1792-
Va.
African Colonization (essays).
Floyd, N. J.
Va.
Thorns in the Flesh (1886).
Folsom, James M.
Ga.
Heroes and Martyrs of Georgia (1864).
Forest, William S.
Va.
Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Norfolk.
Fowke, Gerard
Ky., Va.
Archeological Investigations in James and Potomac Valleys (1894).
Fox, Norman, 1836-
edu., Bapt. cl.
Mo.
A Layman's Ministry, A life of Hon. Nathan Bishop, Preacher
and Teacher, A life of President Rambaut.
Franklin, Willie
Tenn., Tex.
"Al Lannee," and other poems.
Garland, Landon Cabell, 1810-
edu.
Va., Ala., Tenn.
Trigonometry, Addresses, &c.
Garnett, Alexander Yelverton Peyton, 1820-
surgeon
Va.
Potomac Marshes, Epidemic Jaundice, &c.
Garrett, Thomas E.
ed.
Mo.
Masque of the Muses (poem, 1883).
Garrison, George P.
Ga., Tex.
"Solitude," and other poems and sketches.
Gerald, Florence
Tex.
Lays of the (Texas) Republic, and other poems.
Gilleland, William M.
Tex.
Burial March of General Thomas Green, In Memory of General
Ben. McCulloch, and other poems.
Gillespie, Mrs. Helena [West]
edu.
Tenn., Tex.
Tennyson's Picture, and other poems.
Gilman, Mrs. Caroline Howard, 1794-
Mass., S. C.
Recollections of a Southern Matron, and many other writings,
sketches, essays, &c.
Goode, George Brown
sci.
Va., D. C.
Virginia Cousins, Descendants of John Goode of Whitby, Va.,
("replete with incidents and pictures of Southern life"), and
scientific writings.
Goodloe, Daniel Reaves, 1814-
N. C.
Birth of the Republic, Reminiscences of Washington (1894), and
other writings.
Gordon, Mrs. John N.
Va.
Scene in the Vale of Tempe (1891).
Graham, William Alexander, 1804-1875
Governor of N. C.
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, Thomas Ruffin, George
E. Badger, A. D. Murphey, and other addresses and State
papers.
Grasty, John S.
M. E. cl.
Mo.
Memoirs of Rev. Samuel B. McPheeters (1871).
Green, Thomas Marshall
jour.
Ky.
Historic Families of Kentucky (1889), The Spanish Conspiracy
(1891), and other works.
Green, William
jurist
Va.
Legal Treatises and Essays.
Greene, Mrs. Mary
Mo.
Life of Rev. Jesse Greene (1852).
Greenway, J. R.
Va.
Here and There (1892).
Gregory, Edward S.
cl.
Va.
Sketch of Petersburg, Poems.
Griffin, Mrs. T. M.
Ala., Tex.
The Fountain, Haunted, Drifting, and other poems.
Gunter, Bessie E.
Va.
Housekeeper's Companion (1889).
Haines, Hiram, ("_Stranger_")
Va.
Buds and Blossoms (poems).
Hallum, John, 1833-
lawyer
Tenn., Ark.
History of Arkansas (1887), Diary of an Old Lawyer (1895),
Life on the Frontier.
Hallum, Mattie A., 1872-
Mo., Ark.
Clay (a story in verse) and other poems.
Hambach, G.
edu.
Mo.
Missouri Geological Survey Reports, scientific papers, &c.
Hamlett, Mrs. Lizzie
Miss., Tex.
Death of Rusk, Pleasures of Home, and other poems.
Hamner, Salley B.
Va.
Now That You Are Married (1892).
Harby, Mrs. Lee Cohen
S. C., Tex., N. Y.
Thanksgiving Ode (1881), A South Carolina Village, Old Stone
Fort at Nacogdoches, City of a Prince, Earliest Texas, The
Tejas Nation, Poems, Stories, &c.
Harden, Edward Jenkins, 1813-1873
lawyer
Ga.
Life of George M. Troup (1859), Notes of a Short Northern Tour
(translated into Latin).
Harris, Mrs. Louisa
Mo.
Behind the Scenes; or, Nine Years at the Four Courts (1893).
Harris, Thaddeus M.
Ga.
Memorials of Oglethorpe (1841).
Harrison, Gessner, 1807-1862
edu.
Va.
Laws of Latin Grammar, Greek Prepositions.
Hartshorne, Joseph, 1779-
phys.
Va.
The Bones, and other medical works.
Hatton, John W.
Mo.
Battle of Life (poem, 1882).
Hayden, Horace Edwin
P. E. cl.
Va., Pa.
Virginia Genealogies, and other writings.
Heath, James, ca. 1812-
lawyer
Va.
Edgewood (novel of the Revolution, 1838).
Henderson, John B.
lawyer, statesman
Mo.
Speeches.
Hening, William Waller, died 1828
lawyer
Va.
American Pleader (1811), New Virginia Justice (1825).
Henkel, Paul, 1754-1825
Luth. cl.
N. C., Va.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, German Hymns, Zeitvertreib
(poem).
Henning, Julia R.
edu.
Va.
Geography of Virginia, Songs (with the music).
Hereford, Mrs. Elizabeth J.
Ky., Tex.
Rebel Rhymes, and other poems.
Hill, Benjamin Harvey, 1823-1882
Ga.
Notes on the Situation, Orations, &c.
Hill, Britton A.
lawyer
Mo.
Liberty and Law (1873), Absolute Money, Specie Resumption
(1876).
Hobby, Alfred M.
Fla., Tex.
Frontier from the Saddle, Sentinel's Dream of Home.
Hodgson, Joseph
Ala.
Cradle of the Confederacy (1876).
Hogg, Thomas E.
Tex.
The Fate of Marvin (poem).
Holbrook, John Edwards, 1794-1871
sci.
S. C.
American Herpetology, Southern Ichthyology.
Holcombe, James Philemon, 1820-
Va.
Literature and Letters, &c.
Holding, Mrs. Elizabeth E.
edu.
Mo.
Joy the Deaconess (novel).
Holmes, George Frederick, 1820-
edu.
British Guiana, Va.
Comte's Philosophy, and other essays, History of the United
States, Readers, and other text-books.
Hooper, William, 1782-1876
N. C.
Fifty Years Since (1859), and other addresses.
Houston, Mrs. Margaret Moffett [Lea], -1867
Ala., Tex.
To My Husband [General Sam. Houston], and other poems.
Howard, Overton
Va.
Life of the Law.
Hubbard, Fordyce Mitchell, 1809-1888
N. C.
Life of W. R. Davie, Richard Caswell, The Harvey Family, &c.
Hughey, G. W.
cl.
Mo.
The Liquor Traffic (1882), Catechism on Beer (1884), Ingersoll
and Ingersollism (1883), Resurrection of the Dead, Christian
Side of Faith, &c.
Hunt, James H.
Mo.
The Mormon War in Missouri, 1844 (with G. W. Westbrook).
Hutchins, James H.
N. C., Tex.
My Native Town, Funeral Odes, and other poems.
Hutson, Charles Woodward
Ga., Miss.
Beginnings of Civilization, Story of Beryl.
Irby, Richard
Va.
Sketch of the Nottoway Grays.
Irving, John B.
S. C.
Essays.
James, Benjamin, 1768-1825
jurist
Va., S. C.
Statute and Common Law of Carolina (1814).
Jamison, David F., 1810-1860
planter, soldier
S. C.
Memoir of Bertrand du Guesclin.
Jeffries, Fayette, 1820-
Va.
Crippled Fayette, an autobiography.
Jett, James
Va.
A Virginia Tragedy, and other stories.
Jewell, Horace
cl.
Ark.
History of Methodism in Arkansas (1893).
Johnson, John, 1829-
c.e., P. E. cl.
S. C.
Defense of Charleston Harbor (1890).
Johnston, Frederick, 1811-1894
Va.
Old Virginia Clerks (1888).
Jones, Charles Edgeworth, 1867-
lawyer
Ga.
Education in Georgia (1889), Divisions of Georgia (1892).
Jones, John P.
Mo.
Spanish Expedition to Missouri in 1719, Early Travel in
Missouri, Missouri River and Indians, &c.
Jones, Joseph, 1833-
phys., edu.
Ga., Tenn., La.
Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee (1876), Medical and Surgical
Memoirs, &c.
Jones, Wiley
Va.
Gospel of the Kingdom.
Jones, William Hite
Va.
Federal Taxes and State Expenses.
Josselyn, Robert, 1810-1884
jour.
Mass., Tex.
The Last Tear I Shed, Satire on the Times, and other poems.
Keiffer, Aldine S.
Va.
Poems.
Kerr, Hugh, -1843
Ireland, Tex.
Poetical Description of Texas (1838).
Kerr, Robert Pollok, 1850-
Mo.
Presbyterianism for the People (1883), History of
Presbyterianism (1886), Hymns of the Ages (1891), Voice of God
in History (1890), and other works.
Kerr, Washington Caruthers, 1827-1885
edu., geologist
N. C.
Geological Papers (in regard to North Carolina).
Kilby, L. Clay
Va.
Vernon Lonsdale (1876).
King, Willis P.
phys.
Mo.
Quacks and Quackery in Missouri (1882), and medical writings.
Kingsbury, Theodore Bryant, 1828-
ed.
N. C.
Baptism, History of Granville County, N. C., historical and
literary essays, &c.
Krauth, Charles P., 1823-
cl.
Va.
Winter and Spring in the Danish West Indies, Conservative
Reformation, Christian Liberty, Berkeley's Principles,
Augsburg Confession, Poems, &c.
Ladd, Mrs. Catherine [Stratton], ("_Minnie Mayflower_"), 1809-
edu.
Va., S. C.
Tales, Essays, and Poems (1840-1860).
Lacy, J. Horace
soldier
Va.
Historical Sketches.
Laidley, Theodore Thaddeus Sobieski, 1822-1886
soldier
Va.
Ordnance Manual, Rifle Practice.
Lafferty, J. J.
M. E. cl.
Va.
Addresses, Lectures, Sermons, &c.
Lane, James H.
soldier, edu.
N. C.
Lane's North Carolina Brigade, and other historical papers.
Langhorne, Orra Gray
Va.
Aunt Pokey's Son, and other stories.
Langston, John Mercer, 1829-
Va.
Freedom and Citizenship (1883).
Lawson, Thomas, 1781-
Va.
Sickness and Mortality in the United States Army,
Meteorological Register.
Lay, James H.
lawyer
Mo.
History of Benton County (1876).
Leachman, Mrs. Welthea [Bryant], 1847-
Tex.
Bitter Sweet, and other poems.
Lewis, John
Va.
Young Kate; or The Rescue--a tale of the Great Kanawha.
Lewis, Meriwether
Va.
Lewis and Clarke Expedition (with Clarke).
Leyburn, John, 1814-
Pr. cl.
Va.
Soldiers of the Cross, Hints to Young Men, pamphlets and
reviews.
Lind, G. Dallas
phys.
Mo.
Races of Man, Religions of the World, Great Educators and
Their Methods, Primeval Man, The Human Body, &c.
Lindsay, Margaret Isabella
Va.
The Lindsays of America (1889).
Lindsley, John Berrien, 1822-
phys., edu.
Tenn.
Military History of Tennessee, Cumberland Presbyterian
History, &c.
Linn, E. A. and N. Sargent
Mo.
Life of L. F. Linn (1857).
Linn, John J., 1798-1885
Ireland, Tex.
Fifty Years in Texas (reminiscences).
Little, Lucius P.
Ga.
Ben Hardin (1887).
Littlepage, Lewis, 1762-1802
soldier, diplomate
Va.
Translation XXII. Ode, Book I., of Horace (done when fifteen
years old), Letters.
Lloyd, Willa D., 1866-
Tex.
Christmas Chimes, Christmas in Camp, and other poems.
Logan, John Randolph, 1811-1884
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Broad River and King's Mountain Baptist Association 1800-1882
(1887).
Lomax, John Tayloe, 1781-1862
jurist
Va.
Laws of Real Property, Law of Executors, &c.
Lowe, John, 1750-1798
edu.
Scotland, Va.
Mary's Dream, and other poems.
Lowndes, William Jones, 1782-1822
statesman
S. C.
Speeches.
Lucas, Virginia
Va.
Poems.
Ludlow, N. M.
Mo.
Dramatic Life As I Found It (1880).
Lupton, Nathaniel Thomas, 1830-
edu.
Va., Ala., Tenn.
Scientific Agriculture, Chemistry.
Luther, John Hill, 1824-
Bapt. cl.
R. I., Tex.
My Verses, sermons and other writings.
Lytle, William Henry
soldier
Va.
Poems.
McCabe, James Dabney, 1808-1875
P. E. cl.
Va.
Masonic Text-Book.
McCarthy, Carlton
Va.
Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia.
McClelland, H. B.
Va.
Life of J. E. B. Stuart (1885).
McEachin, R. B.
Ala., Tex.
Youthful Days, and other poems.
McDonald, Miss F. M.
Va.
Who Was the Patriot?
McElligott, James N., 1812-
Va.
Orthography, Analyzer, Speaker, Hymns, Greek and Hebrew
Text-Books, &c.
McGehee, Montford, 1822-
N. C.
Life of William A. Graham (1877).
McMillan, Hamilton
N. C.
Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony (1888).
McQueary, Howard
cl.
Va.
Topics of the Times, Evolution and Christianity (1889).
McRee, Griffith John, 1819-1873
ed.
N. C.
Life and Correspondence of James Iredell (1857).
McVey, Mrs. Nellie
Mo.
Eureka Springs, Poems.
Madison, James, 1749-1812
P. E. bishop
Va.
Sermons, Eulogy on Washington.
Mallard, Robert Quarterman, 1830-
Pr. cl.
Ga., La.
Plantation Life Before Emancipation (1892).
Mallary, Mrs. Mary Jeanie [Dagg]
Ala., Ga.
Horace Wilde, Elsie Lee, Rosalie Wynnton, Jack, A Seeming
Trifle, Picciola or The Power of Conscience, Aunt Clara's
School, Won by a Boy (just finished).
Manly, Basil, 1825-1892
edu., Bapt. cl.
S. C., Va., Ky.
Bible Doctrine of Inspiration, A Call to the Ministry, Higher
Education in the South Before the War, Hymns, Sunday School
Catechism, Addresses, &c.
Manly, John Matthews, 1865-
Ala., R. I.
Pre-Shaksperean Drama (1895).
Marr, Mrs. Jane Barren Hope
Va.
Novel of Spotswood's Time, "Stories and Papers," and other
writings.
Martin, L. A.
lawyer
Mo.
Halloween, and other poems.
Maynard, Mrs. Sallie Ballard [Hillyer], 1841-1882
Ga., Tex.
The Two Heroines, or The Valley Farm (novel), Poems.
Melton, Wightman Fletcher
M. E. cl., edu.
Ala.
The Preacher's Son (1894).
Mercer, Margaret, 1792-1846
edu.
Md., Va.
Ethics, Studies for Bible Classes (1842).
Meriwether, C.
S. C.
History of Higher Education in South Carolina (1889).
Merrimon, Maud L.
N. C.
Memoir of A. S. Merrimon (her father).
Miller, Mrs. M. C. [Keller]
La.
Severed at Gettysburg, Love and Rebellion.
Miles, James Warley, 1818-1875
P. E. cl.
S. C.
Philosophic Theology, Addresses, Essays, &c.
Minnigerode, Charles G., 1814-1894
P. E. cl.
Ger., Va.
Sermons.
Minor, Benjamin B.
Va.
Memoir of Chancellor Wythe (1852).
Minor, John Barbee, 1813-1895
edu., lawyer
Va.
Reports of 1799-1800, legal writings, &c.
Minor, Lucian, 1802-1858
ed.
Va.
Abolishing the Liquor Traffic, Travels in New England, Legal
Treatises.
Minor, Virginia L.
Va.
Historical and Biographical Sketches, &c.
Mitchell, John Kearsley, 1798-
phys.
Va.
St. Helena (poem), Indecision (novel) 1839, Properties of
Water, Essays on Medical Subjects, &c.
Montague, ----
Va.
Montagues of Virginia.
Moore, Francis
England, Ga.
Travels into Africa, Voyage to Georgia in 1735 (1744).
Moorman, R. B.
Va.
Sketches of Travel in Europe.
Moran, Mrs. F. B.
Va.
Miss Washington of Virginia (1891).
Moran, W. H. W.
Va.
From School-Room to Bar (1892).
Morgan, William, 1775-
Va.
Illustrations of Freemasonry (1826).
Morris, Thomas Asbury, 1794-
M. E. bishop
Va.
Church Polity, Biographical Sketches and Notes of Travel,
Western Methodism (1852).
Mosby, Ella F., 1846-
Va.
The Ideal Life (1877), The Christmas Inn, and other stories,
poems, &c.
Murphy, John Albert
cl.
N. C., Tex.
The First Fallen Soldier of 1861, Our Silver Wedding-Day, and
other poems.
Mutter, Thomas Dent, 1811-
phys.
Va.
Salt-Sulphur Springs of Virginia, Medical and Surgical Essays
(1846).
Newton, Virginius
Va.
Confederate Navy, The Ram _Merrimac_ (in Southern Historical
Society Papers).
Norris, Thaddeus, 1811-1877
Va.
American Angler's Book (1864), American Fish Culture (1868).
Odom, Mary Hunt McCaleb ("_L'Eclair_")
Ky., Miss., Tex.
Hood's Last Charge, and other poems.
Olive, Johnson, 1816-1885
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Autobiography.
Otey, James Hervey, 1800-1863
P. E. bishop
Va., Tenn.
Unity of the Church, Sermons and Essays.
Page, William
lieutenant United States navy
Va.
Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon.
Page, William A.
Va.
Uncle Robin in His Cabin in Virginia (1853).
Paris, John
Meth. Prot. cl.
N. C.
History of the Methodist Protestant Church (1849).
Parker, Nathan H.
Mo.
Missouri Hand-Book (1865), Geological Map of Missouri (1865),
Missouri As It Is in 1867 (1867).
Parker, W. W.
phys.
Va.
Rise and Decline of Homoeopathy, Forty Years a Doctor, &c.
Pate, Henry Clay
Va.
Sketches of Virginia.
Patton, John M.
cl.
Va.
The Death of Death.
Paxton, William M.
Mo.
The Marshall Family (1885).
Peck, John M.
Mo.
Life of Daniel Boone, Annals of the West (1850).
Penn, Garland
Va.
California, Men of Mark, Wizard of the Wave, &c.
Perdue, E. T., 1831-
Va.
Words of Our Saviour (1890).
Phifer, C. L.
Mo.
Love and Law (sonnets), Annals of the Earth, Weather Wisdom,
and two other volumes of poems.
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth
P. E. cl.
S. C.
Life of Thomas Pinckney.
Polk, William M.
phys.
La., N. Y.
Life of Leonidas Polk (his father).
Pollard, Marie Antoinette N. G.
Va.
Poems.
Pollard, Henry Rives, 1833-
Va.
Historical Sketches, Essays, &c.
Pollard, Thomas
Va.
Hand-Book of Virginia.
Pope, William F., -1895
Ark.
The Early Days of Arkansas.
Post, T. M.
Mo.
Life of Rev. Dr. T. A. Post.
Potter, Mrs. Mary Eugenia [Guillot], 1864-
Tex.
The Press, Gibraltar, Pioneer Association of Dallas County,
and other poems.
Potter, Reuben M., 1802-
N. J., Mex., Tex.
Hymn of the Alamo, Old Texian Hunter, &c.
Price, Mrs. Anna
Va.
Sunday School Stories.
Pryor, Roger Atkinson, 1828-
ed., lawyer
Va., N. Y.
Essays and Addresses.
Purdy, Mrs. Amelia V. [McCarty], 1845-1881
Pa., O., Tex.
First Fruits, Vocation, and other poems.
Purefoy, George W.
Bapt. cl.
N. C.
Sandy Creek Baptist Association, 1758-1858 (1859).
Rader, Perry S.
ed.
Mo.
School History of Missouri (1891).
Randolph, Alfred Magill, 1836-
P. E. bishop
Va.
Sermons and Discourses.
Randolph, E. A.
Va.
Life of John Jasper (1884).
Randolph, Peyton, 1779-
lawyer
Va.
Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court, 1821-8.
Raymond, W. M.
Va.
Citronaloes (1889).
Reavis, L. U.
Mo.
The New Republic (1867), St. Louis the Future Great City
(1870), Thoughts for Young Men (1873), Life of Horace Greeley,
Life of General Harney (1878), Commercial Destiny of the
Mississippi Valley (1880), The Isthmian Passage (1882),
Manhood of America (1880), and other works.
Reichel, Levin Theodore, 1812-1878
Moravian bishop
N. C.
The Moravians in North Carolina (1857).
Reilly, J. S.
N. C.
Wilmington: Past, Present, and Future.
Reynolds, Thomas C.
Governor of Mo.
Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Discovery of the Upper
Mississippi, State Papers, &c.
Rhodes, Edward Abesette, 1841-1863
soldier
Tex.
Poem on death of his father, &c.
Rhodes, Robert H., 1845-1874
Tex.
Prayer, Under the Cactus, and other poems.
Rhodes, William Henry, 1822-
N. C., Tex., Cal.
Theodosia (play), Indian Gallows (poems), Caston's Book
(essays, poems, and sketches).
Rice, Martin
Bapt. cl.
Mo.
Rural Rhymes, Tales of Olden Times, Blue River Association.
Richards, William C., 1818-1892
cl., sci.
England, Ga., Ill.
Georgia Illustrated (1842).
Richardson, John M., 1831-
S. C., Tex.
The Whiskey Fiend, Prayer of Mary Queen of Scots, &c.
Riley, Benjamin Franklin, 1849-
Bapt. cl., edu.
Ala., Ga.
History of Conecuh County, Ala., Alabama As It Is, History of
the Baptists of Alabama, Baptists in the Southern States East
of the Mississippi (in preparation).
Robinson, Conway, 1805-
lawyer
Va.
Early Voyages to America (1848), and legal works.
Robinson, John
Va.
Forms in the Court of Law of Virginia (1790, 1826).
Robinson Willie Blanche ("_Persia_") 1857-
Tex.
Texas to Jefferson Davis--A Welcome, and other poems.
Rockwell, Elisha F., 1809-1888
N. C.
Rowan County in 1774, John Thompson, James Hall, and other
historical papers.
Rogers, Mrs. Loula Kendall
edu.
Ga.
Toccoa the Beautiful, Twenty Years an Alien, Musical Drills,
Songs, and other poems.
Rose, Victor M., -1893
Tex.
Ross's Brigade, Los Despenadores, The Texas Vendetta, Demara
the Comanche Queen, History of Victoria County, Life of
General B. McCulloch, Legend of Dixie.
Ross, James, 1801-1878
----
Life and Times of Elder Reuben Ross (his father).
Rothwell, William R.
edu., Bapt. cl.
Mo.
Reading the Scriptures (1889), New Testament Church Order
(1890), Addresses.
Rowe, Horace, 1852-1884
Tex.
Years of Youth, and other poems.
Royall, Anne, 1769-1854
b. in Virginia (a prisoner for years among the Indians, then
lived in Alabama and Washington, D. C.).
History, Life, and Manners in the United States, The Tennessee
(novel), The Black Book, Letters from Alabama, Southern Tour.
Ruffin, Edmund, 1794-1865
Va.
Essays on Agriculture, Anticipations of the Future (1860).
Ruffner, William H.
----
History of Washington and Lee University, &c.
Salyards, Joseph H.
edu.
Va.
Idothea, a Poem (1875).
Sampson, Francis Asbury, 1842-
lawyer
Mo.
Natural History of Pettis County (1882), Bibliography of the
Geology of Missouri (1890), Mollusca of Arkansas (1893), and
other scientific and historical writings.
Saunders, Mrs. Mary [Ingle], 1836-
England, Tex.
Texas, San Jacinto Day, and other poems.
Saunders, William Lawrence, 1835-1891
statesman
N. C.
_Edited_ Records of North Carolina to 1776 (8 volumes).
Schenck, David, 1835-
lawyer
N. C.
North Carolina 1780-81, Guilford Court-House, and other
historical papers.
Scott, John
Va.
Partisan Life with Mosby.
Scott, William Cooper, 1817-
Va.
Genius and Faith.
Scott, Winfield, 1786-
soldier
Va.
Regulations for the Army, Infantry Tactics, Memoir of
Lieutenant-General Scott, written by himself (1864).
Semmes, Thomas
Va.
Poems (by "Collegian").
Sherwood, Adiel, 1791-1879
Bapt. cl.
Ga., Mo.
Gazetteers of Georgia, Notes on the New Testament.
Shields, Joseph Dunbar, 1820-
jurist
Miss.
Life and Times of Prentiss (1885).
Shinn, Josiah H., 1849-
edu., jour.
Ark.
Public School and College (1891), The South and Education
(1892), History of the American People (1893), Illustrated
Arkansas (1893), and other works.
Shumard, Benjamin F.
sci.
Mo.
Geological Reports of Missouri and Texas, &c.
Sibbald, George
Ga.
Pine Lands of Georgia (1801).
Slaughter, William Bank, 1798-
Va.
Reminiscences of Distinguished Men I Have met (1878).
Smith, Augustine Meade
Va.
Commissioners in Chancery (1888).
Smith, Benjamin Mosby, 1811-
cl.
Va.
Commentary on the Psalms and Proverbs, Questions on the
Gospels, Poetical Books of the Scriptures.
Smith, C. Alphonso
edu.
La.
Repetition and Parallelism in English verse (1894).
Smith, Charles Lee, 1865-
N. C.
History of Education in North Carolina (1888).
Smith, George G., Jr., 1829-
M. E. cl.
Ga.
History of Methodism in Georgia and Florida, Life of Bishop
Andrew, &c.
Smith, John Augustine, 1782-1865
phys.
Va.
Nervous System, Mutations of the Earth, Moral and Physical
Science, &c.
Smith, Mrs. Mary Stuart [Harrison]
Va.
Art of Housekeeping, Lang Syne, or The Wards of Mt. Vernon
(1889), translations, essays, &c.
Smith, Sarah Henderson
Va.
Alice Singleton, Up to the Light, Poems (1885).
Smithdeal, George Michael, 1855-
edu.
N. C., Va.
Book-Keeping: Theory and Practice.
Smithdeal, Mrs. Grace Henning
D. C., Va.
Grammar, Speller, and Letter-Writer.
Sommersall, James
Ga.
Poems (1853).
Sparks, W. H.
Ga.
Memories of Fifty Years (1870).
Spragins, Mrs. Anna Ward, -1876
Ala., Tex.
Shiloh, Farewell to Texas, and other poems.
Sprunt, James, 1846-
merchant, British vice-consul
Scotland, N. C.
Wilmington (1883), A Colonial Plantation, What Ship is That?
(the blockade of Wilmington).
Stevens, William Bacon
P. E. bishop
Ga.
History of Georgia (1847, 1859), Discourses.
Stewart, Frederick Campbell
phys.
Va.
Hospitals and Surgeons of Paris (1843).
Stillman, Anne Raymond
S. C., Ala.
How They Kept the Faith (story of the Huguenots).
Stockard, Henry Jerome
N. C.
Poems.
Swartz, Joel, 1827-
cl.
Va.
Dreams of the Waking Heart, Lyra Lutherana.
Swisher, Mrs. Bella French, 1837-
ed.
Ga., Wis., Tex.
History of Brown County, Wis., Struggling Up to the Light
(novel), San Antonio River, and other poems.
Taylor, Hannis
Ala.
History of the British Constitution.
Taylor, William, 1821-
bishop
Va.
Christian Adventures in South Africa, Our South American
Cousins, Four Year's Campaign in India, &c.
Thomas, Joseph, 1791-
cl.
N. C.
The Life of the Pilgrim (autobiography).
Thurston, G. P.
----
Antiquities of Tennessee (1890).
Tiernan, Mrs. Mary Spear [Nicholas], 1836-1891
Va., Md.
Homoselle, and other novels.
Tiffany, Olive
Mo.
Floral Poems (1893).
Truitt, Mrs. Julia Phifer
La., Tex.
Birds of Passage, Sometimes, and other poems.
Tucker, David Holmes
edu., phys.
Va.
Medical writings.
Tucker, Henry St. George, 1780-1848
jurist
Va.
Commentaries on the Law of Virginia, Constitutional Law,
Natural Law and Government, &c.
Tucker, Nathaniel, 1750-
Bermuda, Va.
The Bermudian (poem, 1774).
Tunstall, Nannie W.
Va.
"No. 40," and other stories.
Turner, Thomas Sloss, 1860-
Ky., Tex.
Life's Brevity, and other poems.
Turrentine, Mrs. Mary E. [Arrington], 1834-
Ark., Tex.
To a Mocking-Bird, and other poems, and sketches.
Tuthill, C. L.
----
Virginia Dare; or, The Colony of Roanoke.
Tuttle, Joseph K.
M. E. cl.
Mo.
Ecce Christus Lectures (1887).
Tyler, John, 1790-1862
tenth President
Va.
The Dead of the Cabinet, Death of Jefferson, and other
addresses and messages.
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-
edu., ed.
Va.
Letters and Times of the Tylers (two vols. 1884, a third vol.
now in press, 1895), Parties and Patronage in the United
States (1891), various literary and historical addresses and
papers.
Tyler, Robert, 1818-1877
Va., Ala.
Ahasuerus, Death or Medora's Dream (poems), addresses, and
other writings.
Upshur, Abel Parker, 1790-1844
Va.
Nature and Character of our Federal Government (1840).
Vass, Lachlan Gumming, 1831-
Pr. cl.
N. C.
History of the Presbyterian Church in New Bern, N. C.
Velthusen, Johann Caspar
----
News of the Church in North Carolina (in German, 1786-1792,
four reports).
Venable, Charles S., 1827-
edu.
Va.
Mathematical Text-Books (1869-'75).
Venable, Frank Preston, 1856-
Va.
Chemical Analysis.
Waddell, James D.
lawyer
Ga.
Sketch of Linton Stephens (1877).
Waddell, Joseph Addison, 1823-
Va.
Annals of Augusta County, and other writings.
Wall, Henry Clay
N. C.
Historical Sketch of the Pee Dee Guards (1876).
Walter, Thomas, ca. 1745-ca. 1800
England, N. C.
Flora Caroliniana (1788, London).
Walton, William Claiborne, 1793-
cl.
Va.
Sermons and Discourses.
Warder, George W.
Mo.
Utopian Dreams and Lotus Leaves, Eden Dell.
Warrock, John, 1774-
Va.
Warrock's Almanac (issued annually forty years).
Washington, Bushrod, 1762-
Va.
Reports of Court of Appeals and of the Circuit Court of the
United States (six volumes).
Washington, Lawrence
Va.
A Romance.
Waterhouse, S.
edu.
Mo.
Resources of Missouri (1867), The Westward Movement of Capital
(1890), St. Louis the Site for the World's Fair (1889), &c.
Weaver, W. T. G., 1834-1877
Mo., Tex.
Hours of Amusement, Houston's Address to His Men at San
Jacinto, Song of the Texas Rangers, The Girl in Red, and other
poems.
Weeks, Stephen Beauregard, 1865-
historian, edu.
N. C.
Bibliography of the Historical Literature of North Carolina,
Lost Colony of Roanoke, and many other historical papers.
West, Mrs. Florence Duval, -1881
Fla., Tex.
Land of the Lotus-Eaters (prose sketches), The Marble Lily,
and other poems.
Weston, James A.
P. E. cl.
N. C.
Life of Peter Stuart Ney (1895), Sermons and Memoirs.
Wharey, James, 1789-1842
cl.
N. C., Va.
Church History from the Birth of Christ to the Nineteenth
Century.
White, George, 1802-1887
P. E. cl.
S. C.
Statistics of Georgia (1849), Historical Collections of
Georgia (1854).
Whitsett, William Thornton, 1866-
edu.
N. C.
"Bob White," To a Lark, and other poems.
Whitsitt, William Heth, 1841-
Bapt. cl., edu.
Tenn., Ky.
History of the Baptists, Origin of the Disciples, History of
the Wallace Family, &c.
Whitten, Mrs. Martha Elizabeth [Hotchkiss]
Tex.
The Old Home, Elegy on Dr. Manning, and other poems.
Whittle, Gilberta, 1850-
Va.
Stories and Essays.
Williams, John G.
Bapt. cl.
S. C.
Invasion of the Moon.
Williamson, Hugh, 1735-1819
phys.
N. C.
History of North Carolina (1812).
Wilmer, William Holland, 1782-1827
P. E. cl.
Va.
Controversy with a Jesuit (1818), Sermons, &c.
Wilson, John S.
Pr. cl.
Ga.
Necrology (1869).
Winkler, Mrs. A. V.
ed.
Va., Tex.
Confederate Capitol, Hood's Texas Brigade.
Wingfield, Edwin Maria, 1570-
England, Va.
Discourse on Virginia.
Wirt, Mrs. Elizabeth Washington [Gamble], 1784-1857
Va.
Flora's Dictionary.
Wise, George
Va.
History of the Seventeenth Virginia Infantry (1870).
Withers, Alexander Scott, 1792-1865
lawyer
Va.
(kinsman of Sir Walter Scott). Border Warfare.
Wood, Annie C.
Va.
Diana Fontaine (1891), Westover's Ward (1892).
Wood, John, 1775-1822
Scotland, Va.
Rise and Progress of the Revolution, Trial of Aaron Burr,
Diurnal Rotation of the Earth, &c.
Woodward, C. M.
edu.
Mo.
History of St. Louis Bridge, City of St. Louis (1892).
Woodward, W. S.
M. E. cl.
Mo.
Annals of Methodism in Missouri (1893).
Wormeley, Ariana Randolph
----
The Coming Woman (a comedy, 1870).
Wormeley, Mary Elizabeth, 1822-
England, Va.
Forest Hill, Amabel (1853), Our Cousin Veronica (1856), The
Steel Hammer (1888).
Wright, Robert
England, Ga.
Memoirs of General James Oglethorpe (1867).
Wynne, Thomas Hicks, 1820-1875
Va.
Historical Documents from the Old Dominion (1860-1874), from
the Old North State, Narrative of Col. David Fanning (1861).
Wythe, George, 1726-
Va.
Decisions of the High Court of Chancery (1795).
Transcriber's Note
Archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed. Punctuation
errors have been repaired.
The following amendments have been made:
Page 14--312 amended to 311--"Osceola, Leader of the
Seminoles, 311"
Page 27--Soverignty amended to Sovereignty--"State
Sovereignty and Liberty, ..."
Page 31--289 amended to 299--"University of Alabama 299"
Page 31--entries "University of Mississippi 337" and
"Arkansas Industrial University 402" were originally
immediately preceding the entry for "Mississippi
Industrial Institute ... 446". They have been moved to
the correct place in the List of Illustrations.
Page 98--inflence amended to influence--"... that all
attempts to influence it by temporal punishments ..."
Page 125--efflulgence amended to effulgence--"... the
purity of his private character gave effulgence to his
public virtues."
Page 139--opprobium amended to opprobrium--"... (that
opprobrium, in the opinion of some gentlemen, ...)."
Page 243--commere amended to commerce--"... and has
proven of immense benefit both to commerce and science."
Page 254--Vasconselas amended to Vasconselos--"...
Cassique of Kiawah. Vasconselos, [tale of De Soto.]"
Page 261--repeated 'of' deleted--"... preceded the final
insensibility of the victim."
Page 292--repeated 'it' deleted--"... when one half of
it is placed under water, ..."
Page 341--scarcly amended to scarcely--"His future was
so uncertain--that he scarcely alluded to that ..."
Page 384--fuchias amended to fuchsias--"... and her
fingers toyed with the scarlet fuchsias; ..."
Page 391--Maryiand amended to Maryland--"Potomac calls
to Chesapeake, Maryland, my Maryland!"
Page 432--Pepworth amended to Pebworth--"Farrier Lass o'
Piping Pebworth."
Page 441--grand amended to grande--"He went and married
_la grande demoiselle_."
Page 448--omitted 2. added--"2. For what was his
daughter Evelyn noted?"
Page 448--omitted 5. added--"5. When was the Farewell
Address written?"
Page 448--2. amended to 6.--"_6. Who were presidents
before Jefferson?_"
Page 449--Demothenes amended to Demosthenes--"_5. Who
were Demosthenes, Ossian, Homer, Milton, Rousseau?_"
Page 449--7. amended to 5.--"_5. When was the University
established and opened?_"
Page 450--6. amended to 5.--"5. Where did he die?"
Page 452--4. amended to 3.--"_3. What other writers
edited or wrote for the "Messenger"?_"
Page 452--6. amended to 5.--"_5. Mention some other
Confederate soldiers who went to Mexico._"
Page 452--5. amended to 6.--"_6. Where is Magnolia
Cemetery?_"
Page 453--6. amended to 4.--"_4. Tell something of James
Edward Oglethorpe._"
Page 454--2. amended to 3.--"_3. Learn something of
their history._"
Page 457--entry "R. C., Roman Catholic." moved to
appropriate alphabetical place in list of abbreviations.
Page 461--Addresss amended to Address--"Berrien, John
Macpherson, ... Address in Congress."
Page 468--Ninteenth amended to Nineteenth--"War of
Ahriman and Ormuzd in the Nineteenth Century, ..."
Page 473--Historie amended to Histoire--"Fortier, Alcée
... Histoire de la Littérature française, ..."
Page 476--Pourqui amended to Pourquoi--"Grisna, E. ...
Pourquoi Jean Est Resté Garçon."
Page 482--Correspondende amended to
Correspondence--"Life and Correspondence of
Major-General Greene."
Page 486--Self-Governmant amended to
Self-Government--"... Civil Liberty and Self-Government,
..."
Most references to the death date of St. George H. Tucker in the book
give a year of 1863; however, the information about his death on page
329 notes that he died in the Seven Days' Battles around Richmond in
1862. Since an alternative source for the date of his death could not
be found, all dates remain as printed.
Illustrations have been moved slightly, where necessary, so that they
are not in the middle of a paragraph.
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