South Carolina leader. (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-18??, December 09, 1865, Image 1
\
ALLEN COFFIN, Editor.
First the blade, tlien the eat?, after that the full corn in the eaiW-Paul,
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PKQSPECTl'^
FOR THE
South Carolina Leader.
A Weekly Journal of the Times.
?..;K LEADER will be devoted 'o thc interest of
. Lahor and general reform.
rh? Federal Government will Le sustained at ?ll
ami we hope that irs ulpfrtHt*- policy to yards
. ?:.?-p will ensure peace, prosperity, and (tomes
tranquility.
?.hat self evident truth, contained in the Dfdara
5 of Independence, c*That all ui*-n arr created
wiii he steadfast Jv adhered to.
[n matter* of local ponkeen, if xviii srife ffatrarue*
, rr to all ian? ?rtaut ??uh!io measures and pructi
;.;?.; .ivt-in-nts.
., : iru ss iii its advocacy of th<^ Ktght.aud
ni irs denunciation ol the VVr??n.r, ir." rolumos
ri i. r h<- made a channel of roars?' personal
.>.. i; ui!? deal with principie- rather than men,
??luir t!*e free and candid discussion oj ;,ll >ub
. : lilting to the public good.
,t ?riving to m*ke this,emphatically a p.per for
;*ople, we confidently look -o them f ?r tho
ne??: of ?ub<cripti'?u and ady.-rtisiog patr.?"*ajre.
ii i:> worth demands
T. HUUL?Y & co.
POETRY.
&&BBATH BVsTfl^a TVVILil3ii \
?et?r? Uul hour of sweet re .ose,
(}:' hallowed thoughts, of love, o ' ?raver!
i ove thy deep and tran pvt c ose.
Forail the Sahbath dav is t tere.
Each nure desire, each hi^h re inest.
That burned l?efore the tem >?e shr ne,
Tiie holies, the fears, that move I the breast.
Ail live again in ight i .c ri nc
1 love thee for t..e erv. ! ? ow
pi?n she l*st around the c o-ing 'ay
Those golden lines those xvreat ;s of snow,
That light and [?ave ti s g orious way !
Through them, Fve sometimes thought, the eye
May pierce thc unmeasured deeps of space.
Ant! track the course where spirits fly,
On viewless vvings, to realms of bliss
? love thee for the unbroken ea'm
That slum hers on this fading scene.
And throws its kind and soothing charin
U er " all tl e little world within."
It trances every roving thought,
Ye; sets the soaring fancy free f
Shuts ?rom the sou: the present out.
That ail is musing memory.
I love those joyous memories
Fliat rush, with thee, upon t!ie sou: ;
Tacse deep, unuttered symphonies,
riiat o'er the speil-bound spirit roll.
Ul the bright scenes of love an I youth
Hey ive, as if they had not fled ;
.lad Fancy clothes with seeming truth,
The forms she rescues from thc dead.
let hoher is thy peaceful c'ose.
For vows love left recor le 1 there ;
Hi s i? the noiseless hour we chose
To consecrate to mutual prayer.
Fwas when misfortune's tear.ul coud
\\ as gathering o'er *hr brow of heaven,
Ere yet despairs eternal shroud
Wrapped every vis on hope had given ;
IT?. ,
.?nen these, deep, purpling sha les came lown.
In sortene 11 nts, upon the bids,
We swore t ?at, whether fate should crown
future course w.th joys or rds,
tether safe moored in ?ove's retreat,
Or severe ? wide bv mount and seil,
Hiis hour, in spirit, we would mee;,
And urge to heaven our m itua plea.
) *,ell me if this ha lowed hour
Still tin ls thee constant at our shrine,
>ti!l witnesses tiiy fervent prayer
Ascending wann and true xvi th mine !
hitfrfal through every change of woe,
heart still flees tq meet thee there ;
? r -ul 1 soqthe tins weary heart to know
Fiiat thine responded every prayer.
":ten tor the Leader.]
TO MISS MARY S-S.
: '-ought, a flashing thought, and then a move I
fought it fair bespoke the act of love ;
^:en, as 'twas wrote, his mandate Neptune gave
th wrath unmoistened to his suborned wave
said:
? Hear, all ye 'therial m'mioned host:"
I: brave Ulysses sank himself as lost,
m to his aid, Minerva, bright did reach
* saving hand, which lilting, left a breach
' ixt him and a watery grave.
Sol,
iken as a thorn, as 'twere, to die,
ng a gentle, vivifying touch,
. the soft, blushing peta.s (envious much)
~e gay dahlia, waiting witching romes,
ist, unconscious of .ts charming blooms,
^kening man, the gracious gift imparts ;
-: latent greatness, true unveils its heart
COMMUNICATED.
To the Editor of the Leader.
THE POWER J F EDUCATION.
MR. EDITOR - Encouraged by an artic!?
in your paper, the 11th ult., signed J. H. K., 1
am induced to follow his example in adding rn]
m;te to the general good. This being my firs
effort. I might joyfully exclaim in the language
of a learned doctor, who is even now in oui
midst, ?? that I. too, am a man." It is a trutr
thar is generally acknowledged, that the edu
cated mind, and even intellects that are but
partially developed, pr>ssess over the nneducat
ed and undeveloped marked advantages, from
th?- simple fact that they can grapple with., hold
and dissect the various topics of the day; ob
tain the o-.huons of heroes and sages of the
past upon all the varieties of subjects extant :
and, more than that, they can at pleasure hole
coiivtr-jp with the prophets. sainTs. and martyr?
of early times, ?nd even with the blessed Sa
viour himself, when their hearts fail them ami
fl.eir faith is waning. Thi- is certainly a ?real
privilege, or;'; that cannot be doubted, and f
ble<sin? that cannot be too highly appreeiatec
by those who were so fortunate as to have ob
tained ir But, nctwjrhsrandiijg that vye havt
just emet?*-d from under th?1 power of a false
.i riv-eraey. and that we'have b en denied m any
of thc right?, rhtf ar?* accorde.J to all men 111
rri????v c*r?u.nrri<?? ?ha' " j >v a high r civilization
th tn thi> tn which We liv.-, yet we ?ye fll'l)
;iiiv t-? ?? ir int r .>.>.. an 1. with open eyes ait(|
? and-, aie read) to cater? at rhe firs- oj>portini
rv ih-tt ?if r?. it??If ip pur favor ; wid it is a
. u< ral certainty, by man iff-*Hr .10?. M at we hold
.<. >H\ a i><) ttion unions! m?-n, and tba: we are
! - in d *<> a ? igh place on the Udder of fain?
if ut- Cll'lv MU" to ours? iv S Mild I" 'UH'
->.n,?rv. Wh" ha- ?he audaei'V 'o doubt
. ? c a-- i ?ion, when "h taeT ?VHS mad - evideii'
>iv u? in th . nff-.r-. <>f rh?-- nation fr?.in th?- com
ni ueemeiii of 'i,t t.roubl?-s which have just
?>:? -. d ovr u< ? What vnnu ig ?h?- ordinary
itmuin* <;t h nin<. though of lit?I?- learning aftd
v n rh*?n?b 1 ?is -kin be a? black a- ebony, can
inoti"i'l- ?-, ?U 1 passively vi"W the . ff,-et- oj
v e mightv changes that have h.-en brough
. hon! iii this conn ?ry within the pas* four years,
without exhibiting som?* lif'-. Did he not with
nroph.? tic vision se?*, thouuh he -poke "nt, that
he rUi'?n billows which threatened destruction
.?.al] wt* hin it- reach*, seemingly tv-t ? ven r(?
?.:?ar?? tba? goo?! old ship of State, whn;<h >'ill
liv--?., and of which he i<?.ri'l a passenger. whte1
had \?< a'h-n d 'he stormy -? a "t polities foi
ntarlv e?-nrnry, ?*ven wh??p und r 'li-- guid
ance of >. fairhless p'lot who tjrt<???i>ht not "J hi.'*
re^ponsibilirles nor of the account to be rel!
ihre?! to til?- Kotg of kings bu? only of seit
aggrandisement and in .?-d:ni'?i??t-*ritig pl<*a-ine
and intoxicating draughts to his numerous w..r
? -hippers. which b?salas! b?en metamorphose?!
imo bitterest poison. Arise, ye sluggards of rh?
19th cen?ury. I ?ny arise! Do yon not know
that ?/ou hav"j?ist been a vaken fr?>m a rjrenrn
?the length ?*f which Rip Van Winkle's cannot
-rv
be compared ? Do you ni?t realize ?he fact that
I 'he earth has made many revolutions since you
I wer?3 aileen? And do you not know that th"
overseer's horn is hun?; upon the wall, like Oid
Ned's fiddle, and that slav ry has yielded up
irs la??t breith and ??one to *. that b >u-ne from
whence no traveller r? turn?." div.*sted of all its
royaltv and power, regretted by none savf a
few antiquated disciples ?.">f an ob?ol?ite id-a :
Beautiful thought ! magnificent inspiration of
the divine will ! in disenthralling the human
heart from the greatest stn* ; that enables the
mind to dive into the deep recesses of thought,
and the tongue TO harald forrh to rb? extrem es?
corner of the universe the glad tidings nf rp.
demption ; for the last sacrifice has been off red
for trip expiation of our sins; and Elijah bas
again implored, and God hath showered upon
the parched earth rains of blessings to the son
of men. to ?he utter confusion and dismav of
the prophets of modern Baal. F'?r the erv of
suffering humanity will no longer behenrd, and
the henrt-brok-n mother no lonuer made to
weep over the ??raye, upon the altar of he:r
heart, of the living dead, ?hus makins a wreck
of God's noblest handiwork. And to y>u who
have just escaped fhu general ruin surrounding
this temple of antiquity, get up from among
the brickbats, the virtue of whose mortar has
at last expired. Shake off thy garments the
dust of a feudal age. for the midngbt revel's
no longer heard ; rh? tournament pissed awav,
and the noble daring of garnered and golden
knights have vanished like dew before a sum
mer's sun." There's no longer need for high
! battlemented castles, deep moats, and assassina
tions; for virtue is safe. Come view the sun of
liberty, as he rises in glorious majesty, pene
trating into the remotest comer of this broad
land. Look how he invigorates and gives new
life to him who had been a slave; who no long
er drags along, but moves with an elasticity
astonishing to behold. His feet seem scarce to
touch the earth, his fingers to have ceased to
come in contact with what's not his own : for
then he was a double compound with the al
kali of slavery to create affinity; but now that
that power has been overcome, he dare? to call
himself a man. An?4 he, too, who had hitherto
thought himself free has at last discovered that
there was behind him a wail, from beneath
whose shadows he could not escape ; but when
the camera of a false existence was thus sud
denly removed from before his enfeebled sight,
yea even he realized the fact at once of a new
existence ; for he no longer felt the chilly bia*
of a winter's wind, but basked freely in the d
rect rays of the sunlight of freedom, crying
4i thanks be to God and Abraham, who a
truly the Father of all his people," that I i
longer shiver in the cold, my daughter no lon
er the barrier of protection to the virtue of h
more favored sisters ; bur, standing erect, wi
his head towards Heaven, and, with uplifte
hands, realizing with amazement the enervatin
and rejuvenating influences of f-is newjy ai
quired birthright, and thar, too, of which 1
was so unju>tly robbed-the rights of all mai
kind. And now that we have recovered from tl
electrical of shock our sudden transition, let i
seek to elevate ourselves intellectually, morail
and religiously; let us wqrk day and night,
necessary stretching evry nerve, seeking ir
struction from every source, and turning even
thing to account, no matter how insignifieai
that thing might appear to be, thereby add ii
to our stock of knowledge. It will surely ?
some future day ?well and expand according i
our susceptibility of impressions. We migl
with candor ask how is all this to be accon
plished, since all of our time is occupied in ge
ting a living, and that living, too. but a scant
one. But have we forgotten that we are men
and, as men, we are necessitated by the peculm
portion in which we are now placed, to giv
the lie to those who are never tired of assertin
that vve are not, and, more than thar, weelo m
expect ro receive the full tights and privilege
of American citizens, since bv foree of eircum
^tances they haye been made to see their errol
by discownng a certain document which ha
b-en accidentally mislaid, ?hat drelares all me
free and equal. IJow ate we to exercise thus
rights: Need we no pr.-pardon to that end
Are we not ?o be respected in those right* ? I)
the ignorant masses of any counfrv chum th
ropect ot the retined classes? Certainly liol
It matters n<>: what rights they enjoy, the;
j have no place in respectable society, but ar
low, vulgar, and debased. But let them becom
enlightened-, and voij'U s e them climbing up
sU'fe by step, to what before seemed to them in
surmountable height?. O th..' power of educa
non ? I' lias broken down prejudices whicl
a?es of ignorance had huilded up, ?t has top
pit'tl over Popery, it has toppled over monar
chy ; it has toppled over slaver}- ; am
?i' htst ir will have to tripple over all th?
enemies of the coloied man. Sea how mud
can be done by patience, industry, and close ap
pica ion Benjamin Franklin, the great philoso
pher, the mun who electrified the world hy
bringing lightning down from the heavens, thu?
proving the truih of a supposition that light
ning is electricity ; thereby conferring a lasting
benefit upo.} mankind, ana* an honor which will
last as long as time upon the then infant Amer
icau Republic. Elihu Burritt, the learned
blacksmith, who worked from eight to ten hour?
every day, and in seven years mastered seven
languages. And last, buf not least, is Andrew
Johnson, our present chief magistrate; like the
former, a self-learned man, whose clear and far
sighted st&temanship is far beyond the reach o?
tire-eaters, whose prayer is that he might turn
ihi* beautiful country, with all its wealth o?
happiness and liberty, which is in store, over to
the Philistines. Thus we see that a gord deal
can bc accomplished by a proper exercise of our
:aeulties and by a strict adherence to economy,
in all its various senses, postponing no duty
that should be immediately performed, having a
time for .every obligation, even though that time
be short, and but a very little can be accom
plished in that allotted space : yet do it proper
ly, hy ve it finished with despatch, having it as
correct as possible; thereby declaring that we
. wive faith in our ultimate success. For the seed
? hat's in embryo tgjd?v will to-morrow germi
nar? and become a nucleus, from around whose
circumference will radiate the perfume of the
-?weet flowers of human greatness, an intelli
gence almost divine. And more particularly
in these times jseflucatton necessary, for the
intelligence of the masses is essential to the
perpetuation of liberty; consequently at no
p.-riod of the world's existence, save this, thtu
the pt)wer of learning was felt. It thertfore
becomes the duty of every individual in this
country, without regard to condition or color,
to acquire some knowledge of the prm?iples of
the Government under which they live. The
causes of the appirent phenomenon of many
things natural, b\ the which they might r-'dure
ro the wants of ewry-d.ty life, those thing.-,
w hich now app. ar only ornamental and super
fluous. Th?" now ignorant mechaeie would
(hen understand the principles on which the
work depends, sharpen hu inventive genius,
giving to bin,; the power of improving upon ihe
ideas of others, thereby giv'ng a tone and char
acter to his craft, not to be entertained where
practice is denied the light of theory. The
bricklayer, for instance, should understand the
[laws of gravitation and cohesion, the house
j wife that of affinity and evaporation, and, fur- j
rhermore, the result cf the proper development j
of tho>e faculties which exists in every mind, I
in a greater or less degree, latent, would be
great, inasmuch as its power would not only
be felt physically and mentally, but it would j
hare a marked influence over the moral charac-1
ter of the people, raising them to positions of j
honor, proflt, and trust, th,us implanting virtue :
in their hearts to the expulsion of vice and all i
its attributes, thereby clothing chastity with j
the mantle of truth, and enhancing the beauty
of female lovliness, not to mention the effect it
would have upon the leligious complexion of}
man. Ol how pleasing and profitable must ic j
not be to him who can at pl-asure transport
himself, as it were, to regions beyond the con
ceptions of him who little dreams of such a
place. Can he not view from any giyen point
of that vast eternity which is above us, thc
hand of God directing the per etual motions of
that immensity of worlds. Can he not unravel
seeming impossibilities. Has he not en*erred
into the profound abyss of speculation in quest
of cause and effect, and has he not been suc
cessful in his untiring efforts to enlighten the
great mass of ignorant humanity, by reducing
supposition to fact, revealing its minutest
workings, thus demonstrating their real exist
ence as actual parts of the material world. But
we need not go as far as that ; nor wander
off to regions of etherial bliss. There is an ob
jet hire greater than all else-man. What a
wonder is he, the noblest work of God ; and
yet it is but yesterday-what ? that he had been
raised from the level of the brute, God's im
age a piece of merchandize. Tush ! away with
such gloomy thoughts. That brute is to be
educated ; he is to be brought back again to
his primeval state ; he is to show and reflect
from his countenance the light of intelligence ,
he is to be lifted from his low estate, and raised
to the standard of an enlightened age; he has
got to du it himself, as no one can, or will, or
wishes to do it fqr him, as it is more preferable
to them that love him not to see, yea, to help
to j.ush him down the yawing gulf pf despair
and degradation. O wonderful combination of
i he mortal and the immortal ! Man's a study,
a never-ending volume of woes and misfortunes.
But why definir of. man's disgrace, when ile
who now sitteth at the right hand of the Father
was spit upon ; and it hurt him not. Then we
see that our condition is not deplorable. If
we help ourselves by putting our s' oulders to
the wlutl, Hercules will help us. Then our
friends will give u> their aid in this our time
of need. We should make an effort toward
enlightenment for more than one reason, the
greater part of which is, that such. a peqple in
*ueh a condition should be found in a country
that would scoff at the phiiosphy of a Ptolemy
or a Confucius ; therefore seeing the condition
of affairs, and that it is 44 sink or swim, live or
die, survive or perish,,? we must make an ef
fort for human libeity and universal education.
I'll hammer at this again. PETER.
LETTER PH05I TENNESSEE.
Mn. EDITOR-What we need at this lime is a
unity' of action, a consort of feeling, a good
purpose with a strong will, perseverance, resor
lution, independent prospective ideas, and then
I am inclined to believe tl;at in twenty years
hence our position, when thrown in the bal
ance, wjil not be found wanting. Thank God,
the manhood of the colored Americans has
been tested. The indivisible spirit for freedom
amid the valleys and hills of San Domingo
found its equal on the new continent known as
North America.
It may be remembered that on the 9:h of
January, 1861, that gallant old ship the 14 Star
of the West" entered Charleston haroor on an
errand of mercy to a starving garrison, but was
compelled to heave to from the effects of shots
from Forts Moultrie and Pinckney, and finally
left the harbor without accomplishing the object
for which Government had commissioned her
commander. On the Sth of February, 1861,
Mr. Jefferson Davis was elected President of
the Southern Confederacy, and on the 12th of
April the batteries of Charleston opened upon
Fort Sumter. In a few minutes the clarion
voice of Major Anderson was heard amid the
schund of his trumpeter's bugle, 44 Caunqners,
to your posts.'* Doubtless, they rallied as men
never rallied before; yet on*the 13th Sumter
was compelled to surrender. That rag of trea
son and rebellion floated over Charleston. The
hearts of the loyal people of the country were
moved, white and black ; the issqe, or rather
the challenge, was not accepted squarely by the
loyal people of the North at first, and they fal
tereel between two opinions: first, some wished
to preserve the rights of the States (State
Rights) and to prevent encroachment thereon
by the general government; the second (by an
other party) was willing to do anything to al
lay the conflict, save an abandonment of prin
ciple, to give peace to the country and allay
sectional agitation. But. with all their ?dans,
they received despite. Colored men, North and
and Soufh, were treated with the most bitter
malignity. The South wanted freedom, by
which the r^eh could govern the poor whites
and with an iron hand and unprincipled rnind
rivet forevir the chains of slavery on the black
man, made pernicious and unjust decrees, any
thing rather than laws. They repelled against
the general government to carry cut their !
schism, not knowing-and, if knowing, they
did not heed, that there is no rebellion possible
against the true sovereign, the people ; and I
how can the people be rebels against them
selves? Rebels are they, North and South, who
create iniquitous privileges for themselves at
the people's expense.
They have in gone-by days by stratagem and
by force subjected us to their rules, which have
now been broken, and the peace disturbed. But
in disturbing their peace, we accomplished the
will of God. which is always just.
Yes, the slave-master had struck the parici
dal blow which no physician could heal. We
met the conflict manfully ; let us now have no
more of the old endurance. Ask for no com
promise. Our rights demand in respectful but |
I
j earnest strain. But. Mr. Editor, this principie
I must bp fought out on the line known in mill?
j tary life as the echelon, and, in thc words of
i Sir Thomas Moore wh' n he was ascending the
i scaffold, I pray you see me safe up. and for
my coming down let me shift for myself." ?
how glorious the day and important the theme j
Think no effort too great to preserve peace, the
foundation of all good; support others that
they also may suport you ; pat'enee gradually
softens the rudest asperities; suffer nothing to
exhaust ours; irritating language and provok
ing vivacity let us bury in oblivion. Be like
the vine, whose juice is sweeter the stronger
the soil in which it grows. He who gives wise
counsel, prudent warning, or useful instruc
tion at the proper time gives that which is more
valuable than gold; ant} sows the seed for the
nourishment of successive generations. Knock,
! whether it be one, two, or three knocks, at the
! doer of Congress next December, and there
present our grievances to the general govern
! ment. Let us ask the friends of humanity to
I help us ascend the ladder of Equallights. We
! are yet at the bottom, or first step-Faith. Ask
them in the name of all that is dear not to
prove recreant to the plighted fa;*.h cf the
I sleeping heroes, the widows, and orphans, and
j those who yet have arms in their hands, to car
?ry out the principle of Dv?ruoeracy, to maintain
j the union of these States as an inestimable
?blessing, second only to the freedom of indivi
duals and the independence and dignity of the
States, which it was cjesjgned to secure and per
petuate.
Our faith is well founded upon the broad
principle we assume-" Qod is lov^." Ill ?rni
nated by the light eternally shining in the bo
som of the Infinite Being, we discover that
which neither passes nor changes-Truth im
! mutable, and on this line let us fight it on to
j the second step-Hope. Have we a hope r Up
on the plighted faith of the Government, in
j 1863, the ranks of the Union army were re
pleted,-- when we left our homes and the dear
! est ties of nature, betook ourselves to th? tented
field. That hope has not yet forsaken us : for
we believe i: ends, in fruition. Hope spreads
her wings in immensit}*. We feel the sacred
impulse of her motive* power. Upon this
ground, then, are not ail men equal by nature?
Amid the disadvantages we have labored
under,-every avenue closely tyled against us,
both mechanically and intellectually,-we see
that we have an organ of our own. AH nf us
hope that it may stand the fiery ordeal of time.
1 Who, then, can say that our cause is hope
less r though we are admonished by sympa
thising friends (would-be) that "liberty means
work," etc., we believe that liberty is subjected
to the general condition of order; we believe
it has its limits and its rules, not in human pre
scription, but in divine laws. We acknowledge
but one piaster, and he is found in the letter CV,
and faithfully we know He holds the scale of
justice in equal poise. Our motive is a good
one, our aspirations but the spontaneous pro
duction of nature. If we ask for our runts,
we receive it rTQt as a privilege granted us, but
as an inherent right.
Human laws must bi made according to the
general laws of nature. Upon this doctrine we
will weigh anchor, hoist our sails, and home
ward bound, Truth at the helm. Justice our
captain, and the deader for odr pilot, we will,
with a few more head-winds, a few more tacks,
arrive safe in the harbor. With a high hope for
the success of your paper, I remain, a common
soldier, H. J. MAXWELL, U. S. A.
FORT MORTON, Nashville, Tenn.,
2-5th November, 1865.
CHARLESTON" CORRESPOND^
ENGE.
[From the Christian Advocate and Journal.]
??hall we be represented in the next Congress:
This is the absorbing question that is now upon
every lip. It is now certain li? at no one promi
nently identified with the late rebellion will be
able to pass muster before a republican tribunal.
President Johnson has repeatedly expressed an
earnest desire to extend to us the blessings of
self-government-the government of our people
by their own laws and their own civil magis
trates. And he has also frequently stated the
conditions upon which i+lone he can help us to
our wishes, and obtain for us the much desired
boon of civil government. He has told us ex
pressly and repeatedly that he cannot fcelp us if
we send to Washington, tlios2 who have m?de
themselves conspicuous as politicians or soldiers
in the recen-t war against the government.
The time has been when we coull dictate
terms to ?? the powers that bs" at Washington,
with some degree of impunity ; but that time
has passed, never to return. We appealed, for
the. settlement of our difficulties, to the arbitra
ment of arms, and staked our all uo m the un
certain and varying fortunes of war, and lost ;
and now we must abide the consequences, and
submit, with the best grace we can, to the terms
that the victors see proper to accord us. But'
still our beariu.g U proud and haughty, even in
defeat ; and that overreaching, restles?, defiant
spirit that plunged us into a bloody, protracted,
and di-astrous war, is still i aa. pant in our
midst ; and secession is rearing its hydra head,
even amid tho ruin and desolation which its
own mad policy has wrought. Like the scor
pion, when begirt with fire, it turns its venom
upon its own vitals, and with the madness of
the suicide stings itself to death.
We cannoc consent ro give up our dear and
long-cherished idol. The treasured memories of
the hallowed past tre sweeter than life, and
stronger than death ; and stan ling around the
grave of slavery, and looking upon the pale li
Ineamentsof its coffined corpse, we sirain our
longing eyes to catch a glimpse of some sign of
returning life. But decay's defacing lines ate
unmistakably drawn > and when we would say
to the inanimate clay, "Come forth!" the only
j response from the dark and dolorous caverns of
I the tomb is, "Dead ! dead 1 ! dead I ! !" The
?last sigh which was breathed in the deaths
j throes of our fabled Confederacy-the troubled
j dream of a disordered mind -was a wail, not
i for life, not for home, not for hope, but for the
j loved and lost "institution/' the pledge of Got]
j to his favored people ; boasted, badge .of the
legion of honor; the partition wall that divided
" the chosen few" from the "outside barbarl
I ans." But. alas ! the partition wall is broken
j down, and the inner temple, the holy of holies, is
I thrown open to the Gentile world ; and it ap
pears of a truth that God U ijo respecter of
person?.
I We are sighing for our lost Eden, our African
Eden; for even Paradise would be a dark and
drearv desert without the M inevitable negro,"
and he an inevitable slave. But we have eaten
the forbidden fruit ; we have sinned and fallen
from our high estate; we have passed its cher
[ ubim-guarded gates as criminals and outcasts,
I never to return again; and henceforward, by tho
j sweat of our own faces wc are to earn our bread
! and not sweat, as heretofore, by proxy, and eat
! in propria person cz .
The ne?ro was our country, our whoie.coun
try, and nothing but our country ; and cotton
was the king that ruled it, before whose throne
we purposed, in the pride and arrogance of our
hearts, to bring al! nations to their knees.
But ah, what madness! wha? infatuation! Our
country-the negro, is gone from our avaricious
grasp; our king is deposed, throneles3, crown- ,
Uess, ami scepterless ! and the surrounding na
tions, the outside barbarians whom wo propos
ed to rule or ruin with our little vegetable kin?,
are to-day free, while weare sitting clothed iu
sackcloth and ashes, amid the tottering pillars
and crumbling ruins of our once proud and im
perial southern temple, from whose sacred
arches and consecrated halls we had determin
ed that the money changers, amd those who
oought and sold slaves should never be driven.
But in an evil hour, prompted by ambition and
vain glory, we madly grasped at more than be
longed to us, and lost what wc had. If we had
j been content to rule the negro only, we might
! have succeeded for a time longer at least ; but
1 we sought to rule the white man too. \n our
hot haste for dominion, glory, and power, we
foolishly killed the goose that laid the golden
pat/.
By a wise and prudent course on our part,
; we might have cherished the viper in our bo
soms for another \ alf century at least, perhaps
longer, though it was on I}' a question of time,
for the "institution" was doomed of Heaven,
and would finally have stung itself to death,
lt was the secessionists of the South, and not
! the fanatics of the Xorth, that emancipated the
slaves. Had we not insisted on continual agi
tation and forced the question to the arbitrar
ment of the sword, the Xorth neither had the
power nor the deposition to meddle with slave
i ry where it existed. They only intended to
circumscribe it to its present area, and prevertt
the admission of any more ?lave states. With
the southern states represented in Congress, the
requisite majority to effect the Constitutional
Amendment never could haye been obtained,
j We locked the citadel and gave the key to the
?enemy. .We held ail the trumps, but playee}
i foul and lost.
! The experiment of secession is final, and will
j never be tried again.. The government whicfc
j we sought to overthrow is stronger to-day, and
stands higher abroad than it ever did before,
j for it has proved its ability to sustain, intact,
its integrity, in the face of one of the most gj.r
uantic rebellions the world has ever known.
Thc problem of the capability of man for self
j government is wrought out, and no one can,
j henceforth say as many have said during 'he
, war, that popular government is a humbug, and
that we should have to fall back under the pro
tection of a monarchy. There is no other na
tion under the sun that could have sustained
j the shock of such a revolution as we have juat
passed through, with as little injury.. The Re
public is now a fixed fact-a permanent and . ?
reliable establishment, based upon the experi
once and wisdom of nearly a century; and not
a rickety fabric, a political puppet, to be put up
and knocked down at the bidding of ?,ny dis
contented faction.
NlJ?SCD.
Charleston, S. C., N *v. 17,
'- -"T-T'5TT' nw. _j_
TUB B.IH?FOOT/??. LITTLE OXES. - Two
little ragged girls went by my window jun
now, their scanty garments ftuttenngin the wind
but their little blue hands were locked in each
other, and thc elder lifted the younger through
the wow-drift It was but a short time ago that
i [ passed the same children on Broadway. One
I of them had rags round her feet and a pair of
; broken shoe?. The other was barefooted, and
she looked very red, for it was pinching cold.
?.Mary," said the other, in a gentle voice, "sit
down on the doorstep here, and I will take off
my rag3 and shoes. Your feet are cold, %nd you
shall wear them tbs rest of the way.*'
i ...