Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1842-10-21
ConnvnicArEp.
TO THE EDITOR.

Of las, month, from which il may be well inferred
hereafter what im?ottsnesis to be attached to any
thing ,ha, may appear in tina, paper connected with
my name
| Bolts AND HONOR.
These two wotds are brought into strange and
startling juxta. position for immeasufable, would
seem, the distance between the two things sienr
fed.
Have you s.ep, gentle reader. Bot,s' story OF his
| interview with the President in tic Presidents
Mansion, in the presence of one OF the ladies' Of his
family, SHORTLY after the death Of General Harisonl
II You have not hasten To procure and read q. fos
the guest and confidential friend has not hesiiated
to disclose the fro side conversation OF two mem
bers Of the family which he visited, and where he
was received and entertained as Trend. Some
conversition ~ss had about the Pesidenrs private
affairs and then the President IL made 10 speak OF
the next term. and the LADY Is made 10 sllude TO u
too. In itself, il does not amount To much but the
disclosure, the dishonorablc and degrading dlselo
sure, to an honorable mind. Is mos; offensive and
| revolving.
| Honorable men have ever held sacred the seal Of
private confidence and friendship, and whatever, in
q moment Of free and unresuaned confidence. has
been committed TO the iuvioable secrecy OF honor,
no change of relations, OF interests, OF parties. no
ndueemeBt no Consideration, no power, no compul.
sion has been deemed sufficient TO unlock the seal
cd lips. Men have ever considered such deposite
sacred and inviolable, and when perhdy has dared
TO lay her hand upon II, how have high minded
men stood ashast, and how deep and wiiher'ns has
bean the Indignation visited upon the degraded
offender Every ono has observed how such man
has skunk through life scorned and summed as one
who had forfeited oil hold upon tho respec, Of ho.
norable men.
But deeper and more infamous is the ignon,iny OF
the man, who not only worms himself into private
confidence, but Who is introduced to the ssnetiiy OF
the hreside, and who breathes the very atmosphere
that surrounds the domestic altar, and Their er,gs
before the public the private the free unieoiraned
and often needless conversation Of the pator, or the
tea table. Hospitality has, among many nations,
both civilized and barbarian. been considered a
high and sected duty. How sacred from harm the
person OF the euesi Wills: he reposed upon your
pillow. sat at your table, snd ate OF your bread,
how hallo~ed vas the shield that protected hImi
Amongst our own people, especially amid the ge-
nervous and munifeent hberali'y and elegance ofthe
South, how dearly hsve all the rights Of hospitality
been cherished and protected! How deep the sIig-
IN. of universal nbhorrencc stamped upon that
mans brow, who violates its revered obligations,
Such an odsnce has been reserved Tor one OF
Virgni,'s sons-Virginia, the home and dwelling
place and temple Of chivalry and honor, must re
cord upon the page OF her pubic history that one
OF her Representatives in Congress foEee;u OF the
sacred duIis, OF a man, and the high bearing OF Il
gentleman, has dared in the ruthless phrenzy Of
party hate, TO violate one Of the most sacred obi
cations of hospitality Virginia, where dishonor is
death, must number such man among her Repre-
senratives:
The Presiden, hns been. indeed, ru,hless'y assail
ed. Some of his former Cabinet officers violated all
the rules Of propriety and honor, and published to
the world their false and grounc!ess disclosures, OF
what they assc-ted, occurred in their private inter
views with the President. The members OF his
household have been most ,hamsfally and falsely
assaed. and because they sustained the relation OF
sons To the President their many virtues could not
save them from the shafts Of the malice Of his enc
mics. Evea IN. sancli,y OF his hearth must be in
vaded, and what 10 all men is dear and holy, mus,
he IN nttlaf tr nd m n
pubic comment ard curiosity.
As the defender Of popular rights, and sworn 10
stand by the great principles OF Democracy, and
having done so much TO rescue the great Democrat
ic Republican party from the iron rule of Federal
iom, the President is visited with the same ueat-
men that fell 10 the lot Of both Jefferson and jack
son. Was not the great Apostl. Of Democracy
illuminated and vilihsd1 And was not the Illus
trious Jackson essaled IN all his relations, and his
wife, a woman Of the highes, worth, torn from HIN
by a worse than murderous hand and FASTENED TO
an uniimely gravel John Tyler meets with the
same opposition for he. too IS contending with the
old FEDERAL party. The People will defend and
successfully sustain him, as they did the immortal
men whom he is attempting TO follow.
As TO the tale of Mr. Bots, VIC have no, deemed
It OF :uficien, importance to inquire whether any
such conversation, as he pretends TO repeat, ever
took place. IL is the principle Of violating the sane
ui7 Of household conversation by guest that we
denounce. The public must decide whether or no:
would rot also fabricale them.
Nov, would j, not be supposed thu, had com
nitted some moustrous outrage upon deceucy and
proprie,y, from the OblOquy with which am co
vsred in the foregoing ar,icl.1-nnd yet strange as
may appear, have never yet seen the story my
self to which this truth loving and truth telling
gentleman audes: nor did know, until the same
day on which my attention was directed to Iha.
piece OF Islander, iLat any story had been told in
public by any one, connected with airy conversation
between any OF Mr. Tyler's household and myself.
1t has since bsen represented to me il has been
Iod aud appears in prin,-ind If am accur ately
informed, the story itself is incorrect.
1t is true that on TIE thisl day Of the Extra Ses.
sion Of Congress, conversation did take place be
tween Mr. Tyler and myself, in which his future
plans we're partially developed, plans in which did
not concur, and TO which ttace the GOODNESS that
followed, and which ultimately interrupted ell inter
course between US. Al that conversation, neither
Mrs. Robert Tyler nor any body else was present.
OF that lady have never spoken in any other terms
Than Of high respect, always regarding her ob,erv
ing great good sense, deeacy and p,opriety in her
conduct.
Ihave mentioned the conversation 10 several friends
in private and some hat confidential way; but
have never made il publicly known, because knew
no, intended to be repeated, tho have often
doubted my right 10 recognise any such converse
ton between public men on public matters as pri-
vate, and have always thought | had been some
what over nice and serupuous in not giving il 10
the public, particularly as would have served 10
explain, in good degree, the grounds Of my first
denuncia,ion OF MIR Tyler a traitor to the party,
when every body stood sghasi at the disclosure
The only nllusion have ever made 10 it public
~, was IN the letter addressed ITO the Publicp
on the 2ls, August 1871, in explanation Of the
CoGse.Housc eiter, in which | used the following
language:
"For Mr. Tyler, who mad done all This, TO be the
first man 10 th,ow himself in the path OF his friends
and make himself a stumbling block and an ossra
Gle 10 tie hopes. The entTtaIes, the demands of
natipn's happiness, and veal, for the purpose OF
promoting his own personal popularity did be,lay
degree Of pofhdy that filled me with Indignation
and disgust"
"If Mr. Tyler chooses to call f1r the reasons ,ha,
brought me TO the conclusion that this was his mo-
tive he can have them. ! am not nov at liberty To
state hem all; they are numerous"
This is .he only public allusoo havs mad. to
tina, or any other private conversation Of Mr. y
ler's. How far should be nb,olved from the in
junction 10y iniersncs) Of eonhIencs by thi, court
Islander which have taken from the Madisonan
may be a matter Of doubt; but will err on the SAT,
side. have nothing 10 lose by telling the truth as
It occurred, md os it seems il has been misreprs.
scented, The Modisonun, instead Of abusing me for
what 4 never did and r ever nufho,iv.d To- q. H..