Columbia gazette., 1854-03-11
ANECDOTES OF GEN. JACKSON

We recently heard the following an
ecdotcs of this venerated hero and sage,
well authenticated, and as we do not
recollect to have met with them in print,
we have concluded to relate them here.
Il Pennsylvania.
A revolution in Poland occurred a.
bout the time jackson was waging a
war with the United States Bank in this
country. The Emperor Nicholas treat
ed the unfortunate Poles with extraor-
dinary severity, and was terribly and
justly scored for it by the press of this
country. About the same time the whig
press was heaping all sorts of abuse up
on Gen. Jackson for opposing the re-
charter of the United States Bank
The Russian Minister then at Washing
ton, was greatly annoyed at the abuse
of his Emperor and master. He deter
mined to appeal to the government to
have the evil remedied, and collected
from the miscellaneous press numer-
our array of articles bearing down very
strongly upon Nicholas, showed them to
the Secretary Of State, and demanded
that this abuse should cease, or he would
hold the Government responsible, and
the peaceful relations of the two nations
would be interrupted. The Secretary
of State in vain attempted to explain to
him the freedom of the press, and that
the American Government had no more
power over it upon such subjects than
Nicholas himself. The Russian Minis
ter regarded this as a mere subterfuge,
and grew very angry. He finally con-
cluded to appeal to Gen. Jackson him
self upon the subject, and producing his
collection of newspaper denunciations
laid his grievances before the old hero.
Gen Jackson heard him patiently, and
after he was through, pleasantly COM
plimented him on his industry in search
ing the papers; "but," said he, "look
over them again, and if you do not find
that am called tyrant, rascal, fool, and
all sorts Of foul names, ten times for ev
cry mention of Nicholas's name, l will
have the thing stopped at once" This
sort of reasoning threw new food Of
light upon the mind of the Russian Min
ister. He then comprehcnded what the
freedom of the press meant in this
country, and readily perceived that
Jackson could not be expected to stop
the press from abusing Nicholas, when it
was every day boldly assailing himself.
lie accordingly dropped the subject.
The other anecdote describes thing
that happened very rarely; it states how
Gen. jackson got frightened:
This occurred soon after the attempt
made to assassinate him, an event which
naturally aroused the fears ofhis friends
for his safety, and they all recommend
ed to him the utmost caution against
exposing himself to any more such at
tacks. One afternoon he was reclining
in Democratic sort of way, on sofa
in one of the rooms Of the White House,
alone, smoking pipe. About this time
a new foreign minister from Portugal,
we think, unaccustomed to Republican
simplicity, had arrived, and went to the
White House to pay the General visit
He was attired in full Court costume,
all bedizned with gold lace, &c., wear
ing a sword. No one happened to be
there to introduce him, and he found
his way unannounced into the room in
which Gen. Jackson was lazily ruminat-
ing upon his recent narrow escape from
the pistol Of an assissin. The sudden
appearance o; the Minister reused the
cid man from his reveries, and he gazed
at the intruder with astonishment, not
altogether unmingled with fear, as he
proceeded to bow and grimace at des-
perate rate. Gen. jackson could stand
it no longer, but seized chair, bran
dished it before him, and in stentorian
voice cried out, "In the name of God,
who and what are you?" The Portu-
guese Minister soon man ,ged to give
him an idea of who and what he was,
when Gen. Jackson sent down to his
kitchen for Fre4ch cook he had to act
as an interpreter, and in this way they
managed to have satisfactory inter-
view.
R Patrick Cooney, butcher in St.
Louis, has drawn one-iourth Of the cap
ital prize of $4,000 in the Delawvre
State Lottery.