The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1856-02-28
WRITTEN FOR THE ABBEvILLE BANNER.
LETTERS FROM THE MOUNTAIN:

| WRITTEN FOR TIE ABBEvILLE BANNER
LETTERS FROM THE MOUNTAINS
| "Thc Ruler and the Honorable, he il the head,
And the Prophet that teachcth lies, he is the
tail
'For the leaders of this people cause them to err
Anu they that are led Of them. are destroyed"
lsAIAm's PRoruECY.
have more than once alluded to the
extraordinary beauty of our Mountain
scenery, but 1 am unable to do justice to it.
We must appoint great Master of cerc-
mony to their lofty IIighncsscs, the Noun
tans, and let him give to your Lowlandcrs,
an idea of their magnifcence. IIc will
entertain you on all these lofty subjects in
an agreeable manner. have so often tried
in vain, to excite the picturesque curiosity
of some of my friends, that now I must
leave it to ADLER hands. The admirers of
Pctrarca are always in ecstasy at the very
name Of the Fountain of Vaucl,sc, solely
because, no doubt, associated with Laura,
Poetry and her lover. But assure you
have seen many more picturesque fountains
in this country that are thought very little
| of because there were no Lallras and Pc
trarcas to embalm their beauty in sweet
poetry. They abound down cast in poets,
let them send us summer colony, and they
will soon celebrate, in their rich verstication.
all these natural beauties.
hope that the monday light that illu-
mines the following extracts from "a Jour-
na," kept while travelling in South Caro-
lima, may prove acceptable to your readers.
Rousseau wrote letters From the Noun.
tains," and though l date from a similar
location, start from Il very humble intel
lcctual elevation. However, every one
finds his level by the matter and manner
he treats it. "T"ut arrive en- France :"
SAID the witty, wise and prophetic dc LII
Rochcfoucauld. True bill but can we not
say the same thing with respect to these
United States !? Ererything occurs in
dmerica also; and why notl Are we not
mere out shoot Of European humanity,
with greater virtues and stronger vices
Tho former are bcing buried with our he
roes; while the latter spring out, in their
stead, into vigorous and surprising !ux"r-
ance. Read De Tocqucvile's culogy of
our country and institutions, written only
twenty-five years ago, and compare it with
its present unstable, prccarious condition,
and you will be convinced that the decline
of this great Republic has already be-
gun.
AS we take birds eye view of the for
mer state of America and her people, we
see every where the same kind of devotion
to the State, and respect for the law of the
land, though in various gratations even
then. We see the individual devoted to
his family, the family devoted to the State,
and tho State to humanity, progress and
the happiness of the million. And We
clearly perceive, as we ascend the social
scale of moral Importance of individuals to
the State, we gradually pass from the excr-
else OF the kindly affections to those OF
higher and higher intelligence; tile more
we rise, the greater the extent of and the
brighter the moral horizon.
The American nation is a greedy de-
vourer of newspapers, books, and especially
trashy novels; still the minds thermometer
is pointing to low figure. have no pre-
tensions to be Seneca, a Macchiavell, q
Turgot, or Franklin, still things are too
plain not to be perceived. We are reach
ing very fast political decay, in the same
progressive ratio that we intutively arrived
at an almost imaginary political perfection.
Soon nothing will remain of US, but the
memory of our material existence, and our
moral death will only leave behind our
earthly remains. Look out for the enemies
of the country in our own camp-Congress!
They are casting fire-brands into the peace
fni fields of dry flax, and when on fire, a
devouring fire, and when too late, we will
all exclaim, with eyes and hands uplifted to
Heaven " Sic transit gloria mundi."
But let us turn to other no less impor-
tant matters. In the days of the celebrated
Madame de Sevigne, there were no newspa-
pers like in our times, therefore her impa-
tience of giving utterance to her thoughts
resorted to writing those charming letters
to her daughter, which have justly immor-
talized her for the beauty, grace and natu-
ralness of style. In our days we may think
aloud in the presence Of the public, through
your columns.
slralI here give you the substance of the
conversation of a grave Judge. "I love
what is simple, natural and really lovely in
woman, and hate all that which is vicious
and coarse. 1 cannot bear repetitions, and
common nonsense formulated so as to suit
everybody, to please everybody-a saddle
that fits all horses. While this is nv feel.