Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1861-02-08
Izae Sea OEa Eire--A Graphic
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Izae Sea On EEre--A Graphic
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In recent speech made at Hartford, by
Col. Thomas Fl. Seymour, our late Minister
to Russia, that gentleman, abiding to the
turbulent waves of disunion which seemed
to be overrunning the whole country, while
the public mind was at bottom patriotic,
made the following splendid comparison,
which not only we'll serves the subject, but
portrays grand scene in nature with a
master hand:
In the autumn Of 1858 I happened to be
on the borders Of the Caspian Sea, at a
place called Baku, not far from Persia
While there the Captain of the Port invited
me to take seat in his barge one evening.
and go with hiln down the bay, "a distance
of four OR FIVE miles. There was place
below, he said a half mile from shore, where
the surface of the water was covered with
naphtha, which could easily be ignitea ~
This naphtha was thrown up from a sub
Iterranean spring at the bottom CT the bay.
Much desiring to witness so interesting q
sight as that which was described to me, |
readily accepted the invitation to accompa>
my him The night was dark, but there
was clear sky overhead The same stars
that shoue ever US shone over you. The
moon had just gone down behind the eau
casian hills. But in the north west, few
III, 4
ct OF that year, like some rebel cast out Of
Heaven, streamod downward toward the
earth. The still night, the lonely shore,
the sudden apparition of another world
whirled through the realms of space, deep
ly impressed me at the time
Pursuing our course down The solitary
bay, we came, after while, tc that part of
it where we expected to find the sprug we
were in search of--or rather proofs Of It on
the surface. In another moment an unu-
sual appearance Of the sea. something | can
not well describe-a change Of color, per
/ haps- showed we had touched the edge OF
the resinous waves. A few rapid strok. s
of the oars forced our barge into the midst
of the dark waters by which we were sur
rounded. This being done, one of the met
seized bunch of oakum, and, setting it or
fire, cast it overheard. Immediately sea
!of fame spread out on all sides Of US, apo
rolled up around the barge. fastening t.
make our escape from SO threatening 10
oality, the boatmen pulled rapidly away
their ear blades dripping with liquid fire
a stream Of FIRE swept along In our wake
while little angry waves, like tongues ofser
pents, shot out under our bows, or struck
spitetully astern, as if vexed to lose THEN
prey. Having cleared the space SO fearful
lily lit up by the blazing naphtha, we laiG
our boat sideways to the crimson food. aud
turned to behold a strange aud maryellou.
spectacle literally The sod CT fire. But
beneath that sheet of flame, that rolled with
the rolling waves, the currents Of the Gas
plan flowed calmly On, uudisturbed by the
6ery pillows that swept over its surface.
So my friends, in our country there have
been times when we have seen the flames O
discord lit up around us, threatening to en-
velop in blaze of ruin the good ship Of
State that bears our fortunes and pat an
end forever to constitutional liberty. Some
thing of this we see now. Something 2
Nay, more and worse than anything We
have ever seen before. The great crisis OF
our fate as nation long dreaded, yet not
wholly unexpected, because dariagy pro-
roh,ed has at last come. and the whole sur
face of things is az ''inA4med sea-" Wheth
er there be any escape or not from the
evils with which we are just, pow nl6nacei
hone can tell Nevertheless let US hope,
that beneath all this wh!rl aud agitation Of
the surface, conservative influence, moved
by that deep love Of country which under-
Nies everything else, and flowing TRANQUILITY
and steadily on, like the currents of the
Caspian beneath the fiery pillows above
them may sustain, after all, instead Of con-
suming, the things that repose on their bo-