Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1865-05-10
HURTING THEIR FEELINGS.

The delicacy and constituencies OF the
nervous organization Of a certain class of
people is perfectly astonishing; and, what
is no less wonderful, this same class of
people who shrek so piercingly when the
probe is applied in certain spots, are never
theless perfectly callous and insensible to
those fercer thrusts which are to others
the most cruel torture. 1t has occurred
to US on divers occasions of late, to refer,
in terms otherwise than complimentary, to
those who after the full unmasking of all
the hideous enormities covered by the
cloak of the rebellion, still manifest, or at
best but slightly conceal their sympathy
with that detested cause. That we have
taken but slight pains to clothe our ex-
pressions of opinion in honeyed phrase of
Cancellation" we very frankly admit ;
and we have no apology to offer for our
negligence in that behalf. Soft words
may turn away wrath" but the wrath
Of the class to whom We refer is impotent,
and We learned to despise it long years
agone, and their friendship and esteem are
rather to be Stunned than coveted. By
some honest, forgiving and thln-skinned
people we have been demonstrated with,
and told that in this hour Of the Nations
triumph, and treason's humiliation, We
should cast the broad mantle of charity
over the hideous forms Of these traitors
and so frame our comments as not to
"hurt their feelings" Feelings! forsooth.
If we had forgotten or chosen to ignore
the possibility of these people possessing
the ordinary feelings of humanity, we
imagine it would be an easy matter to
trace the fault home to their own exhibit
tons of insensibility and utter callousness.
When the tales of the cold-blooded mas
sacres, and cruciixions, and burnings
alive, at Plymouth, Columbus and Fort
Pillow, froze with horror the hearts Of all
Christendom, we perceived no sympathetic
demonstration on the part of these admir-
ers Of the chivalry. When sickening tales
Of thousands of gaunt and naked skeletons,
crawling amid the filth and vermin Of
Libby, Andersonville and Belle-lsle, and
seeking the merciful boon of the dead
line to shorten the pangs of slower star
walton, made civilized man almost doubt
the existence of an Omniscient God, we
saw no blanching Of the cheek smong the
well-ted. well-clad sympathizers with re-
bellion. And when the deep-toned knell
rang out the awful tidings of that
crowning deed Of dark damnation, and a
whole Nation was draped in the habili-
men,s Of wo, we saw cleaning from their
eyes the reflection of the fierce fire
of exultation that burned in their hearts,
though their lips gave no voice to the
words of gleeful triumph that knocked at
their teeth for utterance. Great God q!
And in speaking of these and such as
these shall we put on the curb and restrain
tongue and pen, lest perchance we should
"hurt feelings" The sudden drop of
the starving wretch, struck by the bullet
at the dead line" the smothered shrek
of the burning Union soldier, the hollow
dying moan of the naked skeleton, touched
not the heart of the Secessionist or Cop
perhead but old and young, male fend
and she devil, echoed back the horrid
sound with a laugh of demoniacal tri-
umph. The days Of those horrors have
passed, and the history of the world is
blackened with the record, but the men,
ory of them rankles deep and coHoding.
When We speak of them we forget all the
set phrases Of honeyed speech, and we
give utterance to the thoughts that move
US. And when the fierce, indignant sem
fences make the devils quail and writhe in
shame and choking rage at their own i'm
potence, they talk about "feelings!" The
bound thief, as he writhes beneath the
lash of justice, the chained highwayman
in his dungeon, the murderer on the gal
lows, the pirate at the yard-arm, all these
are "lacerated in their feelings" and are
as justly entitled to polite and merciful
consideration as the class of whom We
speak. For them we entertain no respect,
no pity, no sentiment other than utter
loathing and detestation. To speak other
wise, to pretend otherwise would be vile
and rank hypocrisy. Deprecations and
protest against our style Of treating the
subject will have no influence with us.
We shall refer to it as seldom as possible,
but when we do, it shall be without reser-
walton.
As We deal with my contemners,
So my sword shall with you deal"