Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-07-11

lives might never have conferred.
"If the doctrine of State Sovereignty be
dangerous heresy, the genius of Americ'
would indicate another remedy than the sac
ri6ce Of one of its believers. Wickliffe died
but Huss took up his teachings; anaEwheI
the dust of this martyr was sprinkled on th'
Rhine, some essence of. it was infused in th,
cup which Luther drank.
"The road to grants Of power is known
and open and thus all questions of reserved
rights on which men of highest distinction
may differ, and have differed, can be settled
by fair adjudication, and thus only can they
be finally at rest"
Mr.. Davis then spoke Of the restriction
placed upon his reading, which he supposed
must soon terminate if he was TO be placed
on trial. Books would be indispensable II
preparing his defence, nor did he see how
he could be denied intercourse with counsel
Books, if he could get them, would be q
great consolation. True, he had the two
test-pointing to his Bible and prayer-book
but the mind could not keep continually q
the height and strain of earnestness required
for their profitable reading. That the papers
and other publications of the day should be
denied him, he could understand-thougt
even this would not be right when he wa;
preparing for trial. He would then be required
to know what phase of public opinion he ad'
dressed for in ali such trial-and in this
age of publicity-there must be two tribunals
one inside, but infinitely the vaster one out
side the courtroom. To. old English or 9th
er books for his perusal, what objection could
be urged? Such indulgences were given to
the worst criminals before trials: and even
after conviction the prison Libraries were open
for their use. A mind so active as his had
been for forty years could not suddenly bring
it's machinery to pause. 1t must either
have food or prey upon ITSELF and this was
his case at present. Except for the purpose
of petty torture, there could be no color oi
reason for withholding from him any hooks
or papers dated prior to the war.
June o.-Was called to the prisoner, whom
l had not seen for week. Entered with
Capt. E. A Evans, officer of the day. Found
Mr.. Davis relapsing and very respondent
Complained again Of intolerable pains in his
bead. Was distracted night and day by the
unceasing tread of the two sentinels in his
room, and the murmur or gabble Of the guards
IN the outside cell. He said his casemate
was we'll formed for torture-room of the in
QUESTION. Its arched roof made it perfect
whispering gallery, in which all sounds were
jumbled and repeated. The torment of his
head was 80 dreadful, he feared he must lose
his mind. Already his memory, vision and
bearing, were impaired. He had but the re-
mains of one eye left, and the glaring, white
washed walls were rapidly destroying this.
he pointed to crevice in the wall where his
bed had been, explaining that he had chang
ed to the other side to avoid its mephitic
yapors.
Of the trial he had been led to expect, had
heard nothing. This looked as if the indict-
ment were to be suppressed, and the action
ofa military commission substituted. If so,
they might do with him as they pleased, for
he would not plead, but leave his cause to
the justice of the future. AS to taking his
life, that would be the greatest boon they
could confer on-him, though for the sake of
his family he might regret the manner of its
taking.
Jane 10.-Mr. Davis out of sorts, very i'll,
tempered. Complained that his clean linen,
to be sent over twice aweek by General Miles,
had not been received. General Miles had
taken charge of his clothing, and seemed to
thank d change Of linen twice week enough.
1t might be so in Massachusetts. But now
even this wreicLed allowance was denied,
The general might know nothing of the mat
te-; but if so, some member of his staff was
negligent. 1t was pitiful they could not send
his trunks to his cell, but must insist on thus
doling out his clothes, as though he we're a
convict in some penitentiary. If the object
were to degrade him, it must fail. None could
be degraded by unmerited insult heaped on
helplessness but the perpetrators. The day
would come that Our people would be asham-
ed of his treatment. For himself, the suffer.
ings he was undergoing would do him good
with his people (the South). Even those
who had opposed him would be kept silent,
if not won over, by public sympathy. What.
ever other opinions might be held, it was
clear he was selected as chief victim, bearing
the burden Of northern hatred, which should
be more equally distributed.
June 1y.-Visited Dir. Davis with Captain
Korte, officer of the day. General Miles,
learning that the pacing Of the two sentinels
in his room at night disturbed Mr.. Davis and
prevented his sleeping, gave orders that the
men should stand at ease during their two
hoars of guard, both night and day, instead
of pacing their accustomed beat. This Mr..
Davis said acas much pleasdnter for hin, but
cruel for the ngen Obliged to stand so long IL,
one position, as if they had been bronze or
marble statues. Feared, as it cost them suf-
fering, it wonld make them hate him more,
and the cause-though innocent-of their in
convenient attitude and there were plenty
of men wearing uniforms of that color who
hated hin mOFe thsn enough elFssfay:
From this point Mr.. Davis glidsd off to
some considerations of statuary, c6mmetting
on the growing taste for representing ami.
mails, birds and men in painful or impossible
attitudes in the basso felieuOs, bronzes and
otler ornaments Of modern sculpture. Strick-
en- deer contorted byE,aesth! wounds, horses
with sides lacerated BSESe claws Of q cling.
Ing tiger; partridges, or other birds, choking in
suares or pierced with arrows dying Indians,
wounded gladiatoss's dying soldiers-pain or
dei.th in every variety Of grade, seemed to
forii the present staples for popular bronco
and Pariai ornaments. Our sculptors mad
their horses stand eternally with fore pa.
poised ia cir in an attitude only possible for
a moment to the living. Such. works were
NOT pleasing, but the Fsyarse. They fretted
the sensibiIities with petty patp, and lacked
the repose which should form the chief cbarFl
of Sculpture. The groups of the LAGOON and
Dying Gladiator were the only eminent works
of antiquity of which he had heard or soen
casts, Of which pain or horror had been the el'
emsnts depicted, aad ip these the treatment
hat! been SO overwhelmingly grand as to
numb the sense Of suffering by the .splenaop
ofiheir beauty. For modern sculpture, how
ever-the statuary designed for parlor orna:
mepts--he wished to see more pleasant themes.
Thc agony Of wounded deer OR. bird could
have nothing to recommend 1t, bHt the fideli-
ty Of imitation with which the agony aPs
,,o,loved while in the LAGOON there wes