New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-09-12
Davis i. not tried or the charge af Assassination re-
dBOUT JACKASSES.

great that many nations felt thoy could not express
their sense of il short of paying the beast divine
honor That they did 80, our correspondents essay
left no shadow of doubt themind OF tho adventur'
Gus person who waded through its long list OF citations
from ancient WRITER'S but why they did So the learned
pundt left unanswered. Whether the human race
was at an early period, when still in state oil child
ISL innocence profoundly struck with the tremendous
length of Jacks ears, and looked upon them as iun-
nels for the reception of all the wisdom uttered within
the radius of the horizon; whether the bland express
sion ofhis countenance struck forefaher Adam as
indicative of an intelligence that, having weighed
creation is not 10 be astonshod disturbed at any
thing that may happen; or, whether its resoute way
of planting s fore feet like a rock, when it has once
determined TO pursue certain policy and refusing TO
bulge for any amount Of blows Establishment con-
WINGED the first of the race that tried to make him OF
service that beast that understood so well what he
wanted and valued his own opinion SO highly must
be being Of superior power; whether one or all oil
these reasons combined had weight to ground human
beings in belief Of his extraordinary Intelligence,
and to induce them to honor him with their BEST we
cannot tell. Our correspondent, who seems to know
everything dumb the subject, and we are Lett to
our own resources for an answer.
But whatever the may be, we may con-
slider the facts as settled. The appears to have
risen from one station of trust and responsibility to
another until at length he attained to the highest
position which II was in the power OF the people to
bestow. He became the recipient OF divine honorS.
Enthroned in the temple he ate the choicest proven
der Hay that had grown on the slopes of the sacred
mountain was cut with golden sickles by virgin
priestesses for his peculiar eating three days in the
week he had cakes of barley meal mixed with honey,
and three days cakes of oatmeal mixed with altar OF
roses; the prettest watergirls supplied him with un
failing lager; he was shsmpooed l6 times day;
his teeth were cleaned with the sozodont Of the peod
his shoes were BACKED by slaves who we're in no
hurry to get at another customer; while the High
Prostcss herself continually sang to him
Come ait thee down upon this Howery bed
While thy amiable checks do coy,
Aud stick musk In thy fair. large bead
And kiss thy fair. large ears my gentle Joy"
To which blanshng strain whatever might le ~
secret inclination for very different sort of treat
meni, the prudent animal carefully abstained from
making any reply whatever. Thus, living in clover
within the temple, the treatment outside OF it be-
slowed upon all the creatures of his kind was CORE
spondent. Nothing too good for them. They
were the chosen beasts for kings princes priests and
prophets TO ride and they appear to have had good
time Of it on the whole. The best of food, housings
of purple and cloth of gold nets of pure Nile fax
studded with jewels, in fly time, silver shoes, and bells
of silver aud gold-whatever could make the beast
happy was given it; when he prayed, all the people
fell fat and ate dirt if it were bread-and-butter;
when he stuck out his fore feet aud seemed to say
This is my policy" all the tribes met in Convention
and applauded his frmness and resolution as little
short of divine. Even whom the brute in him mani
tested itself-and there were some people shrewd
enough to see that, in spite Of his Office he was
brute aud one too-and when he would KICK
out his hind feet at the very people who had led hm'
and clothed him, and lifted him up from the low po
ston in which he born, TO the high one he
filled with such ludcrous grayi,y-when, striking
out right and left, he killed here and manned there
even then, the unkillod and the UNNAMED cried
" Hosanna!" and ate the dirt he scattered, if it
were more bread butter than ever.
And thus things went on for long, long while,
aud the ass became a tremendous power. But at
length, one ass made blunder. Hitherto, no MEM
Der of the family had ever spoken word. They had
made their way by preserving deeorous silence, and
letting their long ears their sage faces and their de-
termination do the business for them. Whether this
was in consequence of clear understanding on their
part of what would inevitably be the effect of an op
poste policy it is believed by the negroes to be on
the part of the monkeys, who, though perfectly able
to talk preserve a careful silence, lest men should
make them work if once il were known-Or whether
the asses were dumb because they really had nothing
to saw can never be determined. Asses have written
auobiographes and histories, but we have searched
them in vain for a resolution of this difficulty. For
whatever cause however this long silence was pre-
served, there came day when it was broken. The
learned are in doubt what first spoke; but
our Holy Scriptures, which have put many facts,
not get.at-able in any other record, down in black
and white have left no doubt on the subject
possible. We are there clearly informed that
the great bunderer was Balaam's ass. He
opened his mouth aud spoke. And it was sad
mistake and proved the ruin Of his tribe. Since that
day, as everybody knows the name OF ass has been
held in disrepute To call man an ass" is an in
suit not lightly to be borne. Even in the base and
craven North where, as is well known there are no
gentlemen person who has been written down an
ass is not content till be has called the offender bad
names in reply; bnt in the gallant and ehivalrous
Southron land the abode of festive danes Of high de-
gree and cavaliers with blood OF the purest Proosan
blue-there, 10 call an ass is to receive i'm.
mediate and peremptory invitation to permit him to
spill your blood through bullet hole To such low
ebb is fallen the lofty honor of a name that
mandcd the loyal homage OF the universal human heart
And all for a speech Yes for while this long-earcd
brute with his sober face, his sturdy hoofs and his
portentous bray, was able to make people believe he
was fit to preside over them, to be their Captain and
the Captain OF their Captains, to set up and to pull
a