New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-09-08
a MAN OF FANCY.


Mr. t. ]. Durant is certainly lawyer Of dis
inction but he has never, hitherto, been re-
garded as a man of fancy, The dry "Details of
the law are not favorable to a development of
the imaginative faculties, and Mr, Durants
long apprenticeship to that science seemed to
have converted him into being of facts and
arguments Of briefs, petitions, and rejoind-
ers, But not entirely it seems. He has re-
Gently shone out in an entirely new phase
He has turned away from us the dull prosaic
side of his character, and has exhibited q
vigor and 1fyeliness of fancy which meme
would have supposed him TO possess.
For instance il q speech recently delivered
by him in Philadelphia, he spoke of himself
as one Of those unhappy Unionists of New Or
leans, ct whose throat the assassins knife had
been directed. Henee his flight from this
city, Itss rathef,2 leisurely exodus, itmust
be confessed, as hetook abundant time to sell
his furniture, an6 to ship his books to that
csngenied cline where the liberty of thought
which he enjoyed might find uhrestrained ex-
preston in the liberty of speech which he
crayea, and where the wings of his newly
fedged fancy might expand without the i'm
minent peril of clipping, by notorious and
unRdendlyfRct. But, nevertheless we have
Mr. Durantss word for it, that he really did
nun away from New Orleans because his life
was threatened and thatnis fellow stIoyaEsts'
Of the convention, with whom he refused to
parture, from similar cause
Now. we would not intimate that Mr. Du-
rant does not speak'the truth. We would not
assert that all the time when he was quietly
making his arrangements for hasty fight, and
con4posedly writing out the speech which he
intended to deliver to his fellow-radicals in
Philadelphia, a 'srebel" knife was not CLEAN
ing at his throat, But the inquiry will force
itself upon US tSwhy did not that rebel knife
execute its Office on Mr. Durant's expectant
carotid?" Why did this calm and courageous
gentleman not call policeman? Why did he
rot bind that knife over to keep the peace {?
Why does he not describe the appearance of
She sanguinary and vin{lctive rebel who
welded notwithstanding blade? Why Is Mr..
Durant alive at this moment and capable of
delighting sympathizing audience with the
agination2
Twas fine stroke of fancy to portray him
self in this terrible situation-dogged by a
"rebel" end haunted by % bowie knife; but it
would have capped the climax if he had only
imagined himself dead, An invention as
powerful as his would have found little diff
Guilty in impressing radical audience with
the vari+4y If bic Sto4a,,,a,,+. -, ! L. &C..
Judge Kelley, who introduced him to the
meeting as the man whose house had been
broken into and whose life had been threat
ened by tfrebels," weald have been able
to announce him as the distinguished
gentleman who was killed in the New Or
leans riots-slain by phantom knife.
To be sure this expedient might have re-
quired change of the programme adopted
by the vagrant and voluntary refugees, who
have evidently agreed among themselves to
tell the same story; but, if SO much is
expected Of the sight Of men who fled from
New Orleans because e their lives were not
safe, what might not have been anticipated
from the spectacle of a score of dead men |
perambulating the country and addressing
IF real martyrs with quite as much ease, and
! great deal more effect than they 90 through !
With the role of prosecuted fsloyalists." In
Iced, from the cordial welcome which is ex-
ended to them on the ground of their narrow
scape from death, We can conceive how
much gratitude they would haze received had
hey really died.
However, M, TIyro,,+ ;y o,,,+ a,,+ H..