The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1867-11-29


with the pen was anxious for it to ap-
pear in the Examiner. There it would
be read by more people and be better
appreciated than in any other paper
The credit would be Daniels, but what
of that? The intellectual bantling
would be sure not to die still born. 1t
would make a noise and be talked
about; its unknown parent would hear
its praises, and be secretly proud.
Many men have written for the Ex-
aminer, and some have conducted it
with ability; but 1t has never been, and
it may be fairly reckoned that it never
Will be, edited as it was by John VI.
Daniel. He had not the humor, and
he may not have had the wit, of some
of his contributors; nor did he have the
financial knowledge, OF the scientific
attainments, of others who wrote for
him; but he made better editor than
any or all of these combined could have
made. The truth of this assertion will
be understood fully when L call the
names of some of his contributors =
They are rs follows: Robert Hughes,
Patrick Henry Aylett, William Ould,
DR.. A. K. Peticoles, Edward A. Pol
lard, L. @. Washington, Prof. Bash
Gildersleeve, John r. Thompson, and
John Mitchell. Some of these gentle
men have had the paper entirely in
their charge for months at time, but
it is no disparagement to them to say
that the paper in their hands was never
what it was in the hands of John M,
Daniel. He had in him an intensity
of bitterness which they did not pos
sess, and would not have displayed if
they had possessed. He had a strength
of individuality, an art of attracting
contributions, and of shaping them into
his own similitude, and, what is most
to the point, pains-taking attention
to the minuti@ of the paper, which,
combined, made him an editor whose
equal, in all respects, has never been
seen In this countrys
He had little, and if his own opinion
were taken, not q particle of humor.--
lie was too bitter for that. But he had
the quickest and keenest appreciation
of the humorous. Dickens was a favo-
rite with him. Nay, he had, he must
have had, humor of his own. Wit he
had in high degree; and of every sort;
but he was particularly happy in nick
naming and in personalities ofall kinds.
Some of those names showed both wit
and humor; as when he called the cadets
of the Virginia Military Institute, on
the occasion of their first visit to Rich
mond, "kildees'-a title, which as it
seemed to belittle them, made the
cadets very angry, but which was ncy-
ertheless so appropriate and so harm
less that everybody laughed good
naturedly at it. The appellation of
"leaden gimlet," which he applied to a
certain lawyer in Richmond, is an eX-
ample of CALLING satire, without the
least admixture of the milk of human
kindness. The office of Mr.. Benjamin,
the Secretary of State, contained files
of the leading newspapers of the Con-
federacy; and hence it was called by
Daniel "the Confederate Reading
Room va name intended to convey
his contempt at once for the office and
the official who occupied it.
He had lively fancy, but little or no
Imagination in the higher sense of the
term; certainly he had not the creative
faculty. / do not know that he ever
attempted rhyme, much less poetry or
dramatic characterization. His mind
was logical, but dry and elaborate argu-
flientation was not to his liking. He
caught readily the salient points of a
question, and aimed. in writing, to
present them forcibly, but not with too
much brevity. L saw him return to the
author number of editorials, which |
thought excellent, and asked him why
he did so. "They are we'll written,'
said he; sin fact, they are elegantly
written, but there is no ircision in them. "
His reading was various and extern
sive, his memory first-rate. He told me
that, during his residence abroad, he
not only made himself familiar with
italian and French literature, but read
in addition every Latin author of cele-
brity, and many whose names were al
most wholly unknown. Greek he neg
lected, and he paid little attention to
German. History, Biography, Mem
oirs, Political Treatises, Novels, Poetry
and Essays of the better class, he lite
rally devoured, and retained with Won
derful fidelity everything of Importance
that he had ever read. He cared little,
think, for metaphysics, or for the OK
act sciences, and discovered less infor-
nation in regard to anatomy and ply
siology than many men of ordinary
capacity and education. He was not,
strictly speaking, learned man. His
taste was pure aild Correct; his love OF
''English undefled" very great. Yet,
he was not a slavish purist. His pecu-
liar spelling was but mark of his infl-
mite detestation of Webster, as New
England Yankee. His tavorite authors
were Voltaire and Swift. The latter
was his model. He often urged me to
study Swift diligently, in preference
to Addison, Dryden, Milton, or any
other English author, ancient OIL
modern!
1t remains for me to speak of him in
his personal character, and this | shall
do as briefly as can. He who has ever