Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-06-25

communications be accompanied by the nanos G
the authors rejected communications cturned
COMMUNICATIVE ~
THE "TURNED HEAD"
The following article Is from the baltimore
Episcopal Methodist, and its publication id the
Gazette is requested by several
SUBSCRIBERS.
MANY years ago, We read 10 Nh. Warrer's
DIARY Of Physician, story ut The
Turned Head The patient was found sitting
astraddle OF chair. with his taoe turned TO
the back, and wearing his garments, hind part
before Nothing could convince the bewildor-
ed gentlemen that his dress was not worn
according to the strict requirement OF adapta-
tion, aud his position determined b. the
imperative necessities of his condition. That
be was now arranged to look one way and live
the other, was only, in his opinion, wise and
decorous conformity to unusual circumstances. |
He said, that not his garments, nor himself,
but his head was turned. BY some irresistible
influence, his skull and brain aud facial mould
ings. had made half tarn OH the spine, and
put bis relations OF trout aud back ih lamsnta-
BILE confusion. 1t was an odd conceit and
while it lasted oocasioned a good deal of dis
order in his proceedings. An observer, not
aware of the true condition Of things, coming
suddenly upon human being dressed 10 re-
verse-his coat tails tapping ON the wrong side
Of his legs, and his crayat carefully tied at the
hape of his neck, while his hands tried to per;
form. their various Offices behind his back,
would have been utterly at loss to explain
the apparition. Nor would the curious in
quirer be much enlig ghtened by being told the
times are changed t. For, although we are
familiar with the fact that necessity and
choice often require US to turn about, yetEl
the universal experience is, that in such changesi|
the parts do not wheel in separate sections, ,but
the whole person performs a, simultaneous
revolution, and the coat7tail and spectaclea /
keep their normal relations to each other. i
When We read Mr.. Warren's amusing story,
we did not expect to live long enough to OBJ
serve similar phenomena, upon a scale so vast
as to deliver the scene from odlity and nyolv-
ing events g FRia s as essnsy to lake
Vet ' for 10 / these many changes OF the moon, |
MO have lived among the turned heads OF
Great community Individual heads and cor |
norate heads, heads Of colleges and heads oi
hnreaux, and heads OF churches and heads OF
society, heads OF armies and heaas OF
narties, and heads Of sermons--graduaiiy OF
suddenly We saw them revolving. hVery gay
tho brain, and thought and will Of men, eli ana
societies of men, were taking position in direct
onnos;tion to the natural and acknoWedged'|
airrction Of their lives 1t was strange pas
sion Of the time for people to get into contra
d;ction to themselves; to look one way and go
the other; to reach out the hand at what WAS
before, and to grasp something that was
hehind, Men put spectacles on the back, OF
their heads, and saw wonders through the
th;ck mess Of the occiput. They looked tor
s,,n .r;s;no with the eagerness of Parsee deyo-
ton s Int woula look only to the West. They
waIted into obvious trouble, and accidentally
tn backwards into all they attained OF com
forl and security. They often seemed to do
wrong by design and in the lawlessness OF
incongruity found themselves right ny ms
take" Such confusion and dellrlous contra
dance of the component elements OF lndiVidu,
ality was never seen before but IN the spectral
visions of the opium eater, who saw men
riding on their own backs Al :, that was
naturally, traditiopally and logically expos!-
t1a 1 and nd demoostratory of opinion and princi-
nles disappeared and was replaced by phenome,,
no of the opnosite conditions of moral and
intellectual lfe
Mr.. Sumner and his Peace Society, who had
been boring the world for intolerable years with.
their dismal calculations Of blood and taxes,
raising upon us the ghosts OF all the dead by
battle since the fight of the FIVE kings against
four in the valley of Siddim, and appalling Us
with the incident accumulation OF expense and
taxes. from the date of the loss Of horses and
errov WAGONS ia the Red Sea, to the last report
of the Secretary of War-Mr. Sumner and his
Peace Society suddenly found that their paciilc,
principles did not apply to the prevention CT
our war, but were eminently consistent with the
most bloody and expensive prosecution OF 1t
So they twisted their heads behind them;
talked neace in some backward fashion, and
contrived to get as much blood On them, anu TO
waste as much property, and lay as many taxes,
as any set of Dalgetty men enlisted by Nehuch,
adnezzar. Mr.. Phillips, and Garrison, anu
greeley. and all the great Liberty men, who,
for th;riv years had shrieked, like the hired
mourners of the East at the wake ct evtry
daod negro, and dinned the sane world into al
most madness With their deliverances on Free,
dom-these apostles Of liberty had stood
bv their principles OF universal privileges to
universal manhood even unto scoln aud Dat
tery with eggs of doubtful quality, suddenly
ware seen searching everywhere 1or manacles
and stitching at straight jackets, and demon
stratinc that the cause of universal liberty re-
CURED that ten millions Of people should te
Knocked down and chained. hat d scene 1t
was Peace Society agents. recruiting soldiers
Liberty men bowling for extreme COERCION
even Of the thoughts Rampant pataotism
dsnouncing death and damnatlon against love
Of country Religion breaking, through. even We
the forms OF charity, and dsmissing from the
church the greatest virtue Of Christianity
Faith trusting in treaehery Hope rioting In
the prospect of devastation / Union, en-
ploying only the instruments that in all history
have proved the sure means to divide the
hearts aud antagonist the habits Of thought
and create deadly and incurable hostility be
tween psople The hand consecrated, anc
vowed 10 the sword OF the spirit, brandishe,
an ordnance sabre The eanons OF The church
matsrialized themselves into the murderous ar
tillerv of secular war. Humane crusaders
driven TO fury against imaginary man catcl
era, violently seized peaceable negroes an
dragged them of with summary philanihrop
TO Kin yiolators OF the right Of men TO Cover
their own actions Everywhere the rehectln