Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1868-05-12
ForneK and Old Thaddeus.


The Philadelphia Press has published,
quite frequently of late letters from Washing
ton, which purport to be written by woman,
and are signed "Olivia." But any one who
will take the trouble to lift, but few inches,
the petticoats of this Olivia, will discern
beneath them the boots OF Colonel Forney.-
The letters themselves are charming spe-
cimens of the spread eagle style of writing,
and as examples of what the author of the
Jameson letter can do in that line are not to
be despised. Having 9uarrelled with Senator
Cameron, this Colonel in crinoline puts on
talsetto voice, and to annoy Cameron makes
love to his ancient enemy, Thaddeus Stevens.
Olivia's description Of the venerable and ma
lignant commoner is well adapted to please
the taste of the, vulgar. 1t is very highly
colored and is intensly fgurative. 1t opens
grandiloquently, as thus: CATER the storm
and cloud of an eventful life, Thaddeus
Stevens fingers on the disc of the Western
Horizon surrounded by the glory of departing
day p' There are few prettier sentences than
that, if one could only understand what it
means. What follows is, however, much
better, as it develops an emineutly feminine
quality in, Olivia, and, therefore, as coming
from a man in disguise, must be regarded
high stroke of art. Just now the venerable
Thaddeus was discovered lingering on the
disc of the Western Horizon" He speedily
vanishes from that remote outer verge, and
in the next sentence We find, with that eharm-
ing inconse4uentiality which SO peculiarly
distinguishes the letters of Olivia, he roap-
pears as ''the central figure of the House of
Representatives, and likewise occupies the
same place at the Managers " table in The
High Court of Impeachment" Now his is
,st,,, L. ~
Boyle Roche's bird, which was two places at
once, and, it also trenches largely upon the
prerogative of Mr.. Manager Dombastes But
$ Ter. When that pettifogger wore cooked
hat, and a sword hung dangling between his
legs, he had the re- EQUATION of being in front
and at the rear III one and the same time, and,
according to- correspondents was particularly
conspicuous for the display of this remarkable
faculty after the battle of Big Bethel. But
Thaddous Stevens must not be shorn of his
laursls. His argument against Andrew john
son before the Senate, says Olivia, was the
cream of the whole matter in dispute" This
allusion to the dairy, considering the boots
beneath the crinoline, is very arttally,thrown
in. We are next told chow solenlnly he was
impressed with his surroundings" and how,
when he advanced to the platform, he rose
from the cushioned seat in which he had been
deposited, 'slowly, trembling, yet brilliant as
the fame that sometime shoots upward when
the taper burns low in the socket and ex-
pires." We regret to say that, in this last
figure, Olivia has shown herselfto be down
right plagiariat She is petty larceny
rogue, and is guilty Of stealing from the Rev.
Harris Rarham, who in describing just such
an expiring candle as Mr.. Stevens is said to
be, remarks, not less graphically than spg,.
gestiyely, that it
-"Winks, blinkp,
Falls in its socket and -stinks.''
Which latter and closing function-happily
or uuhapply, as the case may be-Olivias
taper has not yet performed.
The dear Olivia is further Impressed with
the belief that her moribund Thaddeus, tho
but Pickering candle end, is quite remark
able in other respects. He does not exist, it
appears, by the same laws by which other
people live, move and have their being. ale
''lives - says Olivia, "to prove to the world
"the Immortality of the soul" How he
proves it We are not told for on this poilt
Olivia suddenly becomes mysterious and SIM
ply informs us that "he Thaedeus) shows
that body is not necessary to existence,
This being bold assertion we are inclined
to doubt it. But it is an easy matter to put
it to the test. If Olivia will but keep Thad-
deus from all kinds of provant for one week,
and if he shows at the end of that time ''that
body is not necessary to existence" we shall
begin to think there is something ghostly as
we'll as ghastly about him. There is good
deal more in this letter of Olivias which
doubtless is very profound, and which GER
tainly we cannot fathom. We learn, hOw>
ever, that there was q time when Thaddeus
was a "little Green Mountain boy, 'who many
years ago was fairly embarked on the ocean
of life. That up there in Vermont, he had
no gaily painted merchantmen at his COM
mand but he did have-mark the delicious
freshness OF the fgure-a little life boat,
whose paddles were a pair Of strong hands.
In this "life boat" in due course of time, he
padded off to Pennsylvania, and there he
moored himself for the remainder ofhis days
There too is the scene ofmany of his exploits.
That remarkable work of art, ''the Tapeworm
Railroad" is due to his genius. He also
signalIy distinguished himself in the Buck
shot War" in which he suffered literally,
what General Scott complained Of being sub
jected to fguratively-"a fire in the rear"
Nevertheless, and in spite of this argument
a pOSterio'i Olivia tells us enthusiastically,
% though every window Of his mansion of
clay is broken, and through each rent and
creviGe the storm of the outer world pours in,
yet like couchant lion in his den, his mind
is ready to spring upon an adversary"
Finally, and to sum up all, as the climax
of his good deeds at may be pleasant to
know that he has sold his lots in the two
cemeteries Of which he was an owner, be-
cause coIored people were refused burial in
them; though it may be possible that he
feels that he shall have future use for them"
And thus fifty ends Olivia's account OF the
career of the Great Commoner. who lives to
prove to the world "the immortality of the
SOUL" and who, although he ''has sold his
lots in the two cemeteries" feels that he shall
have use for them. What, both
"Insatiute (Thaddeus) will not ono suffice i''