Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1868-04-17
THE CLOSE OF THE REVELATION.
One Day with John e. Breckinrtdre.
From the Columbus (Ga.) sun and Times. |

Pie-especlailS the female portion
believed it was "some big man." M
ordinary General. Occasionally ]
could catch their glances stealins
from Breckinridge to a photograph o
President Davis hanging ON the par.
lor wall as If to compare the like.
ness One old lady insisted upon my
giving minute description of thu
person of each 1heinber of the Cabi.
net, and while I gave it, her eve was
riveted upon Gen: b. all the while
1t is well to say that, save the host
and his wife, Of the strangers present,
none knew the maine of the distitl.
guished guest. / Had known Breck.
inridge for years, as Member ul
Of Congress, and while he was Vice
President of the United States, had
been I'm his company often, but never
seen him appear to the advantage he
did this night. He was dressed i'm a
magnificent suit of black broadclotb.
a present he had received from Eu-
rope, just before the evacuation OF
Richmond; was cleaned shaved in a
genial flow Of spirits, which captiva-
ted every one. His son, young Cabell
Breckinridge, one of the finest-look-
Ing young men i ever saw; seconded
his father in entertaining.
1t was Mr.. Breckinridge's inten-
tioH; / judged, to cross the Ocmulgee
river att or about, Hawkinsville.-
When in sight of the river, our guide
met sturdy old planter, who, after
some whispering, caused Mr. b. to be
called aside; and In q few moments
we were in gallop. The party con-
sisted of Mr.. Breckenridge, his Adju.
tant General, Lieut.. Col. Wilson, the
late Major Oscar Dawson, Cabell
Breckinridge, son of the General, and
aid-decamps, the guide, q prominent
citizen, myself and Sam, slave of the
General the devoted friend; who ac-
companied him to exile. or the par
ty, alone was paroled. The guide
led us toward the bank of the river,
where he expected to find "a bat
teau." This brought us into the
midst of IA thicket. We reached the
bank, but the boat was not there =
The guide said he would find it; and
bid us be patient until his RETURN
We unsadled our horses and resigned
ourselves to leisure. Sam spread Mr..
Breckinridge's blanket under shady
tree, and he reclined reading "Buf-
wer's Decline and Fall of Athens" !"
a work put in his hand by lady
friend at Sparta, Georgia, as he
passed through that delightful vii
lage. What subject to be read by
such man, so circumstanced, and at
such a time? 1t was nearly five
hours before the guide returned, and
few minutes after the "batteau"
came floating down the river in charge
of two young boys, who had been
fishing with it. This delay saved the
party from capture, for, after we had
gained the main road on the other
side, we learned that party of
twenty-five hundred cavalry, en- route
to Tallahassee, Florida, had been
struggling along nearly the whole
day, and that smaller force was be-
hind, to increase the garrison at
Hawkinsville. We swept between
the two! While awaiting the return
of the guide, the staff and myself oc-
cupied ourselves in wandering up and
down the Ocmulgee, then swollen by
recent rains, whose murky and tur-
bulent waters seemed, i'm their spite
ful and swift flow, to bid defiance to
us, and laughed at our hopes of pas
sage. 1t took some time to CROSS
The bank on the other side was quite
steep, and could only be reached after
much labor. Fortunately, Wilson
and Dawson proved to be good hands
with the paddle, and the passage was
safely made! But it took many trips.
First, the saddles, blankets, &C., were
taken over, and then each horse was
made to swim over, aided by one
of us in the boat. Finally, all was
across, but Mr.. Breckinridge, and
Wilson, Dawson and myself returned
for him. At the point of crossing the
river was fully three hundred yards
wide. We found him standing upon
the bank as If awaiting us, but with
his eyes gazing toward the West and
apparently lost in meditation. BY this
time the sun was sinking behind the
trees which skirted the river on the
side beyond him. Col. Wilson called
him three times before he seemed
aware of our presence, then with a
motion CT recognition, and gesture to
pause, he broke out with Judge A. Ii.
Meek's beautiful words
oh, come to the South, sweet, beautiful one,
Ills the cline OF the heart, tits the shrine
of the sun;
Where the sky ever shines with passion
And flowers spread their treasures OF Grim
son and snow;
Where the brceze, o'cr bright waters. gafts
incense along,
And gay birds are giancing In beauty and
song;
Where Summer smiles over DER mountain
And the best gifts of Eden, unshadowcd, res
Oh, come 10 the South,
The shrine of the sun,
And dwell in its bowers,
Sweet, beautiful one.
Oh, come to the South pnd I'll build thee a
Where winter shall never intrusivcly come,
The .quocn-likc catalpa, tho myrtle and
pine,
The gold-fruIted orange, the ruby -gcinmcd
vine,
Shall bloom round thy dwelling, and
shade thee ut noon,
While birds OF all music keep amorous
tune,
by the gush of glad fountains wen rest us
No trouble to yex us, no sorrows to grove |
oh come TO tho South, tits the home of the
heart
No sky like its own can deep passion i'm
part,
And Love keepeth ever his fervent control; /
oh, here would thy beauty most brilliantly |
beam,
And life pass away like some delicate
dream;
Each wish Of thy heart should realized he, |
And this beautiful land seem as Eden To /
thee.
Then come to the South,
The shrine OF the sun,
And dwell in Its bowers,
Sweet, beautiful one.
Weremaincd almost spell-bound by |
Ia IL