The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-02-07
Southern Individuality.

We extract from Mr.. De Forests entertaining
article, In Harpers Monthly for February the fol-
lowing Illustrations of Southern individuality:
Whether chivslrous or semichivalrous, the
Southerner has more individuality Of character
than the Northerner, and is one Of the most inter.
personsges on this continent, If not in the world.
He has salient virtues, vices and oddities; he has
that rich, practical humor which Is totally uncon.
scious Of being humorstic he In the gravest man
ner decorates his life with udicrous and romantic
adventures; In short, he is prize for the snec-
d0tist and novelist. Dixie has thousands of high
toned gentlemen who suppose themselves to be
patterns Of solemn and staid propriety, but who
would be fit to associate with the Cations and DR..
RIccabocca. In that land Of romance you will
find Uncle Toby, and Squire Western, and Sir Pitt
Crswley, and Colonel Newcome, and Mr.. Pick
wick, and LIE Chourineur, all moving Ia the best
society. and quite sure that they are Admirable
Crichtons.
In what other part Of the civilized earth would a
leading statesman write Q ponderous political work
in dialogue after the fashion Of the essays of Plato
and Cicero! Such gusto Of classical imitation
might possibly be found In Harvard Sophomore
but at the South we discover 1t in an ex.United
States congressman and ex-vice president of the
Confederacy. Alexander II. Stephens is as redo
lent of Greeks and Romans, az verdant with lore,
as Keitt or Pryor.
Where else could you meet such curious incar-
nation Of the apostolic character az -, planter
by profession and habitude. but preacher by mis-.
sion! He was passionate religionist /; II he met
you In the street he button-holed you and vented
upon you his dogmss; chance passersby were
beckoned to until he had circle you listened be.
horting in a little crossroads church, and having
been annoyed by two negroes stealing out Of the
house, he came TO solemn pause In his service,
and then spoke as follows: next Lords day
shall hold worship in this same place. shall
bring my double barreled gun; shall stand that
gun, brethren, in the pulpit, alongside Of me; and
IL any man gets up and goes out while am preach
ing, by! III shoot him ~
A half.fuddled planter called on me one evening
and invited me out TO treat Of stewed oysters.
The restaurant was the Darkroom Of bakery !;
we sat on broken chairs, among sticky pans,
spilled -four, andloaves Of dough the oyster cans
were opened with an old bowie knife. When the
stews were before rs. my friend observed: "Come,
ask g blessingf" As l declined, he pulled his
brosd-brimmed felt nom bis muddled Uranium and
said grace himself
Audscity, vehemence, recklessnsss, passion,
sentiment, prejudice, vanity, whimwhams, absur.
dties, culture, ignorance, courtlineo, bsrbarism !
The individual has plenty Of elbow room at the
South he kicks out of the traces with freedom
unknown to our steady pulling society he is q
bull in Mrs. Grundy's china-shop. Strsngest Of
ALL he believes that be Is like the rest Of the world
or, more accurately, that the rest OF the world
should be like him. - vat GA .os
The chivslrous Southerner has been too posi-.
lively and authoritatively political power to get
fair treatment In litersture. People have not de-
scribed him they have felt driven to declaim
about him they have preached for him or
preached against him. Northern pens have not
done justice to his virtues, nor Southern pens to
his vices.
How shall we manage this eccentric creature |,
We have been ruled by him we have fought
him, beaten him, made him captive now what
treatment shall we allot him Ny opinion IL, that
II would be good both for him and for rs If we
should perseveringly attempt TO put up with his
oddities and handle him as q pet. He resembles
the ideal white bears described In the "Pearl OF
Or's Island - "there amt no kinder creetur In
the whole world il you'll only get the right side Of
him. II is true that he has wanted 10 eat Us,
which Is exasperatng 1t s true that be still talks
OF eating rs at some convenient season, which Ia
ridiculous; but believe that he suffered too much
In ourlate struggle to seriously think Of renewing
IL; hold that his war snorts are mere election
buncombe. t-t 9 n ~