Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-01-08
W WhITNOhI q OO.f
Publishers and Proprietors
The Battle Of New 0rleans-"Our Uncle's'
Account of It.
BY PAUL Il. HAYSE.

From the Riverside Magszine.l
He was stately old gentleman, "our
uncle six feet high at least, and as
erect at seventy-fve as swamp cane or
an Indians arrow. He had q way Of
squaring his broad shoulders backward
which threatened to snap the strongest
military braces that were ever made. To
strangers, and grown up civilians gene
rally, his manners we're naughty, but
with US boys he threw off his dignity and
became genial and communicative Only
at times, in describing some scene Of
conflict in which he had taken part, hi.
gray eyes would flash keenly under ,beil
huge thickets of eyebrows, and his voice
roar like lions.
Now, my brother Jem and /, being his
favorite nephews, had been honored with
q standing invitation to spend our Christ.
mas holidays at his fine plantation, "The
Magnolias," from the period when Jem
was ten and only eight years old. We
liked this, you may be sure, for not only
were we treated like couple Of young
princes, in the matter of sweet cordials,
cakes, tarts, jellies and plum puddings
not only had we the command of spen-
did double-barreled Manton," and a
long duck-gun to boot, but our vacation,
properly ending about the last of Decem-
ber, was, at the special request of our
uncle, extended to the ninth day of Jan
usry. The truth is, that the day before
this-namely, the eighth-was the old
soldiers most precious occasion of re-
newing his youth, of recalling the fame
and prowess of the past, and living once
more among the scenes and actors of a
contest, in some respect the most curious
and memorable in American history.
The whole neighborhood were invited
to dinner upon this anniversary. And,
o me what dinners they were Ones s
mouth waters at the very thought of the
mingled delicacY and richness of the
fare As for our uncle, he was resplen-
| dent
And when, the ladies having retired
and the Madeira circulating freely, he
filed his own glass to the brim, and pro-
posed as toast, "The day we celebrate" "
why, his pride and satisfaction seemed
to ooze-as it were-out of the pores OF
his skin, aud to FIRE the tip of his noble
Roman nose until it shone like beacon
of glory
But, after all, it was not until the COM
pany had dispersed, and we were left
alone by the great hall hearth, piled up
with blazing hickory, that our uncle-a
bachelor, by the way-sppeared really to
enjoy himself He would be, despite his
enthusiasm, q trihe stiff and formal be-
fore his guests, as if he doubted the SYM
pathy of some but before us he poured
out his whole heart
His idol was Jackson; his great theme,
as have intimated, the battle of New
Orleans.
"Boys," be used to begin, there are
not half a dozen people now living who
can tell you the exact truth about fight
that saved this country from ruin-yesr
(excitedly) "fools may contradict, but |
say, ruin because, if our army had been
disabled, the British would have swarmed
up the Mississippi, combined with tseir
forces from Canada, and overrun the
whole West
Come now, Tom aud Jem, don't de-
ceive me; are you fit, both of you, to
listen to a good. bloody story tonight, or
does Molly's pudding set heavy on your
siomachs, and, in consequences, on your
brains2 Out with the fact, and shame
the devil !"
(Of course we voted for the story, and
scorufully ignored the Puddinel.
"Very well, he resumed; you know
something, for I've often told you, Of the
causes that brought about that famous
war Of 1872; how, in their hatred to
everything American, tbe Rnglish took