Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-10-08
JOHNSON, MAYNARD AND CHRAT-l
HAM.
Extracts from Correspondence of New York
Harald

ANDREW JOHNSON. -
MoRRisTowN, TENN, Sept. 27, 1872.-
Not "over the walnuts and the wine, for
in such luxuries Mr.. johnson never indulg-
es, and in this particular latitude hotels
frown upon theienervating practice Of supple
menting dinner with dessert, but over a
tough old chicken, that must have dodged
hundred thieving darkies for full gener-
alton, we discussed the political situation.
The proprietor of the hotel gave us the
head OF the table, Andy at one side, hold
! ing on to chicken wing with the same
tenacity he held on to that fugitive parch-
ment, the constitution, and your CORES
pondent at the other, wondering il it was
worth Andy's while to make such trial Of
| his teeth and digestion at every wayside
| inn for the sake of being elected Congress
| man at Large. The more l looked at An
! dy--and / had to look at him over my
| chicken bone, while l ''wrestled" with i
| ten minutes at stretch-the more he won
| upon my best regards, not because of the
stubborn energy with which he worked his
way through the dinner, regardless ofsuch
| terrible obstacles as fossiiized chicken meat
and ancient pig liver disguised as tender
loin steak-but fJr the thorough democra-
! cy and the honest frankuess of his 'istyle.n
HAPPY ANDY.
"You look better than when you were in
| in the White House," l remarked, sand
presume you feel much happier"
'Happierw he exclaimed. "You cannot
conceive it. Happier thousand times. l
wouldn't exchange Ihy freedom now to be
ten times President. | never knew what
| freedom was until Dow."
Mr.. johnson spoke rapidly and energeti-
cally and evidently meant what he said.
His face has filed out since his White
House days, and indicates full
health and careful living. If ex-sherif
James O'Brien were about twen-
ty years older his resemblance TO Andy
Johnson Of the present day and hour
would be very close. Both men have the
same fulness of feature and the same small
gray, slightly leering, partly sinister and in
expressive eyes, in which you are some
times puzzled to tell whether the light of
honest intelligence or that of the instinct of
cunning resides | should have hesitated
to make comparison between two such
| men but for the near resemblance in the
size and color Of their optics. In repose
the windows of Andy Johnson's soul seem
framed in tho same design and translucen-
cy as Mr. O'Brien's, but there the resem-
blance begins and ends. When the old dis
| mounted veteran of Tennessee
GETS AsTRIDE OF THE CONSTITUTION
aud rides it as Of yore those eyes of his send
| forth fire like the concentrated luminosity
of all Golconda's diamonds and our City
Hall calcium lights on a Fourth of JGly
night brought to a focus the size Of two
diminutive whortleberries. Johnson can
| not help having few of the traits of the
demagOgue, but doubt if there be on the
political boards to-day a man OF greater
moral courage and greater force of charae-
ter. If designed taking my hero (Andy)
for what he never lie; if should Ike to con-
cude that he is the greatest success as a
stump speaker, and the honestest sample of
a politician in all this broad Republic,
would stay away from these triangular dis
| cussions and cherish the fond delusion all
alone. sat lately under the waving shadow
| of his stalWart right arm and heard him
hsrangue an audience so dull and undem.
Onstrative that doubt if they knew wheth-
er they were at camp meeting or a po-
litical discussion. did not expect
any great variety in the matter or
manner of the speakers, bu; was little
ast0nished to hear such literal exactness
between the speech of yesterday and the
one of to-day. Leaning back and listening
| to our former Chief Excellency-listening
to the rerbdtin ct literGtim appeals, fami-
| liar in our mouths as households words,
appeals to the flag, the constitution and the
country-I felt irresstibly reminded of the
| cockney Snowman, "Step up, ladies and
! gentlemen, and witness the greatest moral
exhibition Of the age. This yere animal is
the royal hippopotamus, which, when close
| ly persood, turns upon his haxis and wan
ishes up bis vertical periphery. st, o up"
| That Snowman was fraud, but this beech
| grew into a habit of his life, and he G sam-
ed not what a beggarly impostor be was
making of himself. Just so with my friend
Andy. He means all right, but it never oc-
ours to him that too much constitution y
like too much plum pudding, is apt to sur
| felt and disgust. However, where a man
has different audience daily this is not so
much noticed. Maynard and Cheatham
| have
! SPOKEN THE SAME SPEECHES ALL ALONG
! through East Tennessee, and why not
| johnson? But now we are to have change.
| We are penetrating Rebel territory, where
the man of the people will be Gen. Frank
| Cheatham, where johnson will have to
talk less about planting himself against the
heresy of seces sion, aud Maynard will have
to sing small about negro rights and Rebel
misdoings. But to my subject, which is
an interview with Andy, while over that
aforesaid antique of the barnyard specie.
HORACE MAYNARD.
Horace Maynard is very different man
hfrom Andrew Johnson-as different, in
common parlance, as chalk is from cheese.
Physically, morally and mentally they diff
fer. The one is tall, 1.-THE and sinewy as a
poplar; the other ample, robust and fair
propoTtioDed as a chestnut tree. The
former is casuist, hair splitter, man Of
tricks and devices; the latter broad, un-
conscious demagOgue, hitting right and left
with sledge-hammer, and inficting more
| damage sometimes on himself and his
friends than he does upon his enemies.
MAYNARD Is A BELLIES LETTREsMAN.
| A student of books, something in meta
physics as taught by the Baconian philoso-
pliers and not by Herbers Spencer; squint-
ing at the Spiritualism Of Andrew Jackson
| Davis; shallow in chronological science, as
witness his "Euthanasia" prophecies; but,
on the whole, one who in company with a
very few gave to the last Congress a trife
of character for literary culture. Johns on
llread the constitution, Rollins Ancient
History-Tom Paine, perhaps, Prescott and
DAVIS most likely, and the files of the New
(Yoil Herald most certainly. He might
have found occasional relaxation in Sui
Lovinggood, Cooper's "Spy," the "Travels
of Capt. Cook" Atemus Ward, and the
adventures of Roderic Random;" but it
is doubtful if he ever sought acquaintance
with the Confessions of Rousseau -
the sayings of Rochefoucald, the playful
philosophy Of Addison or the subtle dis
QUESTIONS of DeQuincy. With this whole
classical caboodle Maynard is familiar.
Maynard would have pleaded with all the
sophistry of sinuous intellect on the side
of King Charles and in defence of the ship
money imposition. johnson would have
taken the place Of Pym or Hampden, de-
nounced the act and hurled defiance at the
monarch. The one in any other Govern
ment would ever be on the side of power,
the upholder of tradition and prerogative;
the other would always be- found Gin hot
water) on the side Of the masses. May
nard in JOhnson's place as President would
have acquiesced in every measure Of recon-
struction proposed by Congress. johnson,
if bell wing he was absolutely right, would
have pulled the Rocky Mountains down be,
4 fore yielding his opinions.