Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-04-15
TIE CALM DIGNITY OF GENERAL LEE
The Hero Of the Atlantic.

| a uuSualG spot, We take II 10 DC The rUck bound
| coast ul Nova Scotia not only the actual edge,
| but the sterile belt which binds the sea. Six
months OF wnt i. no genial spring or autumn,
| and i Spasul VI summer, arc Its climate
| Arruud it, huge tides come swelling III, and
| the widest 1T tcuIpcsts rage. Ii not telnpcstS,
| there are currents which no skill can, with GER
tanty, measure. The last involuntary visitor
to this shurt, the last victim Of Ties: elemental
forces, aided largely by mans trlly and lncapa-
city, was, IL fortnight ago, the huge steamer
Atlantic, y ircightcd with nearly Il thousand
HELPLESS human beings. She persisted there.
1t is not, however, on the details I'll that awful
scene, familiar 10 our readers We propose to
bcSow thought, but on one incident, much
plcasarter to dwell on than those OF death and
suffering.
On that coast and sterile lanl, close, We in
fer, to the ocean edge, Is Il modest parish Of
the missionary branch Of the Church of Eng
laid. The church building, doubtless is
poor one the parsonage not gaudlly or p!ctur-
csoucly attlrcd, for ivy will hardly cling in
those wild withstand the gcbe, if glebc there
lie, anything but fruitful But at this hunbe
altar ministercd and still ministers, unaware,
probably, Of the fame he has won, brave,
large hearted parish priest. His name is
Ancient" lie is So unknown that We caunot
find out his Christian nlrlc. The parish is
called that Of "Tcrcncc Bay"
When, on that dark April night after mid
night and Ecturc dawn, the Atlantic was hurried
upon The rocks IL Mars Point. among the very
first that came to the water edge Was Mr. An
ccnt. The wall oi the victims, above the sound
Of the surf, had aroused him, and he hurried to
the scene There, for time, with the poor
help he could command, he labored, and
did all he could to assist and Succor those
who r:cupcd-thc cowardy sailors leading
the way There were no lllc-boats moth
ing but fishermen snacks, no adequate
lights, no wrecking apparatus. This doue,
we read-and it needs but the simplest
words to tell the tale-thc ''Rcvcrend Mr. An
cent saw some human beings, woman and
child, he thought cnging to the rigging lie
hestatcd not an instant, but calling Tor yolun-
tcers Che got but twO) he manned 4 small boat,
and, steering it through the breakers, reached
safely the stranded ship, climbed the sides,
reached the rigging, and rescued and brought
safely TO shore the two or three survivors who
renamed there Where do We read of trucr
galIantry than this? No soldier who ever
won his Victoria cross deserved it more
than this poor priest Nor did the work
end here. All during that dreary dawn
and the next day did he labor for the living,
the dying and tic dead Mr.. Ancient, we are
told, gave clothing and food out OF his scanty
stock to the survivors, and ''hclpcd with his
own hands to dig separate graves for the dead,
and then read the Church Of England service
over the remains. Never could the grand
words of that noble Liturgy have sounded more
pothcticalIy than when uttered over such VIC
Tins by such lips We may fancy them to be
said not only over the graves Oh shore, but the
wandering graves OF those who never may DC
recovered for do they notspeak Of the second
coming, when both the earth and the SEA shall
give up their dead -
Such, then, is the heroic dcci, the modest
charity, the touching scene on which the busy
world now sadly aud gratefully dweIls. Viii,
We ask, will admiration and gratitude be con-
fined to thoughts and words? We trust aud
we think not. There were American men,
aud women, and children 10 that i-tated craft.
She was tonnd to an American port 1t was
to save them that this brave man vcniurcd
his life. Without pretending to Indicate what
form it should take, we do urge that thcrc
should be somc substantial recognition Of this
brave act on this side of the Atlantic. No one
can doubt what his own countrymcn will do
BuHtntOrc Guzcttc.
LEGISLATION IN PENNSYLvANIA.-Dls Disgrace
full as are always the closing days of session at
Harrsouburg, this year 5 performance caps the
climax. With re kess, rlotous rush, bill
after bill, resolution after resolution was brought
forward and put through, nobody knowing ex
actly whit was done or lett undonc; and endless,
OF course, will be the sins of omission and com
mission, diScovcrabIc when We come to review
the secues OF the struggle. The bills poured
in by swarms, by shoals, Oh the day before add
iournment; and they might as well have been
passed in lump for all the deliberate attention
they got The press report OF the proceedings
stating the case in the mlldcst form, says that
things were done with such remarkable cc!eri-
ty that bills of three, four or FIVE printed pages
in length were passed by their titles in about
three minutes, 1u many cases the rap!dlty was
SO great as to prevent the reporters from OBJ
tanning the titles satisfactorily, and it was, Of
course, out Of the question to attempt to una
I'VE the bills" The governor iuterposed half
a dozen vc,ors during the affair, but this was
mere drop in the bucket. Let us call such a
tumble splendid scene Of lobbying and logrol-
ling, but let us not dignity it as lesislatiug.
PihrhIrhia Rccord