Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1875-04-15
THE TENNESSEE DAVID AND JONATHAN

1t might have been supposed that among othei
effects OF Senator Andrew Johnson's speech
Southern affairs would have been the rou.ing OF
the sleeping lion couched in the person Of Ex-
Senator, otherwise "Parson" Brownlow. The
provocstion offered by the hero OF 'my policy"
WAS of sort precisely fitted to bring the Parson
out. and out he has come tearing. with roar
sufficiently reverberatory to upset all corrupt
politicians. Mr.. Brownlow, indeed, rather weak
ems the force Of his vengeful leap by declaring
that Andy and he made war on each other thir-
ty-eight years ago and have kept it up ever
since. That sort of admission rather conveys
the idea that the Parson would have made fight
over his successors speech in the Senate, no
matter what it had contained and solely upon
the principle established so long ago. Still,
much allowance must be made for the heat of .
noble nature.
Mr.. Brownlow 8 review just published, of his
antagonists career, as preliminary to his ideas
of Mr.. Johnsons speech in the Senate, will un.
doubtedly attract the attention Of the country.
and will most likely give the smart writers for
the London papers another text upon which
to dilate OH the swift destruction of
political morality..in the United States. 1t is
Huaeo odby LSo lue attention Wild
which thes. remarkable revelations will be re-
Geived In the first place men are 70 constitu-
ted AZ to be always reaiy to take interest in
fight and in tho secoad place .,3rownlow and
johnson have both been rather the butts Of the
public. whether he kill Cassie or Cassie him
is matter Of Indifference to large number of
people, and it is this impartial frame Of mind
which renders the Joanson-Brownlow fracas so
inviting. No Amercsu states nan was ever
more vigorously complmentPd than the great
swinger OF the circle Is by the Kentucky Parson,
but the compliments are OF decidedly
leit-handed sort. Thus, when in
psraphrasing the old adage, "Put 4
beggar on horseback" &C., Browulow suggests
substituting johnson" for "beggar" and
'White House for horseback" the sllusion
becomes far from tasteful to the individual re
ferred to. Further on, Mr.. Brownlow becomes
In manner inspired in inventing new forms of
giving the {" lie direct" Thus he says that in
all the history Of the Arabian Nights Or Don
Quixote there is nothing more fictitious than
Andrew Johnson's statement OF the Tennessee
case" This is certainly charge covering the
whole ground, and this singular tribute to the
character Of contemporary Is full Of such pow.
erful presentments. "Unmitigated lying" il
the miidest OF the "prologues to the lmper a
theme" WEIGH the Psrson allows himself to use.
"Bully," "DeAd Dog" "Lswless Presidential,
Conspirator are a few Of the af1ectlouate term
spilled to Andrew by his fellow citizen from
Tennessee. How could Dickens have named
one of his gentlest and most amiabe characters
after one OF the most rampageous individuals OF
whom there Is apy record
But now wa all wait in pleasing suspense to
hear what Andrew will have to say. The Par.
son adjures "MacduG" to 'Iay on"-not 4 yery
felicitous challenge, seeing that "Macdun" got
decidedly the best of it-and we may be sure
there will be an answering roar before many
hours. Cool, kindly old men what pity for
their own pleasure. that they have not got thir-
ty-eight years more in which to make fur 1y.