Wilmington journal., 1875-02-05
HE AmUSES HIMSELF.

Such were the bitter words which
says the Baltimore Gazette, whethe
. with or without cause, fell from th
: great soldiers lips, when, in the agon
OF Waterloo, Grouchy fingered q
=, Gembloux. We recall them now i
, view of what we read of the conviva
: recreations of our Chief Magistrate a
moment when one part of the LAM
of which he is the Executive Chief j
suffering under an agony kindred,
not as sharp, as any technical her
ever felt in the disaster of a heav,
fight. Tn President, and all o
u.s. - for the party included Secretar.
Belknap, Attorney General Williams
and Sheridan's staff officer, Col. Free
whose whereabouts we now ascer
tain, at the moment when Louisiana
typical of the whole Southwest, is il
the crisis of her fate-ostentatious
ard with no pretext of duty, go te
Philadelphia on Saturday nigh
frollc, and, as we are advised, return
on Sabbath night" Now, we wisl
it understood at the outset that we
fully recognize the canon of good
taste which forbids unnecessary OF
wanton allusion to the personal and So
clal relations Of men in office,
high or low. The penalties of office
and dlgnities would be too severe #
4
wlnked at, and we are not even dis
posed to apply strict rule of propri
ETY.. Time was when sterner doc
trlne prevailed, and we are conscious
of kind of reverential yearning for
the practices of the past, simply be-
cause We know that in the past there
was public virtue and popular appre-
citation of it. From Washington to
Buchanan inclusive, there was no in
stance of Presidents paying visits
still less, if possible, of iunketing
! about. This reserve was of the same
self-denying category as refusing
to accept presents, and to appoint re-
lations to Office, and to maneuver for
an increase of salary. Hence, natur-
ally enough, old fashioned folks rather
like to think of it. Mr.. Lincoln broke
in upon the rule, but he did it mod
erstely. He was not visiting, and
certainly was a perfectly temperate
man, with no relish FOR garish din
per or supper parties. His enjoy
ments ere-with feet up around
fireplace and no restraints on CONVEX
liberal latitude oftalk, and au-
dience fit. though few. Poor mani he
never had time, and We do not think
he had any inclination to travel, with
his Cabinets "a hundred and fifty, mules, to
Saturday evening club. We do An
drew Johnson the justice to say that
he restored, as far as in him lay, the
ancient rule of reserve, certainly as to
present taking. He 'swung round
the circle, once; but it was wide
circle, and he never, as we have said,
had his particular pets to junket with.
Nor do we believe that any instance
can be found of a President leaving
the seat of Government during the
short session of Congress on any pre-
text-certainly rot on such a one a.
Mr. Childs' Saturday-evening club
furnished. So clear is our judgment
on this point, that, failing to reconcile
what is superficial with that which is
obviousl right, we are driven almost
to look below the surface. to ascertain
whether, after all, this excursion haG
not some latent and serious aim and
jurisdiction. Secretary Fish was not
there. His soul ia possessed with jeal
ousy of Philadelphia and her Centen-
nial, and he bitterly recalls the fact
that the President, since the demise of
Murphy, never visits New York. MIR.
Bristow was not there; having con
veniently sprained his shoulder in
falling out Of the uncomfortable bed
il which he is condemned to lie. Vice
President Wilson was there; and Sen
ator John Scott, and Governor Bigler,
aud Centennialism generally. There
is but one solution of this odd congre-
cation. The Amphitryon of Pbiladel
phia hopes, by bringing these antago-
nistic folk under the influence of his
champagne and his intellect (the Vice
President, however, does not drink the
one, and has not much left of the other
to reconcile all differences and resusci-
tate the Republican party-now, &C
cording to Mr.. Wilson, in state of
syncope. We should look with ex-
treme solicitude for the consumma-
tion, by such means, of this great re-
suit. Poor New Orleans gives up her
innocent Mardi Gras. The President,
amidst all his imperial tendencies, has
no talent for the violin, and junkets at
Philadelphia.