The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-05-15
John NIOrrlsSey.

ON exchanges, of all shades Of political
opinion. arc filled with accounts OF John Nor
OF Jay Gould's journal. the departed cx-pugil.
list. sporting man and politician Is treated
with much fairness. He had grierous faults
and signal virtues, and, now thnt the grave
that the good was predominant His earliest
ambition was the brutal one Of the prize-ring,
but he never struck n foul blow, and display
ed IL certain kind OF physical va!or that war
gnmbIed extensively, but nobody ever nc.
cused him Of playing other than a square
game, and instances &C. OF MS maGnanl,nit y ana
Piled to his credit. In this peculiar field. Hon.
Simon Cameron comes W. with testl-
mony. He tells how n young man had taken
rissey's establishment. The boy confessed
his crime to his father, who saw nothing be-
fore him but disgrace and dishonor. The
mother suggested that y friend should inter-
much against his Will. He went 10 the gam.
bier, told him The whole story, and assured
him that disgrace and ruin would be brought
upon all cstiniable family II the money lost
sey listened quietly to all that was told him,
and then said: "Wcli, that's all very we'll;
but the young fellow lost the money fair; and
MS for him beln' a poor innocent young dove
that didn't know nothing OF the world, that's
all stuff; he's been In our place often, and
won many Il pile. but for the old woman's
sake III see what / can do. Come to my
house tomorrow morning, and like rs not |
can make the thing all right" The next
morning the gentleman came as he was d.
rected, and with the simple words: Tell the
old woman to keep her boy away from sport
ing houses" Morrissey handed him the exact
sum that the young clerk had lost. "Ifsuch
an action said Mr.. Cameron. in conclusion,
'docs not cover q multitude of sins. my ~
years of life have taught me no lessons and
brought me no knowledge"
While In Congress anu tic Legislature OF
his State, MOrriSScy did nothing to deserve
! the name of statesmanshiD, but, In the midst
of a saturnaIis,, the widest and wickcdest
ever known in the United States. he was per-
tsonally incorruptible, when many Christian
statesmen" who looked upon him rs a moral
leper. fell by the waysidc and were caught III
most nefarious actions.
II is among tho most wonderful things OF
our later history. that In the most pluus and
wealthy Republican district in New York,
this man, with all Of his well known habits,
and the most eminent men, In church and
State, for the Senatorshlp of the New York
General Assembly.
The prime secret OF his success, amid SO
many tremendous obstacles, was, we think,
an i%ndomitable determination TO be the head
man, the boss, In whatever he undertook.
Later In life, though he chung to his old pur.
suits in the sporting world he strenuously
ton that they would not altogether be
ashamed of. To this end he made the race
for Congress-, anu,g gambler as he was, shone
favOrably alongside Of men who had all the
advantages OF education and association, bu1
who were not honest. lie felt kccnly thu
lack OF mental culture and spared no eHpenst
to make his son u better man than hllIlScli
But i'm this, the chief desire of his life, he was
doomed 10 defeat. His only son died. IRON
excessive m0kin ii Is said, II In his grave
the rugged and devoted father buried his bes
aspirations. From the date OF the boy:
death Morrissey seemed to decay himself
The giant frame collapsed and the light hat
gone out of his life. In his last illness IT /
said that he humbly bowed toa Higher Powe
and craved forgiveness for whatever was cFl
in his career.
j AS he was sincere In the day of his health
I'm merely mundane affairs, we doubt not M
sincerity when the world was passing IRON
him. We think too that the pardon he mas =
freely received from man Will not DC denlct
by GUd, who has promised to welcome IN,
worst Of his creatures, even at the clcfeht!
hour, who come to him submissivcly AM
with confident faith. The last work ever Ut
tered by this remarkable man Was u sacrc'
Il good woman. Indeed, We may venture Il
say that she could not have been otherwise
for the nOblcr traits Of her sons ~ciiarhcte
were. just such aSonly Il worthy niothcr coul'
transmit. Very few men. with John MOTIFS
sey's CHANCES and tcmptat :ons, would nay
made so signal II reputation aIu done 30 HUI
evil. While his life Is not one 10 be alt0getlc
, commended, it had rcdecming features, anu l
will be well for many Il rcputed better ma
to be able to say atthc supreme moment o
existence that, amid Il thousand faults, ther'
was no hypocrisy and enron
ictc uHd Sentinel.