The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-11-24
JEFF. DAVIS.

JEFF. DAVIS.
A Pipe OF Peace Smoked with the Con.
federate Chief by the Chicago Times
Commissioner "A Talk That Avoided
all Live Subjects and Ended on a Salt
Deposit.
Especial Correspondence Chicago Times.J
GOING TO BEAuvoIR.
Mss.rsaIrrl CRY. MISS, November e-"Have yon
ever mrt JEFF. I,Xvs:"
such was the inquiry addressed to me by Judge
| Walker the historian and lit-rntvr, d few hours before
| departed from New Orleans.
"N-vrr," l RESPONDED with pinnforical brt witty
villa but l won't" said the Judge "lll spare
, your feeling, young man. At the same Time. "s you
are u urnaIi>t. take NY advice and don't leave The
South Without seeing the most renowned at south IN
mcn. To leave D:x'e without seeing Jrff. Davis would
be- like Quitting Rome without sering The Pope
I~s-seiltrd 10 this lD:lr, hut asked what p 'ksible ex-
cuse | c"uld have for troubling Mr.. Davis, VIII" hnd
prrs!stcntly declined ~ be interviewed fur several
years.
"iinns the interview" said the Judge with energy.
"Yuu have seen l.imc,ln-ynu must zee the heal Of
the other eide. When Tnn are AZ old No ] an you Will
DO pleased to remember TINT you met Davis, and form
ed your own impression ab"ut him. Id En down with
you t. Branv0ir Station myself, hut Am Detained by
business. However. Ill give you a note I introduce.
,ion to Mr.. Davis. You had better stnp at Mississippi
City. brcans. you will not fad h"lel accommodations
at B+auvnir."
This Was nil satisfactory enough, but I didn't like
the Idea Of hunting mp the bead and front Of tho late
"~ff"ndinx C"nfrdrrucy In his own ca tie, and. besides.
whom l did find him. il. Indeed, l should See him ut ul:
what could | say 10 the famous old grntlrlIanf
'nE wox'r EAT ror,"
was Judge Walker 5 tnnical remark. lyon will find
b N entirely free from hautcur and all that Kind OF
Thus braccd mp I took my lc:ter Of introduction and
started on the a.terhoun train Of yesterday tor this
point The ruin was falling ~ great, Gull, splasi.ing
heaps, II the latter word appll. 6 to any liquid, and ns
wi, whirlcd along the steel rails Of the New Oflc4"s
and Mobile Road The cypress swsinrs that fringe on
tho hast the Liuisianian metropolis looked more
gloomy and s]epn:chral than ever. Perhaps that sInis-
,er.appenrIng tree suits the history Of a State that has
been swept by many n pl .cne. South Carolina hns her
palmrtt"-L"ut;tan" her cypress Addressing her 'is'
ter c",ntnonwraltbs. shr nHy, like the dismal Youth In
"Kokcby," deliver herself thus:
Let merry England proudly rear
Her blended roses. bought 20 dear;
Let Scotland bind her bunnet llu.
With heath and hnre boil St0rItd In dew:
On fay. I'd Erin's canst be Seen
The leaf she loves, ur emerald green;
But, sisters, Irvine no wreath for me,
Or twine Il Of the cypress tree.
1t may b. as we'll to remark, In thi. sol.mn conncc-
tion, that the cypress wtnd Is ahnnt the must useful NJ
Southern tin'brrS. 1t Gin stand out against wet and
dry rot bitter than any other kind If tree, because It
may BE- called arirhibiOus rs 4 "r~g-txhlr,' and. con.
seqncntly, suffers little II anything from droutt or
moisture.
Toward = .tiall we had cleared the little peninm'a
lying between Lake ponchartran on tho N"rth aud
the Sound on the South, cruising the channel between
The bodies nf water referred to and Pearl River, over
~,rsstle w"rks and bridges into Mississippi, where We
struck the pine fires 8 that fellow the line of the Gulf
for many q sumbre mile, rnn lightly over the long
bridge ut Buy 81. Louis, and
ARRIVED AT THE rLAcE
from which I write, In the m.lst VI thick darkness,
at about 5 o'clock.
Mississippi ti.y IA, like most OF the towns along this
line of railroad. q summer watering place. was ior-
tuna,o In finding n very good hotel iu partial running
order. The .nin still f u rs though the whole broad
ocear were In the clouds. The wind blew H. sullrn
gusts, aud the ruar OF the savags su {, not n hundred
yards away, made a weird accompaniment to the storm.
Must Southern places are badly made mp for ~wintsruc
cumniudation. Nobody need complain Of the vcntila.
tion. a Southern hotel In tho winter SEASON seems 10
the to be all ventilation. Woe, In the South, to the
man VIII" I: els sure that the drauvht will kill him.
Liko Shassprar-s coward, he ill die n thou, nad
deaths In about that number Of minutes. Bare, board.
ed doors, coldly whitcwashed walls, ra,tlinE window
.h%t,sr,ms,l these =. arc GlHrae'1,is,ic Of the ds';rtsa
found In Mississippi City a pretty accurate
MODEL YoR BLEAK Housx.
Nevertl,rless-tha Is always II g"od word to begin q
paragraph with did nut fil to take my usual a'loT.
ancc OF sleep, although the informal rncket Of III" Gle.
ments are anything but II sootl'ing speclcs Of lullaby.
This morni s | "ar"sr betinr,," and like the man Of
Bos nrld, called for u hors.. The animal was
there, but there WINS DO saddle. Therefore. | had to
take a spring wagon with the brast and u very black
and burIy ~~nigger" driver besides. | told this human
SNOWFALL where | wished to Z" and he grinnrd hu civ
"dwine to SEQ de Muksuh JEFF. , h! Well, l worked
for him \ year ago. but after Mrs. Dorsey died, my
mother went hotnr, sab, and / quit Nassau J.n."
why? Didn't you like him" | aBk.d.
20 yes, sab, YES, indeed, sab; but inter- my ole wo-
man lrlt. l got Find o lonesome, and I'D rath'r work
'r"nn de hotel, sah."
This relni. drd ME Of that tender passage from Lum-
bard rickety "Ol' Shady"
Good bye, Mass'r JEFF! goodbye, Mass'r stcphcnl
Excuse this nigcah for tsk'n' his heaven.
"Drive ahead TO Davis's plantation" said. and We
were soon bowling Eastward over sandy roads und
through the pine trees, which wore no. sufflci. ntly
tack t" CONCEAL the Mississippi Suund, on the waters
of which 2 stray sunbeam or twOG% struggling desperate.
" with The hUgglsh clouds ,hone ftfully. Al rr n few
miles We wheeled to the right and drove straight along
the Tat beach, pass!n: several planters mansi"ns, all
large wo den buildings with immense lurlicvs, On cur
way. Tho planters like 90 live
on TIE SEASIDE,
but their plantations are back in the country fmr q
moro sterile Soil, eIocrt for fine trees and sea shrlls,
than the coassof Southern Mississippi 1t would be
hard to di.cpyer.
Atintervals, running Into the Tea. were long plank
walks, supported by fragile trrstle work. with batning
sheds at the water ,trinini. A lew islands, apparently
covered with scragsy timber, showed daily a. re the
waves to the East ami South.
At nc We IchCuCu q lNIEe MOUSE, W IN COtlIDOnlOus
outbuildings and the usual %nd"rnments Of private
residences In this region. The prevailing cn'pr of th.
building 10 white, with broad and high, hrswn, wooden
stepG leading up to the Iortico. aud . vrianda OF
graceful proportions, affording rs' npe frUIn the Fun
and :hc benefit of tie fresh Sea breeze In tho sitting
days Of Summer. The grounds were spuci"is enou= h
but had a lit!)e Of that bedraggltd look which iul!.ws
persistent rain and tho melancholy decay of fol- &c.
Beauvoir Mansion, iniIrritrd by Jefferson Davis fruH
Mrs. Dorsey, Is n typical Southern house, large, pic
tnr"tqnr, cnol, and situated comm !ndingly above the
salt water. For = man who has drained to tlr dregs
the bitter cup mingled vi aintit on and defeat. the pX-
President III the Cnnfedrracy may congratulate him.
self on having succeeded tn an In inheritance SO charIn
Ing. Before getting out Of my vehicle, | sen. my lit.
ter VI Introduction to the house BY a servant. who
soon returned, saying, that Mr.. l,av's invited me III
60 In, and to wait Tor n little while, as Le Was 10,
quite prepared to see me.
INVENT IN"
accordingly, and was ushrrrd intna handsome Iarlnr
crowded, a'nost, with r~aintinga, engravInga, ao
other artistic "hj'c cts that attcstcd the cultivated .sst.
OF the Inhabitants. particularly noticed a very well
cxecuI ed steel engraving Of Mr.. Darts, which repre-,
srnted him M a young man, with clean.cut feature,
aud . nne. thick h.nd Of hA:r.
While l was whiting (nr the distinguished host two
gentlcr'cn entered the room, and one. n middle sized
stout, iron.gray man, whose hair stond q good deal OF
end, Introduced himself Ms Joseph Davis, nephew o.
Jefferson. ] gave my name. and he introduced til,
other rentlrInan, n tall, Till. somewhat handsome
person, bordering on old age. as General Adams.
General Joe Davis-for h. worc the gray during the
wnr-thrn said To me: my uncle Is busy with BIZ
bouk, and burns the midnight oil q good deal lately
Besides, he Is not well, and is consequently, a little
la:e In rising. lie will be In presently, however"
&c neral Adams said "Tns Times Is a pancr o
great enterprise. ] read il q great deal. How lon;
have you been Snu'h!"
told him. and he was abnnt to make some remark
, when the baby daughter OF General Davis wan brough
into tho apartment, and, in TIL enthusiasm crca ed b,
the appearances of the pretty little thing, Genera
Adams forgot what no was about N say.
Presently there was the sound If rather rnpit
foot steps, with q martial ring IN them, In the hail
The dnor epcned, and q man 4 Chpst-rHeldiAn heigh
, about Ave feet ten fnchrs-s slightly but hadsomrl,
built, with finnish white hair and short, rather epsrse
!. "clumpy" white beard entered. Isis G, cs wrrU era,
blue, and the left had In II u slight cast, with n,m
suspicion of ~cltarac;. lie saluted General Adam
with cuurtly grace. ] rose and he came toward mt o
once, calling ime by mime. which had, Of course, beel
8. given by Jndgu Walker In the introductory letter.
The others retired, md Ir Da Ia. who was smok
Inc q cigar, seated himself, mOtionIng to mo IN DIT
likewise. Then, with the pever-fnling p%olit.ncas a
these people. he took o fragrant Havana from hi
vest pocket. handed 1t tu INC and gave me hin cigar I
light i: with, which l did. It WIS thus that I smoke,
THE cALrMENr OF PEACE,
90 IN sneak with jefferson Davis.
Well, SIR" hi said, In 4 fine, full, manly voice, O
great swr.tness ~ we'll, Il am very glad to SEQ so
and hear from Judge Walker"
expressed my THINKS, and, not being a good ham
at diplomacy, o! which the great rebel 10 o pro:oun,
master, | remarked:
.srb. tindnrss of ,Judpe Walkcr msde me- troull