The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-03-03
4 VISIT TO THE HOME OF JEFF
DAVIS.

MISSISSIPPI CTTY, Miss, January a,
1881. In company with a lady from
Hampden county, Mrs c. S. W., visit
! ed to-day at Beauvoir the residence of
Jefferson Davis. This place is about
four miles east of Mississippi, and is very
| charmingly located on Mississippi sound,
with an illimitable view OF the gulf OF
Mexico, studded near the shore with
few islands, and locked in on the East
| promontory or long spit Of land running
quite distance out at sea. The house
itself is in the center of a large enclosure,
| made beautiful with evergreen trees and
shrubbery, among which are conspicuous
the magnolia, orange and the Pride of
India trees, seldom found out of Florida
in the same perfection of luxuriant
growth as here, and scattered about in a
way to indicate that nature had more to
do with their arrangement than the hand
of man. Ascending high flight of stairs
to the gallery we were admitted to a wide
and deep corridor, thence to the parlor,
large, airy and comfortably furnished
room where numerous paintings orna-
mented frescoed walls, while two or more
easels supported paintings, among which
[ recognized st. Cecilia One distin-
gushing feature of the room is that it has
in the center circular cushioned seat
that bespeaks comfort and abundant hos
pitality. a glance from the front win
dows upon the scene before you suffices
to show that good taste was displayed in
the selection Of the location and that it is
not inappropriately named ga pOut-
rance" We were met by Gen "Joe
Davis, "nephew of his uncle" gen
ial, good looking and kindly.disposed
gentleman, a beautiful, bright eyed little
girl, his daughter, and what must not be
passed over sans mention, noble look
ing Newfoundland dog.
Jefferson Davis soon made his appear
ance, greeting US with a warmth and
cordiality that made us quite at our ease
and feel thoroughly welcome. After an
nouncing ourselves as strangers to him,
and that we called to pay our respects, he
expressed himself happy to see US and
hoped we would find enough to pay US
for making the visit. Upon Mrs. ".
speaking in admiration Of the beauty Of
the place and its locality, he remarked
that the house was built by a Mr.. Brown,
that it had been improved by its subse-
quent owner, Mr.. Dorsey, of whose wild
ow he had purchasedit. This announce
ment gave me surprise, in view of the
fact that Mrs Dorsey had given the prop
erty to him by her viii, and that suit is
or mas peen pending by her hers to have
the will vacated and the titles transferred
to them. This seeming inconsistency is
explained, however, by the further fact
that though a contract for the sale Of the
estate had been made to Mr. Davis By
the widow, it had never been ratified by
payment on his part; and hence as the
heirs claim, the title had never passed out
of the te8tatrix. BE that as It may, il is
certain that the present occupant of the
premises on this occasion labored to i'm
press on US the fact that he came into
possession by lawful purchase and no
other way, as he took occasion to an
nounce it more than once during the
coursa of conversation
In noticing photograph of himself
hanging just over the mantle failed not
to observe, as I have often heard stated,
that there is a marked difference between
all of his photographs and the original.
What the difference is is hard to distin-
guish, and yet it is SO striking that while
you viii always recognize them as like
nesses Of Mr.. Davis, yet, when you COM
pare them with the original you see at a
glance they are quite unlike, so that in
fact there are two 'Jef7' Davises, the
real one which / see before me now
thin, wiry, straight, genial and even joy
ial, with mirthful expression of coun-
tenance, and the one that stares at us in
shop windows and from the drawing
room walls of good secessionists, "a mea-
ger, somber face, which you would
conclude is hardly ever irrad;ated with q
smile. The cause of this curious dis
crepancy Is in the ever varying expression
of the eye, which no photographer can
catch. I alluded to this dissimiliarity
between himself and his pictures: He
| jocosely replied, 81 presume the subject
is not pleasing to the photographer and
! he adds not the artistic touches" He
| then discoursed on the inadequacy Of the
Photographic art to portray nature and
! particularly human nature, as it is
"Whatever is changesble in nature it fails
to give a proper conception of. It fixes
in rigid lines a single glance Of the coun-
tenance, and that is all. Solomon says,
There Is nothing new under the sun. :
But there is, and that is the play Of the
/ human countenance.
I stated that the papers said he had
about completed his "History of the
Rise and Fall OF the Confederacy." ST
wish it were trae, he replied, ''but the
papers cannot know as much regarding
it as myself. If they could see my manu.
script not yet sent to the publisher, and
how much more remains to be put into
manuscript they would arrive at the same
conclusion as myself, that there is mueh
OF hard work to bo done yet, and he
/ laughed IL a careless manner about it.
The otianl cum dig seems to have been
Mr. Dayis's lifelong possession. The
/ impression stranger would conceive OF
/ Mr.. Davis is that he had led the life of q
/ literatteur, rather than a military or pol.
! i+ieal one and that he had satlad oil b;a