The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-10-05
8mhmond 9ispatth,
WEDNESDAY. ..ocToBER 8, 1881
flor the Dispatchl
General sherman.

rhosc nosItion Is 90 lofty, aad whose SELF
',,,,,ocia,ion snncars 10 bc In good keeping
Win the dignity of his station. Ms militia
~, head ~ n great nation, one might sup
Tose bis ambition sufficiently satisfied; and
srom his lone-contlnued contact with tho
xjcisSitudes OF life. Il might be reasonable
10 think that he could turn away from the
promptings OF bitterness and cultivate KIND
IN relations with ali the various branches
Of the vast and growing family OF which
nc has the military oversight. instead 0i
this. however, bis uiterances seldom lhui-
cate that benignity that grows on the pam
Of sedate experience, and u sohltii'nes o.
ours that single word can throw him INTO
a sort Of nervous spaSn. from "hicn N'
does not readily recover.
while thinking on the ease OF The Cen
oral / am reminded OF that OF noble ko-
man. or rather RomaniSed Thracian, who.
in the fine a Justinian, "gaye the Norid
occurrence of man." and for brief space
~ time rckindled the decaying Splendor
~ tbe Roman arms. As man, BeiisarluS
seemed almost spotless. As a general his
Inagnanin.ity was equal TO his genius, and
his genius seemed equal 10 any emergency;
composed in the hour OF danger, he was
generous In the moment OF victory anu II
was doubtful whether those who fell under
the weight OF his blow or those who aided
I'm dealing IL had the greater respect Tor his
Derson. Yet il is related OF this INDUSTRIOUS
man that he never came into the presence
of nj, wife without forgetting both his dlg-
nity and self-rcspcct. The sound OF the
word south appears 10 have the same cilecl
uDon General sherman that the Slght OF
Antonina did upon BclisariuS, and we can
only account for the fact by supposing that
the General sometimes recalls with regret
the excess Of his humanity in his illuStrlouS
"march to the sea-"
The General remembers with great sails
faction the important part lac bore in the
suDprcSsiOn OF the rebellion; but he seems
oblivious of the wise saying OF CclYanieS,
that "thc rcnown OF the victor depends
rpon the rcnoWn Of the yanquished.' sun
n the pcu is only the tongue OF the mlnd,
wecan only expect il 10 trace such thoughts
rs are uppcrmo.t i'm the mind OF him who
uscs il: and we must accept the pen On
General sherman as the true representative
Of his generosity and cNpanslYenesS OF
heart.
II is fortunate for the rest OF mankind
that tine immediate actors on the field are
not the partic, 10 determine IFS place in the
memory Of succeeding generations. Time
is her own chronicicr, and does not often
trouble herself much about the special
pleading OF any; and though her decisions
are often tardy, they are generally Just; 50
that all reasonable men may chetrlully SUD
init 10 her aTbitramcnt. In the meantime
il is pleasant to know that we, hke
Others. shall st at the Lar OF the
world. and shall have the benefit Of those
considerations which hitherto have inilu-
enced the general sense and judgment OF
mankind I'm the scale Of Just appreciation
the sword Of Hannibal will always out
weigh that Of Alexander, for rs often rs
we come 10 compare the two, we shall re-
member that the former, inspired by love
of country, drew his sword against the
natural and implacable enemy Of Carthage,
and that the latter begun his career OF
senseless ambition 10y putting his heel upon
the neck Of the country be pretended 10
love. The same just and equitable rule
will he applied when the world comes to
sit i'm Judgment upon a conflict which has
shaken the continent, and might be made
great blessing TO our country
The time for that discussion is not yet.
We and our little hates and prejudice
learned in the hOt-bedS OF SectiOnalism, or
amid the horrors Of war-must pass away,
and a new generation must take our places.
When this period arrives, the pen, SObered
lN EI~t Ol ll.ilts VIII hII'dl hliph AliN
scene, make a careful survey OF the costs
and results of the conflict, weigh the con-
duct and motives Of the actors, and form
an estimate OF the whole, which will be
very near approach TO strictly just deciS-
ion. When that estimate is made, unless |
am greatly mistaken. il will be agreed that
never was there more heroic endorsement
of principle tlan that made by the Con-
fedcrate arms, and that never was greater
blunder than persistence in denOminating
men rebels who stood with such con-
stancy 10y principles which they preached
on the Hudson and at Kings Mountain and
Yorktown.
Well would It he for lis as a people. ii at
such a crisis rs the present, we could ap-
ply to ourselves those words which Milton
has put into the mouth Of Satan:
"Eyll, be thou my good
4 very great evil it seemed to be 10 have
our President cut down in what az
peared an earnest and cOuscientiOuS'dis-
charge Of duty, and when the announce
ment first came, supposing the President
would speedily die, was fearful Of the
consequences; but "a mysterious Provi-
dence that suffered the blow delayed the
stroke OF death, as ii TO give us pause
Nor am / alone in the opinion that this
pause was bestowed for profitable USE
There is something marvellous about yica-
rious suffering, and we who have stood, in
person or in fancy, by the sufferers bed,
must have had hearts almost as hard as the
assassin's il they were not moved to their
very depths. Certain it is the blow which
has DESTROYED the life OF the President has
brought out fact which never could have
been seen so clearly to be fact by any OF
binary method. NosoOner was itannounced
that the President was shot than from
every section OF the country there came
indications Of deep concern and sympathy,
and those indications Were so prompt and
spontaneous as TO preclude any suspicious
of sinister motive anywhere. The deSira-
BILE fact which stands revealed by the de-
stroyer OF the life Of the President is that
the country is stlll capable Of oneness Of
feeling. This, as l take IT, is the great need
OF the present crisis; and il would be well,
indeed, IL we could follow up the adyan-
tage which the evidence Of its existence
gives, and In the grave Of President
whom all seem 10 respect and yenerate
bury the animosities Of the past and press
forward with brave endeayOr to the duties
OF the opening future.
j. II. kEINISGHAM.
HORsFORD's ACID PHOSPHATE IN INDIGEs-
4.sH