The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1883-05-24

whlcn mas $1,000 the strain of so
much labor. Many a man Of equal
age, had 1aid . down hts burdens ~
public life when Mr.. DAVIS assumed
his greatest. He has been a man
without rest until within the last
few wears. HIS literary work, enter.
ef upon long after his Goth birthday.
was task which would have dis.
couraged many an author 20 wears
younger, yet he made no pause until
the ia~t- chapter WASH the publish
eF's hands. .t... 3d.. ,....
.u. NORTH AND SOUTH.
He asked me about my Southern
trir-wherc I had been, whom I had
met, and what opinion I had formed
of the sentiment OF the masses. and
when l answered that the North and
South seemed more closely united
TODAY than at any period in our his
tory, he expressed deep qualification.
cit is grand progressive country"
he said, land the better the peo-
pie understand each other for our
future as n country"
He asked me regarding the senti-
ment Of the North. and I believe 7
answered truly when told him that
rancor and bitterness had died oat of
the hearts Of all but demagogues and
malevolent politicians
THAT is right" he replied, "and
| trust thai no untoward event will
sever the growing cordial relations"
.- ABOUT WAR.
BY and by we drifted into the sub,
iect Of war. II was Mr.. Davis who
gave Gen. Mcclellan his first up
wapd steps and it was Mr. Davis who
appointed Gen. Meade to the Lake
Survey, and was criticised sharply
for his selection. He believed that
McClenllan's campaign against Rich
mond, had he been permitted to
carry it out as planned, and received
the hearty suppot of the War De-
partment, must have resulted disas-
trously to the Confederates.
Il knew Mcclellan, Meade, Hum
phrey and nearly all the Federal gen
erals" said Mr.. Davis, and many
Of them were my proteges. Although
they were fighting my armies, I
could not resist feeling of pride in
seeing so many of the young men
had helped advance winning fame
and proving all that had been pre-,
dicted." ..e-zG .-
I asked him to name the best Fed
eral general, and he replied:
= "There were two-McClellan and
Meade. Mcclellan was a grand
engineer aud a great general; Meade
was steady fighter, and his move
ments were more ofau enigma to Lee
than those of any other Federal gen
eral.' .,.s r.'.'
OLD ACoUAlNTANCEs.
AS we talked of this and that the
names Of generals, statesmen, gov
errors and government officials came
up, and many of them proved to be
old acquaintances of Mr.. Davis, In
years agone he and Ben Butler were
on the best social terms, and it was
the same with several other present
governors of Northern States, and
with various generals who won their
laurels in war. The ex-President
had q kind word and good wish for
each one and every one, and he
seemed to believe that those who had
made their mark were entirely de-
serving of their success. '.
'.... mrs n , urrpu ...
In the State library at Jackson,
Miss, is crayon portrait of Mr..
Davis as he appeared when captured.
| asked him if it was correct and he
replied: ...'.. ..., "a ...
Il will tell you exactly how it oil
occurred. l had lain down without
removing a garment. l had high
cavalry boots, pantaloons, tucked into
the tops, gray blouse and a soft
hat. Upon The alarm being given
| stepped out Of the tent and saw a
Federal cayaIryman 80 or 40 feet
away. He ordered me to halt. AT
the same moment Mrs. Davis threw
over my shoulders a folded shawl.
| saw that my only chance of escape
was to secure the horse, of the FEEDER
a.. | advanced straight upon him,
feeling that he would fire at me, but
believing that he would miss his
target. Had this occurred, there
would have been struggle for the
possession of the horse. AS | APP
preached the soldier he lowered his
carbine as if to shoot, and at.the
same moment Mrs. Mrs. Davis rush
ed up and threw her arms around
me. The soldier hesitated o mo-
ment, turned his weapon aside, and
j walked back 10 the fire and stood
there until made prisoner
Two hours passed swiftly by as
we talked, but before permitting me
to depart Mr.. Davis ordered lunch
and was again the host instead OF
the historian. One who takes him
by the hand and looks Into his kind
face must respect him. One who
sees his white hairs and, notes the
evidences of old age must feel glad