The Portland daily press., 1883-06-14
Recent Publications.

Memoirs of John Adams Dix. Compiled
by his Son, Morgan Dix. New York: Har-
per & Brothers Portland: Loring, Short &
Harmony.
Here are two volumes that ought to be a
part of every good New England Library
volumes, indeed, that every American youth
can proftably read. There have been more
picturesque lives than that of General Dix,
but, take it all in all, there are very few in
our history that can be more profitably stud
led by the sturdy boy who would like an in
spring example of what real manhood can
accomplish. From his home in the little
New Hampshire village of his birth, with its
straight street a mile long, to the last place
he filed in the public service, he ever did a
worthy and manly part, and his hard sense,
and his hopeful, high courage make a shin
ing example to his countrymen.
From sketch of the old home we take
this deft account of his early ehurch-going:
The Westinghouse was, like most others
at that day, painted white covered with
shingles, full OF windows. with plain, plas-
tered walls inside it was cold and dreary in
| window-blinds; and as the sun moved round
| the building in summer the congregation
moved about in their pews, to escape from
his burning rays. The winters were awful:
the thermometer often fell twenty or thirty
degrees below zero. There was no fireplace
or furnace, not even stove. To this Arctic
temperature we were exposed two hours in
the morning and two in the afternoon. The
sermon was almost always an hour long:
and the prayers and psalms, and reading OF
the Scriptures occupied about the same
time. In my whole life l have never suffered
so much from cold. Ny mother always took
foot-stoye with her, and it was more fire.
quently under my feet than hers In the
sleigh on our way to meeting we were al
| ways comfortable, for we were enveloped in
| buffalo-skins. But we could not take them
| with us into the Westinghouse. When the
| wind was high, the cold was nearly insup.
| portable. The window-sashes vibrated and
| ratified in their loose frames, and the cold
| air poured upon us through numberless in
| lets. Ny feelings were anything but devo-
tional; and pray God to forgive me the
| many secret irreverenees of which / was
| guilty. The preacher was a learned and
| a conscientious man; but hated his long
| discourses (drawn out, as it seemed to me
with malicious perverseness) when was
| perishing with cold. The strangest specula-
| bAOto IOch POocSootOu VI my iullus uau
| read in some book in my fathers library
| that certain holy men had voluntarily sub
mitted to the severest infections. One, whose
| name does not occur to me, lived On the top
of column for a number Of years, exposed
| to all the vicssitudes of the seasons. Sup
posing him to have lived in good climate,
| wondered whether be suffered as much as
| our preacher, holding forth by the hour in
| an atmosphere fifty degrees below freezing
1t.,t r 4l,o. 81.
| the holy father, was acting on principle Of
self-infiction, or whether he was furnishing
his congregation for their stubbornness in
sin.
HIS description of the first militia training
is too long to copy entire, but too good to
miss entirely. There was much trouble as
to the question of precedence, forming the
ranks, and when about ready to march forth
terrible thunder shower came up which
! flooded the street, bat finally the company
set out to march.
Most of the privates were in their shirt
sleeves, the officers only, with becoming
tenaciousness of their dignity, keeping on
their coats. There were not many muskets,
and, believe, not single bayonet in the
whole line. The guns were chiefly fowling-
pieces, and there were number of very infe-
rior substitutes. / suspected one Of the
privates Of carrying on bis shoulder the butt
end of one of my fish-poles, broken off for
the purpose, and / know that pitchfork
was distracted for the emergency from my
fathers stable. But / had read enough Of
war to understand its exigencies, and j con-
sidered them as fully justifying acts which,
If committed under less imperious necess-
ty, would have been wholly indefensible.
When | saw the men moving off under their
gallant commander into the centre of the
street, with the water ankle-deep, and
marching through 1t with heroic indiffer-
ence, felt the deep injustice | had done
them, before the storm, in suspecting them
of shrinking from the sun. 1t occurred to
me, it is true, that after the fiery heat of the
day, which was not yet entirely allayed, the
water was anything but unpleasant But /
Indignantly dismissed this suggestion as the
offspring Of all unworthy suspicion, and was
sure that they would have marched through
pool Of molten lead with the same alacrity,
if the good of their country had demanded
such an act of devotion.
Gen. Dix's political history is well enough
known to create wide desire to read and
study this work, and whoever will do this
Will be most generously repaid. His prompt
helm TO the Buchanan Administration is ia
mlldf 10 all, Uut pelhdPo CFci JOouy uoSo hpe
remember his bold declaration in favor of
Civil Service Reform, when, as postmaster
of New York, he absolutely refused to have
any system of political taxation enforced
and dismissed the Committee on Assess
ments with the declaration that not one cent
should be levied on the clerks for political
purposes.
The son of such father has done noble
work in giving to the world the record OF so
noble life, and every American citizen
ought to thank him for his loving and faith
full service.
AS concluding extract we give this vivid
account of the opening Of the war:
"Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury
resigned on the 10th of December, leaving
the Treasury empty, and joined the seces
sion movement, becoming president of the
Montgomery Conference. On his abandon