The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-09-09
A Chat With jeff. Davis
Especial TO the New York Hcruld.l
r. T'oOMBs.

pohdcHC VI Cnc COHSCttuhkOH pau an IN
tercsting visit to Jefferson Davis at his
plantation in Warren County, Miss, and
the paper prints to-day several columns
descriptive Of the man and his surround
ings.
The correspondent as he entered the
doors Of the Bricrficld mansion was net
by Mr.. Davis, by whom he was greeted
most kindly. But a moment Of cxpla
nation was necessary, when an intro
the little group. Mr.. Davis was dressed
in q black alapaca suit. He stood erect,
with Il firm position. When he sat
down upon the deerskin chair. which is
his lavoritn, it was in all upright posi-
ton, his shoulders well thrown back,
one hand resting in the other and both
called into play as through conversation
he used them in graceful gesture. His
face furnished q pleasant disappoint-
ment. His pictures give ono the idea Of
a dark visagcd, ~dyspcptic man, of hard
face and unapproachable manners. On
the contrary, the original shows kindly
eyes, a fair face and n mouth wreathcd
in a gentle smile. During the four
hours spent in his presence this kindly
smile and pleasing manner never left
him. In this conversation, too, the
same fact was noticed. or those whose
conduct in the war did not cntitle then
to his respect he spoke in terms Of kind
ly interest, remembering only the good
that was in them. Mrs. Davis, whose
social qualities will be remembered by
the brilliant society in Richmond, of
which she was for three years the GEN.
tire looked in excellent health. She is a
stout lady, and her face shows at once
decision and womanly character. In
conversation she was quick, intelligent
and extremely thoughtful, %ccnsuring
none, mindful Of those who had be-
fiiended her family in the days Of trial
and evinc;ng great interest in the fami-
lies Of the men who had fallen for the
Conrcdcracy.
oCT or rUELIC LIFE.
Mr. Davis said that he had left the war
behind him, and with it public life he
courted the privacy Of his home and
did not intend to he drawn into con-
troverisal topics. Nevertheless he con
versed pleasantly on matters of a liter
AIRY and philosophic nature, to which he
dcvotes much study. Both Mr.. and
Mrs. Davis inquired afIectionately of
many Georgians whose memory they
cherished.
Mr.. DaviS's favo,ite author is Sir
Walter Scott. Among poets he regards
Byron the greatest. Moore is the per-
lection of harmony, while Burns en-
presses human feeling. Bulwer, among
modern ~novelists, is perhaps the great
| est.
One more topic your correspondent
takes the liberty Of giving, since it
shows Mr. Davis in the light Of a close
Bible student. Referring to the revised
edition, he did not see that the revisers
had removed the few material errors
which were to be found in the King
James edition, yet they had made many
changes which only shocked the con-
sentative conscience Of Bible readers.
while the change was productive of no
corresponding good in the text.
PEACEFUL OLD AGE.
10 put in o small space my impress
sions gathered ut the two homes Of Mr..
Davis will require but n few words.
Mr.. Davis is rs years old, in the best of
health, cheerful, contented and hopeful.
Mrs. Davis is also happy in the love of
her husband and the sympathy which
she receives from every man and woman
in the South. They have two children,
the eldest being The wife Of Mr.. HAYES,
Of Colorado. herself the mother of
three. The second, Miss Winnie Davis.
is ut home, and n source Of comfor, and
IVY " hSi EaIcnlS. Ic1r nome at
Heauyoir, is n charming retreat, retired
from the hustle Of the world, yet cheer
ed by the visits Of Northern friends,
Southern sympathizers and Confederate
veterans. Their home here, Brierfeld,
is a long. single stary white building,
with wings at either end in the shane of
4 double n, with vcranlas between SUD-
ported by heavy columns and painted
entirely m white. There is a plantation
Of twcnty-four hundred acres, the rich
est Of Mississippi bottoms, from which
Capt. Hughes rnys six hundred bales of
cotton will be gathered this
year. Mr.. Davis generally visits this
place twice n year to fnok after his in
%:ercsts. Whether here or at Beauvoir
Mr.. Davis is equally accessible to his
neighbors-kind, gentle and courteous.