The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-12-04
CALHOUN AND DAVIS.
An Old-Time Abnlitionist's Early Acquaiat-
ance With PrOmine Mt Southsrnrrs.

An OId-Time AbuIitionist's Early Acquaiat-
anoe With Prominent southsrnrrs.
Oliver Dyer, az old-time ardent aboli-
zionist, in a recent volume OF personal rec
objections, says: when l went TO Wash
ington in December, ls4S, full to the brim
of abolition bigotry and prejudice, was
eager TO get asight OF the great South Car
DINA nullifier and disunionist, and when
he was pointed out to me in the senate
chamber l gave him a searching scrutinya
His appearance satisfied me comP,ebR
He seemed to be a perfect image and Cd
bodiment of the devil. Presently, how
ever, Calhoun arose TO speak, and before
he had ended, his physiognomy seemed to
the onlooker to have undergone a change
"Instead OF looking Ike a devil he i'm
pressed me as a heightened gentleman,
with brilliant intellect, sweet DISPOSE
ton, a sound heart, and a conscientious
devotion to what he believed to be ri gbt.
| was vexed and astonished that such
change should have occurred in my feel b
ing toward the great nuliiier. II seemed
to me that ! was becoming traitor to my
status az an abOlitionist, but as time went
on the change also went on in spite OF all
that I could do" Subsequently the author
saw good deal OF Calhoun at the latter's
house, and found him ''inexpressibly ur-
bane, refined. gentle, winning; and yet he
was strong and thoroughly manly, With an
engaging invincibleness pervading bis
softness and gentleness. | admired Ben
ton 1 admired Clay still more; l admired
"a ha into 81 ~
all: but I loved Calhoun. and as | came to
know him well, and saw his exquisitely
beautiful nature mirrored in his face, his
cOuntenance no longer seemed satanic, but
angelic, and his benignant greeting in the
morning was like benediction that lasted
the whole day."
In one of his interviews with Calhoun
the author, forgetting that JacksOn's en-
nifty had ruined Calhoun's political career.
asked the South Carolina statesman what
kind of man Jackson was. GAS soon -
the question was put Calhoun sank into
profound ouiescence, seemed to be uncon-
scious of my presence, aud was apparently
absorbed in retrospection. Then his rela-
tions TO Jackson flashed wildly into my
mind; l was appalled, at my blunder and
awaited the result with trepidation. Cal.
houn's reverie continued bat a short time
Soon he looked at me benignantly and
said: Gen. Jackson was a great man.
The surprisingly beautiful expression Of
CalhOun's deep eyes, and the sweet, gentle
tone of his voice, as he thus answered my
question are now present with me as I
write, although that answer was given
more than forty years ago. The general
was in his grave. and be was himself be-
ginning to be enveloped with the shadow
of death. Why should he, dying man.
continue to hate him, who was already
dead? He would not continue 10 hate
him. 1t seemed as though this, or some
thing equivalent to il, passed through Cal
houn's mind and touched the Utmost no.
bilitv of his nature, and caused him to
give the answer which came from him like
a remuneration of all his animosity and an
assertion of spiritual reconciliation with
his dead foe.
1t was in December. 1s4S, that the
author saw something of the man destined
to be the president of the Confederate
states. Davis was then a senator. and the
impression which he made on the mind of
the young abolitionist was, in spite of pre-
conceived prejudices. most favorable. We
are told that "I-ihen a young man of
twenty-four, and only just out of the
woods Of Niagara county-became attached
to Jefferson Davis on account OF his genial
bills before the senate full of Indian
names, or Aztec names, OF Spanish names
that the senators could not pronounce cor
rectly, and which we reporters could not
catch; hence, it was necessary for US TO
get sight of the names in print in order to
write them out correctly in our reports.
Whenever discussion on such bill took
place, / used to apply to Mr.. Davis for a
copy OF the document, and he would al
ways get me one, no matter how much
trouble it gave him 10 do so. And he did
it with such genial courtesy and kindness
that his manner went straight 10 the heart
and stayed there. In fact, used to notice
that it seemed to give Jefferson Davis
pleasure to do an act of kindness for any
BODY. Il is not probable that Mr.. Davis
remembers any of these things (oT that be
even remembers my name) but they ara
fresh in nv recollection. Now that the
asperities of war have given place to the
amenities OF peace, ] find only friendly
feelings in my heart toward Jefferson
Davis, and would gladly reciprocate, if op-
pOrtunity should offer, the kindnesses
which, all those years ago, he showed to
me, an obscure young man, when he was
distinguished and powerful senator of the
United States"
We have space for but one more refer
ence to the interesting contents OF this
book. The author SAYS, on page l59, that
the secession doctrine was originated by
Josiah Quincy, and was a Massachusetts,
heresv. Perhaps the fact is here ratheS :.
too broadly stated. The germ of the the
ory that a state had the right to secede
from the Union, as it imdisputably had
from the preceding confederation, is dis
coverable in the Kentucky resolutions OF
l79S. But it is unquestionablv true, az
the author of this book points out, that
the doctrine of secession was first openly
put forward on the floor of congress by
Josiah Quincy OF Massachusetts, in Jan.
uary, 1911, when the house of representa-
tives, by a vote of fifty-six to fifty-three.
declared it parliamentary and proper &c
discuss the dissolution OF the Union.
SOmething New.
u,woTi Cfts,a,