St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-08

self was so great that he would not be
guided by the counsels of those who were
wiser than he. 1t would have been bet
ter for his country, and assuredly better
for the South. if Jefferson Davis had
never been born. And yet. his personal
faults do not obscure his many admir-
able traits in the eyes of those who are
ready to do impair tial justice to the man.
am surprised to see in the
press reports concerning MIR. Davis,
no mention of his first wife. She was
the daughter of ex-President Tavlor,
who ran away one dark night and
crossed the Mississippi
IN ''DUG OUT''
to be married to the young lieutenant
who had been forbidden to visit her at
her fathers house. Gen. Taylor never
forgave young Davis. and never spoke
to him after the elopement until the
night after the battle of Buena Vista,
when he visited the tent where the gal
liant commander of the Mississippi rifle
men lay wounded. and thanked him for
saving the American army that day.
The present Mrs. Davis was a Miss
Howell, of Georgia, and niece of How
ell Cobb, who was conspicuous figure
in national politics forty years ago.
MIR. Davis had three children by his last
marriage, two of whom survive, one
married daughter and the other Miss
Winnie Davis, popularity known as the
Child of the Confederacy," having
been born in the executive mansion at
Richmond during the war. ''Beauvoir,"
the home of the Davis family, was
gift from a Mississippi lady who testi-
fed her admiration for the Confederate
chieftain by providing him with shell
ter when he had not where to lay his
head. 1t is in the southwestern corner
of Mississippi, and is
SITUATED NEAR THE GULF.
1t is typical Southern home of the
Olden time, with all the rooms on one
floor, veranda running all around the
house, wide halls and doors, always
open to admit the refreshing breezes
that blow from the gulf. The spirit of
hospitality pervades the establishment,
and no visitor ever entered its precincts
but was made to feel that he was at
home. The red-painted cottage, sitting
on piece of rising ground in the midst
of grove of Spanish oaks, presents an
unusually attractive appearance. 1t is
here where Mr.. Davis has spent his de-
Ginning days, dreaming over again and
again the visions of empire that once
filled the busy brain, and bewailing the
fate that dashed them into nothingness
like 1.-THE gorgeous pageant of dream"
Just one anecdote of Mr.. Davis, and |
have completed my sketch. 1t is to
illustrate his wonderfully retentiVe
memory. During his late visit to his
birthplace In Kentucky the people of
Christian county served barbecue din
ner in his honor. As the dinner pro-
crossed, his mind reverted to
HIS BoYHOoD DAYS
and those who listened were aStonished
to find that he remembered the name of
every family who lived in that COM
munity when he was a boy, and he
could call by name the members of the
various families. After referring to
this one and to that one who had long
since grown up, and many of them hay
ing passed away leaving children and
grandchildren behind them, he recalled
certain sunny-faced little girl whom
he had called his sweetheart at the age
of eight years, she being perhaps year
younger. Turning to an elderly lady, |
who sat near him, he asked. "What be- |
came of Patty Bell?" A flush of graft
fed pride swept over the dear old lady's |
face as she responded, "Why. Mr.. Davis,
| am Patty Bell" Not the honors won |
on the field of Mexico, the civic crown
earned in the senate. the high duties of |
proud presidency, had driven from |
his mind the name of the little loved |
one, though Time with merciless hand |
had carved strange lines on the faces of |
both when they met on the declining |
slope of life. GEORGE II. MoFFETT.