Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-08
MRS. JEFF'N DAVIS.
MEMOIRS or THE LIFE or HER ILLUS
TRlous HUSBAND.
roombs and stephens--Tbe Confederate
Cabinet-Life In Richmond-scarciy OF
Food--FaiI of Richmond.

Of the Confederate othtes. N
his Wife, in two large octave volumes OF
more than 1 800 pages, literally illustrated,
For a considerable time Mr.. Davis had
meditated an photographed work which
sbould not only give to the world the So
lent facts OF his personal history, but
sbould also include his public acts botn
under the Federal Government and under
the Confederacy. as well as his correspond
ence. documents, relations with the cele-
brated personages of the country, and the
beliefs and principles which guided him as
the President of the seeding States during
the four years struggle. !,
After he had collected o vast quantity oil
memoranda and had written many i'm
portant sections, but before he had ar
ranged any portion of his work as he IN
tended. he was suddenly cut of by death.
His wife, however, had, during her many
| wears of close union with him, become so
thoroughly acquainted with his whole his
tory. his ideas and aims, and had AIDED
him so far in the projected work, that she
was enabled to take up the pen where her
husband had dropped it and continue tine
volumes TO completion, and this she has
done with ability.
"As to the plan Of the work says Mrs.
Davis, Volume l., page2, shall endeayor
| as far as possible to make the BOOK an au-
tobiography-to tell the story OF my nus,
| bands life III his own words; TO complete
the task he left unfinished"
STEPHENS AND ToMBs.
MANY portraits of celebrated men are
given in these volumes. Those OF stephens
and Toombs are characteristic. Vol. l.,
DID. 410, 411-457. -,
He loved Alexander II. Stephens with
a tenderness that was almost pathetic, and
was as much beloved by, him;
personally. Mr.. Toombs was over six feet
| tall, with broad shoulders; his fine head
set well on his shoulders. and was covered
with long. glossy black hair, which, when
speakine. he managed 10 toss about 80 as
| to recall the memory of Danton..
"Mr. Stephens was not small, bnt he
| looked so, from the shortness OF his BODY,
| The shane Of his head was unpublished and
| immature. His arms we're dlsproportion;
ately long, and his beardless, wrinkled
face gave him the look of one born out OF
season. His ewes were clear hazel, and had
a fine. critical deliberate expression that
commanded attention. His voice was thin,
and piercing like woman's. but there the
resemblance ended. His was yirile MIND
sustained by an inferble Will. i
was quite near Mr.. Calhoun, and saw him
come in supported on each side by sena-
tor. breathing in short gasps, emaclated TO
the lasr degree. his eyes shining with
fever; but his eagle glance swept the Sen
ate IN the old lordly way. Seeing me, he
gave me one burning hand as he passed.
Whispering. MY child, am too weak TO
stop, he passed on and dropped into his
| seat"
THE FIRST CABINET.
Mr.. Davis wrote of the formation Of his
Cabinet, Vol. H., P. 49,,
"Unencumb, "a by any other consider
alton than the public welfare. having no
! friends to reward or enemies to punish, it
resulted that not one of those who formed
nv first Cabinet had borne to me the rela,
| ton of close, personal friendship, or nad
political claims upon me; indeed. with two
of them had no previous acquaintance"
The many difficulties which surrounded
Mr.. Davis in his new position as President
of the Confederacy are clearly outlined,
| together with his indefatigable industry
and patience. VOL IL, PIP. Gs-72:
ION April 10, 1861, President Lincoln
proclaimed blockade, not as the effort to
embarrass and destroy the commerce of
| HeDhTdLo Ouo " ONSNoS
| ton"
"The North had all the manufacturing
establishments necessary to produce all
the material OF war. She had an uninter-
rupted commerce with the outside world
| Altogether, her manufacturing resources
were about FIVE hundred to one compared
| with those of the South. She had IN addl-
| ton to this the inestimable advantage of
having all the workshops of the world
| open to her"
| HOSPITAL LIFE.
Here is a striking glimpse afforded US by
Mrs. Davis, Vol. IL, page 2O5: -
| Il walked from one end to the other OF
the hospital, and tried in vain to find
man who desired pecuniary aid. One fair
haired boy, with emaciated face and arm
less sleeve. looked up and whispered,
There is poor fellow on the other side
| who | think will take little. am afraid
| he has no money; my father gives me all
want / crossed the room and asked the
| sufferer, who had neither hand, if / could
not get him something he craved. He
flushed and said. thank you, madam, for
| YOUR visit, but do better than that poor
| fellow over there; he has lost his leg, and
| suffers dreadfully."
Here also is characteristics incident,
| Vol. H.. page 1926:
| 1.-The Confederate women looked on at
| the struggle with ever-increasing interest !;
| they offered their jewels, their plate, and
everything OF value they possessed which
would be useful TO their country. One OF
these devoted patriots said to me, tried,
| and could not make up my mind TO part
| with nv wedding-ring, and II was so thin
| from wear else think could have given
| it up"
| CONFEDERATE POVERTY.
The following incident is characteristic,
Vol H., PIP. 2O7-209:
"In the last part of the war no one
| had delicacies: invitations very common
among intimate friends were, Do come TO
| dinner or tea we succeeded in running the
blockade this week. This meant coffee after
dinner, preserved fruits, loat-sugar, good
tea, or sometimes that which was always
very acceptable to Mr.. Benlamln's palate;
anchovy paste. He used to say with bread
made Of Crenshaw's -four spread with
the paste, English walnuts from an i'm
| mense tree in the grounds, and q glass of
the McHenry sherry, of which We had q
small store, a mans patriotism became
rampant"
1.-THE ladies made themselves natty little
gloves embroidered beautifully. Mrs.
Pemberton sent me an admirable pattern,
which with increase or decrease served our
| WHO'S iucy ehVh WIN
out shoes with pieces of silk and satin,
drawn from old boxes long unused; old
scraps of silk were cut in strips, picked to
pieces, carded and spun into fine yarn, and
silk stockings knitted from it. The most
beautiful hats were plated from palmetto,
dried and bleached, as we'll as from straw.
The feathers from domestic fowls were so
treated that they were very decorative to
their bonnets."
DEATH or sToNLwALL JACKSON.
The mortal wound and death of General
jackson at Charlottesville is afectingiy
described. VOL H., p. 979:
"His horse dashed toward the enemy
and lacerated the Generals face and head
by dragging him under the boughs of
trees, but he seized the rein with his right
hand and brought the animal back to our
lines. He tried to dismount, but with an
anxious look over toward his troops he
tainted and fell from his saddle. After
some little delay he was placed in litter,
but had only been there a few minutes
| when one of his bearers was shot down and
the General fell, but Major Leigh bore
him up before he reached the ground.