The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-09-11
Daughter OF the Confrdtracy.

Daughter of the Confudtracy.
If one would ask Miss Varina Anne
Jefferson Davis for the story Of her
life, she would reply, in the language
of the needy knife-grinder: "Story !!
Bless you, I've none to tell This
would be quite true so far as her own
recollection goes, but at the same time
of her life of which she knows moth
ing but by hcarsay she had some
thrilling experiences. Winnie
Davis" as she was called, was born in
the Executive Mansion at Richmond,
Va, at the close of the war-in June,
1864, I believc-and when she was in
long clothes she was sharing her
fathers prison cell with him. She
had her experiences of war before
that, for she took part in the retreat
from Richmond, jolting along for
hundreds of miles in an ambulance.
Even at that early stage in her career
she showed that she was worthy to be
a soldiers daughter; for according to
her mother, who ought to know, she
never fretted or was cross, and if the
ambulance gave a particularly hard
bounce over the rough roads her baby
cheeks would flush with pain, but she
kept her tears back for more trying
occasions. Her father had been at
Fortress Monroe for year when Mrs.
Davis and Winnie Joined him. The
other children being older, were left
in Canada with their grandmother,
Winnie was still babe in the arms
all day long she would play contcnted-
ly in her fathers prison room. She
was much petted by the officers and
their wives, but she preferred to be
with her father in his cramped quar-
ters rather than to enjoy the freedom
that he could not share.
The first five years the little
Winnie's life were spent in England
then she was brought back to Mem
phis, Tenn. At an unusually early
age She showed a taste for reading,
and her parents directed her young
mind through the fields where the
best literature grew. Her father was
particularly proud of her precocity,
and loved to read aloud to her and to
listen to her wise comments on what
he read. The climate of the South
did not agree with the child, SO she
was sent to a boarding school at
Carisruhe, Germany. where she not
only learned the language of the coun-
try, but became equally proficient in
French, so that W hen she went to
Paris at the end of her German school
days she had only to put the finishing
touches to her knowledge of that Ian
guagc. She also studied music and
drawing, and, though she never has
done as much with those two as she
should have, considering her talents,
she occasionally charms her friends
with song or delights them with the
gift of a painting by her hand. At
the age of IT Miss Davis returned to
her native land and continued her
studies under her fathers direction.
She not only studied aud read with
him, but she shared his love Of horses,
and many were the long rides they
took on their thouroughbreds through
the woods at Beauvoir. Though a
| studious girl and fond of reading, she
is an out of door girl as we'll, and not
having horse in New York, where
she spends her winters, or at
Narragansett Pier, where her summers
are passed, she mounts her wheel and
| flies over the roads in a manner that
would astonish her favorite horse if he
could see her.
Miss Davis made her social debut IN
New Orleans, just after her return
from Paris, as Queen Of the Carnival.
Shortly after this she accompanied
her father to Atlanta, Ga, where, at
reception rendered to him., she was
introduced to the cheering crowd by
Gen John Gordon as 'the daughter of
the Confederacy," and by that name
she is known all through the South:
That the Confederate soldiers regard
he in this light is proved by the NUN
Der of regimental and brigade badges
which they have presented her, and
which she wears when she attends
their reunions.
| Miss Davis debut as writer may
| be said to have been made a in pamphlet
she wrote for New Orleans literary
club, which was published, and passed
through three editions. She has writ
ten for the North American Review
and other periodicals, so that when she
wrote The Yelled Doctor she was
hardly novice with the pen. That,
however, was her first novel; but,
judging by the way it has been receiv-
ed, it will not be her last. In fact, |
believe that she was already engaged
on another before The Yelled Doctor
was published.
The death of her father, Jefferson
Davis, which occurred during her
second visit to Paris, was a severe
blow to Miss Davis, and she was so
prostrated by it that her life was
dispaired Of. Youth and high health
were on her side, however, and she
recovered.
Miss Davis is gentle in her manner,
but is vigorous hater Of shams and
hypocrisy, and an act of injustic would
open the walls of her wrath. She loves
chrildrcn and animals, and they return
her love with interest. She enjoys
society, and has host Of friends !;
indeed, she seems to have a genius for
friendship. She and her mother live
together, and it is hard to say which
is the more devoted to the other
Harpcr's Bazar.