Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-01-04

in such chivalric reverence that he
talents were shielded and hell
sacred in fhe. home. Now an,
then some gifted genius wcul,
come forward and claim place il
the literary world.
In the language of another, "Tha
old ante bellum lite was a uniqv,
thing, one of the finest phases .
. life worth living and worthily lived
! The culture was not Of that hyper
refined kind which shades off int
dilettantism, but large, generous
and assimilative, not special an
critical. Gentlemen read the elias
sizes for the thoughts and beauties
of Cicero, SENECA, Terence, Homer
Eschylus and Pindar, and wi /
the best thoughts of the world
Southern culture was easily famil
lar. Perhaps the plenitude, the fine
reality, the sweet certainty Of life
banished the spiritual hunger thai
sets its Barmecde feast with thu
anbrosial richness Of reality They
may have felt-these brave ances-
'ors Of ours that. poetry could
pitch life no higher and sppg, could
sing itpo sweeter than ~ was and
50 were cpnteatj to live it. and let
who would write it. Yet an occa-
sional poem, a pleasant bit OF travel
or a clever sketch found an eager
publisher, and sometimes recogni-
ton in the literary world.
e. gar A. Pue's brilliant versatil-
isy gave him national reputation,
and he is quoted as saying that
"Pinckneys' "A Health would
be the finest lyric in literature but
That the author lived south of Ma
sons and Dixon's line," There
was no Jealousy, however, on tn
part oil the South that Boston
should be called the American
Mount Helicon," but in literature
as in other things, she was willing
that the north should manufacture
and she consume.
Notwithstanding this generous
sharing of honors the South still
c aims an array of writer's, who,
amid the ease of life surrounding
them, contributed their quota to
the literature OF the day. Many Of
our greatest politicians and states
man wrote historical notes and
works of sound philosophy. Among
the scientists we find Audubon, the
great ornithologist. who spent SO
much of his time studying bird-life
in the South, and in classifying the
feathered tribe. Commodore Maury
is known throughout the civilized
world by his charts and his physi-
cal geography, tho bonoHtesefwhiela
both to science and commerce hav-
ing been incalculable.
Through William Gilmore Simms,
the colonial and re, olutionary pc
RODS have been perpetuated i'll ro-
mance.9
Judge A. B. Longstreet's "publi-
cations were as various as his life"
and it was said of him while his
Georgia Scenes" was written in q
spirit of broad fun, it is probably
like Diedrich Knickerbocker's His
tory of New York, the best and
traest picture of the time it des-
cribes, and will be valuable as his
tors hundred years hence. In
Madam lie Vert's souvenir OF
Travels" we have aunique descrip-
ton of foreign countries, uanners
and customs.
In Miss Mcintosh, Marion Har-
land, Mrs. Augusta Evans Wilson
and Mrs. Sue Pettigru King, we
have noveists of the pure|t type.
Their graphic style and charming
diction lend beauty to every scene.
Mrs. Shindler. better known to the |
reading public as Mrs Dana, Ane-
liza Welby and Margartt Preston,
have given to this nation sonr OF
its sweetest rains OF poesy; n'
can we omit Francis Key, whose
natl nal ode "'rhe Star-spangled
Banner" has immortalized him.
Or. Albeit Taylor Btedsu" was
one of the finest writer's On abstruse
points in metaphysics, ND, on the
Philosophy Of Mathematics. that
this, or any age has produced. And f,
thus we might enumerate many
Others whose names and contribu-
tions to literature would do honor
to any section.
When the great struggle between
the two sections of our country was