The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-04
S-&-s----
A PORTRAIT on VICTORIA.
The Picture Sold by IA Confederate
Exile to Macmillan in Mexico.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
1.-THE first pictures / can remember
were of Queen Victoria and Henry Clay"
said a man who is now so and is taking
his ease in New York. THE picture of
the Queen was colored plate. a copy
OF the painting by Thomas Sully. How it
ever got where I saw ii 1 don't know.
ut hung in the home of my father,
| who was living on the border. There
wasn't a white settlement ten miles west
of his place. Indians used to come to his
house to swap their work for anything
they could get and one of my recollec-
tions is their fondness for the Queens
picture One of them tried to steal it.
1.-The picture had quite a history later
on. My father moved away from the bor-
der and went to St. Louis. Soon after
young artist came to our house to live.
He became a celebrity. He painted the
Country Election and during the Civil
War he painted the celebrated picture
known in Missouri as Order No. II
which was a commentary on canvas of a
military order issued at the time which
drove many Southern people out of the
state The artist was also a politician
and If ] mistake not he was once MEM
Der of Congress. but for the life of me
cannot recall his name
He painted an oil from the colored
plate of Queen Victoria. That was prob
ably the first canvas of the Queen ever
turned out so far West. The painting
attracted attention and was for awhile on
exhibition
In the Civil War my father was Con-
federate soldier. II was the custom for
Union soldiers to visit the houses or
Southern sympathzers in search of con-
traband articles. squad went to my
fathers house. The young officer in
command saw the painting of the Queen
and took off his cap to 1t. He asked my
mother If she was an English subject. AM
evasive reply was made, and the young
officer politely begged pardon and said
that his mother was an English woman
and that picture of her Queen in any
rouse meant protection to that house 70
far as he was concerned. With that he
ordered his squad away.
AT the close of the wsr number of
Confederates preferred to go 20 Mexico,
and as you may know more than
thousand, nearly all of whom had been
officers in the Confederacy, crossed the
border and offered their services to Max
imilan. My father was one of the num-
ber
Macmillan did not accept the service
or the e&~tOlIGueTdltS, anu edCu was lelL
TO decide his own destiny. Some remain
ed In Mexico, and did well. My father
purchased a plantation near the capital.
One day several hunters stopped at his
place and had dinner. They were foreign
ers. and their bearing proclaimed high
birth.
zone OF them became interested in the
painting OF Victoria and bought It. Tho
family was loath to part with IT, but the
purchaser offered a price far beyond ,ts
value. Besides, he said he wished II for
his wife A few days later the painting
was sent for.
Its destination at the time was not
known But some time after a former
Confederate visited my father and in
formed him that his painting of queen
Victoria hung IN the room of the Empress
Carlotta, and that her husband. MaNimil-
ian, was the purchaser. He was one OF
the party who had visited my fathers
plantation. OF the subsequent history Of
the painting | know nothing. | would
give any reasonable sum to get it,"