The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-12

ion and destruction. Piatt under
stood that perfectly, as / showed In
my first article concerning him and
ais book. | do not suppose that any
really intelligent, well-tnforned
Southron ever thought Grant immortal
oy reason of genius. as all the North
wildly believes or processes to believe,
BUT only one of those mediocre
.ncrtals, lifted into cminence Ivy sud-
len turn OF the wheel of fortune. See
lis campaign, as SO clearly given by
Or. Wyeth in his important work on
General Bedford Forrest, before he
HaS sent for to come to Washington
City. See the interesting account of
the battle with General Lee as given
by Swinton, a. Northern historian. who
saw the failure OF Grant when nc as
;aulted Lees line with 10000 men.
four deep. not far from Richmond,
md lost 200 men in one hour, tell
back, and IN vain tried to get his men
20 renew the attack. They had AL
hey wanted and not q. man obeyed,
avs Swinton, the voice Of his COM
nander. Lee had hardly 10000 men
Ill told. Reverse the picture, and
nave Lee with 10000 men, and
Grant with but 10000. There would
hardly be "a grease spo. left of
Grant and his army. The mar VINO
lass. who kept. l believe, q bar-room
before the war, and who was never so
we'll pleased as when riding with
;ockies, talking of animals. and driv-
nc fast horses to the peril of other
peoples lives and in defiance of mu-
1icipal law because, perforce. h. is
General, cannot be either q man Of
superior Intellectual parts or CT cle-
waited morals and sentiments. | have
40 doubt there were thousand men
III the Northern side In me war more
than his superior In natural mental
endowment, IL not in military train
ing: whilst on the Southern side. al
though our army was only about
fifth as large as the Yankee army, we
had probably ten thousand men who
would have sent him to the foot any
day if In q class with him. In spite OF
lge, experience and gentIemaDly as
ISOLATION, this Stupendous hero could
not write 4 decent letter---one that
would be creditable in syntax and or
to a. graduate OF =. "especta-
ole state common school After the
var the Washington correspondent Of
some Northern paper, q think it was
the New York World)., stated that ne
had seen the manuscript copy of the
etter written by Ulysses to the Presi-
dent relative to the New Orleans em-
hroglio. and that It's spelling and
grammar were eXecrable. But / only
intended to introduce the following
passage from a letter written Of Ger
eral John A. McClernand. He was a
corps commander. was n full blooded
Yankee, and doubtless knew concern
ing that which he affirmed. Ii would
seem that Grant had prosecuted
(small men always persecute), him
both as a soldier and civilian. He
said;
"a man who receives an injury may
forgive it's author, but that author
never forgives the person ne has in
jured. General Grant should, in pru-
1enee, If not In justice, be more for
bearing, for no public man of modern
times owes so much OF reputation and
in fiuence to the foTbearancc Of others.
Ii the veil were once lifted, and the
public made acquainted with his real
General Grant would stand
very differently in public estimation
than he does at present. That time
will come when the wrong dorc me
and my command will be corrected.
your obedient servant.
JOHN A. McCLERNAND."
l delight in going back TO III" real
ly great writer's OF the eighteenth and
centuries. Theic are
writer's now living who appear TO be
In agreement that they excel the mas
ters of the first bali of the last cen-
tury. and oil course those of the
century also. POSSIBLY
hey ever imagine that they are ahead
Of the great Shakespeari1n era and
its mighty concoursc Of Scniu&cs of
the first and second order. ! cling to
the great authors, and believe III their
| sometimes read the
writings OF one Of the cleverest Of the
y uthors who fiourisfed before the
middle of the la Setntrucilo -
niddlc of the last century-~WaiterI
Savage Landor. He wrote prose and
verse worthy of Greek writer OF
fame. lie held his own opinions, ahd
wrote books that should never be reg
lected. He was y man of very dacid-
ed convictions and did not hesitate to
deliver himself offend whom it might.
Percy BySshc Shelley was indeed O.
great poet, and he wrote prose OF great
but he was a Skepuc. l'er-
kaps an outright iniidel. Hence lie
suffered much in the critical opinions
Of contemporaries and writer's OF
later date. Lander knew hin~pcrson-
ally. and very greatly esteemed him
and splendid genius. lie seems TO
have loved the man who p"risned
when not more tharn thirty-opc, when
his great genius was spiendidly nov
Ing. and greater productions
would have come from his rich. Gre
at:vc brain, no doubt. Landor said he
was as "inuocent and careless as D
boy, but lie possessed all the delicate
feelings Of q gentleman, ak the dis
crimjnation of d, scholar, and united.
in just degrees, the ardour 81 tn" poet
with the patience and forbe3rance cf
the philosopher" He thought him me
most generous and charita Ole OF Nv
ing ben He bears this testimony
that "he was never known TO Sp3ah
evil Of an enemy" and he gave half
&C his income of $1,000 to tie tallcn
and afflicted every year How MANY
Christians can have this truly SAID OF
them. that they speak no evil OF any
enemy and give half they have TO the
poor and the outcaSts? And yet Shcl-
Icy was IN urbelievcr and an int1dHi.
Lander regards him as occupying tha
third place among our poets OF The
present age''--bcfore l85o--3nd de-
clarns farther that mo othcr age
since that OF SophoCleS has produced
on the whole earth so many OF such
lnerits''--lnd that Shelley lis inco!n-