Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-07-16

Christian men: and, finally, the period
after the war of sections, when the
precept "once q Kentuckian, always IL
kentuckian," was met by the answer
ing voice, blood is thicker than
water" and the Goodies, the
Billiards. and the Speeds, the Harlans,
the Frys and the Murrays clasped
their hands across the breach and
made short shift of the work of recon-
struction with the Buckners, the
Prestons and the Dukes. Thus is il
that here at least the perplexed grand
child can not distinguish between the
grizZled grandfather who wore the
blue and the grzZled grandfather who
wore the gray.
Kentucky, which gave Abraham Lin
coin to the north and jefferson Davis
to the south, contributing Il very nearly
equal quota of soldiers to each of the
contending armies of that great con-
fiict-in point Of fact, as many fighting
men as had ever voted in any election
"A larger per centum of the population
than has ever been furnished in time OF
war by any modern state-Kentucky.
thus rent by civil feud, was first to
know the battle was ended and to draw
together in reunited brotherhood. Ken
lucky struck the earliest blow for free
dom, furnished the first martyrs to
liberty i'm Cuba. 1t was a Crittenden.
smiling before fife Of Spanish mus
kerry, refusing to be bindfOlded or to
bend the knee for the fatal volley, who
uttered the keynote of his race "a Ken
tuckian always faces his enemy and
kneelS only to his God" 1t was anoth-
er kentuckian, the gallant Holman
who, undaunted by the dread decima-
ton, the cruel deathby-lot. having
drawn a white bean for himself
brushed his friend aside and drew
another i'm his stead. All, yes; we have
our humOrs along with our herOics, and
laugh anon at ourselves. and our mis-
haps and our jokes; but we are nowise
a bloody minded people; the rather a
sentimental, hospitable, kindly people,
caring perhaps too much for the pic
turesque and too little for conse-
quences. Though our jests be some
times rough, they are robust and clean.
We are a provincial people and we re-
jOice in our prOvincialism. We have
always piqued ourselves upon doing our
w
we do our blowing, in a straight fur
row; and yet it is true that Kentucky
never encountered darker days than
came upon us when the worst that can
befall a commonwealth seemed passed
and gone. The stubborn war between
the old court party and the new court
party was bitter enough; but it was
not so implacable as the strife which
strangely began with the discussion of
an honest difference of opinion touch
ing purely economic question of ma
tional. not state. policy. Can there be
one living Kentuckian who does not
look back with horror and amazement
upon the passions and incidents of
those evil days?
General Grant once said to me: "Y0u
KcntuckianS are a Clannish set. Whilst
/ was in the White House, if Ken
tuckian happened to get in harms
way, or wanted an office. the Kentucky
contingent began to pour in; in case he
was Republican, the Democrats said
he was a perfect gentleman, in case 4
Democrat, the Republicans said the
same thing: can it be that you are all
perfect gentlemen" With unbluShing
candor l told him that we were, that
we fought our battles. as we washed
our linen. at home, but that outside, |
when trouble came, it was Kentucky
against the universe. Mr.. Tilden said
Of a lad in the bluegrass country who |
had fallen from second story window
upon stone paving without n hurt
and had run away to his play. that it |
furnished conclusive proof that "he was
1aStina1 for q % in, l. .l-1
politics." Let me frankly confess
that, peacemaker though l am. and at
once the most amiable and placable of |
men. there have been times when /, !
even I. half wanted to go down to the |
crossroads 'and swear at the court"
That was when things did not swing to
suit me. That was when the majority |
appeared to think they knew more
than l did. We grow so used to bless |
ings that we heed them not and look
beyond. Yet, when trouble or danger
assails us. or humiliation, or sorrow--
or. when leagues, oceans, continents lie
between ourselves and the vanished
land from whose sacred lntels am
hition has lured us. or duty torn-and
the familiar scenes rise up before us
how small these frictions seem, how
small they are. and how they perish
from u.s.
I have stood upon the margin OF 1,
distant sea and watched the ships go
by. envioEs that their prOws We're
westward bent. I have marked the
glad waves dancing to the setting sun
heartsick with thoughts of home. And
thus wistful. yearning. ready to take
my dearest enemy by the hand and for
give him. yea. to sop gravy with him
out of the selfsame dish. those words
of the vagabond poet whose sins the
recording angel long ago blotted out Of
his book. have come to me and sung
to me and cheered me even as a moth
er's lullaby:
In all my wanderings round this world of
In all my griefs-and God has given my
I still had hopes my latest hours to
CROWN
Amid those rural scenes to Law me down.
TO husband out LIES taper at the close
And keep the flame from wasting by re-
pose.
I still had hopes-for pride attends us
still
Among the swains to show my book
learned skill,
Around my fire an evening group to