The farmer and mechanic., 1910-02-22
At THE, HOME OF JEFFEKSON
DAVIS

claen by the music Oh uio
ia ocean as they beat upon the si1oie
and where in the day his eyes cooi'
80 ,,non the scene Of which he never
Grew tired. It was in mucn the 0"iiio
cnirit that Mr. Davis, when the ioi
+,,noc of war had retired him from
a long public career ana ne lei. ~
duty of not again seeking 70 leau VIZ
neople who had so long trusted iiliii'
desired a haven where the hrst opJeo'
that met his gaze was the 'eS'io''
waves of the sea and the last WAS 'ii0
plorv of the setting sun as 1T criiii-
eoned the incoming tide. There is
restfulness about the ocean that ID
welcomed by those who have oeeh IA
the strenuous activities OF il1e tnat
soothes as does nothing else. Inc
changing mountain scenery olVerIs'
but it is ever quiet and never chahs-
ing The moving of the waters, the
incoming and outgoing OF the tides.
the white-caps on the waves. and the
surging billows seem to keep time
with the mental processes or the
man of affairs, and produce a rest
fn,ness that can come from no land
scape or mountain scenery.
Mr. Davis had a tWo-fold mission IN
making this his home. l. He wished
to withdraw himself from the world
about him, to find the rest that he
soreIy needed after his strenuous
life in the early sixties and his horrl-
bic imprisonment; 2. He wished
free from interruption. when he be-
came strong, to write The Rlse ana
Fall Of the Southern COnfederacy
which would give his position to pos
terity and secure his fame from the
asnersious of indictment and imprison-
nent Then Beauvoir was remote
from any city, removed from quick
transportation. and yet near enough
to Biloxi to give a market where sup
plies could be easily secured There
were something like a thousand acres
in the place when Mr.. Davis moved
here but he conducted no farm. In
deed the land is not suited for farm
ing. It is an ideal place for quiet
home for a gentleman Of leisure, or a
retired public man who needs quiet
contemplation to reflect and write q
story Of the struggles Of a brave peo-
pie who were overcome in great con-
flict. Within few feet Of the place
where the waters Of the Gulf break
upon the shore.-far enough for
shaded beautiful front yard and near
enough to sit on the porch and hear
the waves beat on the wharf-is the
house occupied by Mr.. Davis. It rests
upon high pillars, something like
| twelve feet from the ground and the
| wide porch and broad hall give COM
| fort and make for simple stateliness.
There are four rooms, two on each
| side Of the wide hall. with an added
bed room on the right hand side OF
| the hall in the rear. There Is an am
pie back porch, enclosed with green
blinds. and in warm weather the
meals were served on this back
porch. with table set looking into the
hall. so that as one sat at meat he
could look upon the bosom OF the gulf
and be famed by it's breezes. The
hall and rooms are frescoed, the house
Is painted white, with green blinds. In
all the styles and changes of architec
| ture, nothing has made an improve
ment on the square house, painted
| white. with green blinds The Jeffer-
son Davis house is of this type with
an added room on the right hand side
at the rear. The house Is fur
| nlshed very much like It was
when occupied by Mr. Davis and
his family. Visitors are shown the
beds upon which they slept the old
piano Is in place, there are oil Dor
traits of MT Davis as boy, youth. SOL