The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-03-24
ny WILL Il. HALE.

note taat Mr., Whltciaw Reid has
delivered the conventional Northern
appreciation" of Lincoln TO the Brit
ishers. placing him beside Washing
ton and far above certain European
big-wigs like Bismarck.
That Is all right, IL somewhat tire
some. Lincoln ,,-s a great man; cir
cumstanceH made him So
The North in honorinE him. keeps
ilselG large, as, In making John Brown
inr5e. II makes Itself small.
Since Elijah leapcd and cavortod be-
tore ahab's CHARIOT, almost every
great man has had ut least one op-
tortunity 10 make fool Of himself.
and there arc few men or whom some
ming uncompl' mentnry cannot be told.
IL boots not that Lincoln was a party
10 the trcachcry (tho deceit practiced
when Fort sumter was dcmandcd) by
which HIS government prccipituteL the
war: that he was the steady patron
Of beast butter, Banks and Hunter,
his instincts not revolving at their
treatment Of generous enemies and
helpless women and children; or that
this by an obscrvaDt foreign historian
cannot be disputed: For nets like tho
population Of naval paroles, Buffers
insult TO the women OF New Orleans,
the illegal seizure OF Mrs. Lees prop
. 'itS I AIbIiG IcH. tnc cnOlCC between
starvation and perjury enforced upon
noncomLs tan,s and women in occu-
pied districts, the Systematic plumber
and 'nccndiarisni or the Western
armies. MIR. Lincoln was so far re-
hponslblc that he could have prevented
most OF them. ana punished all" Let
US ignore that We are getting to-
ecther: and when Senator Hepburn ~
zone. II not before, we may try TO
nirtt nj
the Lord God, Behold. will take the
stick or Joseph. which lis In the hand
OF Ephraiip. and the tribes or Israel
his fellows. aud Will put them with
him even with the stick OF Judah. and
make thcm one stick, and they shall
hc one In mine hand And / Will
make them one nation in the land
upon the mountains of Israel.
aud they shall be no more two nations.
rcithcr shall they be divided into two
Kingdoms any more ut all"
I was eight years old when Lincoln
was assassinated ed. trust shall be
believed when say that recall the
evening, and the very aspect of the
afternoon, when the particulars OF the
tragedy reached tn. village. Some
how my father had come into possess
SION Of IA daily paper from Nashville
lie wns the best reader In the neigh
borhood. and so II crowd gathered
around him. | heard him In his well
handling of words that then seemed
10 inc OF learned length aud thunder.
ing. sound. give tho details of the
matters concerning John wilkes
booths escape from the scene. 1t was
almost the hour snnset. The April
afternoon waH Gray and sombrc. for
It had heen drizzling rain NIL day;
there was no sound, perhaps. gave the
Growing Of a cork, presaginG. ms the
country folk believed change In tn,
49, Il. A ~ ,, 4, "A
about were Cnionists and Secessionists
OF the village aud tho surrounding
,ieighhorhood From settlement call
cd Dismal Creek. where nlne-tenths
Very eScitable folk In religion and poll
tiles, were three or four bronzed mon:
these wept- The Sccessionists were
grnv,-faccd., maybe having inward
fears for the South; But all we're
that would offend. There was no
threat against the rebel traitors on
the past of those In sympathy with
iEirers Of Jefferson Davis 'sven went
SO far as to eNclaim like the old wo-
man baakct-mnkcr OF Smith county DR..
Squ,res used to tell about. When her
nouncc the news OF the assassination
dry eye with mel
Whenever l sec tho name of Lincoln
memory goes back to that dreur scene
in tho little war-scarred village.
What q quacr thing is memory. any
how! 1t is sort of combined West-
minister. where there arc caskets COW
cred with cobwebs. and fetid doors of
decaying human bodies. and echoes and
silence-these are. the unhappy recol.
]cctions; and palace where thcre are
beautiful flowers. and fragrance OF
etornally burning censers. and stat
N hn Ia Fr,tNn
OF days that used to be--.thcse are the
pleasant things of the mind making o
pilgrimage to the past
During the war tho wife OF ,James
Chestnut, an aide do-camp on the staff
or President Davis kept q diary. II
this priceless volume she refers to the
great southern poet, Paul II. Hayne
with his parents visiting in Richmond.
wae thsp IN full hnyDo
s apDn pei Sesan Of baa s TheFs
chubby fist Sectional prejudice was
then strong, 'syen among the children
recall how 1t was In the village
There were few rebel" families. and
Doy-childrsn were divided into little
armies. having their camps. and also
their rock battles. Since reached my
majority hnvo had no hanlsoring for
service in the army. ! care only for
tho paths Of peace.
But WAS once a GcTsral-nnonr
tho small rebels Of my noighborhood
IT may be that my exnerlence-one in
particular--in our CONFLICTS tended &c
make me prefer poace. Riding our
stick horses, four or i've OF us made
raid on somo Yankees encamped up
u lano. and routed them terribly. THAT
evening Colonel John Woodside, astride
a fine cane horse that had wire bits
and real leather bride, canlo to our
camp. He was Q Yankee commander.
He had no flag of true. unloss it was a
bit of his shtrt-tail sticking from o
Z rent in the seat Of his trousers, but
we did not harm him. Said he:
II was in the battle this m ornin',
when you charged us, General Tlaie is
( Why, he dashed rlsht in among us, an