Year: 1861

marched into the enemy's country


would be likely to date his first lette


to his mother in that way, but it is no


soldier-like, and has an evergreen fla


vor about IT. The General has heart


of the controversy about the publica


ton of his. report. His "attention hs
just been called" to it. "My attention


has Just been called" is about as orig


inal form of expression in commen


cling card as the old style of "hopine


these few lines viii find you in thl


same state of health" Perhaps, how


ever, it is forcible enough for fhe occa


sion. The President, he says, is the


''sole Judge of when and what part o.


the commanding officers report shal


be made public" which is to say, in
Snowman style, "Gentlemen and ladies,
here you see the celebrated General,
BEAUBEGARD. the greatest military gen.
ius discovered in the remarkable nine
teenth century. He has whipped the
enemy and written out his report, and
JEFF Davis has it in his pocket, and can
prevent you from reading it if he de-
sires to do so-but here ] am and /
don't care" And he proceeds to say
he don't care how long the document
is suppressed. Of course not. He is
too great to be troubled about small
matters.


The General proceeds:


meantime / entreat my friends not
to trouble themselves about refuting
the ISLANDERS and calumnies aimed
against me-"


There is greatness for you set in a
frame, and looking out of the corners
of its eyes at the applsuding universe.
He knows his strength, and can afford
to despise his assailants. The trouble
is he is two conscious of his greatness.
The genuine article Of manhood is not
so solicitous to advertise its excellence
to the vulgar.


And here is historical sllusion
worthy of Charles Summer:


"Alcibiades, on a certain occasion,
resorted to an extraordinary method to
occupy the minds of his traducers-let,
then, that synopsis answer the same
purpose for me, in this instance"


Now Alcibiades is said TO have cut
off his dogs tail to attract public atten-
ton, in order that his more grievous
pranks might not be brought under dis
cussion. Beauregard has allowed the
tail of his report to be cut off, and pre-
sented to the public in the form of a
synopsis. Felicitous, isn't it? Alci-
blades was a double traitors traitor
TO his country and to those to whom be
had betrayed his country, and was
finally put to death ANONYMOUSLY by
those to whom he had last proved
treacherous. The happiness Of Beau
regards historical parallel will occur to
all. And the following is quite as su-
perb as anything that preceded it:


"Suffice it to say, that l prefer the
respect and esteem of my countrymen
to the admiration and envy Of the
world"


What an immense position the man
is in! How gorgeous the alternative.
He has, it seems, to choose between the
respect and esteem of his countrymen,
on the one side, and the admiration and
envy Of the world on the other. He
must be related to the negro preach
sr-a Louisianian, we believe-who
was telling his hearers of the two roads,
one of which led to HI, and the other
10 d-n-n. Do we understand
him to say, if he would sacrifice the re-
spect and esteem of his countrymen,
be would win the admiration and envy
of the world? That might not be so
as some other of his prop
ositions.


He hopes to answer his calumniators
with new victories, but asks nothing Of
the country. Of course it will be the
duty of all the chivalry to fall into
new tantrums of emotion at such un-
paralleled sublimity and magnanimity.
He says:


81 am not either candidate, nor do
desire to be candidate, for any civil
office in the gift of the people or Exec
utiye."


"Not either candidate" is good. 1t
is as good as Artemus Ward. As
reward for a disposition so self-sacri-
6cing, the people are expected to nom-
mate him at once for the highest Office
within their gift. Nothing else would
meet the views of the chivalry--and
the innocent don't know what he is do
ing, does he? The conclusion of the
letter is very sweetly toned. The Great
Chieftain is thinking of retiring to his
precious home, never to leave it, "un-
less to fight anew the battles Of my
country" The aim Of his ambition is
to "retire to private life."


Was there ever clearer case of the
clumsy demagoguery of weak man.
He writes neither good sense nor toler-
able English. We do not think there
are more than three Brigadier Gener-
ais in the United States service 1--WE
have deliberated on this remark who
are such consummste asses as to be ca
pable of such letter. And thus this
fussy person who has been the bugbear
of the nation, during the war, is found
when he presents himself to the public
without his toggery to bear about the
same relation to historic persons, to
whom he has been linked by the chiv-
airy, that a Jay bird does to the royal
eagle. Upon close examination the de-