The Georgia weekly. (Greenville, Ga.) 1861-186?, February 20, 1861, Image 2

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[Wriiten for the Georgia VVteklj.} Musio —To Bosa. »V PKOr. A. (CHLICHTI*. Rosa, when with masn-r-hand thou glidrst Through the string*, obedient 1o thy call, Then reality steals from my presence, And enchantment fills the raptured soul. Listening then the zephyrs hush their murm'ring Nature pauses to thy harmony ; So did Orpheus touch his heav’nly lyre; Forest* moved through god-like melody. Now a plaintive strain, like sorrows pining, Wakes a melancholy echo in the breast; Now, as sunbeams paint the glist'ning niubow, SmileS, the tearful tone, the heart to rest. Like the warbling of the forest songsters, Like the rippling of the silver lakes, Like the merry songs in dale and valley, When the spring time slumb'riug nature wakes; Then again like distant rolling thunder, Muj Stic the deep accords resound ; Now they breathe a calm and holy prayer, Ou its wings the spirits hear'nward bound. Rosa, not of earth can be the power Which thy mighty genius here wields, Angels only teach the heav’nly language, Thus they speak in the Elysian fields. .Greenville, Ga , Het,., 1861. (Written for the Georgia Weekly.) Westminster Abbey. This ancient edifice, often been described by our countrymen, visiting England. It has long been the pride of Brittain ; and its renown is world wide. No American sees London, without contemplating the grandeur of its architecture, and exploring its con secrated chapels, and beautiful aisles. Within its walls repose the remains of Kings, Queens and members of the Royal Family of England. Here too, is the last resting place of many, who in their day, performed great public services. And here is the dust of poets, orators and others, high on the roll of literary fame. “To sleep the last sleep ” in Westminster Abbey, is an honor, that any Briton may well Civet. One of the most interesting features connected with the place, is the great number of monuments erect ed to the memory of the dead, many of them the work of the most celebra ted sculptors of Europe. These have been accumulating for centuries, at least from the reign of Edward the Confessor, down to the present time. An American cannot but be deeply moved as he wanders, in solemn calm ness along the aisles, and under the lofty arches of this grand old cathe dral. iJeneafK his*feet are the mighty dead. All around their sculptured ef figies gaze upon him, in mute and ev erlasting silence. He pauses to con template, with mixed feelings of awe, and admiration the production, it may be of a Flagman, or a Chantrey, dedi cated to some illustrious Statesman or hero, whose deeds have long since passed into English History. It is hoped that it will not he unin teresting to present a more full des cription of this celebrated Abbey.— As we have severed all political ties with New England, with a prospect of a more intimate connection with old England, at least-in point of commer cial intercourse, it may not be inappro priate, to become more familiar with some of the great names of that kingdom. It is however, more to gratify a laudable curiosity, than to obtain historical information, that or.e wishes to see, or read of this ancient abbey. What is stated is derived mostly from works, and authorities in the possession of the writer, and which he knows, to be in every wav, reli able. The subject, or perhaps it ought to be said the manner of treat ing it, may be too dry and dusty for the general reader; but it is hoped that some few, who have regard for old things, and old ways, with a lit tle antiquarian appetite, may be com pensated in spending an hour or two in, and about, this venerable pile. The founding of the Abbey is in volved in much uncertainty, some por tion of it, is said to have been built in the the sixth century. No doubt that during the eleventh century a magnif icent structure for that age, was erect ed upon the place where the Abbey now stands, and bore the figure of a cross. Henry 111, seems to have en larged the place and added a chapel dedicated to the blessed Virgin. But not till the time of Henry the VII was the stately edifice planned and execu ted ; more particularly that portion of it, known as his chapel. This part of it was designed by that King as a burying place for himself and succes sors, expressly enjoining by his will, that none but those of the blood royal should be inhumed therein. And most of the Kings and Queens of En gland have been buried here, up to the time of George 111. Since that time a chapel, in Windsor Castle has been the burying place of the Royal Family. The building sustained great ravage during the civil wars in Cromwell’s time. Subsequently, Sir Christopher Wren was employed to give it a thor ough repair. The beautiful and ma jestic towers at the West end, were planned and executed by that great architect. If has since been repaired from time to time and kept in a good state of preservation. As already remarked, the building bears the form of a cross. The style of architecture is Gothic. Its length from East to West is 530 feet.— Breadth from North to South 200 feet. Height from pavement to in ner roof 101 feet. It contains many beautiful windows of painted glass. — The towers are 225 feet high. With in the walls are nine chapels known as chapels of St. Benedict, St. Ed mund, St. Nicholas, Henry VII, St. Paul, St. Edward the Confessor, St. Erasmus, St. John, St. Andrew and St. Michael. The ceremony of crown ing and enthroning the sovereigns of England, takes place here. Religious service is held twice every day. The organ is said to be one of the finest in the Kingdom. Let us now examine some of the many monuments to the departed.— The reader will perhaps he surprised to find that quite a number of those referred to, are to persons little known, or it may be never heard of, in this country, but no doubt were celebrated characters in their day and genera tion. In the chapel of St. Edmund is a monument with the following inscrip tion : “ Here lies interred all that was mortal of the most illustrious and most benevolent John Paul Howard, Earl of Stafford, who in 1738 married Elisabeth, daughter of A. Ewens, of the county of Somerset- Esqv. Ilis heart was as truly great and noble, as his high descent. Faithful t.o his God. A lover of his country. A re lation to relations. A detester of de traction. A friend to mankind. Nat urally generous and compassionate, bis liberality and his charity to the poor were without bounds. Being snatched away suddenly by death, which he had long meditated and ex pected with constancy, he went to a better life the Ist April 17(52.” from the preceding, is a 'm-oßwieWl'’ yoViTR in Grecian armour, sitting on a Greek ahar, to the memory of Francis Holies, by John Earl of Clare, his af llictcd father. This brave youth, af ter returning home from a campaign in Flanders died Aug. 12th I(362aged 18. His epitaph is thus written: “ What so thou hast of nature or of arts, Youth, hearty, strength, or wba* excelling parts Os mind and body, letters, arms and wrrth, His eighteen years, beyond his years, brought forth, Then stand and read thyself, within this gins , How soon these perish and thyself may pass, Man's life is measured by the work, not days. Not aged sloth, but activeyouth bath praise.” Not far from the above is a monu ment to Lord John Russell and his son Francis. He died in 1584. He is represented in a cumbent posture, habited in his robes, with his infant son at his feet. The following by his lady, is inscribed on the monument: Right no v *le twice, hy virtue and by birth, Os Heaven loved, and honor'd on th»* earth, Hi> countrv's hope, his kindred’s chief delight, My husband dear, more than this world’s light. Death hath me ref r ; but I from death will take His memory, to whom this tomb I make. John was his name, (ah was !) wretch must l ?*y ? Lord Russell once, now my tea'-tliirsty clay. Monument to William Pitt. This illustrious Statesman is represented, habited in the robes of chancellor of the exchequer. To the right of the base of the statue is History, recording bis speeches, whilst Anarchy on the left lies subdued and writhing in chains at his feet. The statues com posing this group are nine feet in height. Inscription, “ This monu ment is erected by Parliament to William Pitt, son of William, Earl of Chatham, in testimony of gratitude for the eminent public services, and of regret for the irreparable loss, of that great and distinguished minister. He died Jan. 23d, lSOti, in the 47th year of his age. Major Andre. On a moulded pan neled base and plinth, stands a sar cophagus, on the panel of which is in scribed, “ Sacred to the memory of Major John Andre, who, raised by his merit at an early period of his life to the rank of Adjutant General of the British Forces in America and em ployed in an important, but hazardous enterprise fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his King and country on the 22d Oct. 1780, aged 29, universally be lovd and esteemed by the army in which he served, and lamented even by his foes. His gracious sovereign George 111, has caused this monu ment to be erected.” On the plinth ; “ The remains of the said Major An dre, were deposited on the 28th Nov. THE GEORGIA WEEKLY.. 1821 in a grave, near this monument.” The projecting figures, one of them (with a flag of truce) is presenting to General Washington a letter, which Andre had addressed to His Excellen cy, the night previous to his execution worded thus: “ Sir, buoyed above the terror of death, by the conscious ness of a life devoted to honorable’ purposes, and stained with no actions that can give me remorse, 1 trust that the request which I make to your Ex cellency, at this serious period, and which is to seften my last moments, will not be rejected. Sympathy to wards a soldier, will surely induce your Excellency, and a military tri bunal, to adopt the mode of my death to the feelings of a man of honor.— j Let me hope, sir, that if aught in my I character impresses you with esteem ! towards me. If aught in my misfor- tunes marks me as the victim of policy and not of resentment, I shall expe rience the operations of those feelings in your breast, by being informed that I inn not to die on a gibbet". I lAva** the honor to be, your Excellency, John Andre, Adjutant of the British! Forces in America.” The head now upon the figure of Washington, is said to he the third.— The original, and the one that was.put in its place, were broken off, and taken away, by some person unknown. — Wiiether it was done to gratify a feel ing of resentment against Washington, or for some other purpose is not known. Sir John Puckering. The inscrip tion on his monument says, “ lie was remarkable for his knowledge in the laws, as well as piety, wisdom and many other virtues. He was Keeper of the Great Seal of England four years in the reign of Queen Elis abeth, in which office, he died April 30. 1696. Ilis epitaph over his effigy is thus: “ The public cares an<l laws my breast: To live was toilsome, but to die is rest, Wealth, maces, guards, crowns, lilies, things ill at fade, The pray of lime and sable death are made. Virtue iuspites men. Hh wife this statue rears io her loved, spouse, The test of constancy and marriage vows. v Temple. [To be continued."] The Old Men of Meriwether. BY VIVTAN. i- ~ V T" NO. 3. Abner Durham was born in Sur ry County, N. C., 23d August, 1779. He emigrated to Georgia A. D. 1800, the year lie became of age, and set tled-in what was laid out in 1807 as Randolph, but, in 1812, was changed to Jasper County. He married-Miss Frances Cooper in the fall of 1811. Her father was one of the early settlers of Putnam Cos. The Act of CongVess, June, 1812, declaring war against Great Britain opened anew field *£or the display ot courage and that intrepid bravery which had so recently a past gen eration through a Revolutionary fiflpijffif gle. The Creek Indians were at that time a powerful nation of savages and a war of extermination existed be tween them and the white settlers on the frontier. They also became the # allies of the British and made such frequent attacks upon the whites as to often destroy whole families, and com pel others to build and live in forts. September, 1813, the Federal Gov ernment called for a levy of Georgia troops, and 3600 men were ordered to rendezvous at Fort Hawkins. Gen. Stewart, being the oldest Brigadier, was ordered to the command, but from age and infirmity he resigned his com mission, leaving Gen. John FloyiFtf^r senior officer in the State. Under many difficulties and disappointments, by the failures of the Government to supply subsistence and even transpor tation for military stores, they very patiently constructed a line of forts and block houses from the Ocmulgee to the waters of the Alabama River. T ’iere was another restless spirit in Georgia, a citizen of Jasper County, who could not quietly look on the scene around him without participa ting. This was Major David Adams. He was appointed by the Legislature to the command of an expedition against the towns on the Tallapoosa River. Abner Durham was on? of the'’ three hundred volunteers who set out with their brave commander through a wild, rugged forest in search of a cunning, savage, stealthy foe. Reach-, ing the Tallapoosa, they drove the In dians out of the town, set fire to it and enclosed them in their fortifications within the Horse Shoe Bend, only one of the whites being wounded. Dur ham had agreed to serve for six months, and at the end of that time he return ed to his family. He soon, however, joined a second expedition against the Indians and passed out along the j Okfuskee Trail. Camping on the hill 1 east of Walnut Creek, near the trail ( which ran a little south-east of the town of Greenville, he selected that j gpot for his future home and deter- | mined some day to live there. He j hrd befkn absent from home three j AlJjts when circumstances changed so that his future services were not re quired. A portion of Jasper County was set off to Morgan in 1815, and Mr. Dur ham’s residence was included in the grant to Morgan, hence he afterwards was a citizen that county. In 1825, he moved out into the Creek Nation with his little family to his old camp ing ground, the place lie had selected years before. Quite probably he was a “squatter sovereign.” * Troup County was laid out in 1826, and included the cabin of this man of the woods. Oar pioneer was a candi date for the Legislature this year and came within fifteen votes of being >1 ected. The nearest precinct Was at j Hunter’s Cross Roads. Joseph Sen- j tell owned a little mill at the Flat Shoals. The site of the present town of Greenville was a canebrake. The savage war-yell of the Indian had been hushed by the relentless hand of An glo Saxon civilization and nothing but an echo fa” away in the distance reverberating over forest and dell re minded one of the noble spirits who once roamed here free and happy. Doer and turkey were plenty and the streams were full of fish. Mr. Dur ham delighted in hunting and fishing, and none were more successful. He Used to see the deer entirely destroyed, and but few wild turkeys in the coun try. He had, however, a fondness for the wild turkey, and procured a nest of eggs of the breed and raised large flocks every year for his own use. He was fond of hunting the beaver and caught a great many of them. .His mode was to entrap them in strong, heavy, steel traps, fastened to a chain, the end of which was inserted by a staple in a tree or log on the bank of thafeteek, go that when the beaver ca^re' for the bait the trap was so .set that in climbing out of the water he would place his foot upon the trigger; the fall of the trap and the pain caused by the pressure of the spring on the Foot would frighten him back into the water, dragging it after him, the weight of which would soon drown the creature —which is an important part of the game—for if the trap itself is made stationary on the bank, as soon as a beaver is caught by the foot he instantly goes to amputating the limb to relieve himself. But the great secret in Mr. Durham’s beaver hunt ing was preparing the bait. He first caught a male beaver, procured the musk bag—scraped it nicely, put it into an ounce vial. Took equal parts nf pulverized cinnamon and cloves and added a little rum until it attained jhe consistency of table mustard—he put this into the vial until the musk had imparted to it the desired flavor. This he put upon a raw potato and placed upon the trap. He said that they would often cotne a considerable distance for this bait. He built a little .brick house in his yard and kept a pair of beavers for years. He would often in the summer take them to the creek and amuse himself seeing them swim, and enjoy the water. He had quite a number of white rabbits, and built them a nice house, and they in creased rapidly and were very beauti ful. He was a great bee hunter, and had more practical knowledge of the -bee than any man I ever saw. He professed to know his own from any others, and could hive them without trouble, take them in a gum with out angering them in the least or being stung by them. He collected more than a hundred stands, and used the honey as common syrup—putting up barrels of it in a year. Merriwether was organized in 1827, and in March the next year, the first Superior Court was held in the county —Walter T. Colquitt, Judge; Hugh W. Ector, Clerk ; only one case re turned—confessed judgment. Abner Durham was one of the Grand Jury. The report was as follows: “ We, the i/Svnnd Jury of Merriwether County, present our thanks to the Honorable Court, and inform him that we have no presentments to make. Joseph Sen tell, Foreman.” How many such re ports of Grand Juries from that day to this I have not taken the trouble to inquire, but judge that is the first and the last. This was a happy band of citizens, with homes unstained by any crime worthy of their notice. Would to-day that Merriwether could blot from the record some dark blurred pages of her history, that she might boast of a people of unexampled mor ality and purity. This year Abner Durham ha*d 202| acres of land and one negro woman. His family was growing up and becoming able to help him cultivate his farm. He began to live well and enjoy life. He was elec ted Justice of the Peace, which office ho held for nearly twenty years, lie always took great interest in the affairs of the county. An uncompromising Democrat—a great admirer of Gen. Jackson, and during the unprecedent ed struggle in the S'ate between the l Troup and Clark parties he was a | strong and ardent supporter ol the ! Clark ticket. (Jen. Frank Pierce was a model statesman with him, and after Judge Colquit became a Democrat he thought few men his equal. The Federal In ion was his organ ; he was one of the first subscribers to it, continued it as long as he lived, read it carefully and believed every word it uttered. He always managed the election and ex hibitedmuch interest in the success of his party. When the Governor and Members to Congress were elected on the General Ticket system, he would often call votes for ths tally-men all night long, and one time for thirteen consecutive hours he sat and called tickets without any apparent difficulty. He was a strong “Fire-eater” in 1850, and sustained the election of Hon. Charles J. McDonald for Governor. A few years afterwards he became very much dissatisfied with some of his old political associates upon the Temperance question. He Relieved that it was impossible to prohibit any thing—that we could not prohibit mur der nor theft, and that prohibition was contrary to the very nature of men. and that it was his right to eat and drink whatever he pleased. He made his own peach brandy. I never knew him to drink to excess. His next de tested and perhaps his most, hated po litical opponents, were the “Know Nothings.” He fought a myth a long time, but after he got to the substance he handled them ungloved. lie was a Primitive Baptist, and opposed to all secret societies—Free Masons, Sons ‘of Temperance, Know Nothings, all came under the ban of his anathema. He was elected Judge of the Inferior Court in 1848, and served for two terms as’ one of the guardians of the public interest of the County. We have followed him along until he has attained a good old age. lie has seen the native forest felled and the lands worn out —a town built in a canebrake —the log-cabin give place to a stately mansion—his one negro woman raising her dozen stout, able bodied boys to labor for and wait upon him in bis declining years. His own children are grown and seveval of them have families. Judge Durham, still stout and able to hunt all day and go fishing with the boys at night, and at seventy years of age can mash a crust of bread without a tooth in his head, and boast that he never took a dose of medicine in his life. He was a man of medium height, rather muscu lar frame, broad chest, keen, black eye—his head became very bald, by which he was often designated. His firmness was a predominating trait in his character. His family relations were happy—had an an affectionate, amiable wife —his boys grew up to be moral, good citizens, and his daughters virtuous and kind. A good husband, an affectionate father, an indulgent master, a fast friend and a noble old patriot. There is a story told of Ab garus, I believe it is related by Jose phus. He brought several beasts, ta ken in different places, to Rome, and let them loose before Augustus. Every beast ran immediately to that part of the circus where a portion of earth taken from his native soil had been laid. Education and habit, obligation and interest attach most men to their country, but Abner Durham had an instinctive love for everything the South called her own. Her mountains and swamps, her rivers and lakes, her prosperity and enterprises —the elo quence of her orators —all inspired him with a noble enthusiasm. Even in his last breath, with a stammering tongue, he would, as if echoing from the grave, the song of his life, tell them to “ Stand by the Constitution! Stand by the Constitution !” About the Ist March, 1856, he was attacked with pneumonia, and his friends soon saw that it must prove fatal. He made his will and distribu ted his estate to his family as equally as he could—appointed two of his old friends, Dr. 11. S. Wimbish and John Robinson, his Executors, and on the 14th, at the good old age of seventy five, he passed away into that “last, long, dreamy sleep, that knows no waking.” (Ejie ©ratgia fptrftlg. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20. Prepare for War! We have been one of the last to yield a credence to the many rumors of impending civil war; for notwith standing our knowjfdgc of the spirit of fanaticism now maddening the Black Republican party, our confi dence in the common sense and fra ternal patriotism of the descendants of a common ancestry, inspired us with the hope, that even the fierce po litical strugglo of 1861, in the late Union, would end in a peaceable ad justment of all difficulties. Our trust in the common sense of man, even as a mere animal, devoid of reasoning faculties forced us to be lieve that the consolidation of our powerful and warlike States, number ing fully eight millions of whites, would serve as an insurmountable bar rier to those ambitious, insane and bo sotted views of negro equality which have shattered the mighty American Republic, as irremediably as if an ocean of flame rolled its billows of fire between and beneath the disrupt ed confederacies. This trust has proved to be a vapor, a mere ignis fatuus —a belief now shattered, crushed, ground to dust by the belligerent threatenings of the arch traitor, Abraham Lincoln, backed by the fearful fact that the Federal city is bristling with bayonets, and re sonant with the alarms of fast ap proaching war. It is vain to hope for peace, for the High Priest of Abolitionism in his triumphal march to the City of Wash ington, has declared his unalterable determination to retake every fort and arsenal of the “ Confederate States of America;” to hold every armed fort of that Republic, vi et arm is ; to col lect its rightful revenues ; to blockade its seaports with hostile navies, and to punish the leaders of its people. The glib-tongued traitor, Seward, declares for war, and that the enemies of negro equality “shall be swept away as moths before a whirl wind the Northern Senators avow “the fate of traitors” to all advocates of disu nion ; States that cowardly shrank from every war with a foreign foe since the warof the Revolution, States which hoped for foreign triumph in 1812 and 1846,are arming and breath ing bloody menaces against the South. At length the old serpent of Spring field has coiled for his spring and raised his detested crest above the hiss ing brood of minon vipers and vermin, and unsheathed his fangs for war. Citizens of the South! that for which all of you have waited, that up on which many of you have delayed ere your voices should be one united cheer for a Southern Confederacy forever, that which has clogged the action of the slow moving border States has, at length, become a real ity, a fact, a destiny. Abraham Lin coln has spoken! and like Moloch in lhe infernal Senate of Satan, he cries: “ My sentence is for open war!" The Black Republican party was born in fanaticism, grew to power in confusion, and now must live or perish in the roar of bloody and extermina ting civil war. It is, therefore, our sad duty to de clare our firm belief that within one short month the birth of the Southern Confederacy will be baptised in South ern blood. This must happen, or the Abolition party must retrace its triumphant ad vance and sink to ignoble oblivion.— The history of all nations proves that fanaticism never dies a natural death —it never perishes without a fierce and bloody struggle for life or power. Guided by this experience it would be folly for us to hope that the incoming administration of the Abolition party will yield without an appeal to the sword. He who imagines or hopes that the South will, or can yield after the late mighty events, is a fool and a traitor. She cannot, and the North will not —war is inevitable, unless some prodigy in political history shall suddenly, and at once, change th e minds of nearly two millions of aboli tionists, who believe they are right and all others are wrong. To your arms, men of the South ! Hope no more for peace; or if you cannot cease to hope, hope with your rifles in your hands and your swords unsheathed. Hope as you see the en emy inaugurate its blood-thirsty and renegade chief amid loaded cannon and sharpened bayonets, upon South ern soil, in a Southern city, with a Southern warrior—old in. fame, young in infamy—daring your brethren to