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ELOQUENT jaiBDTE TO MR. DAVIS.
The Fond du Lac (Wis.) Press, an
aide nod distinguished conservative jour
nal, pays the following tribote to the illus
trious stateman and uncomplaining prison*
er at Fortress Monroe, and makes a de
mand for his release op the purest grounds
of reasqp. It says:
We have always regarded it as a jixed
/act that sooner or later Jefferson J)a
,vis would be .released, without being
.brought to trial, unless, indeed, his captors
succeeded in their evident design to mur
der biro, ( by the slow torture of rigorous
confinement to which be baa* been subjec
ted.
Itwopjd be impossible to coDviot him
as a traitpr before any court, except, in
deed, a military commission, composed of
such creaturaa'aS'the the men who pro*
nounced the death sentence upon Mrs. Bar*
rail, whose memories will be execrated
through all coming tune.
Not only did Jefferson Davis commit no
act of treason, but we believe that first,
lost and always, his acts were governed by
motives of the purest and most disinteres
'ted patriotism, lie betrayed no sacred
trust, be made no effort to elevate him
self to positions of honor and power, like a
’ selfish aspiring politician ; but of all the
brilliant array of Southern talent,'eloquence
and genius assembled i/i the Senate cham
ber at Washington, he was the acknowl
edged leader and superior of all. When
,the people of the State he represented cal-'
led upon him, as their Representative, to
j withdraw from Congress, be promptly res
ponded ; and of all the Southern members
who bowed tbeir haughty larewell to the
.Senate, he made the most polished and
courtly adieu.
At the time the Government of the
Confederacy was formed, his vast expe
rience and unequajed abilities as a states*
man made him emphatically the political
leader of the South, while his pleasing ad
dress and his intellectual superiority over
all the other distinguished men of the
ifsoutb made him the idol of the Southern
people. He nocepted the position of Pres
ident, not with any design ol building up
for himself a splendid fortune and endur
ing fame, hut because he was chosen to
, ( ftll that position by the unanimous voice
of eight millions of people, and because he
deemed it his sacred duty as a patriot to
remain truo to the South in her hour of
peril.
How far he erred in making this final
decision, which oast his iorttmes with
those of the Southern people, it is idle
now to inquire; to-day, as a traitor,
though he is branded Jwe honor and res
pect him, while we despise such vile,
'base creatures as Holts aud lirownlow, and
can truly believe that Washington was not
more admired and beloved by the patriots
of the Revolution than Jefferson Davis is
by the Southern people to-day. History
fails to point us an example of more en
tire unanimity—we search the records in
‘vain to find an instance surpassing the love
and (devotedness they have exhibited for
biro.
(
It is the very superiority of Jeffenon
Davis which has oaused all hia persecution
and suffering. The Abolition fiends well
know that he fias no ordinary niau, whose
splendid genius was so long the brightest
star in the Senate—they know it was no
weak, common mortal who, for four years
controlled the destihioe of eight millions
of people, and they fear the influence
which his giant intellect and matchless el
oquence would exert in taoujdiug the fu
ture destiny of America, knowing that
it is impossible to convict him of treason,
they hope to dispose of him by the slow
torture of confinement and privation.
But time and afflictiou has failed to bow
hia lolly spirit—insults, chains and dun
geons can never wholly destroy that supe
riority, eloquence and genius with which
God has endowed him. To-day, emaoia
ted with long months of confinement in a
dreary fortress, guarded by bayonets and
surrounded by Yankee spies and inform
al*, we recognize the same calm, stately,
superior being who figured so grandly in
the recent terrible drama of American his
tory—who crushed the Northern Senators
ty • humiliating ‘consciousness of their
own inferiority, when he made his high
toned adieu to the Senate.
1. > •*
For Jefferson Davis, we ask no Execu
tive clemency, for he has committed no
treason. For him we implore no pardon,
for he is no traitor; all we ask, all we de
sire, is that he shall receive a fair, impar
tial trial,and his guilt or inoocenOe be de
cided by a jury of his own countrymeb.
Bat this, of all things, his enemies are de-
termined he shall not have—for they know
in this event he would come forth with no
stain upon his character—no tarnish upon
hia horror.
Sound .Advice to Parents.—The Phil
adelphia Ledger, under the head of “Early
Indulgence of Appetites,” gives this sound
advice:
parents should ponder well on the dan
ger af an early aßd capricons indulgence
of the appetites and imaginary wants of
their children. Repetition soon becomes
a habit, and a habit once formed, even in
childhood, will often remain during the
whole of after life, acquiring strength eve
ry year, antil at last it acts all, human and
divine, at defiance. Let parents who yield
to the cries of their children for dainty and
promiscuous food, or who allow them to
torment domestic, animals, or to strike their
nurses, or to raise the band against any
person, consider well on the consequences.
The moral efforts of pampering the appe
tites of children are moat melancholy. Is
the mother afraid of an explosiou of pas
sion, bribe is too often promised in the
shape of a cake or tart, as a peace offering.
Does it annoy a whole company by its
bolstering or ill timed pranks, it is persua
ded to be quiet by the promise of some
sweetmeats. If it has been good, as tbe
pbrase is, and learned its letters, the reward
is still' too frequently something for tbe
stomaoh. Eating is regarded as the chief
end ar.d object of life by a child, who sees
in it the chief incentive to good behavior.
A premium would truly seem to be giveu
for gluttony. The use of the nobler sen
ses, and of the faculties of the inind, the
easy cultivation of the kindlier and better
feelling of our nature —generosity, disin
terestedness, pity, filial love—all are over
come or postponed in favor of the one sen
sual, selfish and absorbing act of gorman
dizing.
Mutual Affection.—lf there is a sin
gle blissful moment, like a star spaikling
in the shadowy firmament of life, it is that
which discovered a long-nourished affeo
tion to be mutual. The moon as she rides
on in the infinity of space, has not a great
er influence upon the ocean-tide, than tbe
passion of love upon the tide of human
thought—now permitting it to settle down
in a state of temporary tranquility—-and
now bidding it heave sml swell by the
magic of its viewless power. Without it
what would be the world ? Asa creation
without light. Yet possessing it as we do,
bow does it discompose the soberest plans
of reason—how tbe loftiest bulwarks of
stern philosophy bow down and disappear
before the fragrance of hia breath ! It is
poetry of thought when reason slumbers
on her stately throne, or wauders away in
happy dreams. It is scarcely to be feign
ed, for it appears in a halo of soft witching
light, which dazzles while it fascinates the
mind’, eye. It is to the spirit wbat sun
shine is to flowers, luring the fragranoe
from its young nature, or as the band of
beauty to the slumbering lute, passing over
the silent chords till it doth “discourse most
eloquent music.’'
Hymen and Low Men.—Donchet, the
French poet, tells us that Hymen was
a young man of Athens, obscurely
born, but extremlv handsome. Falling in
love with a lady of rank, he disguised him
self in female attire, the better to carry ou
his armour; and as he was on day on the
seashore, celebrating the Eleusinian rites
with bus mistress and her female(compan
ions, a gang of pirates came upon them by
surprise, and carried them off to a distant
land, where thepirates got drunk for joy
and fell asleep. Hymen then armed the
virgins, and dispatched the sleeping pirates;
when, leaving the two women upon -the
island, he sped to Athens, told bis adven
ture, and demanded his beloved in mar
riage as her ransom. His request was
granted; and so fortunate was tbe mar
riage, that the name of Hymen was ever
after invoked on all future nuptials; and in
progress of lime, the Greeks enrolled him
among their gods.
A mother admonishing her eon (a lad
some seven years of age,) told him he
should never defer till to-morrow what he
could do to-day. The little urchin replied,
“Then mother, let’s eat the remainder of tho
plum pudding to-night.’
A WasbSogton paper, in noticing a
number of patents just granted, says: ‘Dan
Tucker, whose 'namesake has been so often
referred to in connection with an arrival
behind the time for tea, has received a
patent for a gimlet’
MARRIAGE.
Mao and wife are equally concerned to
avoid all offences of each other in tbe be
ginning of their conversation ; every lit
tle thing can blast an infant blossom, and
the breath of the south wind can shake
tbe little rings of the vine, when first they
begin to curl like the locks of anew wean
ed boy ; but when, by age and consolida
tion, they stiffen into the hardness of a
stem, aod have, by the warm embraces of
tbe sun and the kisses of heaven, brought
forth tbeir clusters, they can endure the
storms of the north, and tbe loud noisea of
a tempest, and yet oever be broken; so
are the early unions of an unfixed mar
riage ; watchful aud observant, jealous and
busy, inquisitive and careful, aud apt to
take alarm to every unkind word. No
man can tell, but he that loves his children
how many delicious accents make a man’s
heart dance in the pretty conversation of
those dear pledges; their childishness,
tbair little angels, their innocence, their
imperfections, their so many
little emanations of joy and comfort to
him that delights in their persons and soci
ety ; but he that loves not his wife and
children feeds a lioness at home, and broods
a nest of sorrows, and blessing itself can
not make him happy ; so that all the com
mandments of God enjoining a man to
‘love bis wife,’ are nothing but so many
neceesiliea and capacities of joy.
A Pungent Sermon.—St. Jerome, in
one of his sermons, gave a rebuke to the
yfotneo of his day, which has seemed to
be so apropos to our ow*, that it is circu
lated just now in Parris ‘quite univcrsal
ly :
“Ah ! I shall tell yon who are the wo
men that scandalize Christians. They are
those who daub their cbeecks with red aud
their eyes with black—those who plaster
faces too white)to be huroao, reminding us
of idols—those who cannot shed a tear
without its tracing a furrow on the painted
surface of their laces—whose ripe years
fail to teach them Ibat they are growing
old—those whose headdresses aro made up
of other people’s hair—those who chalk !
wrinkles into the counterfeit presentment
ol youth, and those who affect the demean- j
or of bashful maidens in the presence of
troops of grand-children.
Early Impressions or Piety.—Knowl
edge, planted by the hand of affecliou in
the hallowed sanctuary of home, is wont to
take deeper root than “seed sown by the
way side.” Parents who write, with their
own pencils, lines of heaven ujion the fresh
tables of the children’s hearts—who trust
not to tbe hands of hirelings their first,
holiest, most iudelabie impressions—will
usually find less than others to blot nut
when the scroll is finished, and to mourn
for when they read it in eternity.
A man who advertised to give •fthe best
of sound, practical advice for fifty cents,
that would be applicable at any time and
to all persons and conditions of life,’on ap
plication bv a victim, “per mail,’ sent tbe
following; “Never give a boy a dime to
watch your shadow while you climb a tree
to look into tbe middle of next week. It
don’t pay.’
Cookery-book.—“ Has that cookery
book any picture*!" said Miss C. to a
book-seller. “No, Miss, none,’ was the an-1
swer. “Why!’ exclaimed the witty and
beautiful lady, “what is the nse of telling |
us how to make a good dinner if they give \
us no plate t P
Cool Compliment.—An acquaintance
the other day meeting with a lady friend in
the street, passed the word, “Fine day,
Mias D.’ “Hue,” exclaimed tho shivering
damsel; “ray feet are cold »» ice.’ “Very
likely,’ was the cool rejoinder, “I have al
ways said you had an ice foot.’
A man in Cincinnatti recently eut his
throat, because he lived next door to an
amateur trombone player. The coroner
held an inquest and returned a verdict o
‘justifiable homicide.’
‘This way, captain V shouted an Euglish
soldier at Inkeruian; ‘I have a prisoner.’
‘Well bring him here.’ ‘I should like to,
but the scoundrel won’t let me go !’
The old gentleman who undertook to
take the twist out of the maelstrom, has
gone out West to whitewash tbe Rocky
Mountains. He goes for large jobs.
The advantage op change.— A person
asked an Irishman why he wore his stock
ings wrongaide outward. ‘Because,’ said
be, “/Acre’s a hole oh the other side.
To enjoy life you should be a little mis
erable occasionally. Trouble, like cayen
ne, is not very agreeable in itself, but gives
great zest to other things.
AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA.
The London Times thus gives the gist of
tbe issue between these two powers, which
now threatens tbe peace of Europe :
{ Count Bismark was ready to boy Aus
-1 tria out at a fair valuation. He offered
j between $7,000,000 and $8,000,000 in
I money, and would have been open to any
j other reasonable proposal in the way of
, barter or sale But Austria has upset all
j these calculations. Whether she has at
: length determined to resist tbe aggrandize
-1 men tof Prussia, or whether she has been
incensed by the overbearing insolence of
ber rival, it is needless to conjecture; but
now, at the eleventh hour, she lias announ
: ted a policy which is fatal to tbe expecta
tions of Prussia. She no longer admits
that the Danish Duchies have lapsed, in
default of lawful claimant to the conquer
iug powers. She treats the question of
succession as if it had been merely suspen
ded, and contemplates the possible estab
lishment of certain pretensions to the title,
i Finally, she talks of referring the dispute
| to the tribunal provided by the Germanic
: constitution—that is, to that very Asseu
j bly the authority of which the combined
I with Prussia at the ontset'of this business
j to repudiate.
j The question now is to what extremity
tbe tn o Powers are prepared to go in sup
| port of tbeir respective demands. Briefly
| and plainly Pmsia demands both Schleswig
. and Holstein for himself, being ready at
i the same lime to pay an indemnity fur the
i cession of Holstein. Austria demands the
I abandonment of these projects altogether,
and tbe transfer of the Duchies to tbe
Confederation for disposal or allotment. If
Prussia yields this, she yields all ; hut it is
not probable tbat Count Bismark, is pre
pared (or auy such concession. His de
sign was to ply Austria by a variety of
measures at once, to lend her and drivo
her at the same time, to bribe her with one
hand and threaten her with tho other.—
But bis threats were carried too far, and
Austria, when menaced with war, suddeuly
accepted the issue. She could not attempt
to save her smalt army ol occupation in
Uolstein, but she could threaten Silesia.
Bo she concentrated her troops on the Prua
j sia frontier, and then, w hen Prussia res
-1 ponded by similar concentration*, demon
i tied to know the intentions of her autago
nist. The Cabinet of Berlin replies as wo
now see, and the two governments vie with
each other in desclaiming any intention of
aggression. In this disclaimer, as far as
the letter of the protest goes, they are both
sincere, for eacli desires to leave the other
with the responsibility of commencing the
war, if war there roust be. But all tbi«,
however “categorically” the notes may be
framed, is empty talk. Sooner or later,
either openly or covertly, a different ques-
Liou must be asked and answered, nnd tbat
is, wbat Prussia intends to do with Schles
wig and Holstein. At prescut Austria
thinks that Prussia moans to seize the Du
chies by force, and she prepares force in
return. Prussia for the present hesitates ;
but if Austria persists tbe Court of Berlin
must necessarily sacrifice either its ambi
tious projects or its hopes of peace.
SHALL OUR MAILS BE STOPPED*
We emit earnest attention, says the Carolini
an, to the letter of his Excellency Gov. Orr,
which appears below. Repeated efforts have
been made by the Postmaster-General, Attor
ney-General, and President to induce Congress
to modify the provisions of the oath adminis
tered to public officers in the South, but with
out avail, and at last the necessity hss been
forced upou our people, either to appoint per
sons who cun take the oath, or be deprived of
most valuable privileges. In many portions of
the South the duties of postmasters are now
performed by ladies, and we presume that
enough may be found in Sooth Caftlina, to
spare us from the misfortunes that would re
sult from the utter breaking np of the mail
system. We hope therefore, that prompt ac
tion will be taken throughout the State, as re
commended by his Excellency, aDd, if no man
can conscientiously swallow tbe oath, that la
dies will be selected competent to fulfill the
obligations of the office. We trust there will
be no hesitation in “popping the question” on
the subject to any lady in the State.
Exrcumx Dxpartmbvt, S. CL, )
Columbia, Bth May, 1866. )
7b the Editor Daily South Carolinian :
Si*,—l have received information from the
Post office Department that orders have been
issued to discontinue tile delivery of mails at
an early day at all oficet in the State where
there are no regularly appointed and commis
sioned Postmasters. This order will subject
the press and the business community to very
serious embarrassment unless steps are prompt
ly taken to procure the semees at each post
office of such persons as can take the requisite
oath, as prescribed by Congress. I therefore
recommend that some person be selected at
each office who can take the oath and give
bond. The petit ion may be addressed to me
at Columbia, or to B. B. Vassal, Esq., special
agent of Post office Department, at Columbia,
where they will be endorsed aod promptly
forwarded to the appointment office at Wash
ington. I append hereto a copy of tbe oath,
aod respectfully request that you give publici
ty to thia note. Very respectfully,
James L. Gas.
OATH or POST MASTER.
I, being appointed Postmaster of the
State of South Carolina, do swear that I will
faithfully perform nil tbe duties required of
me, and abstain from everything forbidden bv
the laws in relation to the establishment of
Pott Offices aod Post Roads within the United
States ; and that I will honestly and truly ac
count for and pay over any moneys belonging
to the said United States which may come
inU) my possession or control ; and I further
solemnly swear that 1 have never voluntarily
borne arms against the United States since I
have been a cHirer, thereof: that I have vol
untarily given no aid. countenance, counsel, or
eocouragemsgt to persons engaged in armed
hostility thereto; that I have neither sought,
nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise, tbe
functions of any office whatever aader any au
thority, or pretended authority, in hostility to
tbe United States; tbat I have not yielded a
voluntarily support to auy pretended govern
ment, authority, power, or constitution within
the United States, hostile or inimieal thereto.
Aud I do further swear that, to the best of my
knowledge and ability I will support and de
fend the Constitution of the Uoited States
against all'enemies, foreign or domestic; that I
will bear true faith aDd allegiance to the same;
that I take thia obligation freely, without any
mental reservation or purpose of evasion; ana
that I will well and faithfully discharge the
dutiee of the office ou which I am about to
enter: So help me God.
A Remedy fob Lcve.—A German gen
tleman felt an amorous flame for a Ger
man princess. She was not insensible to a
reciprocal passion ; and to have him about
her person without giving scandal, she cre
ated him her general. They lived some
time much pleased with each other; but
the princess became fickle aud tbe general
jealous. He made very sharp remonstran
ces ; the prinoeea, who wished to be free,
gave him hia conge, aud be was constrained
to quit her. But bis passion at every hour
increased; he felt tbat he could not lire
out of ber presence, and he ventured to en
ter privately into her closet. The princess
looked daggers, her eyes flashed lightning,
and she condescended to give no other
answer to his tender appeals, than a com
mand to withdraw instantly from her roy
al presence. Tbe despairing lover declared
he was ready to obey ber in everything
but tbat; tbat, rather quit jtur beloved
presence, be preferred to die by ber hand.
Presenting his naked sword to the disdain
ful princess, ho bade her, rather tha# drive
him from ber presence to pierce his heart,
that heart which beat alone for her; and'
tbe princess, being instigated by the devil
or love for another—pretty much tbe
samo thing in a furious women—took him
at his word, and run mm through the body.
Fortunately, bis wound did not prove mor
tal ; lie got well at tbe end of three
months, and likewise was cured of his pas
sion, which had flowed away w ith the effu
sion of his blood.
Gix. John G. Breckinridge—The
Louisville Journal thus speaks of this no
ble statesman aod soldier, of whom every
Kentuckian may well feel proud:
Msj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge is stilt
at Toronto. As all the rest of the Confed
erate Generals are permitted to go to their
homee and whenever else they please, why,
in the name of equal justice and Heaven,
is he kept in banishment f What evil
thing has he dona that all other Confeder
ate officers have not done I Wbat officer
evor carried on war in a loftier spirit of
chivalry and courtesy than lie, or treated
prisoners of war more considerately and
mercifully ! Who is it that has poisoned
tbe mind of tbe Administration against
him i! “Au enemy hath done this.”
Peace.—ln a rqftnt letter of General
Francis P. Blair, he makes the following
just and truthful remarks: “Peace means
pardon, amnesty, reconciliation ; without
these we can have no peace. 1 believe
that those who have done and suffered
most to secure peace by destroying tbe
power which took arms against it, are
those who are now most ready to suffer
and do to maintain it Those who have
suffered nothing and done nothing, but
who, on the contrary, have made the war
an occasion for profit aud a vehicle for
personal advancement —these are the grea
test and only obstacles to the perfect res
toration aod maintenance of peace. They,
having filled tbeir pockets and secured the
best places, talk most of “compensation
for tbe past and security for tbe future.”
Ad editor in lowa says he has become
so hollow from depending on the printing
business for bread that he proposes to sell
himself for a stove-pipe.
It is a proverb at our colleges, that tbe
students who graduate with the highest
honors are seldom ever heard of after
wards.
Why is the Delaware River like a bot
tle of ink 1 Because Penn (peD) was the
first who pot it in use.
‘Did he hit yon on purpose?’ asked the
magistrate. *Och,no l yer honor,’said Pat
‘be jabbers be hit me on the head, sure.’
Horne Toole being asked by George
111. whether he played card3, replied; ‘I
cannot, yonr majesty, tell a king from a
knave.’
What letter is it that is never used more
than twice in America ? Ana—A.
“My bark is wrecked,’ as tbe dog re
marked, when thrown overboard in the
middle of tho Atlantic Ocean.
“If this should meet the eye of John
Smith, he will bear something to his dis
advantage,” as the man said to his fiat.
Tbe man who attempted to look into
the future had the door slammed in his
face.