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ing his proselytes y
; ! ' r Se “ SOal ' '
"iV. Joes not teil h' s toa.lers tk,t the
, .Iman, ft- ,u-»ct._ turn, his Fast
lVl . t aud is permitted to indulge
\ ratification of every sensual appe
:l‘ the iun rises again. A few
Vurther on, hr not only describes
,ed’s Paradise as <XH*> stlß g of
’ |, ut sel) vual pleasures, hut seems
;- b up on his notions of happiness as
.p >;s well a' natural; for, he says:
"/tii wndd be the Resurrection of
i v nn it were restored to the
, and exercise of its worthiest
. -’mcs, and the union of sensual and
. ' .■nia! enjoyments is requisite to
~ { ,T e te the happiness of the double ai.i
--•;’/the pci feet man.
j> , t in assigning reasons why all the
,o , rn barbarians became Ohnsyians
i’urop*?, aud Mohammedans in Asia,
in ustice to the Christian Church is
>liil more glaring: , , .
.p e Xorlheni swarms or baroarians
wa - ver-pejad both Europe and Asia,
, v »aen irreconcilably separated by the
-jurncc' of a similar conduct.
. „i !r the Moslems, as among* the
< - ians, their vague and local traditions
i.v Melded to the reason and authority
i the prevailing system, to the fame of
' • iitv, and the consent of Nations.
i!u he triumph of the Koran is more
, r . nd merit- rious, as it was not assisted
hv v visible splendor of worship which
| j : g], allure the Pagans by some resem
blance • >f Idolatry
The Northern tribes of Asia, properly
; leaking, were not converted by the
\ t MUiauiroe laus, and no Nation ever was.
Thev were conquered by the sword The
••native was -Tiered them of death, or
-lavory and loss of property, on one side,
or haedom, power, and plunder on the
other. No w- aider they accepted the
altenative that suited so well their wild
and r'stless character, particularly when
• oy aw those that resisted massacred
j without mercy; the women and children
| ni:r|. 'laves, and the hoys trained as
Mu-- Tuan s-. Itlieis. The Turkoman and
Tar: trd-es knew nothing about the
\ i"e , bin * hay understood the language
j - : th sword. 80 much for the purity and
men: of the triumph of the Koran, which
Mr. ( ibhoii thus sets above the Christian
• I -p-.;. As for the fame of Antiquity,
M thamiuedans had none to refer to,
is lie well knew: for he tells his readers,
; aimse.t, that, in h-ss than eighty years
Tom be death of Mohammed, the very
' ish ot Arabian fanaticism had
rr - ; the banner of the Prophet to the
of Gibraltar on the West and the
h-dies m trio East, and beyond the Oxus
in: > i artary on the North. On the other
i. a :ho Nor thorn barbarians of Europe
'a re not converted by the sword. Thev,
'at-inse! v**s, wore conquerors, and carried
Tie -.vord. To them, faith came by
•(*’•• g As to the insinuation that
Tici.' conversion was assisted by any visible
spieu'.i- rot worship which might allure
menu by any resemblance to Paganism,
T > only necessary to say that the
N or*hoen Nations of Europe were eon-
I by ( atholie Missionaries and
nat i was long after their conversion
t' Tir ’hey had any opportunity of seeing
-i f - ( hurehes-, or any visible splendor
Ci -.ship. Throughout, almost from
imnencement of Christianity, he
1 Tuigts the Church with idolatry, eomc
:|me - he only insinuates it; at other
-tits, ne asserts it in an off-hand wav, as
K he was merely stating a well known
ami admitted iact. The injustice of such
1 j ; h-nge becomes less excusable and more
~ iriug, when it is considered that he,
TTirself, was, at one time, a Catholic, lu
Me-), when he was in his seventeenth
' ear, ie came across a copy of Bossuet’s
u A* the study ot which induced him to
L " l ‘ 0!l a Catholic. He made a; plication
U T * l * * n London, and, in die month
'!' eio, in that year, solemnly abjured
Uie Protestant Religion* His father,
uuwe\ er who, though a Protestant, did
• - h Tieve in this right of private judg
ai7- w! ‘°> »g a prudent man,
Ttg-it Catholicity rather too heavy a
t0^ s st 0. t 0 carr N »*‘ Protestant England—
■* -y angry with his son. How
*hey remained at variance, is not
• ' t.'' in his biography, but it
l!i at ~h e was sent by i.is offended
“;: ,erto re ’\ Kie a oiong the Calvauists at
u t VJ p and placed
. a vbhard, a Calvauist Minis
, 1 a h> i said, in auoihcr place,
> • ‘ J ‘ u:n his exile in the
-■•on-'’ 1 V )N - 'hiving gone to be
‘ ''‘tea, of couise he was recouver ed.
j. I ’** l . n a man precociously learned,
, ta “‘ t 0 that* no one
( : j M ’ ‘ u Ppoi'unity of knowing, or
*• .-% better, that tlie ckaige was
\ e h 111 wading over hm work
ncy of hostility
■ j- leans one to the conclusion, that
J- - vis lota ot the Saint.
T 1 [\ n ‘ r ; )J>m ot rile Martyr he a bail
' hurch, his pride t»f character
wa> so mortified, and his moral sense so
i niy wounded, tliat he never forgave
lie;’ for the act which he. himself, had
committed.
In his biography, it is stated that he
became acquainted, in Lausanne, with a
Miss Curehod, the daughter of a poor
Minister of ( rassy. She is described as
a young lady of wit, beauty and erudition.
He loved, addressed her, and was ac
cepted But bis father did not believe in
the right of private judgment in ehositig
a wife, any more than in chosing a Reli
gion, and would not hear of his marrying
Mi>> ( urcbod. So he gave her up, be
cause, be says, “without his consent, I
was, myself, destitute and helpless.” Mr.
Hi hi. on was too fond of the good things
f hi> life to court poverty voluntarily,
and i: is not at all unlikely that the same
cau.-e tea, b*d him to abandon the woman
ne loved,induced him to abandon the
C Lurch he had chosen.
*
This World a Fleeting Show.
MOORE.
Hii' world is all a fleeting show.
For man's illusion -,'iven:
I’he smiles of Joy, the tears of Wo-.
Deceitful shine, deceitful flow--
Th -re’b nothing true but Heaven.
And false the light on Glory's plume.
As fading hues of Even;
And Love, and Hope, aud Beauty's Bio >m.
A>- blossoms gathered for ibe tomb—
There's nothing bright but Heaven !
I'uor wanderers of a stormy day,
From wave to wave we’re driven,
And Fancy’s flash, and Reason’s ray,
Serve but to light the troubled way—
There’s nothing calm but heaven.
For the Banner of the South.
ESSAYS.
TV
“COLOR”
Vv hut is C-o 1 or ? Is it a mere accident,
or is it a sign ? When we look abroad
in the world, we see that men differ in a
point tliat is visible to us almost as far as
we can distinguish the hunnin form.
Now. is this distinction nothing, as some
would have it, oris there really a sublime
meaning mit l Arc we to believe that the
great Creator paints His creatures hap
hazard, as a toyman paints his toys —
sending them into the world rod, or
black, or white, or brown, or yellow, as
chance may have it—or are we to think
that, by this sign, as by all others. He
means to indicate qualities not visible to
the outer eye ?
These arc great questions. Upon them
depends the solution ot the ehiefest of
these evils that now afflict us, the effort
to make all men equal in politics, irre
spective of hue. By those who, for some
inscrutable reason, are now permitted
the governance of this great country, it
is asserted that color is nothing; that all
men, because they are men, are equal;
ana that, m the most prominent of race
characteristics, there is nothing worthy
a statesman’s slightest attention.
Let us see. When we view the ma
terial world, we see that its great subdi
vision is into signs aud substances. To
use an old illustration, Nature is full of
sign-posts, and, to the eve, these sign
boards indicate the road the mind must
take. If we will suppose that a fossil
tooth has been discovered, we will find
that the first process of the learned man
upon it is this : How does it look ? If
broad, smooth, and flat, he says at once,
the animal from which this came was a
ruminating animal; it fed upon fruits
and grain: its disposition was peaceful.
It the tooth be long, sharp, and power
ful, he says this came from a beast ot prey.
Here we see that the outward sign indi
cates the inward quality; aud thus it is
with color in the human race. Wherever
white men are found, we find a race of
supreme intelligence, activity, energy,
and pluck. \\ here brown men are
found, the race is fierce, cruel, bloody
minded, and deceitful—born Thugs, as
sassins, idoiators, and pirates—like the
Malays, ( ’oreans, and savage South Nea
Islanders. Where there are yellow men,
the race is gentle, passive, unsusceptible
of great activity, and yet versed in
manv arts as the Chinese and the Japan
ese. When we come to red men, we find
them wild men—brave, eloquent, and
faithful, but horribly cruel, and absolute
ly beyond any possibility of civilization
or change. Coming to the black race,
we reach ihe “mudsills” of creation: an
unfortunate race, given over to the dark
est stupidity, and, yet. of a good disposi
tion aud a cheerful heart. Here and
there, in these tribes, we find exceptions.
Some white men are debased, ignorant,
superstitious, cowatdlv. and false. Some
brown men are upright, peaceable, and
honest. .Tome yellow men are rrodisies
of intellect, like Confucious, or miraces
of valor, Jike Ghetigis-Khan. Some
red uieu debased, timorous, and drunken,
like t sc remnants that yet linger amon*'*
us, oi the once great Indian tribes.
this is so, who can tell ? Man .
.-i\s old Chaucer, ' L shoii , d not knoic of
Lrodde spneitee," nor, if we would know,
can we. ihe reason ot this inequality,
this marking, this grade and division of
color, and its consequent and attending
qualities, is something we shall never
discover this side of the great River of
Lethe, and yet, how ridiculous to say
that, because we cannot comprehend,
therefore, we will not believe. Old his
tories tell us that, when the soldiers of
Ponce do Leon landed in Florida, the
simple red men of the forest gathered
about them in wonder, awe-stiuckat the
shining armor, the prancing steeds, tbe
roaring muskets, and the strange cast of
countenance. Conscious themselves that
they were dusky, the Indians looked on
the white man as a god, and were ready
at once to fall down and worship, as be
lieving that this strange and beautiful
race were the first-born and the favored
of great Manitou. So with books of
travel that tell us of earlv explorations in
Africa. On seeing, for the first time, a
white face, the natives would bow in !
adoration, and could never sufficiently •
admire the countenance that was like the i
soft, tieccy clouds that float in the sum
mer sky. Even in our own day are di
vers instances of this recognition of
color-superiority. Some years siuce, a
roving Englishman landed in Borneo,
and there, among the brown-skinned na
tives, reared up an empire of which, to
the day of Lis death, he was absolute j
King. Later even than that is the story I
o! AV ard, the American, who became the
head of a Chinese army, and led it on, j
conquering and to conquer, till he fell by j
a I artar ball. Later still, in our own!
country, there peers out the indisputable
reverence that the inferior hue pays the
superior in that deference the poor, de
luded Negro of the South renders the
carpet-bag scoundrel who prostitutes his
white face to unholy aims.
To say that color is nothing, is to say,
tliat the wings of the eagle a/e nothing,
that the claws of the lion and teeth of
the bear are nothing. It is to say that
God, who makes nothing in vain, and has
His providences even in the fall oi a
sparrow, lias enacted most startling dif
ferences b>r all ages, and among thou
sands of millions of human beings, as an
idle freak. The idea is preposterous. It
contravenes not only that beneficence of
Deity which most men believe in, but,
also, that doctrine of utility that is so
proudly vaunted by infidels themselves
If color has no use, wherefore docs it ex
ist : And, since it does exist, what is
its function, if not as a varying outward
sign 11 varying inward qualities! The
sign changing, so changes the substance,
and, as one sigu-post points to one road,
and another to another, so it is that the
white skin points to one manner of man
and the black to another, and the red to
still another, and soon.
Rut, to argue the significance of color,
is almost to insult the intelligence of those
to whom thi.' Essay t.- addressed. They
know, though others, not having so much
personal acquaintance tvith the matter,
may not, that, back of all argument, lies
that natural instinct which utterly revolts
at tne bare idea of there being no differ
ence between those complexions that have
been made to typify; the one, the dark
night, and the other the bl ight and beau
tiful morning. And, knowing this, they
know, too, that, as these outward differ
ences point to must unequal mental quali
ties, the rotten huts, styled Governments,
that have been reared up in the South,
“irrespective of color,” were doomed in
their very erection, and must, ere many
days roll over, and fall headlong into
irretrievable and shameful ruin.
Tvroxi-; Power*.
Some Negroes have sense and intellect,
like Soulouquc and Toussaint L’Ouver
ture. But, when we come to whole
races, the characteristics are as stated,
and color marls the man. Red men are
wild: brown men arc bloody; yellow men
yielding: black men most ignorant: and
white men the pride of humanity, and
the kings and rulers, by divine right, of
all the world.
Wherever the sign appears, there ap
pear the qualities: and how then can
be asserted that color 4 goes for naught?
Skin a white man; and he is stili a white
man, prompt, vigorous, intellectual, and
aspiring. Skin a negro ; lie is still a
Negro, facile, ignorant, chiid-like, easily
guidi and. Take away the color, and the
traits remain. Tear down the sign-post,
and yet the road it pointed to is there.
Those who say that color is nothing dis
regard all teaching. In the rnosf an
cient book in the world, it is said Ilam
was made subject to his brethren, and
Ham means blade. In the oldest fresco,
those paintings that stil linger in the
Pyramids of Egypt and the submerged
temples of the Nile the same fact still
appears. Always it is the brown man or
the yellow man that conquers, aDd the
black man that is the captive and the
prisoner of all.
I roru the Natchez Democrat.
'HISTORICAL CORRECTION"
CORRECTED.
lu l-athor ftvuuJJannkk or thu
."south, ut date October 24th, there ap
peared, under the caption “Historical
(correction,’ the following remarkable
communication :
Deer Lodge, M TANARUS., Sept. 28, *6B.
uhtor of the tianuer ot the South:
I see so many fa's 1 statements in re
gara to the battles ot the late war, that,
ordinarily, I deem it useless to try to
contradict or correct them. But when I
read such false statements, either iu your
paper, nr “ The Land we Lore," I think
they ought to be corrected; fur, so far as
I know, when the public read anything
iu either publication, it is taken for
granted it is true. In your issue of
May ‘Jbd, there appeared an article en
-1 i'-led “Reminescence of the Battle of
Spottsylvania, May 12th, 18fi4, : ’ (by
Paul a Botto,) in which Harris’
Brigade of Mississippians and Ma
hone’s Virginians get the credit of re
taking the works, and holding them.
Now, the truth is, General Ixamseur’s
North Carolina Brigade retook the works,
and held its position until night. Neither
was this Brigade led by General Lee,
but by Ramseur himsell. Neither were
North Carolina troops ever led in battle
by Gen. Lee. They never needed any
such stimulus or persuasion. They did
their duty, and their whole duty, on
bailie-field wherever they received
the necessary orders.
her the truth of the above statement,
l refer you to Gen. R. E. Lee.
Respectfully, R.C. D.
\\ e term this a remarkable communi
cation, inasmuch as it is inaccurate in
every particular; so utterly inaccurate
and inconsistent with truth, tliat, although
wo read it some time since, we then de
termined to give it no notice, believing
that its patent falsehood would be its just
condemnation. But the reception lately
ot several communications asking us, as
the author of the sketch which the “His
torical Correction” purports to contradict,
to reply to "R. C D.,” induces us to
publish such evidence as we have in our
possession, to prove the perfect accuracy
of our own statements, and fix the stamp
of ialse-statemeni up m “R. C. D.,”
where it properly belongs.
Guicf among the communications to
vincli we refer, is one lately received
trom Gen. X. 11. Harris, who commanded
Harris’ Mississippians in the memorable
Spottsylvania campaign. Even at the
risk of ofletiding the General, by violating
the privacy of his letter to us, we pub
lish, below, an extract from it, in order to
show the generous spirit which animates
the brave General ot that Brigade, from
whose well-earned fame “R. 0. D.” seeks
to pluck tiie brightest laurel. After di
recting our attention to the communica
tion ot “R. C. 1).,” Geueral Harris says:
“To the pretended “Historical Correc
tion, by “R. U. j)..' I earnestly desire
you to reply, not only because it purports
to correct your remenisence of the Rat
tle of Spottsylvania, but, also, for tbe
reason that a great many of the members
ot the “Old Brigade’’ have called my at
tention to it, and requested that the false
statements therein made should have the
proper stamp affixed to them. Knowing
no one more competent to discharge this
duty than you, who bore so active a part
in tfic scenes of that memorable day, I
confide to you the task, feeling assured
that, at your hands, this anonymous writer
will receive the attention he merits.
“To North Carolina*’ lamented sou—
the gallant Ramseur—who fills a hero’s
grave, and to the noble men of bis com
mand, we cheerfully concede all the glory
and distinction to which they are entitled.
We would not detract from their proud
record one single page, line, or word ;
nor would the lamented Ramseur, were
lie living, permit auy one to claim for
him, or lbr his command, whatever is
justly due to the sons of Mississippi. Each
and every command of the noble old
Army of Northern Virginia achieved
sufficient fame by its own deeds of valor.
Between them, now, there should exist
no particle ot jealousy, but rather a gen
erous spirit of emulation.”
These are tbe iieble sentiments that
should auimate every one who fought in
the armies of the Lost Cause, and Gen.
Ham* ha* nobly expressed them.
hi replying to ”K. \)." we shall not
produce simple >iutements of our own,
but the incontrovertible testimony of
distinguished Generals, who commanded
at Spottsylvania, witnessed the action of
Harris’ Mississippians there, and rendered
their tribute of praise and admiration to
their heroic conduct on that day.
First, we produce the letter of incut.
Geu. Ewell, who was present upon tiie
field:
Hifqßs, Dept, of Richmond, )
Richmond, Va., Dec. 27. 18d4 f
‘ Gen. N. H. Harris :
* tiencrab. f have omitted to acknowl
edge the valuable services rendered bv
your brigade on the 12th May last, at
Spottsylvania, not from any want of ap
preciation, but because I wished my
thanks to rest upon the solid foundation
of official reports.
The manner iu which your brigade
(- urged over the hills to recapture our
tost works, was witnessed by me with in
cme a miration, for men who could ad
\atKc so calmly, t 0 what seemed aud
proved ahuost certain death.
i * a L , Teu " Johnson, since his ex
r °° e A ha * assUie d me that the whole
• ° t ie enemy’s army was poured
mto the gap caused by the capture of his
command.
He estimates the furCe engaged at
this place on their side, at forty thousand
besides Burney’s command of perfectly
liesu troops. Prisoners from all of their
tiiree corps were taken by us.
“Two Divisions of my Corps, your Bri
gade and two others, (one of which was
scarcely,) engaged confronted successfully
thisimmense host, and not only won from
them the ground they had gained, but so
Shattered their army, that they were unj
able again to make a serious attack until
they received iresh troops. I have not
forgotten the conduct of the 16th Missis
sippi Regiment while under my command
from Front Royal to Malvern Hill.
.1 am glad to see from a trial more
scveie than auy it experienced while in
u i}_ Division, that the Regiment is in a
Brigade of which it may well be proud.
‘A ery respectfully,
“[Signed] R. S. Ewell,
. . “Lieut Gen.
The italics above are our own, and
given in order to show she falsity of “R.
C- D.V statement that “Harris’" Missis
sippians got the credit of retaking the
woiks, while the truth is that Ramseur’s
North Carolinians retook them. ’
No General in the army was less lavish
of praise than Gen. Ewell; and the
above, coining trotn him, will be amply
sufficient to controvert ‘“R. C. D. - ’ Bur,
we have yet further proof, from the gal
lant and lamented Maj. Geo. Rodes, of
Alabama, who was also an eye wituess,
and commanded the troops at the salient.
llis untimely death alone prevented him
giving expression, over his own signa
ture, in writing, to his admiration of the
remarkable daring and courage of Gen.
Harris and his Brigade atSpottsylvania.
It is the following:
‘ Gen. N. H. Harris : Having often
heard Gen. liodes express his determina
tion to forward to you a testimonial of his
high appreciation of the bravery of your
Brigade, and the bravery and skill display
ed by yourself at the Battle of Spottsylvania
Court House, in May, 1804, and being
well aware that his sudden and lamenta”
blc death at the Battle of Winchester,
prevented him carrying out his wishes,
I have taken the liberty of repeating
what I have often heart! him say, believ
ing that any one might be proud to retain
any written evidence of the appreciation
of an officer who, of all the brave men
in the army of Northern irgiuia, was
the bravest, and knew so well how to
appreciate true bravery when displayed
by others.
“Gen. Rodes often spok v in terms of the
highest praise of your co dne ; s and bra
very. and of the very skillful manner
in which you handled your Brigade,
when ordered at Spottsylvania to support
a Brigade in his division, which bad
been broken by an overwhelming charge
of the enemy. The expression used by
him on the occasion, wa>: 'it iva* the
Woven deed Ihoxe ewe s°eti performed} 1
“Hoping’ that I may be excused for this
liberty, allow me to subscribe myself,
\ our obedient servant,
W. S. Mitcheli.,
Late Chief Surgeon, Rodes’ Div’n.
A. N V. •
As further evidence, if any were need
ed, we make the following extract from
the official report of General Harris him
self:
“On the morning- of the lfith of May.
18G4, orders were received about •'»
o'clock, to move at double-quick, in the
direction of Spottsylvania Court House.
Halting near the Court House a few
minutes, orders were received from Gen.
Lee, to move by the Hank, on a road
leading in the direction of the works lost
by the Division of Gen. Ed. Johnson. The
command was soon under a most galling
fire of grape and canister from the ene
my's batterie', through which the men
moved at double-quick, displaying that
coolness and steadiness under fire, indi
cative of the veteran soldier.
“Arriving near the lost works Maj.
Gen. liodes informed me that mv com
mand was expected to form on tiic rijht
of llamseur’s Brigade.
‘Moving’ with this view, the two
rl 'ght Ilcgiments had filed out of the road,
and were moving by the right flank,
parallel with the lost works, when the
enemy, discovering the movement, opened
a most terrific fire of musketry and ar-
5