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THB COUNTRYMAN
162
fCtt^WOLD, GA., MARCH 14, 1865.
The Way of the Traitor.
Judab Iscariot is about the only traitor who
ever confessed his treason. We must, there
fore, not conclude, because a man, dealing in
treacherous conduct, boasts of his patriotism,
and the purity of his motives, and hia good in
tentions, that, therefore, he is guiltless. The
devil knows how to quote scripture, it is said,
and the proof is, that he did quote scripture
when he was tempting Christ.
So the traitor may not only quote scripture,
but he is sure to quote his good intentions, the
purity of his motives, his patriotism, and the
good of his country, Tor what he does.
C. G. Baylor pretends to have the cause of
Georgia, and the south, very much at heart, in
the letters which he has been writing Gov.
Brown. He is no traitor! Not he 1 He doesn’t
care anything about smoking cigars, and drink
ing liquor,at other people’s expense. He doesn’t
care whether or not he is in a country where
the b ockade keeps him from eating, drinking,
and smoking good things, without paring for
tbern. All he deeirea is the good of the south
ern states This is Baylor—a psrlect paragon
of innocence—a pink of perfection—a patriot of
patriots—over the left.
While on the subject of Baylor, we wish to
ask, incidentally, bow comes it that Baylor
writes letters to Joe Brown, alone f Why
didn’t he write to Howell Cobb, or Beauregard,
or Gen. Lee, or Pr. Davis { If—
“Birds of a feather,
Flock together ”—
•0 carrier-doves of the same persuasion—(and
bustards, too—Heaven help us—carrisr-Dovas
indesd 1)—If—
“Birds of a feather,
Flock together "—
carrier-buzzards—(and carrion-buzzards, too)
bear letters to each other. That is the reason
Baylor writes to Brown : and that is the reason,
he does not write to Davis, and Lee.
But we say a traitor always quotes his good
intentions, and the purity of his motives, when
ever he reeks, and rots, and " shines and stinks,
and stinks, and shines again, like a rotten her
ring by moonlight,” as Jack Randolph once
maliciously said about Harry Clay. Baylor
quotes his good intentions. Holden spreads
himself on the purity of his motives. Morse
loves the dear south. And Brown wouldn’t
even let—
“All the blood of all the Howards,”
Nor all the juice of all his collards,
stand in the way of southern independence.
We wish our people not to be deceived by
the professions of those who are fast sinking
their country—(or trying to sink it)—down to
hell. They may tell us, from now until dooms
day, that they ars patriots, add have good in
tentions. We don’t believe a word of it. We
judge them differently, from most of psople.
It is true a man ought to be very careful about
his judgment: for Christ hss said, “Judge not
that ye be not judged : for with what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’*
If a man does not wish to be judged, he must
not judge. But we are willing to be judged
tiy the sapae ru.le by which we judge other peo
ple, and that rule is .aid down in the bible,
where it sayt, “By their fruits shall ye knew
them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs
of thistles V A good tree cannot bring forth
corrupt fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
fonh good fruit.’*
But we sei out to tell about bow Benedict
Arnold acted. After he had made the attempt
to betray his country, and bad got away from
Gen. Washington, who was trying to catch him,
and hang him, just as Pr. Davis—if be had the
nerve—ought to hang the traitors of our day—
hn wrote back, from the British linei, to our
general, showing how disinterested and pure a
patriot he was. Here is what the biographer of
Benedict Arnold—Jared Sparks—says about the
great traitor of the first American revolution:
“ Colonel Hamilton’s mission to Verplanck’s
Point, proved much too lets. It could hardly
have been otherwise, for Arnold had got the
start, by six hours. He left his house about ten
o’clock in the morning, and hie treachery was
not known to Washington till nearly four
o’clock in the afternoon. When Hamilton ai-
rived at Verplanck’s Point, a flag of truce was
coming, or had come, from the Vulture, to that
post, with a letter from Arnold, to Washington.
This was immediately forwarded, with a note
from Hamilton, stating that his pursuit had not
been successful, and that he should write to
General Greene, advising him to be in readi
ness to march, and make some other arrange
ments, as precautionary measures, although he
did not believe the project would go on. Nor,
in truth, did it; forth* capture of Andre had
kept the enemy in ignorance, and suspense,
till Arnold himself carried the news on board
the Vulture. Sir Henry Clinton probably knew
nothing of the matter before the next morning,
when the Vulture arrived in New York. Hence
the plan of an attack was totally trnstated, al
though everything was prepared for carrying
it, instantly, into effect.
The principal object of Arnold’s letter, to
Washington, written on board the Vulture,
was to solicit protection for his wife, who. he
said, was “ as good and as innocent as sn an
gel, and incapable of doing wrong.” He de
sired that she might be permitted to go to her
friends, in Philadelphia, or to join him, as she
should choose. For himself, he asked no favor,
having “ too eften experienced the ingratitude
of his country to stisinpt it,” and, moreover, he
averred, that “ the heurt, conscious of its own
rectitude,” could not descend to palliate an set,
which the world might think wrong. He talk
ed of his love to bis country, and of being ac
tuated by that principle in his present conduct.
In short, the malignant spirit, impudence, and
blunted moral feeling, shown in this letter,
were consistent with hie character. Attach
ment to bis wife, was the only redeeming quel-
ity which seemed not to be extinguished.”
We reoar to the moral of the lesion tsught
here. Don't take what a man rxorassas. Judge
him by hie acts. By his fruits shall vs know
him.
John G. Saxe, the poet, says, of all the cheap
things on earth, the cheapest is ” wishing.” We
don’t believe so. According to our notion, the
cheapest thing on earth is paorissiNo—profess
ing what you know to be a lie.
Now, we say this to our readers—Take no
man’s profession. If he dobs what be sats—
all right. But when you see a man professing
great love for the south, but doing all he can
to break down our cause, then mark that man
ns a traitor, and a tory, it matters not who he
may be. For in the end, he is going to betray
and destroy the south, if he can.
Brown, Holden, Morse, Sc Co.,
keep constantly on hand, a fresh sup
ply of demagoguism. Traitors are re
spectfully invited to confer with them.
Got. Brown’s Good Intentions.
Some of Gov. Brown’s friends, who con
demn his mouthing, ranting tirade against
Pr. Davis, are disposed to excuse him, on
the ground that his intentions are good—
as if this would help the case, at all.
This reminds us of an anecdote related
of Dr. Johnson, in this connection. Some
man had committed a grievous offence,
and Dr. Johnson was severely inveighing
against him for it, when the gentleman to
whom he was speaking, excused the cul
prit, on the ground that his intentions
were good. This seemed to specially
arouse the ire of burly old Sam, and he
replied, in a voice of high indignation—•
“Good intentions 1 Good intentions! Why,
my dear sir, a Bengal tiger, crouching in
his lair, with his tail curved upon bis back,
ready to spring upon his victim, is not
more dangerous than your genuine fool
with good intentions.”
Now Gov. Brown is no fool. He knows
very well what he is doing. But even
admit that his intentions are good—to do
which we would have to establish him a
fool—and Dr. Johnson’s remark would bs
quite applicable to him.
“A few years ago, a man in New York,
well-dressed, and of exceedingly genteel
manners, went about, saying, in a very
winning manner, to almost every gentle
man he met, 4 Have you confidence enough
in me,an entire stranger,to lend me five dol
lars for an hour or two ?’ In this way, he
got a good deal of money, and came to be
generally known in the courts, and else
where, as 4 the confidence man.’ ”
“ The order of Gen. Canby, directing a
draft of one-seventh of the male popula.
tion in his department, for the federal ar-
mv, embraces west Tennessee. Of its
effect among the submissionists in Mem
phis, the Bulletin, of the 1st inst., says:
General Canby’s last order, directing a
draft to be made of every seven of the en
rolled militia of this department, is bring
ing the gallant defenders of Memphis to
a realizing sense of their situation. Noth*
ing short ef a well-developed earthquake
could produce the same effect.”
Th Rhtobt Discourteous.—“At a conven
tion of clergymen, not long; since, it was pro
posed by one of the members, sfter they had
dined, that each one should entertain the com
pany with some interesting remark. Among
the rest, one drew upon his fancy, and related
a dream. In this dream, he went to heaven,
and described the golden streets, the river ef
life, etc., etc. As he concluded, one of the di
vines, wbo was somewhat noted for his penuri
ous, and money-saving habits, stepped up to
the narrator, and said :
’Well, did you see anything of me, in your
dream {’
‘Yes, 1 did.’
‘Indeed 1 What wae I doing)’
’You were on your knees.’
’Praying, was I ?’
perspiax up the gold ’’ - -