The South-west Georgian. (Oglethorpe, Ga.) 1851-18??, June 26, 1851, Image 1
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“All thy works Praise Thee.”
BY MARY HOWITT.
The moonbeams on the billowy deep,
The blue waves rippling on the strand,
The ocean in its peaceful sleep,
The shell that mariners on the sand,
The cloud that dims the bending sky,
The how that on its bosom glows,
The son that lights the vault on high,
The stars at midnight's calm repose.
The praise the power (Tint arched the sky,
And robed the earth in beauty's dye.
The melody of nature’s choir,
The deep toned antlu ms of the sea,
The wind that turns a viewless Ivre,
The zephyr on its pinions free,
The thunder with its thrilling notes,
The pea! upon the mountains air,
The lay that through the foliage floats,
Os sinks in dying cadence there;
These all to ‘I liee their voices raise,
A fervent voice of gushing praise.
The day star, herald of the daivn,
As the dark shadows fit awav,
The tint upon the cheek of morn,
The dew>drop gleaming on the sprav,
I rom wild birds in their wanderings,
From stremlets leaping to the sea.
From all earth’s fair and lovelv things,
Doth living praise ascend to Thee;
‘I liese with tlipir silent longue proclaim,
’['he varied wonders of Thy name.
Father, Thy hand liiitii formed the flower,
Anil flung it on the verdant lea,
Thou b ids! it ope at summer’s hour
Its hues ofbeauty speak of Thee,
Thy works all prase Thee, shall not man
Alike attune the graceful hymn?
“W oitll lih not join tin* lofty strain.
Echoed from heart of seraphim?
We tune to thee our humble lavs,
Thy mercy, goodness, love, we praise.
THE DUKE.
liV DR. WILLIAM ELDER.
From the coimnem emeu! of ottr Rev
olution till the year 1815, a period of
forty years, England was engaged in war
without any intermission. These wars
were with tiip thirteen colonies, or Uni
ted States, Frain'Ue-F the
French ajgfcin
wal ’ imes singly,
with setejml of tiuse nations at
once.
s Tlie battle of Waterloo was fought on
the 18ih of June, 1815. That year the
army,of England amounted to three linn,
dred thousand men ; and in 1545, al
though she had enjoyed thirty’ years of
peace, her standing army was still one
hundred thousand strong.
In time ol peace one would think that
such a host of soldiers could not be re
quired for any purpose; and they prob
ably ore not, but it is the policy of such
governments as that of England to keep
us many men in the public service as pos
sible. To say nothing of other purpos
es, it is easy, it; any army of a hundred
thousand soldiers, to have four or five
thousand commissioned officers, who gen
erally belong to the class of gentlemen—
a class that is found to furnish die most
useful and (nost submissive slaves to those
feed them. The most useful, because,
being welUborn, well educated, and well
Connect!*!, they are vory capable in
themsdiisfe and very influential with oili
er ; ‘ffifcrriibre submissive, because they
are so wel paid, and have no other ser
vice than public office which its suits them
to accept.
. The army of England is crowded with
officers who enter it merely as a trade or
profession, by which they may get a liv~
j n g. A horrid business it is, indeed, to
undertake to do any killing of men any
where that the Government may com
mand, without any questions, or knowing
or careing whether it is right or wrong !
Bui so it is, when rightly understood ;
and yet we must not be surprised il we
find, once in a while, a man too good for
poch trade engaged in it, for it is gene-
rally thought honorable, even the nios*
honorable of all professions, and but few
stow inquire if, it is also right.
My story will introduce the sort of man
that is an exception to the rule. -ffijjf.
To-be perfectly candid with my rea.
ders, I must tnlorm them that I have for
gotten the names of the persons that I am
to tell about. The precise place where
it happened has also escaped me, but I
am sure that it was somewhere in Ireland;
and the exact date is gone too —but 1
know that it was the year 1815, and be
fore the year 1835, for that was the lime
when I heard it.
The general peace of Europe, which
followed the fall ol Napoleon, released the
army of England from foreign service,
and after reduction to about one-third of
its former number, it was distributed a
mong the military stations within the
kingdom and provinces. A large num
ber of the surviving officers of the filed
of Waterloo w ere garrisoned in ireland
They were generally men who had seen
hard service, and had earned their hon
ors and office in the battle field ; but a
considerable number of new men receive
ed tlieir appointments through favor of
their wealthy and powerful friends, and
came among the veterans with commis*
sions in their pockets which gave them
high rank in the army. The old sol
diers, naturally enough, looked upon
these raw recruits as mere upstarts and
intraders. They despised them for their
inexperience, and hated them for the in
justice suffered by their promotion. In
a profession where honor is gained bv
killing the country’s enemies, it will
scarcely he thought immoral to hate the
individual’s rivals and supplanters. The
Apostle John say's that murder and hat
ing one’s brother go together. And,
taking the military sentiment for the
standard of judgment, it is mean to beg
or buy promotion, where other people
have to fight for it, But this is done
elsewhere, as well as in the British armv ;
for the offices which are thought the most
dishonorable.
The hero of my story was in this sit
uation ; and whether he deserved the
judgment we have passed upon this class,
or not, suffered it in full measure. He had
obtained,, by patronage, the appointment
of Ensign, after the establishment of
peace, and was quartered, with somedoi’
en or twenty officers of Wellington’s
army, in one of the cities of Ireland. An
Ensign is the lowest commissioned offi
cer, and the salary, or pay, is so small
that is a saying, * if an Ensign has wine
for dinner, he must go without supper.’
Our Ensign was very poor—he was
friendless, young, and constitutionally
shy.
On the other hand, the officers of the
station were generally well supplied with
money, and had nothing to do but spend
it; they lived fast and high, and were,
by all their habits and tastes, unpleasant
companions for such as he. Besides his
retiring manners, there was something
else in him which disinclined him to
their society, and exposed him to their
dislike; this was a certain air of self res
pect, showing refinement and culture,
and a strict propriety of language and
manners, which quietly, but all the more
severely, rebuked their general looseness
and rudeness of conduct. They ha ted
him for the manner he entered the army,
and still worse for his personal character
and demeanor among them. All this
had its effect upon him also, and so the
breach between them widened every day.
A certain amount and kind of courtesy
he was entitled to by the rulse of the ser
vice , this they gave him, but sharply
measured out, that every salute was an
affront, and every look an insult, and he
might have had cause to quarrel at any
moment that he pleased. It was, in fact
the settled purpose of several of these nten
to dtive him out of the army by their in
civilities, or to drive him into a duel, and
so dispose of him finally.
This grew worse continually. .The
contempt of the older officers for the En
sign, and his repugnance to them, in
creased with every meeting, until they
paid no kind of respect to his feelings,
and he avoided them with caution that
looked like antipathy. The worst of all
was the evident conviction in the minds
of the whole garrison that he was a cow
ard— a character most shameful in a sol
dier, and, in any man, a weakness that
renders every other virtue worthless-
Poor fellow! he was alone, friendless,
OGLETHORPE, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1851.
without a dollar in the world but his
monthly pay. With these beggarly cir
cumstances be was a scholar and a gen
tleman, with feelings rendered over'Sen
sitive by high culture and recent misfor
tunes. But his chief impediment was a
►conscience—a religious sense of right,
which left him no liberty to relieve hitn
mend his prospects by any means
which the highest morality forbade. He
suffered much every way, and most of it
all he eridured for ‘ righteousness sake.’
Os course he had the strength and noble
ness which such a sentiment bestows ; but
it is easier to do jjreat things than to bear
little ones. There are more heroes than
saints in the world. St. Peter was not
afraid of the soldiers in the garden, but
lie was ashamed of Ills master in the Judg
ment Hall. To hear disgrace, and shame,
and scron, to stand quiet under suspicions
that drive one out of society, for the sake
of a principle which nobody believes or
respects —this is cross-bearing.
Our young hero occupied the position
of a soldier and a gentleman, with the
character of a coward and a slave ! it
was a bitter cup, and his enemies kept it
constautly to his lips.
One day he received an invitation, as
a matter of course, to dine with the Gen
eral in command, who had just arrived at
the station. A meeting with his brother
officers promised him no pleasure, and
he was personally a stranger to the Gen
eral, knew nothing of him hut by report of
those who dispised him. He managed to
arrive at the latest allowable moment, and
lie contrived to procure a seat at the table
next to the General, who, both as his host
and supetior officer, was hound to afford
him protection from the insolence of the
company.
I need not say how the dinner hour
passed with him. Totally silent and neg
lected, except for the necessary notice of
the General, the ynie so full of pleasure
to the cotnpuny, wore away heavy and
painful to him; but he was contented to
escape the rudeness, and made indiffer
ence comparative welcome.
Afer the cloth was removed, the wine
circulated, the company drank freely, the
mirth grew loud, and the presence of our
young friend was nearly forgotten, until
a circumstance of a startling character
brought him into notice. Tite General
suddenly cried out, ‘Gentlemen, I have
lost my watch—l had it in my hand ten
minutes ago, but it is gone.’ A painful
suspense instantly followed ; every titan
exchanged glances w ith his neighbor, un
til at last every settled with suspicion
upon the young Ensign. Who but he,
of all the company, could be guilty of
such a crime ? Besides, he was, perhaps,
the only man near enough to the Gene
ral to effect the theft. Such thoughts as
these were in every mind—they left not
a shade of doubt. The miserable wretch
was caught at last; and there was as lit
tle pity as respect felt for him.
* Shot the door,’ shouted the Colonel
of the regiment, ‘ let no mart leave the
room. The watch is among us, and it
concerns every man present to fix the
guilt where it belongs. I propose that a
search be instantly made, and let it begin
with me.’
‘By no means,’ interposed (he Gene
ral. ‘lt shall not be so. No gentle
man is capable of such an art. A hundred
watches are not worth the impeachment
of any gentleman’s honor. Say no more
about it. It has no special value above
its price, and 1 care nothing about that.’
‘ But, General,’ said the Colonel, * the
watclt is in the room. One of us must
have it,’ looking sternly at the young
Ensign, ‘and the rascal must be driven
from tire station. We cannot have a
pickpocket among us, and we cannot
consent to leave it a moment in doubt
who the wreteh really is. There is no
fear that the shame will fall on any un
expected place. We must finish the fel
low now, and be done with hint.’
The ensign sat steady, motionless, but
pale as death. Every eye was fixed up
on him, and to every eye the signs of
guilt were perfectly clear. The General
had no doubt of it, and he was the more
anxious to prevent search on this account;
but he was overcome and submitted. A
few minutes sufficed for the examination
of every one present, till it came to the
ensgn, who was left purposely for the
last.
‘ Now, young man,’ said the Colonel,
turning and advancing toward him, ‘now,
sir, il is your turn his face looking per
fectly savage with scorn and hate. • The
OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD IS OVRS.
watch, sir, without a word or a moment’s
delay !’
But a terrific change had passed upon
the long suffering, patent boy. He
sprang from his seat with a scream so
wild that every heart stood still a moment
with surprise. In that moment lie had
planted himself against the wall, drawn
his sword, and taken the attitude of de
fence.
‘ Come you to search me, sir, as you
would a suspected thief? On your life,
I warn you not to offer me that dignity.
My dead body you may search, but not
my living one. Approach now if you
dare. 1 defy the whole of y n ” as one
man!’
Instantly the Colonel crossed swords
with him in furious combat.
• Hold! peace! arrest them!’ cried the
General, and sprang forward himself to
prevent the affray. At the step, the
watch rolled on the floor! He had mis
sed his lob, and now the watch fell from
its concealment. The company was
electrified. The conduct of the Ensign
war inexplicable! He had braved des’
(ruction, risked his reputation, and per
illed Itis life, on a point of honor too nice
for his superiors to feel; and he had in
sulted and defied them all in one breath,
and there he stood justified and victorious
before them !
h was too much to bear, for they were
too much excited to understand it. Their
determination was taken, and the compa
ny dispersed with resolutions set and pur
poses inflexible The. General seized the
opportunity to apologize to the Ensign
for the unhappy mistake which had led to
the quarrel,‘and requested him to call up
on him that evening at a late hour.
Our hero was scarcely in his own room
till the Colonel’s challenge was presented
to him. Without a moment’s delay he
answered the second who brought il:—
‘ I will not accept this challenge to mor
tal combat. I am opposed to the duel
in principle, and I will not be driv
en from my sense of duty. You all know
what I have already endured rather than
revenge or defend myself by taking life.
I think you have done your worst, but
if not, lam prepared for it. lam my
own master, and will not allow any man
to dictate iny opinions as a matter of
right, or compel me to conduct which my
heart and head condemn.’
‘ Sir/ replied the second, * you have
seen fit toinduae me among the men who
despise you, and you are in right that o
pinion. Let me telljou, that cowardice
and conceit, covered with preaching and
canting, will not protect you. You have
grossly insulted every gentleman in the
garrison to whom you were odious e
notigh before, and you must either give
them satisfaction which the code of honor
approves, or you must leave the army.—
Be assured of that.’
When he met the Geaeral that, night,
and informed him of the challenge, and
Ins refusal, that officer shook his head and
looked at him sadly and earnestly, jfnot
doubtfully.
‘My dear young friend,’ said he, ‘ 1
am afraid it won’t do. These men will
not be satisfied with an argument, and it
is plain that you are not the man to make
an apology while convinced that you are
right, nor do I believe that they would
accept anything shortofyonr resignation.
You have somehow got the ill-will of the
whole corps, and to-night you affronted
them mortally. I am, sure you cannot
know how sharply your conduct and lan
guage touched them, and your triumph
only aggravated theoffence. And, now,
your refusal to accept the Colonel’s chal
lenge is, under (be most favorable con
struction, an attack upon the code by
which military men govern themselves
towards each other. I see no escape.—
Fight you must, or your challenger will
heap on you such personal indignities as
will make your life intolerable, or drive
you into violence, which will amount to
the same thing as to accept his challenge.
1 saw that in your eye to day which con
vinces me you are as brave aa Julius Cse
sar. Yes, I saw something there braver
than mere physical courage, and I felt its
superiority ; but you cannot convert the
world and reform the army soon enough
to answer your own ends, and you must
submit to its rulse, or be driven from it in
disgrace. 1 honor your principles, for I
understand them, but you cannot main
tain them.
Our hero’s reflections (hat night must
be left to the imagination. The difficul.
culties which surround him, the compuN
sions that were upon him, can be known
only to those w ho have been tempted and
tried to the utmost, with the world and
their own necessities against them.
In the morning be accepted the chal
lenge.
Having the right to choose the wea
pons, he named the small-sword. When
the Colonel heard this, with a touch of
feeling, which ail his bitterness cuuld not
quite extinguish, he said; ‘ Does the
moth know that he is fluttering into the
flume ?’ The second answered, * I told
him that you are reputed the best swords
man io the army, and begged him to
choose pistols, which would give hitn some
chance of equality in the fight, but he
declined. In fact, I don’t know what to
make of this young fellow—like the stvord
that be has chosen to fight with, he is so
limber, and yet so elastic and mettlesome
sometimes; he is such a mixture of Meth
odist, mule, and madman, that I cannot
make him out. And, Colonel, he is not
a light bargain, either in body. It seems
to me that you were making nothing off
of him, yesterday, when the General in
terfered. The fellow actually stood up
handsomely, and made very pretty play
with his weapon. To tell the truth, I’m
begining to like him a little, and 1 feel
sorry that he must be disposed of in your
peculiar way.’
The Colonel muttered, grimly, ‘lf I
must kill the rascal, I’m glad he shows
sound pluck and capacity in the business;
I don’t want to be a boy-butcher/
The next morning, at early sunrise,
they met on the field of honor.
When the ground was prepared, and
the champions stood armed and ready,
the Ensign suddenly lowered his sword
point, and, addressing his antagonist,
said : ‘ Sir, I am here under compulsion,
merely.’ Ido not consent to this prac
tice. To me it is absurd as it is wicked,
it setdes no right, and it redresses no
wrong. Let me say, then, that if my
patience has given way under my per
seditious, and I have by a hasty word or
act, justly offended you, 1 am willing to
retract it. What is your complaint ?’
‘ Young man, I came here not to
preach, but to fight. I came here not to
confer with you about nice points io cas
uistry, but to punish your impudence ;
but, if you have no relish for that, I will
spare your life, on condition that you
leave the army—take your choice.*
The Ensign’s answer was prompt and
firm r
‘ You will have it so—l am guiltless,*
and the fencing began.
The seconds and witnesses had never
seen such a display of skill, and they nev
er dreamed of such a result. In five min
utes the Colonel was disarmed, and at the
mercy of the insulted and outraged boy!
Heated by the struggle, and excited
by the imminent peril and bloody bitter
ness and fury of his enemy, he turned
from him somewhat haughtily, with— ‘ I
have taught yon a lesson in a sword-play,
and now I will set you another, which
you need even more—an example of mod
eration in success.*
The Colonel’s mortification and rage
seemed to know no bounds.
‘ 1 accept no favors from such a cant,
ing, phrase-making sentimentalist—such
a mere fencing master-such a trickster,
and conjuring sword player as you are,’
the Colonel burst out through hig grind
ing teeth. * You knew well what you
were about when you chose these toys to
play trick with. If you have a sentiment
of honor left in you let me have pistols.
I tell you that this quarrel is not made
up. I will not have my life at your gift.
You shall take it, or I will take yours.—
The quarrel is to the death, and there it
a blow to clinch it,’ striking at the En
sign in a transport of passion, which he
avoided with equal coolness and dexteri.-
•y-
The seconds interfered, and then the
spectators cried shame; blit it wag clear
enough that blood must flow before the
parties should quit the ground. The
Ensign's second, carried away by the ex
citement, urged him to accept the new
challenge on change of conditions, for
he despaired of any other adjustment.
‘ Will nothing satisfy this madman but
my life ?’ said the young officer, deeply
agitated.
‘You have made him mad,* said the
second, 1 and there is nothing left for it
but a fatal issue. You have the right to
refuse, having already spared his life, and
I will sustain you, but I do not advise it,
for it will be unavailing in the end.’
‘ I have gone too far/ replied the En
sign, sadly, • too lar from the line ol strict
| TERMS: $2 in Advance.
principle to recover it now. 1 cannot
any longer say that I am opposed to
fighting; 1 have broken down that de
fence by yielding to an expediency which
I thought a safe one. Oh, it is horrible!
I did not dream this morning that I might
die a fool’s death to day.’
‘ You will accept the offer,’ hastily in
terposed (he second ; ‘ you must be a
good shot, with such an eye and hand,
and such self possession as you have
shown to-day. if your pistol matches
your sword, you cannot miss him, and,
upon my soul, he deserves it, and I say
let him have it. You accept.’
The Ensign stood silent. The ground
was measured, the pistols prepared, and
the combatants stationed. The word was
given. One—two—three. The Colo
nel’s pistol was discharged at the instant,
and the Ensign stood untouched. He
had reserved hig fire, and had the right
now to take deliberate aim. Steadily he
raised the deadly weapon till it bore point
blank upon the Colonel’s heart, and then
it rested a minute in terrible suspense ;
not a nerve quivered, not a limb trembl
ed in either,and the spectolors held their
breatli bushed as the death they waited
for. But suddenly wheeling, the Ensign
marked a post in a different direction, at
twice the distance of his antagonist, and,
pulling the trigger, delivered his ball in
it breast-high. It was a centre shot, and
instantly fatal to a living man had he stood
there. The next instant, tluowing down
the pistol with decision that could not be
mistaken, he cried out; ‘ / will go no for.
thet in this wicked folly. If there is no
thing else left for me but murder or sub*
mission, 1 will submit.’
The grandeur of his position was too
striking now to be mistaken or denied.—
The Colonel was the first to acknowledge
it. Twice within the hour he owed a
life to the magnanimity of a man he
had so much abused. That man Mood
now vindicated, even by the hard laws of
war and honor; he was neither trickster
nor coward. Possibly the Colonel felt
something of the higher nobility of the
young man’s principles, but I will not be
sure of that. He found him brave and
generous, and that was enough, without
looking deeper for the hidden springs of
the noble life within him.
Advancing to him, he offered his hand,
apologized frankly for his misconduct,
acknowledged his misconduct of the char
acter which lie had put to so severe a tri
al, and added that lie was to owe his life
to ‘ the bravest man he had ever met, ei
ther as friend or foe.’
‘ Brave !’ said (he young man, with
the color mounting to cheek and brow.
‘ Brave! Colonel—pardon me—Heaven
pardon me. True bravery consists ih
refusing to fight altogether. But I have
betrayed a principle which I should have
valued more than life, / have risked my
life—not for that principle, but to satisfy
a caprice; I am the miserable hero ol a
miserable falsehood, instead of the mar
tyr of a great truth. I have lost confi
dence in myself, and men’s praises only
mock m e.'—Frtand of Youth.
Questions for Mrs. Partington . —A
correspondent asks the old lady the fol
lowing question :
What would be the consequence if an
irresistable force should come in contact
with an immoveable body?
We handed the problem to Mrs. Par
tington, who took several pinches of snuff
before she gave her opinion. ‘My idee
about it is/ said the old lady, and there
was an expression of profound as could
be worn by the whole faculty of Havered
College, ‘my idee about it is, that one or
t’other of ‘em must get hurt!
Wkereas. —‘Teeth inserted here,’ at
the bull dog said, when he bit the loafer.
*’Tis false,’ as the girl said, when her
beau told her she had beautiful hair.
■Be-ware,’ as the potter said to the
‘lump of clay.
‘Licking ’lasses.’ as the man said when
he whipped the girls.
‘Well, its no use talking, ’ as the boy
said to his deaf daddy.
A queer idea of Marriage.—K pretty
young lady, says a Boston paper, ‘full of
youth and love’s young dreams,’ as Clove
would say, made application a few days
since at the City Register’s office in that
city, for a certificate allowing her to mar.
ry a deceased person.
The woman who oeigns the queen ol
the balhroom is very seldom found capo*
ble of being the governeee of her own
children:
NO 11