Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 17.djvu/129

 Life^ Services and Character of Jefferson Davis, 121

When Grant lay stricken at Mt. MqGregor he was requested to write a criticism of his military career. He declined for two reasons : " First, General Grant is dying. Second, though he invaded our country with a ruthless, it was with an open hand, and, as far as I know, he abetted neither arson nor pillage, and has since the war, I believe, shown no malignity to the Confederates, either of the mili- tary or cJvil service ; therefore, instead of seeking to disturb the quiet of his closing hours, I would, if it were in my power, contribute to the peace of his mind and the comfort of his body.'' This was no new-born feeling. At Fortress Monroe, when suffering the tortures of bodily pain in an unwholesome prison, and the worse tortures of a humiliating and cruel confinement, which make man blush for his kind to recall them, he yet, in the solitude of his cell, shared only by his faithful pastor, took the Holy Communion which commemorates the blood and the broken body of Jesus Christ, and, bowing to God, declared his heart at peace with Him and man.

As free from envy as he was from malice, he was foremost in recog- nizing, applauding, and eulogizing the great character and achieve- ments of General R. E. Lee, and with his almost dying hand he wove a chaplet of evergreen beauty to lay upon his honored brow.

RIGID ADHERENCE TO PRINCIPLE.

Sternly did he stand for principle. He was no courtier, no flat- terer, no word magician, no time-server, no demagogue, unless that word shake from it the contaminations of its abuse and return to its pristine meaning — a leader of the people. Like King David's was his command, ** There shall no deceitful man dwell in my house." A pure and lofty spirit breathed through his every utterance, which, like the Parian stone, revealed in its polish the fineness of the grain. I can recall no public man who, in the midst of such shifting and perplexing scenes of strife, maintained so firmly the consistency of his principles, and who, despite the shower of darts that hurtled around his head, triumphed so completely over every dishonoring imputation. It was because those who k-new his faith knew always where to find him, and wherever found he proclaimed that faith as the standard bearer unfurls his colors.

He was always ready to follow his principles to their logical con- clusion ; to become at any sacrifice their champion ; to face defeat in their defense, and to die, if need be, rather than disguise or recant them.