USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume II > Part 51
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This letter is intended to prepare you for the meditations, the self- denials, the labor, the charity I shall enjoin upon you in my future com- munications, wherein my heart, with your image engraved on it, will be shown,-an almost parental anxiety, inspired by gratitude, love to your father, tender memories, precious yet mournful to the soul, the fireside of other days, when I saw you, a prattling boy, at your mother's knee, the delight of a happy household. Thankful am I for the privilege now to find that amiable boy the no less amiable youth whose conversation and epistles have so often refreshed me,-to whom I breathe these words of friendship.
Assured that you will receive all iny suggestions kindly, I beg to ap- prize you in the outset that you can never be a true man, a great man, a useful man, a happy man, without noble aims to draw you forward, to rouse, to invigorate you in the contest of life. This is the base from which you must ascend; it is the granite on which your character must rest. I will listen to no evasions on this point, to no sluggard excuses, to no plea that others succeed, or appear to do well, in their several pursuits, gaining wealth and influence, without this stern quality, this upward flight
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of the mind, this perpetual strain of the soul, this exhausting process. No worthy distinction, no excellence, was ever attained on any other terms True, men may reach high official positions, may be talked of for energy, boldness, some turn of fortune, and yet be destitute of greatness, in- tellectually or morally. I do not promise that you will ever realize half the dreams of glory that you and all other warm-hearted, aspiring young men indulge; but still you must aim high, like the military engineer pointing his gun to throw a shot in the distant castle. The castle of fame must be your target. Now try your engineering.
Writing to you Christmas week calls up the scenes of my youth, the boys and girls, the old neighbors, the school-frolics, the merry dance, the holiday presents, the joyous romping, the pleasant visits, the cordial wel- come, the rich dinners, the motherly kindness, which marked that noted era. Hallowed be its recollection ! Those scenes, those companions, are gone forever! Though sad the retrospect, I rejoice to salute the son of one of those dear old cherished friends who ever made me happy at his Christmas fireside. May you live to witness many a return of this festive season !
NO. II.
You should bear constantly in mind that man is the creature of habit; and you should also remember that now is the time for you to establish your happiness or misery, Good and evil are before you, and you are a free agent to choose either. If you have seen examples of virtue and in- telligence, if you have read of them, if they impress you with a desire to copy them, go to work on yourself; cast off sloth, fear, and all morbid apprehensions of the future. Resolve to be a man. Suppose difficulties gather in your path, friends deceive, fortune persecutes you, a few silly heads predict your failure : what of all this? Are you not the same, your motives as pure, your intellect as sound, your capacity to labor, to improve, just as it was before this persecution? The fact is, you must wade through seas of trouble; you must know adversity, affliction, every form of trial, to qualify you for successful action. You must not look up to those above you in wealth, station, and influence, and, by comparing your emptiness with their abundance, to accuse your Maker with partiality, or your parents with indifference to your welfare, in not providing you a for- tune to start upon. Rather be grateful that you were born in an humble sphere, so that you may have the satisfaction of elevating yourself above it,-of competing with the sons of the rich. Ten to one, you will beat them in the race; for, while they have weight to carry, you, light as a feather, may dash on at the top of your mettle.
I know this view of the subject is not generally sanctioned by the young, by any classes who never stir themselves out of a torpid, eat-and- sleep routine of life. But, my dear friend, discard this error at once. It has kept thousands from realizing their own strength, from knowing their powers, their vigor of mind, their grasp of thought, their deep and swell- ing emotions. All these must be developed to complete character; the fountain must be unlocked for character to flow. Listen to the great orator Patrick Henry, who, writing to a friend in misfortune, thus consoled him :-
"Looking forward into life and to those prospects which seem to be commensurate with your talents, native and acquired, you may justly esteem those incidents fortunate which compel an exertion of mental
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power, maturity of which is rarely seen growing out of uninterrupted tranquillity. Adversity toughens manhood; and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempted from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them."
Hoping that such authority, added to my own sentiments, will reconcile you to the hardships of life as necessary to your own well-being, I pass on to other topics.
I should rejoice to believe that I had full possession of your mind, of your confidence, that I might stamp on it lessons of truth, of duty, and all the images which constitute happiness. Then would I prescribe a course of reading, the class of authors, the subjects, most conducive to improvement. But I have reason to believe that you allow me only a fragment, a little corner of your mind in which to deposit all my friendly gifts. The rest is dedicated to a passion so pure, so proper, so perennial, so plastic, so powerful, and, to carry the alliteration further, I will add, so pernicious, to young men, that I pause to hackle you on the subject. Now, sir, I accompany you on a visit to the fair, the girl you love, the angel to make home a paradise.
You see yon blooming girl in the party circle, so radiant with smiles, health in her cheeks, and beauty dazzling all beholders ? Sweetly she sings, and, with seraphic touch, she wakes music from the piano or the harpsichord, to entrance every listener. How gracefully she declines to sing more !- her voice is injured by a cold : she is afraid to cause pain instead of pleasure to the company. Pressed on every side, all pro- nouncing her execution elegant, she resumes her music. Out gushes the melody, "Home, Sweet Home," and all hearts are filled with tender visions of the past, of the paternal fireside, where brothers and sisters, and father and mother, rendered home, the home of childhood, indeed sweet and happy. Then " Auld Lang Syne;" and all eyes overflow. "Oft in the Stilly Night" is warbled with a tremulous voice; and young men and young ladies, old men and old women, present, sigh as the shortness of life comes up in review,-the idea of lost friends, and that "we part to meet no more forever."
Perhaps you have been entertained by a planter, an educated planter, whose daughter has just returned from school, gay, lovely, and accom- plished. Do you not worship her ? Do you not think her an angel, who, wandering at twilight in search of a sister-spirit, missed her way, and dropped gently on the earth to represent the society of the skies and to gratify poor mortals with the sight of perfection? Now you want to hear another song, another tune on the piano,-other words : "Come, Rest in this Bosom." Why, young gentleman, you are crazy : that divine shadow, that music-spirit from heaven, those notes of celestial harmony, have addled your brain. Come, let me sober you by a cold bath.
The fairy was a veritable human being; yes, a woman; no goddess, no angel. Step with me suddenly into her father's house on business. She runs from us; but I had a glimpse. The dear creature thinks you are an angel, too, of the masculine species ; and she will appear directly, with angelic robes on, angelic tresses, with angelic color on the cheeks, and a perfect angelic suavity of manner to kill you on the spot. Here she comes, even more graceful, more destructive in her charms, more Juno- like, than when you beheld her at the party. I wanted you to see her en dishabille, at her work-table, handling family garments, visiting the kitchen to see about dinner, regulating the furniture, and taking the
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general care of the house off the hands of her aged and infirm mother. I wanted you to see beauty at home, as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a tender associate, that you might imagine beauty as a wife, as a-nurse .. But I see you are absent-minded, paying no attention to me; and so I will let you off at present, with the understanding that I am to finish my dis- course on angels at another time, when you shall have gained a little more self-possession, more command of your nerves, and more respect for my counsels.
Now, dear friend, I leave you in just such a reverie as I used to be in for hours, for days, for months, at longer or shorter intervals; and so fully impressed was I with the divine qualities of woman, and so humbly did I bow at her feet,-entertaining withal so poor an opinion of myself, of my person, of my worth,-that I was willing to draw for a wife in a lot- tery consisting of widows, old maids, pretty girls, educated girls, plain girls, all proper girls, mixed up together for Cupid to distribute the prizes by the fairest rules of chance. Be you assured that marriage is a lottery, with more blanks than prizes,-blank men and blank women in about equal proportion.
NO. III.
There is one obstacle to be removed from your path before you will make an effort, a strong, decided effort, to raise yourself in the world,- to assume that rank which it is not only your privilege, but your duty, to contend for in the battle of life. When I speak of rank, I mean some- thing more, something better, than the artificial distinctions which prevail in society. For these I have a due respect; they are essential in some degree : but I would have you aim at a rank peculiar to the qualities, not the condition, of a man. It is a sad mistake, not the less sad because it is common, to suppose that the whole field of action, the ladder of great- ness, is already full,-no room left for a new adventurer, for a fresh recruit on the roll of Fame. Be not deceived by this view of the subject. The way is as open, as easily travelled, as ever. It only requires a light to find it, to guide you safe; and that light is brave, untiring industry,-an upward mind.
It has been my fortune to see men of admitted distinction, and I beg to call over some of their names :--
General La Fayette, our national benefactor.
Three Presidents of the United States,-Monroe, Jackson, and Taylor. Two Vice-Presidents,-Calhoun and King.
Ten members of the Cabinet,-W. H. Crawford, Clay, Berrien, Branch, Forsyth, Badger, Bell, G. W. Crawford, Conrad, and Cushing.
Five Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States,-Johnson, McLean, Mckinley, Wayne, and Campbell.
Major-Generals of the United States Army,-Brown, (hero of Niagara,) Butler, Smith, Wool, Kearney, Twiggs, Gaines, Quitman, Patterson, and Pillow.
Brigadier-Generals of the United States Army,-Shields, Lane, Towson, Childs, and Marshall.
I once heard Chancellor Kent deliver a lecture before the Law Society of New York, at Clinton Hall,-Kent, the American Blackstone; and I have frequently listened to Judge Gaston, of North Carolina, before the court and jury. He was truly a great man.
Other men of note I have seen,-among them R. Y. Hayne, George
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McDuffie, H. L. White, S. S. Prentiss, Mr. Soulé, (our Minister to Spain,) Senator Douglas, C. F. Mercer, W. Gilmore Simms, John Stanly, D. H. Lewis, J. Hamilton, H. W. Hilliard, W. M. Inge, G. M. Troup, &c. ; and several of these I have heard speak,
In the way of Church dignitaries, I have heard Bishops McKendree, Soule, Andrew, and Capers, of the Methodist; Bishops Ravenscroft, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, and Hawks, of the Episcopal ; and Bishops England, Portier, and the Archbishop of New Orleans, of the Catholic.
Of other eminent divines whom I have heard preach, I mention Bascom, Olin, Maffitt, Sehon, Scott, Hamilton, Staunton, and L. Pierce.
Presidents of Universities,-Brown, Waddell, Church, Dagg, Tallmadge, and G. F. Pierce, of Georgia; Manly, of Alabama; Longstreet, of Missis- sippi ; and Swain, of North Carolina.
Governors, Ex-Governors, Senators, and Representatives in Congress, Judges of the Supreme Court of several States, and other personages of high position in the country, I have seen many scores.
In days of old I visited the theatres, and have seen the first tragedians of the age perform,-Cooper, Macready, Forrest, Booth, Adams, and Par- sons, the latter now a distinguished Methodist preacher in Louisville, Kentucky, and lately one of the Commissioners on the part of the Church South to settle the great property-question in New York.
I will also include, as peculiarly gifted in their line, Finn, Power, Hackett, Barnes, Collins, and Placide,-the best comedians I ever saw on the stage. Poor Finn was lost on the steamer Lexington in Long Island Sound, and Power sunk with the steamship President at sea. They were both at the head of their profession ; and it is melancholy to reflect that, after they had amused so many thousand people by their humor, they themselves should perish thus suddenly.
Do not imagine that I have paraded these names for any selfish object, to show the great men I have seen, as if the fact redounded to my honor. No, my dear sir ; obscure as I am, my character borrows nothing from the reflection of mighty names; it stands on no such footing. My purpose is entirely different. I wish to instil into your mind this truthful idea,-that men at a distance appear greater, many times greater, than when brought face to face with you. I have heard celebrated men-Presidents, Heads of Departments, Governors, Foreign Ministers, Senators in Congress, and other eminent functionaries-talk; and very few of them came near the standard I had previously fixed in my mind of their capacities, address, brilliancy of conversation, variety of knowledge, &c. Mr. Clay was the only man whose greatness was fully maintained by contact. Fame is indeed a bubble, and in a majority of instances rests on a slender founda- tion,-a mere egg-shell. You see men every day,-neighbors, strangers, professional men, mechanics, artisans, editors, printers, merchants, planters, many of whom have better judgment than most of the reputed great men of the day, and about as much intelligence. Be you assured of this, and toil on, patiently abiding your chances,-the next breeze, the next eddy. Some accident may promote you, just as Sir Frizzle Pumpkin acquired reputation for calmness and courage when he was so bewildered that he could not escape from danger, though trying his best to do so.
What is the moral of all this ? What lesson does it teach ? Simply that Fame blows a trumpet with false notes. I have seen a stammering, clumsy mover of a resolution at some country meeting attempt to speak, and who did actually utter a few disconnected words about the "important
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occasion," the " political faith of our fathers," the " tree of liberty," the " demon spirit of abolition," the " Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98," and all that sort of thing,-not a line in good taste or pertinent to the question. I have seen in the next paper an account of this speech, " truly eloquent, a masterly performance," and opening the way to Con- gress ! I used to be caught by such chaff; but I now have experience, and am no longer to be fooled by the crafty exaggeration of a mole-liill into a mountain, of pigmies into giants. I now see and judge for myself, without the phantasmagoria pictures of any showman. Believe me, I am not wholly innocent in this matter. I have contributed my share to these bloated fancies, by writing up character far beyond its just proportions, from the kindest motives. Other writers of more skill, and perhaps more unscrupulous, have played this game successfully on a wide scale,-have completely duped the public,-have held up men of straw as real worthies, possessing head, soul, intelligence, and all the qualities that constitute human greatness !
I would have you look within yourself and cultivate high purposes. Be not discouraged at big names and pompous titles above you. You cannot ascertain your own powers until they are put to a severe test, frequent trials. When a boy, you gathered up a handful of snow, made it into a ball, and rolled it on, and still on, as it accumulated in size and weight, until your strength failed to move it any farther,-it having increased to such magnitude. So let it be with your efforts to rise in the world. Be active, cheerful, always willing to roll yourself forward. Every act of business, every page you read, every conversation you hold with any one, your whole nature will tend to improvement. Napoleon began with his ball of snow at the military school of Brienne, and he kept rolling it until it prostrated thrones and empires. He saw nothing certain, nothing dis- tinctly, ahead. Once in the current, he braved it like a hero. His spirit never quailed until it was extinguished at St. Helena, with words of command on his lips.
When Daniel Webster began his career, he saw not his way to renown. He put himself in motion, gathered force as he went on, and reached a point whence the intellect of jurist, statesman, and scholar never advanced in this life. A Webster you cannot be : still, aim as Webster aimed to make the most of his faculties. The reward will come, sooner or later, -- fortune, influence, and happiness enough to satisfy the noblest ambition.
NO. IV.
I have now arrived at a point in this correspondence which calls for the utmost freedom on my part. You can weigh my suggestions, and either adopt them in whole or in part, or reject them altogether. The subject speaks for itself; and I do nothing but open the floodgates.
In my first letter I expressed the opinion that your comparative poverty would be of service, in forcing you to exertions which otherwise you might not be disposed to make. I know your pride of character, your high esti- mate of personal independence, and your dislike of every species of im- morality. Were you less sensitive in this regard,-did you not cherish integrity as the leading trait, as the basis of all that is worth possessing in life,-I should not have the courage to address you on topics which an opposite nature could never relish. But, as I know you to be well balanced in principle, and willing to hear all that experience can relate in practical affairs, I beg to impress on your mind the nature and obligations of con-
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tracts,-because, for the want of prudence in this matter, many well-mean- ing individuals have been mixed up in public opinion with a class who plunge into debt recklessly and seem to look upon their creditors as dis- turbing their peace without any right to do so. Excuse me if I illustrate the subject in my own way.
Suppose you, or any other young gentleman, were to issue this kind of paper :- " Within thirty days I promise to wed Miss A. B., she having given me her heart and all its affections." The time has expired, and you have not fulfilled your engagement. With an admission under your own signature that you possessed the lady's heart, (certainly a very rich treasure, ) you are protested by Notary Cupid for non-payment, and your credit is gone : not a girl will notice you ; even a widow of middle age will toss her head contemptuously at your advances. Now, you suffer justly. You have de- ceived a fair one, can render no excuse, and therefore you are placed in "Coventry,"-as military officers say when one of their number has dis- honored himself by refusing to fight a duel, to pay his losses at gaming, or to redeem his pledge of any kind. They cease to recognise him as an ' associate. He is to all intents and purposes stricken from the roll of gen- tlemen. Thus you are in "Coventry" as to all love-matters, and never to be trusted with another "heart," with other "affections," to render life supportable.
You buy land, a negro, a horse, a carriage, goods of a merchant, borrow money, or become indebted for "value" in any other form, and you give your creditor this assurance :- "Thirty days after date I promise to pay C. P., or bearer, five hundred dollars, for value received." You carry home with you the property for which the note is given, and at the end of thirty days you fail to pay. Had you told your neighbor that you would keep a vicious animal of yours-an ox or a mule-from getting into his field, and he (relying on your word) had ceased to look after the trespasser, but in a week afterward, to his surprise, found the ox or mule had devoured every blade of corn or other grain, what would be the opinion of your neighbor ? Could he not justly accuse you of forfeiting your word ? or, in simple phrase, of telling a falsehood? Now, make the application to your promissory note, thus :-
I have worked the land, the negro, the horse, the carriage, and enjoyed the profits ; I have consumed the goods, and used the money obtained from my neighbor, without giving an equivalent. When he called for his money, I neglected or refused to comply with my obligation. Where is the sanctity of my word ? What is it worth ? Cannot my creditor hold up my "promise" in writing and charge me with dishonor, with violating my engagement, in converting his property? Why is it less a crime in morals to fail paying debts when due than to be guilty of misrepresenta- tion in any other form? Your creditor may have traded your note, en- dorsed it, relying on your punctuality ; and afterward, lo! it comes back upon him when he has made no provision for your breach of faith. At the time he sold you his property on credit, he took you to be a man of truth, a gentleman; when he put your note in circulation with his en- dorsement, he gave another proof of his confidence; and now that he has to sell a negro, a tract of land, borrow money at a high interest, or intrude on the generosity of a friend to save him from distress, you look upon the whole proceeding-broken faith, holding another's property without paying for it, and thereby causing him great trouble and loss-as a perfectly fair business-transaction ! All such conduct is opposed to true principles, to
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justice between man and man. Would that all of us could improve our ideas, and our practice too, in this respect ! We should then save our- selves and our creditors from many a pang; for this is an operation that, like an overcharged gun, destroys before and behind also.
You ask, do I really consider all who fail to pay their debts punctually as dishonest men, as men unworthy of respect, as men of bad character ? Heaven forbid that I should insinuate so foul, so unjust, a charge ! for I have known good men to be involved, some of them even to bankruptcy, without the least intention on their part to defraud or injure a human being. Their aims were honest, their plans reasonable, and the prospect fair enough to gain by trading, by speculation, to realize a profit and to fulfil their contracts promptly. As they bought on credit, they sold on credit ; a circle of credits thus passed round and round, just as children with hands locked in a ring pull against each other : one falls and the others follow suit. Another familiar illustration is seen at ninepins : one pin is struck, and, tumbling on the next, the whole group is prostrated. Buying and selling on credit is a hazardous game of ninepins: a single blow often upsets all the men. Take the case of a merchant. He sells his goods on time, and, failing to collect, is unable to pay the importer. The importer in turn, being disappointed, cannot pay the manufacturer, who, also deceived in his collections, is unable to keep up his business; and down goes every man in the circle. The telegraph-wires when whole convey the electric fluid from New York to New Orleans in a moment ; but let the wire be disjointed even one inch, and the operators may toil at their batteries a year without sending or receiving a solitary dot.
Promptness in all our dealings with each other would prevent the downfall of many an upright man. We are all naturally dependent in our callings one upon another, and it should be a matter of enjoyment as well as of principle to withhold nothing,-to square up fully the instant we have the power. I do not require from you impossibilities : only do your best. If you are blamed then, submit in silence, for it is not allowed a debtor to grumble more than any other slave; for when you and I go in debt we take on fetters, which have never been considered the badge of freedom. Our creditors are our masters for the time-being; masters of our own choice,-our bondage voluntarily sealed. Yet, should the worst happen, toil on, toil patiently for your creditors : justice is paramount. Keep away from idle resorts, from filthy groggeries: no medicine is there to improve an honest's man's situation, to remove his difficulties.
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