USA > Tennessee > Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches > Part 35
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Who are the people of Tennessee who have been thus shorn of their rights? They are descendants of patriots who resisted the aggressions of George III., not half so grievous as those we bear-who fought for and won our independence; a people. who are the descendants of those who, in 1780, crossed the Al- leghanies, rifle in one hand and axe in the other, and blazed the path which led into the rich valleys of Tennessee; who first broke the cane, planted and cultivated the corn, and gave peace
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to our bleeding settlements, and drove the scalping-knife beyond the confines of civilization, and made this once wilderness blos- som like the rose; a people who upheld the victorious banner of Jackson at Talladega, Emuckfau, the Horse-shoe, Enotchihoko, and on the plains of New Orleans; a people who bore our ban- ners on the plains of Mexico, and planted our eagles on the walls of the Montezumas, and dictated a peace by which the great Democratic State, California, was added to the Union, and which forms one of the richest and most brilliant gems of our glorious constellation ; a people who have given to the country two Presi- dents, a Jackson and a Polk, whose administration gave a pros- perity and a glory to our common country which it had not hitherto attained; a people whose bones lie bleaching on every battle-field, from 1776 to the present time, a people cradled in the lap of liberty and have tasted of its pleasures; yet this is a people that the "bummer" and "scalawag" say are unfit to be freemen ; they are deprived of the valuable birthright of suffrage ; they are rendered incapable of having a voice in making their laws, are ostracised from holding office, and by an onerous taxa- tion are compelled to feed and pamper the enemies of public liberty. We are thus trampled upon and shorn of our constitu- tional rights. If we complain of this great enormity and peti- tion for redress, we are threatened with war and kept prostrate by the false cry in the North of "copperhead," and in the South of rebel. We cannot, without a revolution, regain our lost lib- erties, which we do not intend to inaugurate. We are deter- mined to be peaceable and abide our time, relying upon the gen- erosity and magnanimity of the people of the North to correct this great public calamity, which we hope will be peaceably done by the ballot-box in November next. We hail that great patri- otic assemblage of the people, through their intelligent repre- sentatives, from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific, as a harbinger that this despotism shall cease. It is the beautiful rainbow of the North, announcing to the afflicted South that the storm shall cease, and that the angry flood shall subside; that the constitution that lies prostrate in the dust, like the broken jewel, one can see from its fragments the richness of the material of which it is composed, will be maintained with its ancient vigor, and, like the fabled Phoenix, will wing its way through storm
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and cloud, and be restored, extending its blessings to the present and incoming generations.
The noble sentiment of Patrick Henry, proclaimed in the rey- olution, has descended to us a beritage ; "A day, an hour, of pub- lic liberty, is worth a whole eternity of bondage." That senti- ment is indelibly engraved upon the American heart, and the radical party, which is endeavoring to subjugate the American people, should recognize the great truth that a community which has been cradled in the lap of liberty, have experienced its pleas- ures, have heard the voice of truth in which the merits of states- men and systems have been freely discussed and canvassed; in which obedience is paid, not to persons, but to the constitution, and laws made in pursuance of its provisions; in which magis- trates are regarded, not as lords, but as servants of the people; in which the excitement of party is a necessity of life; in which political warfare is reduced to a system of tactics. Such a peo- ple can never be conquered and reduced to a permanent servi- tude. This being the great issue of this political contest, none can doubt the final results.
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XXII.
THE FASHIONS AND OTHER KINDRED SUBJECTS - LECTURE OF JO. C. GUILD, DELIVERED AT GALLATIN, TENN., FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL. 7, 1876.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-I feel highly honored by the pres- ence of so much beauty and such an appreciative audience to greet me on this interesting occasion. Proposing to discuss a subject selected by a number of friends, I am sensible of my inability to meet your expectations, if perchance those expectations have been raised too high. I have never before in my life attempted to speak upon a subject suggested by others. Under such cir- cumstances, one comes to the discussion of his theme affrighted and with all of his fires slumbering, and feels like a yearling calf led to the slaughter-pen-yea, like the noble eagle, which plumes himself upon the mountain peak and soars in mid air, plucked of his plumage and to be "hawked at and killed by a mousing owl." I regret my inability to interest you upon the subject of fashions, where pinbacks preside as queen of the day.
Permit me, ladies and gentlemen, to take some latitude on this occasion, to ramble through the field of nature, shell the woods, and "calarrup" a little. I will talk about fashions after awhile. I find myself in a bad predicament. If I do not entertain the ladies about gypsiés, mice, rats, redingotes, polonaise, pinbacks, false calves, and palpitating bosoms, they will be dissatisfied ; and if I do say anything about their fashions, and feel about them a little, why I shall be condemned. I stand between Scylla and Charybdis, and find it difficult to steer among the breakers; and yet I must talk about the ladies, or else they will be dissat- isfied. I never speak of those for whom I entertain no appre- ciation. I have as high regard for the ladies as any one can have, and if I should say ridiculous things about them, it is be- cause I love them. When we write about woman, it should be upon rose-tinted paper, with pen plucked from the eagle's pinion,
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dipped in the rainbow, and dried with dust from the wing of the butterfly. That's the way to talk about her, too, and I flatter myself that I can say pretty things about the ladies.
Well, if I must talk about pinbacks and other fashions of the present day, I must first lay down the canvas upon whose disc the fashions of seventy-five or one hundred years ago may be pictured and contrasted with those of the present. Speaking of pictures, reminds me that I have one which I intended to bring here to-night. I forgot to bring it, but must have it, as I want to talk about it. [Here the speaker directed that some one should mount a horse and ride to the residence of his son, Mr. Walter J. Guild, one mile distant, and bring him the picture. Having been assured that the picture would be sent for, he re- sumed.]
I will proceed, ladies and gentlemen, while the picture is being brought. I was saying, it would be right and proper to have first the canvas on which to paint, and that canvas I propose shall be human life.
When we look abroad over this beautiful earth, bestowed on woman, and man as a secondary appendage to lovely woman, we find the world peopled with a variety of beings; as great a va- riety, almost, as the leaves in a spring forest, or the flowers dis- persed over the vine-clad hills. Among these beings, we find their appearance and capacities as different as the variations in the human countenance, and an endless variety of tongues. When we compare the races, we see upon the top round of the ladder the Anglo-Saxon and the Caucassian; and as we descend, we come to the Chinese, the red man of the forest, and, lowest of all, the Esquimaux, who burrow like rats in holes and come out in the spring in search of sustenance. Then, when we pass from man and look into the animal kingdom, we see more or less similitude to mankind in the infinite variety of kinds, species, qualities, and different grades which are here exhibited, from the huge elephant we saw at the circus last Wednesday to the little monkey; from the tiger to the muskrat and ground-hog. And while on circuses, I will remark that this has been an eventful week; three clowns have appeared before the people-two at the circus and one here to-night. Even the circuses of the olden time were superior to those of the present, I mean those that
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were traveling through the country when I had just commenced wearing breeches. I remember well my first pair, and how proud I felt when I put them on. There were no pinbacks then; no redingotes, prunellas, nor bustles; these are inventions of late years. At that time the boys and girls all worked. The boys helped their fathers chop wood, plough, make fences, and build houses; while the rosy girls did the house-work, assisting their mothers in sewing, cooking, and washing. In my youth, they always put on me the tasks of churning and bringing water. This latter employment is what made me bald, for baldness didn't run in our family. I took an early distaste to the other task, and even to this day hate churning. The idea of the pretty boy of the period, with his fur hat, bis broadcloth, and his ring, doing this or any other kind of work! It is true I am now wearing a ring, but I haven't had it long, and it was given to me by a friend. In my early day, no lawyer wore a ring. He daredi not do it, for some of us would come along and "calarrup" him, sure. I reckon I shall have to quit the profession now. But suppose one of these broadcloth boys, with his boots, pumps and ring, were called on to churn and bring water; why, he would turn up his nose at it in supreme contempt. If they would go to raising boys and girls as they did in the olden time, we would see more distinguished and useful men and women. There is too much idleness, extravagance, and dissipation; too much attention given to dress. Why, in my young days little value was laid on style, which was very simple. From their wardrobes, you could hardly tell the boys from the girls, until they were nearly grown. I wore a toga, now called a shirt, tied with a tow string, and in this habit I dressed until I was four- teen years of age. The only thing that distinguished the one sex from the other, was a little slit in the shirt. If the ladies would leave off these polonaise, basques, and bustles, and not gear up in vise-like corsets, nor move about in sweeping trains, they would be more becomingly and conveniently attired, and in a manner more conducive to health, If they would lay by these foolish and extravagant fashions and live more within their means, it would certainly prove more grateful to their con- sciences and their husbands' purses. And if the first women in society would lead off in the matter of reform, put on calicoes
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and march to church, the theatre, and the ball, the example would be generally followed, and the country benefitted. I would exhort woman to go to church and embrace religion. Her greatest virtue is to be religious. It renders her kind, charitable, forbearing, and benevolent; but it is cant, hypocrisy, and bigotry that I am sternly opposed to. It is the veriest puri- tanical cant to despise a lady or a gentleman, and turn up the nose if their daughter happens to go to a dancing school. I favor dancing as a graceful and healthful exercise. In every age of the world dancing has not only been practiced, but has been regarded as a most innocent and healthy amusement. We are informed in sacred history that the matrons and graceful belles of that day met David upon his return from Judea, and, with musical instruments and their graceful dances, saluted him with the plaudit that Sanl had slain his hundreds, but that he had slain his tens of thousands. Dancing formed a part of the wor- ship of the ancient Greeks, and their grace of figure fitted them admirably to participate in such a species of devotion. In the ancient world, the most eminent citizens, the wisest men, and greatest philosophers were wont to indulge in the diversion of the dance, even to an advanced age. Socrates, it is said, contin- ued to dance for exercise and amusement even at the age of sev- enty. He sensibly preferred exercise to calomel, and jalop, and pills, and for powders and lotions substituted those more ancient usages which promote bodily health and long life. So it was with the wise men and women of his country. A dancing- master, who long years ago was celebrated in the London fash- ionable world, declared that the English people are given to gout, apoplexy, shortness of breath, spindle-shanks, and "rum- puncheon " abdomen, because they prefer the pleasures of the table and. sedentary amusements to the more wholesome and healthy recreation of dancing. In Spain we find the public amusements to be bull-fights and the slaughter of game-cocks in the pit, the tendency of which is to make savages of both men and women. France manages social intercourse far better. There it is difficult to find a person of fifty years of age who despises the health-giving and invigorating pleasure of the dance. Men of a religious and serions turn promoted this ra- tional and healthful amusement. Soame Jenyns wrote, in the
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last century, a fine poem on the art of dancing. Sir John Da- vis, a Chief Justice in the time of Elizabeth, treated the subject poetically, and, like Jenyns, was the author of works on relig- ious matters. Then there was Sir Christopher Hatlon, the Lord Chancellor of the same reign, who is said to have "danced him- self into that venerable position through a series of extraordi- nary steps of court favor, commencing in a ball-room." He was said to have been the best dancer in England, save the Earl of Essex, the first favorite of the Queen, who rose to great dis- tinction.
In our own country, in the days of our Revolution, dancing was the crack amusement, and has prevailed for a century as a favorite among the elite. Gen. Washington and Gen. Jackson were graceful dancers, as have been many of the notable men of our country. Dancing not only teaches persons the graces of society, but it gives elasticity and beauty to the human form, and is withal a most healthful, invigorating exercise. Those who condemn dancing, prefer that the young folks should play such highly entertaining and intellectual games as "grinding the bot- tle," "old Mother Hubbard," "the thimble," and others of a like character, and the girl who is caught steps out upon the floor and says :
" Here I stand on two little chips, Come and kiss my pretty lips."
While I admit that kissing a pretty girl is very pleasant, I must insist that dancing is a more appropriate amusement than these games, more rational, graceful, and healthy.
I also favor theatrical performances, and regard it cant in those who denounce it as a terrible crime to attend the theatre to hear such actors as Booth, the great tragedian, and Charlotte Cushman, with her great powers and histrionic talents; and, at the same time, I expect that I am as much in favor of religion as any man. Everything rests on God's laws; we are indebted to him for life and for every blessing we enjoy. But because we are religionists, we are not to look demurely and sanctimo- niously, and deport ourselves as though we thought the common affairs of life too low for our notice. Oh! that our preachers would devote more of their time in impressing this idea on their hearers. Progress is going on in this respect, and I am glad of
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it. Let woman and man be devout and hightoned; but this they can be without taking the veil or searching for a monastery, or looking on the world as too debased for their association with it. I would like to talk to one of these canters; one of those who sell tracts, and at the same time would give up an erring son or daughter as fallen. In this conduct is an absence of that charity and forgiving spirit taught by Christ. I was a student under Mc Whirter and Craighead, in Davidson county. They were good men, noble men. They favored dancing, would give balls, and take part in the merry dance.
Well, I have been running up the branch until I have got clear out in the bushes, and must now retrace my steps and en- deavor to get back on the track. I like to talk about woman- lovely woman, from whose breast, in infancy, we drew the sus- tenance of life; who nurtured us upon her bosom, and who was the first to soothe our sighs and wipe the tear-drop from our eyes. The man who does not appreciate her is a beast-a Co- manche, and should be driven to the far West, where he belongs. In the lion, the tiger, the fox, the musk-rat, ground-hog, and skunk, we find dispositions and qualities typical of the character of man. When we look on the sea, the same truth strikes us. There we have the great whale, from which, descending the scale through an interminable variety of classes, we see the shark, trout, shad, perch, sardine, and sucker-and you are aware that we have many two-legged suckers. And again, looking upon - the earth, is seen the noble eagle, the vulture, the peacock (which reflects my modern beau in broadeloth and a ring), the sparrow, little wren, and humming-bird; and the brilliant-plumaged bird- of-paradise, which represents exclusively our lovely women. The similarity may be traced further, even into the vegetable world, with the countless variety of growths which it presents. Here the standing and usefulness of men in society is symbolized in the giant oak, the sturdy cedar, the lofty pine, the ordinary trees of the forest, on down to the stinted hawthorn, the bristling thistle, and the noxious weed; and last, but not least, the sweet flowers, with their variegated hues and bewitching fragrance, representing in truthful colors the captivating smiles, the win- ning blushes, the irresistible loveliness, and the gentle, all-per- vading influence of lovely woman. Some men are orators, who,
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by their burning eloquence, can, and have, fired the hearts of peoples to resist tyrants and put down usurpers. Some are divines, devoted to the service of God, the moral guidance and the spiritual comfort of men, alleviating the ills of life, and saving souls from perdition. Others are great statesmen, upon whose broad shoulders rest the weighty affairs of government; while still others are warriors, poets, scholars, philosophers, his- torians, and inventors of various contrivances for the comfort and convenience of mankind. And not least in the galaxy of greatness is woman. She marches hand in hand with man, and not only rivals, but controls him. Oh! if I could but persuade her to put off pinbacks! But if she wont be persuaded, why we will just have to consent for her to use her own pleasure about the matter. Her ways are the sweetest anyhow, I believe.
One difference between animals and men is, God has given the latter dominion over the earth. The gift was made to woman, not so much to man, and she should wear the breeches. If she did, affairs would be better conducted than they now are. Her influence over man is immense, and always has been. Adam couldn't resist his wife. The blandishments of old mother Eve induced him to eat of the forbidden fruit. I don't blame him much ; had I been in Adam's place, I should have done it too. Men will take apples when offered by the ladies, and I couldn't like the man that wouldn't. Yes, woman has the control, and I am in favor of her dominion. From the tiger down, the female has the mastery. It is her benevolence, her irresistible charms, that have given her the reins of government. We are all under God. When an animal dies, annihilation follows. Woman has an immortal soul, if man hasn't. But if he is ever saved, it is through the intervention of woman. Our hearts, like muffled drums, are constantly beating a funeral march to the grave, and when there, our bodies are consigned to the dust, and if woman has made intercession for us, our souls take their flight to God. I have thought sometimes that I could make a pretty fair preacher. I like the Methodists, the pioneers in religion. My mother was a Methodist, though I am a Presbyterian-you see my wife controls me. These cane-brake women always manage their husbands. It is best to yield to them for the sake of har- mony ; for when they are crossed and aroused, there's lightning
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about there certain. A man to be kept straight, should marry a woman of that kind.
My canvas is now laid down, and I shall say a word or two in regard to fashions. We are standing upon historic ground, made sacred by the bold pioneers who struggled against the armies of Cornwallis and others, fought through the revolution, and achieved the independence of this great country-upon ground hallowed by marvelous deeds of heroism and daring, performed by men descended from Huguenot, Scotch, and Irish ancestors. How much are we, and the lovers of liberty elsewhere, indebted to these Huguenots, Scotch, and Irish-noble races, the horror of tyrants, and distinguished for their grit, their lofty sentiment, and manly, uncompromising devotion to principle. Alluding to our proud progenitors, I am reminded of what slight circum- stances may sometimes control the fate of men, or change the destiny of nations. Expelled from France by the decree of Nantes, some of the Huguenots took up their abode in England, while others immigrated to this country, settling mainly in South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina. Oliver Cromwell and his great compatriot, John Hampden, were descended from this stock. Failing in their opposition to dangerous royal pre- rogatives, they and others of their party contemplated coming to America. The design was frustrated by Charles I., who had them arrested. The subsequent career of Cromwell and his famed coadjutors, the fate of Charles I., and the consequences to England, are matters of history. The arrest of these men was a trifling matter within itself, but it gave rise to events among the most prominent and important in history.
From the Huguenot, Scotch, and Irish people sprang some of the purest and best blood of this country-men of high purpose, of brave and chivalrous bearing, and in whose bosoms, during the trying struggles of the Revolution, the fires of patriotism and freedom burned steadiest and brightest. To them can be traced the lineage of many of the bold, adventurous pioneers who, following the star of empire Westward, came to this county when it was a howling wilderness, the home of the savage and the wild beast. Attended by the worthy matrons and their loved little ones, they came with rifle in one hand to defend themselves against momentary attacks, and an ax in the other to blaze their
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way to this wild and inhospitable region, which they reclaimed from a state of nature, and made blossom as the rose. I could relate many interesting incidents connected with the early his- tory of this county had I only the time. Col. Anthony Bledsoe, who conducted the first and largest colony to this quarter, settled at Greenfield, in this county. He was killed by Indians at the Lick, which bears his name, July 20, 1787. His brother Isaac was killed by the Indians in 1793. In 1790, George Winches- ter, well known to some now living, was killed by the Indians in the buffalo path, which passes right through this town, at a point very near where Judge Vertrees now lives. This path was made by buffalo in going from Manskoe's to Bledsoe's Lick. I have traced it myself often, when a boy, from here to the springs. The first child born in Sumner county, and perhaps in Middle Tennessee, first saw the light at Bledsoe's Lick, and the little stranger, who afterward's became well known throughout this section of country, was Dr. John Shelby. Pardon me for narrating an amusing circumstance that occurred on the eve of Dr. Shelby's advent upon the stage of life, especially as it serves to illustrate the fashions of that day. The services of a "granny" were required, of course, but there was none residing- at the Lick. The nearest one was at Keefe's Station, about one mile south-east of this court-house. Maj. Geo. D. Blackmore volunteered to go after her, though he was to ride nine miles alone through a country in which hostile Indians were ever on the alert for scalps and plunder. The mission was a perilous one, but the Major succeeded in reaching the station without being seen by the savages. Taking the "granny" (a woman of two hundred and fifty pounds avoirdupois) behind him on his fine horse, which had an important part to perform in the do- mestic economy of the settlement, he was well on his way back to the Lick, when they were fired on by the Indians. Both were slightly wounded by musket balls, and jarred by a fall from the horse at the same instant. A moment after (for there was no time for delay or ceremony) the "granny" was astride the horse, her feet in the stirrups, the Major behind her, and the faithful quadruped making to the Lick the best time possible for a nag thus handicapped. The "granny" arrived opportunely. What if this woman had been dressed for her trip from Keefe's
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