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The President's Wife

The President's Wife image
Parent Issue
Day
25
Month
October
Year
1861
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The Washington correspondent of the Spnngfk'ld Hepublican malies the followiu2 good naturea comments upon a pcwer in'tlie land wliich ia not provided tor in the Constitution.but muy be said in some sensos to hold sway eveu above tbe Constiiution: We have for the first time in the history of Presidents a President's wifo who ■een to Vjc ambitious of huving a finger in the Govennneut pie. Her frierids compare Mrs. Lincoln to Queen Elizabet li iu Lcr statesmaiilike tastcs und capabüitics. She. is by no ineans a simple, domestic woman, but was evidently intended by nature to mix somewhat in politics. Tbat she does so is undei;iable. she lias ere tbis m;ide nid uumade the pulitical fortunes of' men. Sho is said to br mach in conversation with Cabinet nienibers, n.d lias before uow held correspondence with them ou political topics. Some go so far as to suggest tliat the Pre-ideiit is indebted to her for some of his ideas and pmjects. She ik a very active woman. Nothing escapes her eye. Slie maimges the iftuirs of the White House (I do not mean State affaire) with abiiity and will sec to it that the "old man' does not return to Springfield pen niless. In foreign countries her turn for politics would not subject her to adverse eritieism, but the American people aro 60 unused to tliese tliings that it is not eoBy for them to like it. Mrs Douglas veas a good deal of a politician, though she liever injurcd her husbiuid's position, but rather iinproved it by her boeial iillianees. Miss Lane never alluded to politics, and Mrs Pierce ki ew nothing about them. the was probably the most simple hcarted woman that ever presided at the President's table. The word "simple:' is not used in a depreciative fiense. She was a pure-mirided, unselfish, Christian woman, and knew nothing at all of the world. Rebel Dissatisfaction with their Army Movements on the Potomao. Tho follówinje artiule fVüin au influential rebel paper is bilterly saroastic; und ironical upon the movements of their army on the Potornac. The full prograautie in it of whnt they woiilci havo done will créate a smile in ihe loyul Stules : From the RicbmnnJ Dispatcb, Sept. 28. Tho weather foi' the lus: tW' weeks has been splendid. The earth, fcaturated heretofore by uri unusual qdHfltity of ruin, Iuih become ihorouwhly dried, the strearr.s have resumed their usual channels, er vunk Ün thuir usual borders The atmosphere is exceedinifly brilliant, reminding us of thstt puiust of American SenROns, the Tndian Suiiiiner. Tliere never vus more propitious vveatlier for mili try operaücms. And we are reininded by the date at ihe head of this day's issue that theequinox is upon us, m;a(.:coinpumei! by its rentil coneoniitants of climd-s, rain and wtorms. It seems as llio'iffh nature herse'f had e.-uoused our e;iuse :ind nvi ed us to come forwurd. We caunot always calcúlate upon her fttvoro. In a few davs she may shroud herself n clouds and drench the earth once more by rain. - We hope our Generáis will take advan tage of' the npportuhity and seizo the initiative. Time, in military matters, is viotory, is tritimph, is everything; and we luarn ir.im the o!d adage thut time is bnld beiiind. He must he seized by Ihe forelock or he will forever elude the grasp. We have not in tliis journal prepumed to criticise the niovements of ther Generáis. We oould not but fee, hat all tho world must have sean, tbat a movameot in advanue one day, oí one week, or oven two weeks, after the b.ittlu of Manassas, would have resulied in advantagüs to our canse wliich it is almost impossible to conneive, far lessto estimate a ith inathetnaliosl precisión. We eou'd not resist the belief that men, who fled as the Yankees had fled from that tield, could not be made to stand behiud any fortifica'ions how formidable soever they rnight bo, if attaoked by strong arras and resolute hearts. We eould not be induced to think that tho respect due to tried veterana oiiirht to be paid to those routed, (ernfied, discouraged, panic Stricfcen relies of a rrnütary uiob, hom no persuasión of their officeis, and no sentiment of' honor, had induced to stand and look our urtny in the face. We feel confident that the best way to duai ith such men was to assail them boldly, no üiatter wliat their uurnbers might be, without waiting a moment to uount the cost of the assault. We are snro they wouKI never stand the test, lor we knmv that they vvere dibí.nding daily; that they were totally regard. ess of military discipline; that they were strewn all over Washington, lyir.g drunk 'm the rum shops, on the cellar dooi's, 'm the gutti-rs, ;'rJ thinkng of noihing but gtli ig back home. We weix' tfatisfied then, e are satistied una', that Washington inight have been taken by u h itulful oj men. almost by a charge of cavalrv. We c uld not understand the advanwiges i delay We knovv nnthing of military tacliov; hut the modicun. of common sense ivith which we were gii'ted by our Croatur, ermbled us to doubt the policy which ]ftt to a conquered and dispirited enemy Ihe leisure to recover f'rom his tenor, to ruslnrt' discipline, reoruil his l'nrces, to drill his men, to erect gigoiitio lortih'eations. Hut we Raid noi hing of all this, because our G enera's had the matter in their own hands, and best knevv whui they wore cwpable of perforining. Wlien, therefore, we loarned that their reason for not ftjlowing íí panic-strioken enerny twentv-five miles, was tbat they had not irmi.-ion and transfortation aufficient to carry theni th;tt distancu, we thought the public ought to be satis fied. We had read, nevertheles.s, that Cse-ar had pursued pey frorn the plainsof Thesialy to the sea beach of Aluxandia, aí'.er the battle of Pharsalia, although prevous to that battle he had been on the point of breakinjr uil the cari.p for want of provi.nons. VV'ehad, moreover, read the first proclaiiiation of General Bonaparte to his aimy in Ita'y, in which hetelN theni in the course oï lourteen days they had gaintd six victories and destroyed two annies; that tl ey had "gained battles without cannon, crossed rivera without pottnons, mude forced marches without shoes, ind watched all night under anus villiout brandy, and Mmetimes even without provisions;" that they had been 'bereft even ■ f necessaries at the cnmmencement oí' the campain;'' but that iiiiw (at the date ot the pro clamation) "they enj.iyed plenty," for ''the magazines taken trom the enemy were numeroiis." Still the pub. ie, deeply a." they were chygrined at the d:sapp jiutmenf, acquiesced in the apology for ihe Generáis that they had not transportationand provinons i'ur t-o short a dis'.ance, and we feit no dispo tition to disturb its verdict. Wa have nlready saiJ that the ndvant:ie.-: vvhich would havo ensued to the Confedérate S ates from an advanco at that period wero not to be esimated by in) prouetta know to uritinnetic. Some :f' thein, hovvever, lio so pulpuMy on the sunace thut we can not foibear to notice tliem in passing. Wo should have caplured the city ot Baltimore, purtred it of the toul verrnin who have converted t iuto a nest l'or their tribe. We should have prevented the abductinn and incarueration of our triends,. who havo been abdticted and incarcerated only beciine tliey were our friends. We shouUi huve captuiüil thu JiaUiüioro ititl Ohio llailroiul, and, by ihroHtng a turonar hody of troops upon the rear of the Yankee uuiraudurs in Western Virginia, have rendered their capture and destruiítion inevitable. - We should have protected North Carolina froin invasión. We should hav arrest ed the pn gress of tho Yankee urnis in Missouri, and placed that saillant State in her true position. We should haveenabled Kentucky to purt: otl the vilo IneustH that infest her We should have entered the Yunkee terri ' tory, and made thein tremble for their I (iwn capital. We should have takon i Philttdelphia, and held it as a plodgo for the wiihdrawal of LincolnV scoundrelf from Fortress Moroe, and thut of his tieet frorn the blockade of our porte. In a vrord, we should have gono into tbc tnklst cf tlio Yankees, broker) up their military orgatiization, held Boston and New York at our fee , compelled them to 8ue for terms, inri exucted ampie indeinnity for all tlieir lobbmiew, all tlieir injuries, and a!l iheir insult. Another opportunity offers itself. We have a numerous atmy en tho Potomae: - it burns fnr dislinction. und pants for the hour th:it ia to cal] it into Mtjtión. If ts ardor be not rstraïnèd, before Ch rist mas it can plant the color nf the Co nfederiito States tipon Faneuil Hali. It wil] have battles to fiht, but that is what it most eagerly longs for. Tt will have rivers to cross, lint Col. Napier tells us that rivers, so fnr from bu'ngan insuperable banier, do not even forrn a good position. If they cannot be crossed at one place, they can at another When did the Rhine ever oonstituto an insuperable obstado to on arrny wihing to invado France or Gfniiiiny, or tho Po to an army wifhing to invade Lombardy? When did any fjreat river fier n insepruble obstacle to a resolute General and a bravo army? In the name of the nriited South, then, let our annies advanoe while the weather is line and everything propitious,

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus