Damp and foggy. We
have no military news yet—9 A. M.
President Lincoln's
short inaugural message, or homily, or sermon, has been received. It is filled
with texts from the Bible. He says both sides pray to the same God for aid—one
upholding and the other destroying African slavery. If slavery be an offense,
and woe shall fall upon those by whom offenses come,—perhaps not only all the
slaves will be lost, but all the accumulated products of their labor be swept
away. In short, he "quotes Scripture for the deed" quite as fluently
as our President; and since both Presidents resort to religious justification,
it may be feared the war is about to assume a more sanguinary aspect and a more
cruel nature than ever before. God help us! The history of man, even in the
Bible, is but a series of bloody wars. It must be thus to make us appreciate
the blessings of peace, and to bow in humble adoration of the great Father of
all. The Garden of Eden could not yield contentment to man, nor heaven satisfy
all the angels.
It is said the enemy
have left Fredericksburg—bought all the tobacco, I suppose.
To-day the State
made distribution in this city of cotton cloth, three yards to each member of a
family, at $5.50 for 7-8 and $6.25 for 4-4 width. The State paid about $3 per
yard for it, and the profits make a portion of its revenue, or, perhaps, the
revenue of its officers and agents. Nevertheless, there was a large crowd, and
one man fainted. The shops sell at $12 to $15 per yard. Raining at 12 M. All
quiet below.
Another report of
the defeat of Sherman is current to-day, and believed by many.
SOURCE: John
Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate
States Capital, Volume 2, p. 443
No comments:
Post a Comment