Show t 1 b JEFFERSON DAVIS I T THE HOME OF THE CONFEDERATE CON-FEDERATE EXPRESIDENT A Correspondent Visits Beauvolr and Is Shown Through the Promises Quiet Kutreat on tim Gulf Shaded By Live Oaks and Gray Slots Special 1 Correspondence NEW ORLEANS April 24 A three hours ride out of New Orleans over the L 8 N R R takes u through the vpress swamps back of the city across theMe the-Me marches and brackish estuaries connect ng and dividing Lake Pontchartrain Lake and the of Mexico into the BOo gulf Mexc int strip if long leaf pine of the Mississippi gulf coast lime scant grass and stunted palms struggle through the brown carpet of needles and the vivid green of the magnolia occasionally Unites through the blurred perspective of lately I trunks with alternations of cypress where the surface sinks into marsh and crabby oak where it rises into cay We catch glimpses through the pines at the blue waters of the gulf and the roofs of the flat summer houses the New Orleans people have liuilt themselves here n wo are whirled vapidlY liy the central stations of these St Louis Pass plejMiro settlements Bay St Loui Pa Christian Mississippi city Biloxi The latter point is eighty miles from New Orleans and XHises the historical interest of being the scene of some of the earliest French and Spanish Creole settlements 4 I f q r rRSIElT JIFFnSOX DAVIS But the historical interest of the locality has been preengaged riveted in fact t one pot five miles before Biloxi is reached where the brakeman in his stridulous tones hn nnnuancd Bcauvoir Station the stopping stop-ping place for Beauvoir house the homo of JcflVron Duvie the chnpelle expiatore of the Mititliviii bourbon the modern rock of Pr niithcus t the nonliPiti stalwart There is nothing but the station house and the pine fur8t to b seen at the station Thee is no imputation black or whit and Beuuvoir house le WO yards through the pines facing tlio gulf out of sisht 1111 taken the precaution to ask Mr J UPI U-PI IH Mr Davis friend and business apen in I jSuw Oruans i he would be at hOle on that day I went out to visit Beauv ir but notuirhsmiiiliiig this I was informed on in qui lug the way to the house that nut as uul was at home Mr Davis had left im hour 01 two Ixfoie my arrival to attend tlio wedding in Nw Oi leans of ins wifes niece I had 1H istd him on the way Mrs Davis wn anay on the bame business and Miss Vaiina the daughter was viiting friends in Cliulta nooga My informant i proved to be the man wI In WHsintiu tiii with the premises in Mr Davis ailonce and he politely agreed to show me tlio house I would be able to see Mr Davis in New Orleans So we walked 1 through the pines along a roadway ankle deep in white sand arouiut Aha angle of a scuppernong vineyard of several sev-eral acres the only cultivated spot on the e itato of 80J acres of sand and long leaf pine The road leads straight on t the beach of the gulf between Beau voir and a smaller hou > eon e-on tho right owned by Mr Davis sister both houses facing the water The approach is from the rear and entrance to the large ya d of Beam oir is through a gato at the side The yard is a broad stretch in front ol and on either side of the house t the beach densely shaded and bare of grass or other living the white sand of the ing vegetable carpeting whit sn tle soil between the drifted wimows soi showing up bcween dte wimowl of dead leaves and decaying twigs scattered under the stunted trees like black worms Livo oaks are the prevailing trees small bo and unlike their brethren t sure un1o grand of the river Alluvium over in Louisiana but shapely gray beards of moss drooping I from their branches their round umbrella I hike tops and thick foliage csentmg an im I penetiabln shield against southern sun their short but ckau trunks outlining pleasant vistas through the broad stretch of yard and out to the blue waters of the gulf There is Clothing scrawny gnarled or gaunt in these shapely little trees n in the black jack and scrubby abominations so familiar in the landscape land-scape of southern por lands and they make a pretty grove but besides the live oaks thero ore cedars water oaks with their r lighter green leaves magnolias and evon hickory a tree rarely found in such impoverished impov-erished soil A largo number of orange trees w ei o killed in the severe weather of last winter win-ter and boino of their denuded stumps are still standing As the visitor passes through the yard ho is more than apt to strike his toe against an incipient growth of cactus which seems t be fighting for existence in the bar i en sand A few mernosbeep nrorningtbrougb the yard keeping themselves for the most part n near the unpainted fence which separates the grounds from the beach n possible for curiously curi-ously enough the fresh breeze w hlch is continually con-tinually blowing from the water hardly stirs the loner limbs of the trees in tho rear of the yard though still perceptible at a little distance tlC above tho earth At the station house the other side of the pines no breeze is felt J whatever and the heat during the summer is intense i The house itself placed in the rear center of the yard is elevated some eight feet above the ground on biMc pillars inclosed with lat f tire work It is one story above these broad and flat with slab roof white painted weatherboards I boards and green blinds a broad veranda or gallery as they a called here extending i the full breadth of the hoe front and rear and led up to by a wide flight of wooden steps flanked by two stunt esquo vases one of which has been thrown down from its pedestal and never replaced A small wing extends from one corner in the S rear it end projecting a little over the sidewall side-wall of the man house The exterior is of a t tyj > e ordinary enough in this latitude though smart above tho average in s About thirty pace on either side a little in advance avanco of the line of the main house are two outlying cottages oddly and picturesquely built but conforming in style wit each other and the nlaeon and completely mrrounded by 4L f hL J wooden galleries One of these i occupied by Mr Davis n a office where he does all his writing The other i devoted t guests and in the slimmer i occupied by a daughter Mr Hayes whose husband was of Memphis at the time of his marriage but i now 1 banker in Colorado Colordo Springs Upon the front gallery are wide seated and broad armed rocking chairs reclining canvas seats benches and in one corner a hammock blackened by exposure t the weather i swung temptingly The main doorway opening open-ing upon this gallery i of plate class set in tho woodwork in graceful curves and elaborate elabor-ate floral figures in Frenchy fashion It opens into an immensely wide hal running the length of tho house unobstructed by the staircase which would disfigure it in a two story house and giving full sweep t the breeze from the gulf which pIns through it with delicious coolness This hall i the living liv-ing room of the family It is full of wide soft lounges and round divans in cool upholstery up-holstery with tables covered with books and pictures cabinets crowded with iaro pottery and brie a brae a lit of tho precious blue of the Sevies a Cloissonne plaque grotesque vases and pots tilled with wild flowers portraits por-traits in oil and crayon I bronze but of Father Ryan the southern poetpriest and innumerable articles of artistic or reminiscential value many of them baring bar-ing pathetic reference to tho period of the rebellion others with stories of distinguished people of tho old and new worlds met a guests in this famous house or in travels abroadin short a place where one could spend whole days ip delightful interest with one of tho family to tell its stories The double parlors t the left are much the same filled up with quaint and old time furniture the walls and mantles literally hidden with pictures and souvemrs of great men and great events but the whole produced with the order of womanly presence the coherence of i cultivated taste and the magical touches of instructive interest which time and distinguished I distin-guished associations alone can give Her i a bust in marble of the boy child killed in Richmond during the war by a fall from a gallery and here again a crayon portrait of young Jeff Davis Jr who died in Memphis during the epidemic 1878 whither he had gallantly hastened to nurse his sister Mr Hayes sick with yellosv fever She recovered but her faithful brother wa taken with the fever and died and with him tho last male offspring of the president of the confederacy Thor Tho-r parlor i also a library and there the books which overflow into every room in tho house are crowded into the shelves two and three rows deep Hero is pointed out the portrait por-trait of Mrs Doisey the New Orleans woman whoso will left this fine old place to Mr Davis for tho passage of his declining years Here also conspicuous upon an easel in the center of tho room is an oil portrait of Stonewall Jackson Early and Ewell in council of war upon tho battlefield The rooms across the hal are the sleeping apartments of tho family the dining room is in the wing at whose foot close to tho ground i a small outvin kitchen its rude wais and pent roof completely com-pletely covered with a luxurious growth of roses i full bloom Numerous outhouses including in-cluding cribs barns and a carpenter shop a o set in the background hidden by tIm trees Two horses some few cows hogs and poultry and the merino sheep in the faimyail constitute con-stitute the live stock of tho establishment The condition of the soil doesnt admit of any farming at Beauvoir though Mr Davfs personally directs the cultivation of a plnnla tion which Mrs Dorsey left to him with the house and which lies just opposite one of h sown = s-own antebellum plantations Briei field ir Davis Bend on the Mississippi river He his also land in Arkansas and Texas and owls ao some lots on the Mississippi Gulf const near Beauvoir which he bought before the war and was intending t improve upon the outbreak out-break of hostilites and afterwards but was not able t do s This List he told me himself him-self when I saw him in New Orleans the day following my visit to Beauvoir My conductor proved himself a most in telligpnt and agreeable guide He has lieen in M Davis service for two years and told me more probably of the life at Beauvoir than I could have gathered in convcitation with the family themselves He extemUd me the courtesy which he said was not shown to all of a introduction into Mr Davis oCce in the outlying cottage This plao i truly curious The room is very small and the space is further limited by an even greater crowding of books in doubled and ti iplnd rows on shelves than in tho lilaar of the main house A large center table is strewn with books papers and stationery in the greatest disorder piles of letters and manuscript manu-script tied in packages and addressed to the southern chieftain in the hands of many famous men are thrown carelessly in heaps upon the floor A swinging tray full of huge volumes of American archives takes volume trchhes tkc up much room and the few spaces on the walls left baro of books are covered with faded engravings of old cathedral towers mid the like Her Mr Davis wrote his history and here ho does all of his literary work Who can tell the value and interest of the letters let-ters and papers which are scattered so recklessly reck-lessly about What contributions they will be to tho work of the future historian what nourishing pap for political roaring and sectional tional reciimination they must contain An enterprising newspaper man would have been tempted t steal when surrounded by this invaluable material for sensation and interminable in-terminable controversy over dead issues and the scratching of healing scabs I sat down on the gallery surrounding this odd literary den of this most famous living figure of a most momentous struggle of the past and looking out on the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico conversed with my guide about the life that goes on at Beauvoir He was thoroughly imbued with the sympathies and sentiments of the family and exhibited a discretion in referring to dell w subjects touching it which suggested the caution of experience in dealing with men of the press They arc very frequent visitors at Beauvoir but they are received my guide informed me with invariable courtesy though their descriptions de-scriptions and attributed utterances are not always read with pleasure or approval But the correspondents are not the only people who visit Beauvoir There are troops of day after day A people coming nftr young man had preceded me by a few hours who said ho had come all the wny from Iowa expressly ex-pressly to see Mr Davis Parties of people from the north sometimes come n far as the gate and stop there peering over the fence with gaping curiosity afraid t enter It makes me mad sometimes said my guide when I go out t them anti they ask I if Mr Davis will see people from the north The idea of asking such a question 1 he exclaimed claimed with a disgusted expression Of course Mr Davis receives everybody who comes to see him with r cme 8 Wi politeness They come from north and south sometimes some-times in bodies of fifty or more during the year of the Exposition in New OrJeans the visitors were very numerous and one party of 15 commissioners and various t representatives repre-sentatives made a sudden descent upon the place It taxed the resources of the establishment estab-lishment but all were entertained at him I Indeed no visitor is allowed to t1 tout MU t-out this meal a there are no hotel accommodations accommo-dations within five mil of the place One would imagine it a eel e lh am un the resources re-sources of t man whose lor tune i not large this forced onleitainniuut of guest ttmxe motive for the most part i the merest cuuos ity But even time tramps know Beauvoir asa as-a generous house and their vagabond geerou agabud confraternity con-fraternity has mai ked it a a place where light bread or Joe Seldom as the negroes facetiously call it is proffered upon application instead of the less palatable Johnny Constant or com bread This reputation js the result of tho kindness of Mrs Davis a woman of gentle heart und cultured mind both inherited by her Umiughter Viiiiua an uccomplUUd ycuug CTKUI of iS wbosy icctfiit vit wo hlt it tl fnvu 1 sam < 1 s-am the cost attracted 8 much attention ana made the story of her European education and varied accomplishments tamiliar I saw her with her father and mother at the unveil ing of Albert Sydney Johnstons equestrian statue in New leans a few weeks since She i not pretty a her widely published pictures show but gentleness and good bleeding are stamped upon her face and upon the occasion occa-sion referral t I heard her talk in tho low well modulated voice of polite women with perfect ease and savoir faire to a host of la inous men who surrounded her Mr Davis does not rise till late in the day 10 or 11 eating a light leisurely breakfast and tuning attie exercise when at humuotoo little my informant thought Eight years of the climate of the Gulf coast have been very i favorable to his health though in the two years of his residence at Beauvoir my informant inform-ant had observed the growing effects of ng mot observable in the infirmity of his walk He has an asthmatic affection and after h return from the unveiling of the Confederate monument at Montgomery Ala last Aln lat year was confined t his bed for quite a while to the his and of great apprehension h family one friends Cut ho and Crend got up suddenly one day am expressed the determination of going t town New Orleans which ho did appearing much better since then He makes frequent trips to New Orleans always stopping at the house of his cot on factor and life time friend Mr Payne and still personally visits his cotton plantations He receives a very heavy mall and maintains great interest in public affairs My informant again declared h indignation indigna-tion at the spectacle he h often witnessed ofMr Davis at the precinct polling place exercising ex-ercising a predominant influence over local politics Reference wa made t tho fact that The Vew York World was sent t Beauvoir daily > y its editor for whose child Miss Davis stood s godmother wnilo in New York having nrmed fri with Mrs Pu url a pleasant friendship wih Mr P itzer After lunch which my host by proxy kindly tendered me in accordance with the custom of the place and a stroll through the ground I found my way back t the station lion I had to wait two hours and a half for a train bjick t Now Orleans and wa lett in of the the solitary possession lonely place solitude being rendered all the more impressive impres-sive by the weird sough of the wind through tho pints while the thin faced gray mus tachcd pot and station master disappeared in tho woods toward his dinner house My reflections re-flections were interrupted by the sudden appearance ap-pearance of a bare legged negro girl of 6 years calling sharply for Mr gr the post muster She stat ed upon seeing me with wide black eyes of lemarkable brightness and lntelligeicebut without timidity and quickly Itegan t question me with the frank and eager curiosity of childhood one of her rapid questions being as to whether a scroll upon a colored railway poster on the station al represented a ground rattler a species of rattlesnake of the coast I turned the tables her if she knew Mr Davis by asking M Davi and what she thought of him I think he i 1 good man she said simply with a tentative emphasis i upon the adjective which suggested a cautionary attitude toward Mr Davis and 1 following curious inquiry as t bow I found out where ho lived indicating indi-cating in words and manner a childish impression im-pression of awe and mystery connected with Ueauvoir and its inmates BEAUVOIR HOME OF JEFFEH3 ON DAVIS As the hour for the arrival of the train for New Orleans appi cached some people of the neighborhood gathered at the station and I heard references t the revival of the old war controversy about the ultimate Confederate Confed-erate repulse at Shil > h which has long ago resulted in a complete estrangement between Sen Beauivgard and Mr Davis who opin oil stems to b that the loss of the battle wus he fault of Beauregnrd and that a Confeder te victory would have been assured but for ie death of AH > ert Sydney Johnston during no first days fighting An incidental ft fhting incdlntl re niiik upon this subject in Mr Davis speech it the unveiling of the Johnston statue ha wrought out a defense from Gen Beauregard md 1 rejoinder from Mr Davis and CoL William Preston Johnston the son of Abet sydney and the southern will souther papers wi proba ily be filled for weeks with consequent war liteiature Ilerature I saw Jefferson Davis tho day after sV Jefern Davi aftr my visit t Beauvoir in tho office of his friend Mr Payne Undoubtedly his strong constitution consti-tution and stubborn vitality show the encroachments en-croachments of time but tall slender and rect with a remnant of the military rigidity If bearing of his younger manhood he still Coops less under the weight of his crowding ears than most men of his advanced age is i whit thin hair and beard have long ice lost the trace of gray the veins stand ut under the shrunken and splotching skin 1 the slender hands the thin sharp features > f the aquiline profile seem t stretch the fading complexion a the bridge of a violin stretches the strings The chest is sunken md the shoulders rounded adding something jo the slight stoop of the tall figure a it crosses the floor with a rather feeble step but without the assistance of a cane He straightens himself with alert dignity a his x Visitor i is presented and bows with old military irecision He cordial his lcion le expresses coria regret at hi absence from Beauvoir at the time of my Visit anI responds with a wintry smile in lis till keen eyes t my hastened assurance hat I am not charged with a interview I That is a process that I never submit to under any circumstances though some write just a though I had done s They imagine some things I suppose J hat depends a good deal on what latitude they come from 1 fancy We talked five or ten minutes upon insignificant insig-nificant theme t Mr Davis conversing with icntle and courteous interest He reminded ne once that he was slightly deaf He r nllfd an anecdote of Sheridan the Irish wit uid ststteummahu not the Federal general in ininettion with the unfortunate IICton prodicament If Judge Fenner of the supreme court of LonNSuna upon the interruption of his ad tress lt the unveiling of the Lee monument n New Oi leans two years ago by the terrific storm which sapped the ceremonies and die n the immense crowd It was suggested nat the address b postponed till next day impossible replied Judge Feuner it ha itll in print for hours It was delivered hat night to a few of the faithful and read tvt moi ning by the multitude Mr Davis expressed regret at his inability o miie improvements at Beauvoir but Neiued to sensitively avoid the subject of his atcevion to that projierty through the testa 111 ntiiry beque of Mrs Dorsey tough I Khcve there were such connections between no families of Mr Davis and that lady a to make that bequest n much a business of blood as of benefaction At any rate there is Email precedent among American public men of recent days for iuea feeling But it was not alone in this that I observed i disposition to sensitiveness in Mr Davfe He is the first public man I ever saw who exhibited ex-hibited any conscious embarrassment in avoiding topics which they had rather not discuss with cus representatives of the rprntte press They all seem prompt and unruffled in such sc avoidance but though Mr Davis showed tact enough in this direction in the words with which he steered clear of all sectional str ce n setonal political politi-cal I or personal and expressions though I prn expreons ud tough am quite sure that I was not impertinently insist Jet v n mere than one such occasion r s I even in Our short interview saw h aged face flush and once he oven dropped h head < and passed h band across his brow in unmistakable un-mistakable evidence of embarrassment i not painCon Con It b that th old soldier and states man whose strong manhood was passed in the very forefront of the great events of his time and upon whose devoted head ha fallen the almost individual of disastrous aot single idrdunl obloquy a di astrous war and l great political failure ha grown weary and sick a heart i his unparalleled un-paralleled isolation from tho business of his country notwithstanding the comforting and undying sympathy of his own section and defeated de-feated comrades and faltering in the magnificent mag-nificent straggle he ha made for the maintenance main-tenance of his splendid dignity finds pain i continuing that struggle with the thousand tone of misrepresentation and abu and < seeks peace in silence with h unbroken spit I and time society of his friends Doubtless he would himself reJent such a suggestion but such was the impression I received ceived I felt relieved of tho fear I entertained of having given him undue annoyance by my questioning when bo again rose t h full height t bid me farewell with cordial shake of tho band and a message t common fiend which assured me of h friendliness for myself On the day I saw him he b declined t attend the Calhoun monument ceremonies in Charleston but he expressed the hope of b able to attend those of the Lee lug t attnd tho te monument monu-ment in Richmond though in doubt n t whether his strength would permit the undertaking In speaking of his daughters visit t the north his single comment Young people always enjoy a trip among their friends illustrates his careful avoidance in this 1ust1ts hi ctul i thi purely matter as in all the conversation or sectional personal W i n t cnveton o sctonal reference The portrait which accompanies this has h own commendation D M V AC |