OCR Text |
Show WINNIE DAVIS TO WED. The Favorite Daughter of the Confederacy "Will Join Heart and Hand With a Northerner. LOVE BREAKS DOWN ALL BARRIERS How the Child of the Southern Leader Be came Acquainted With the Grandson of the Abolitionist. The present year has so far contributed no more interesting item to social history his-tory than the announcement that Miss Winnie Dnvis is soon to wed. and that her betrothed is Mr. Alfred Wilkinson, of Syracuse, N. Y. He is a young lawyer in moderate circumstances, and the grandson of Rov. Samuel J. May, f) noted Abolitionist, who worked side by side with Garrison, Emerson and Phillips. Phil-lips. She is the "daughter of the Con. federacy," the sole surviving child of the late Jefferson Davis. hands and feet are email, the latter being strikingly noticeable by reason of the highly arched insteps. . She dresses richly rich-ly but quietly, with no desire to... attract attention. Her language is as expressive as her eyes. She is a skilled fencer at repartee and a charming Btory teller. In her words and acta she expresses the utmost respect for the social forms and conventionalities of her native section. sec-tion. Besides English she speaks German, Ger-man, French and Spanish. Of her ability abil-ity as a conversationalist, a lady who met Miss Davis during her northern visit said recently: "The naive way in which she described for us the meeting on horseback horse-back of two fiery southerners, both strangers stran-gers and both stutterers, "was delicious. The predicament in which one man found himself when the other asked him how f-f -f 4 ar it was to a certain city, and he realized that if he made answer that it was s-s-g-seven miles he would be shot on the spot, was as real as life." Miss Davis is now about 27 years of age. Mr. Alfred Wilkinson is nearly 80. He is a graduate of Harvard and a patent lawyer by profession, his business partners part-ners being George Hey and Arthur Par-tons. Par-tons. Ho is of medium height, has dark hair, dark blue eyes, a not very heavy dark mustache, and a rather fair complexion. com-plexion. His father, John Wilkinson, was apjxrinted revenue collector for one of the districts of central New York by Abraham Lincoln. The senior Wilkinson Wilkin-son was originally a Republican, but afterwards supported Tilden for governor. gov-ernor. Young Wilkinson's grandfather, Rev. Samuel J. May, as the associate and friend of Phillips and Garrison, aided Miss Prudence Cranclall when, at Canterbury, Canter-bury, Conn. , in 1883, she transformed her "young ladies' seminary" into a school exclusively for colored girls. The affair created a tremendous sensation at the time and begot indictments and lawsuits without number. Dr. May's career as an anti-slavery lecturer included visits to several European countries. When ho removed from Connecticut to Syracuse Syra-cuse he continued his work on behalf of the blacks, had several collisions with rioters and was once burned in effigy. But time heals wounds, changes conditions con-ditions and brings consolations. Dr. May, the agitator of the north, and Jefferson Jef-ferson Davis, the leader of the south, are dead; the cannon that boomed defiance in 18(11 are rusted relics in 1890; the flame dealing lint of blue and gray no more meet in deadly conflict; peace and prosperity have resumed their sway over a united country, and tho "Daughter of the Confederacy" is to become the wife of a "Yankee" lawyer. Writing with Both Bunds. Owing to the popularity of typewriters typewrit-ers penmanship is becoming a lost accomplishment ac-complishment among business men; but one gentleman of this city, writes letters with both hands at once. He is E. C. Cockey, of the Western Union building, and he consented to show a reporter how to make a manifold machine of himself. "After endless practice," he said, "I at last found that I was capable of writing writ-ing with both hands at once, and in this way I have done considerable writing of a business nature. Of late years, however, how-ever, all my writing has been done by dictation to a stenographer." Mr. Cockey drew a pad from a drawer draw-er in his desk, and taking a lead pencil in each hand he wrote the reporter's name toward the left with the left hand, and toward the right with the right hand. 1 "This is one way of writing it," said Mr. Cockey, "but perhaps you would like to see it written this way," and he wrote the name upside down with both hands. Finally he wrote a long sentence sen-tence simultaneously with both hands. New York World. THK BIRTHPLACE OF MISS DAVIS (The Confederate White House). The manner in which they became acquainted ac-quainted was romantic in the extreme. Four years ago Miss Davis left her father's fa-ther's home at Beauvoir for a visit to the north. She spent a portion of the time as a guest of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Em- : ory at Syracuse. The Davis and Emory families were friends in Washington as ' long ago as when Mr. Davis was senator ' from Mississippi. Dr. Emory is a son of Gen. Emory, of the United States army, and Mrs. Emory is a daughter of the late Denis McCarthy. While in Syracuse Miss Davis met at one of the receptions given in her honor the man who is to become her husband. The daughter of the Confederate leader had been given a very cool welcome at one or two nouses, and this was resented by Mr. Wilkinson, who championed her cause and by his tact and gallantry made smooth many places that might otherwise other-wise have proven rough to tread. A warm friendship naturally followed, and in coarse of time the gratitude the young lady felt for the courtesy of her handsome hand-some northern knight gradually ripened into a tenderer regard. After the dose of her sojourn in New York state Miss Davis returned to the charming home of her parents at Beauvoir, Beau-voir, Miss., and there remained until a few months ago, aiding her mother in the conduct of the household, and acting, act-ing, when occasion required, as her father's fa-ther's amanuensis and capable assistant in his literary work. Last summer, how-aver, how-aver, her health failed her to a certain MISS VARINAH DAVIS. extent, and an affection of the eyes forced a complete abandonment both of reading read-ing and of continuous labor with the pen. It was then decided that travel wonld be the best medicine, and the fair invalid went to Europe as the guest of Mrs. Puliteor, of New York city. Two months ago Mr. Wilkinson, with whom she had corresponded since the dato of their meeting at Syracuse, followed hrr across the ocean. He pressed his suit, . she yielded, and before bis return to America they had plighted their troth. Miss Varinah Davis, butter known to the world at large as "Winnie," was born at the president's mansion in Rich- . mond, Va., while the guns of contending contend-ing armies thundered about the Virginia capital. From the circumstances sur- , ronndins her birth she received the title of the "Daughter of the Confederacy." While yet little more than an infant she was taken with the other members of her family on that historic flight southward south-ward which ended iu the capture of Mr. Davis by the northern forces. At the age of 15 she was sent to a seminary in Carlsruhe, Germany, where she spent several years in the acquirement of a thorough aud finished education. On her return she became and remained, until her departure a short time previous to his death, her father's chosen companion compan-ion and friend. REV. E Ait VEX J. MAT. : Miss Davis is not, in the general acceptance ac-ceptance of the term, a ."beautiful" woman, wo-man, but she is distinguished looking. Her face is orientally oval and her complexion com-plexion olive. She has dark brown hair and largo intellectual brown eyes that grow eloquent with expression whenever she discusses a subject in which eha is interested. Her voice is of the soft, sweet southern variety, and is particularly particu-larly fascinating, as it seems to have gained a slight French accent during her sojourns abroad. In repose her face is grave and thoughtful, but when lighted up by a smile it becomes girlish and vivacious. viva-cious. Khe is tall, her figure is gracefnl-rounded, gracefnl-rounded, and her carriage stately. Her |