In the compilation of this volume the author has consulted the following authorities: Historical Collections. White. Memoirs of Georgia. Stories of Georgia. Harris. History of Georgia. Evans. The Story of Georgia and the Georgia People. Smith. Georgia Miscellanies. Chappell. Bench and Bar of Georgia. Miller. The Story of the Confederate States. Derry. Life of Robert Toombs. Stovall. Life of Alex. H. Stephens. Cleveland. Life of Alex. H. Stephens. Johnston and Browne. Life of Linton Stephens. Waddell. Life of Bishop Geo. F. Pierce. Smith. Life of Bishop James O. Andrew. Smith. Lee and His Lieutenants. Pollard. History of Georgia Baptists. Memoirs of Judge Richard H. Clark. The University of Georgia. Hull. Life and Speeches of Benj. H. Hill. Hill. Life and Speeches of Henry W. Grady. Harris. History of Georgia. Avery. Life and Times of Joseph E. Brown. Fielder. Sermons and Addresses of Bishop Pierce. Haygood. Ministers and Laymen of the North Georgia Conference. Scott. Life, Times and Speeches of L. Q. C. Lamar. Mays. Life of Patrick H. Mell. Mell. History of Old Midway Church. Stacy. Reminiscences. Gordon. The Green Bag, Vol. IV, Nos. 1 and 2. (Magazine.) Joseph Emerson Brown. Speer. (Pamphlet.) Grateful acknowledgments are also made to the following individuals for valuable assistance and cooperation: Judge Howard Van Epps, Colonel E. K. Lumpkin, Mr. A. L. Hull, Mrs. Alex. S. Erwin, Mrs. Walter B. Hill, Major Chas. W. Hubner, Judge E. C. Kontz, Mr. Frank L. Fleming, and Mr. E. R. Austin. REMINISCENCES OF FAMOUS GEORGIANS CHAPTER I. Emperor Napoleon and Ambassador Crawford. S HORTLY before the drooping banners of the Old Guard had commenced to trail upon the field of Waterloo there appeared at the court of France an arrival of unusual dignity of bearing whose whole aspect seemed to suggest that another emperor had come to Paris. It was evident from the most casual glance that the handsome stranger was no ordinary individual. He clearly bore the majestic stamp; but, coming unheralded and unescorted, he was probably some earl or duke with family connections on the throne. However, an examination of his official papers dispelled the imperial illusion by making it apparent that he boasted neither rank nor title. For he hailed from the lower edge of the Cherokee belt and was none other than the American ambassador: William H. Crawford, of Georgia. The necessity of entrusting to delicate and skillful hands the problems of international diplomacy is at all times sufficiently grave to admonish the utmost wisdom of selection, but the peculiar nature of the crisis which existed at this time in European affairs was such as to lay an imperative emphasis upon an already binding obligation: Disastrous defeat amid the snows of Russia had now chilled the Bonapartist hopes. Nor could the frost be dissipated even by the flames of Moscow. For, while they lit the steel of the imperial army, they served to wither rather than to warm the laurels of Napoleon. But the Man of Destiny was still upon the throne of Charlemagne, and some lucky move upon the chessboard of events might yet give him the conquered world of Alexander. The decrees of Fate, if already sealed, were still unsounded; and, whatever might be the momentous issues of to-morrow, the exile of St. Helena was as yet unrecognized in the victor of Marengo. Still, the uncertain possibilities combined to make the gay Parisian capital more than ever the focal center of international developments; and, from every point of observation, within the vast arena, whose circuit was the round of christendom, the field-glasses were riveted upon the Corsican. Besides, the leading powers were all represented on the scene by veteran diplomats, some of whom were scions of the blood royal. At such an important crisis, the young republic of the western hemisphere could not afford to be less vigilant than the effete monarchies of the Old World. Moreover, the United States government was experimenting with the democratic idea and precedents were now to be established which, if ill-advised or hastily considered, were apt to lay embargoes upon remote future generations and might imperil the cause of liberty on both shores of the Atlantic. Among the leading statesmen of America who were available at this time for this important diplomatic trust, Mr. Crawford seems to have been the best equipped. Though still on the sunny side of forty, he was deeply versed in international law, possessed broad states manship and ripe experience in public life, and was fur thermore characterized by an air of command which could not fail to make him conspicuous in any assemblage. Indeed, he was reputed to be the handsomest man in the United States Senate. Gigantic in stature, he stood considerably over six feet tall, but was well-proportioned and delicately featured. His ruddy color proclaimed that he had never known what illness meant. His broad shoulders, Atlas-like in strength, were surmounted by an immense leonine head such as Phidias might have carved for Jupiter; while, underneath an expansive brow of tinted marble, darted the quick glances of an eagle which seemed to be looking from some mountain eyrie. Before the eyes of one who saw him for the first time there immediately shot up the figure of the pine, but his courtly bearing and his native ease of manner suggested, on more intimate acquaintance, the richer sheen of the magnolia or the softer velvet of the cedar. An aristocrat in his personal appearance, Mr. Craw ford was nevertheless of humble origin and was indebted for his success in life neither to rich family connections nor to influential friends. He was the first of his name to achieve distinction in Georgia; and, though honors came easily after he had once leaped into public favor, he was first required to serve an obscure apprenticeship under the most exacting of taskmasters. The brilliant diplomat who was to represent the United States government at the court of France began life as the typical plodder. Born of Scotch parentage in Virginia, he possessed the rudiments of an English education when at the age of fourteen he came to Georgia; and he may also have brought in his veins the blood of some Highland chieftain. But he continued to guide the plowshare until he was well past twenty-one; and, if fortune at this early period had marked him for future honors, there was certainly no halo about his head to distinguish him from the thousands of other country youth who were engaged in the same primitive occupation of coaxing the mule. To say the least, there was assuredly no hint of ballroom etiquette and no suggestion of Parisian court language in the simple qualifications required for this stubborn emergency; and, if the political seers had been asked to designate the man who would one day stand in the imperial audience chamber of the great Napoleon, they would never have named William H. Crawford. But devious are the paths in which success often travels; and, however straight may have been the furrows which young Crawford was now plowing, he could never have rounded himself into the accomplished diplomat without describing many subsequent circles. He had already passed his legal majority; and, if he ever expected to get very far from the corn-crib, it was time for some radical change of program. What finally roused the ambition of the young farmer does not appear, but he saw at last the vision splendid. He caught the beckoning invitation from beyond the fields. The Crawford home was in Columbia county; and, not far from the |