Beauregard Bio in Harper's Weekly

APRIL 27, 1861.]

HARPER'S WEEKLY.

269

and property which were in possession of the Government when it came into my hands. But if as now appears to be true, in pursuit of a purpose to drive the United States authority from those places, an unprovoked assault has been made upon Fort Sumter I shall hold myself at liberty to repossess it, if I can, like places which had been seized before the Government was devolved upon me; and in any event I shall nettle. best of my ability, repel force by force. In case it proves true that Fort Sumter has been assaulted, as is reported, I shall, perhaps, cause the United States mails to be withdrawn from all the States which claim: to have seceded, believing; that the commencement of actual war against the Government justifies. and possibly demands it. I scarcely, need to say that I consider the military posts and property situated within the States which claim to have seceded as yet belonging to the Government of the United States as much as they did before the supposed secession. Whatever else I may do for the purpose, I shall not attempt to collect the ditties and imposts by any armed invasion of any part of the country; - not meaning by this, however, that I may not land a force deemed necessary to relieve a fort upon the border of the country. - From the fact that I have quoted a part of the Inaugural Address, it must not be inferred that I repudiate any other part, the whole of which I reaffirm, except so far as what I now say of the mails may be regarded as a modification.

GENERAL P. G. T. BEAUREGARD

We publish herewith a portrait of General Beauregard, the commander of the Confederate forces at Charleston, to whom Major Anderson surrendered on 13th.

General P. G. Toutant Beauregard was born on his father's plantation, near New Orleans. His father was a wealthy and influential Louisiana planter. His mother—born Reggio—was of Italian origin, and descended from the ducal Reggio family of Italy. General Beauregard entered the United States Military Academy at West Point at an early age, where he graduated in 1838, taking the second honors in a class of forty-five graduates, and was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the First regiment of Artillery, which commission he only held for one week ere he was transferred to the Corps of Engineers. He was promoted to a First Lieutenantcy in June, 1839, and in that capacity served with great distinction during the Mexican War. He was twice brevetted "for gallant and meritorious conduct" in the field, the first time as Captain for the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, to date from August 20, 1847, and again as Major for the battle of Chepultepec, to date from the 13th of September of that year. Major Beauregard was wounded in the assault upon the Garita de Beleu in the city of Mexico. On his return home he was presented with an elegant sword. He was subsequently placed by the Government in charge of the construction of the Mint and Custom house at New Orleans, as well as of the fortifications on and near the month of the Mississippi. General B. is about forty-three years of age, in the prime of life and vigorous health, erect as a soldier, well made, and remarkably active.

A Charleston paper gives publicity to two incidents in General Beauregard's career:

"The first occurred before Vera Cruz.

"General B., then a Lieutenant of Engineers, was sent out by his Colonel (Totten, if we remember aright). with a party of sappers, to dig and prepare a trench, according to a profile and plan prepared by the Colonel. No sooner had Beauregard examined the ground than he discovered great objections to the plan. To assure himself, he climbed into a tree and with the aid of the marine glass, the engineer's vade-mecum, he made a reconnaissance, and saw plainly that the trench, as planned, world be enfiladed by the enemy's cannon. Here was a difficult position for a subaltern ministerial officer. He decided promptly, and returned to headquarters without sticking a spade. The Colonel met him and expressed surprise that he had so soon performed his task. Beauregard replied that he had not touched it. The Colonel, with the astonishment military men feel in hearing their orders have not been obeyed, inquired the reason. He was soon informed of it. He was incredulous; 'the ground had been examined, 'the reconnaissance was perfect,'' etc. The young lieutenant was satisfied, however, that the reconnaissance of his old chief had not been made like his, 'from up in a tree.' The colonel, like a sensible man, concluded to make another examination; the plan was changed in accordance with the young lieutenant's views. The work done from these trenches is matter of history, which has not, however, informed us to whom the credit is due.

"The second event occurred before the city of Mexico. "A night or two before the attack a council of over was held. There were assembled all the big folks, from the (now) Lieutenant-General (who practices Mexican tactics from the housetops in Washington), including Worth, Twiggs, etc., down to our friend Beauregard, the youngest officer in the room. The debate went on for hours. Scott was solitary in his opinion. Every other officer present, except one, had spoken, and all concurred in their views. The silent one was Beauregard. At last General Pierce crossed over and said, 'You have not expressed an opinion.' 'I have not been called on,' said Beauregard. 'You shall be, however, said Pierce; and soon resuming his seat, announced that Lieutenant Beauregard had not given his opinion. Being then called out, he remarked, that if the plan which had received the consent of all but the commanding General was carried into effect, it would prove disastrous. It would he another Churubusco affair. He then detailed the objections to it at length; and taking up the other, urged the reasons in its favor with equal earnestness. The Council reversed their decision. The city of Mexico was entered according to the plan urged by the young lieutenant; and it would seem that his reasons influenced the decision. A few days afterward General Scott, in the presence of a number of general officers, alluded to Lieutenant Beauregard's opinion at the Council, and the consequences which had followed from it."

[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1860, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.]

  GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

A NOVEL. BY CHARLES DICKENS.   -

CHAPTER XXXV:

HERBERT and I went on from bad to worse; ill the way of increasing our debts, looking into otu affairs, leaving margins, and the like exemplary transactions; and Time went on, whether or no, as he has a way of doing ; and I came of age—in fulfillment of Herbert's prediction that I should do so before I knew where I was.

Herbert himself had come of age eight months before me. As he had nothing else than his majority to collie into, the event did not make a profound sensation in Barnard's Inn. But we had looked forward to my one-and-twentieth birth-day with a crowd of speculations and anticipations, for we had both considered that my guardian could hardly help saying something definite on that occasion.

I had taken care to have it well understood in Little Britain when my birthday was. On the day before it I received an official note from Wemmick, informing me that Mr. Jaggers would he glad if I would call upon him at five in the afternoon of the auspicious day. This convinced its that something great was to happen, and threw me into an unusual flutter when I repaired to my guardian's office, a model of punctuality.

In the outer office Wemmick offered me his congratulations, and incidentally rubbed the side of his nose with a folded piece of tissue-paper that I liked the look of. But he said nothing respecting it, and motioned me with a nod into my guardian's room. It was November, and my guardian was standing before his fire leaning his back against the chimney--piece, with his hands under his coattails.

"Well, Pip," said he, "I must call you Mr. Pip today. Congratulations, Mr. Pip."

We shook hands—he was always a remarkably short shaker—and I thanked him.

"Take a chair, Mr. Pip," said my guardian.

As I sat down, and he preserved his attitude and bent his brows at his boots, I felt at a disadvantage, which reminded me of that old time when I had been put upon a tomb-stone. The two ghastly casts on the shelf were not far from him, and their expression was as it' they were making a stupid apoplectic attempt to attend to the conversation.

"Now, my young friend," my guardian began, as if I were a witness in the box, " I am going to have a word or two with you."

" If you please, Sir."

"What do you suppose," said Mr. Jaggers, bending forward to look at the ground, and then throwing his head back to look at the ceiling, "what do you suppose you are living at the rate of?"

" At the rate of, Sir?"

"At, " repeated Mr. Jaggers, still looking at the, ceiling, "the—rate—of?" And then looked all round the room, and paused with his pocket-handkerchief in his hand, half way to his nose.

I had looked into my affairs so often that I had thoroughly destroyed any slight notion I might ever have had of their bearings. Reluctantly, I confessed myself quite unable to answer the question. This reply seemed agreeable to Mr. Jaggers, who said, "I thought so!" and blew his nose with an air of satisfaction.

"Now, I have asked you a question, my friend," said Mr. Jaggers. "Have you anything to ask me?"

"Of course it would be a great relief to me to ask you several questions, Sir; but I remember your prohibition."

" Ask one," said Mr. Jaggers.

"Is my benefactor to be made known to me today ?"

" No. Ask another."

Is that confidence to be imparted to me soon ?"

"Waive that a moment," said Mr. Jaggers, and ask another."

I looked about me, but there appeared to be now no possible escape from the inquiry, "Have —I—any thing to receive, Sir?" On that Mr. Jaggers said, triumphantly, "I thought we should come to it!" and called to Wemmick to give him that piece of paper. Wenmick appeared, handed it in, and disappeared.

"Now, Mr. Pip," said Mr. Jaggers, "attend, if you please. You have been drawing pretty freely here ; your name occurs pretty often in Wemmick's cash-book; but you are in debt, of course?"

"I an afraid I must say yes, Sir?"

"You know you must say yes, don't you?" said Mr. Jaggers.

"Yes, Sir."

"I don't ask you what you owe, because you don't know; and if you did know, you wouldn't tell me—you would say less. Yes, yes, my friend," cried Mr. Jaggers, waving his forefinger to stop me, as I made a show of protesting, "it's likely enough that you think you wouldn't, but you would. You'll excuse me, but I know better than you. Now take this piece of paper in your hand. You have got it? Very good. Now unfold it and tell me what it is."

"This is bank note," said I, "for five hundred pounds."

"That is a bank-note," repeated Mr. Jaggers, "for five hundred pounds. And a very hand-some sum of money too, I think. You consider it so?"

" How could I do otherwise!"

"Ah! But answer the question," said Mr. Jaggers.

"Undoubtedly,"

"You consider it, undoubtedly, a handsome sum of money. Now that handsome sum of money, Pip, is your own. It is a present to you on this day, in earnest of your expectations. And at the rate of that handsome sum of money per annum, and at no higher rate, you are to live until the donor of the whole appears. That is to say, you will now take your money affairs entirely into your own hands, and you will draw from Wemmick one hundred and twenty-five pounds per quarter, until you are in communication with the fountain-head, and no longer with the mere agent. As I have told you before, I am the mere agent. I execute my instructions, and I am paid for doing so. I think them injudicious, but I am not paid for giving any opinion on their merits."

I was beginning to express my gratitude to my benefactor for the great liberality with which I was treated, when Mr. Jaggers stopped me. "I am not paid, Pip," said he, coolly, "to carry your words to any one ;" and then gathered up his coat-tails, as he had gathered up the subject, and stood frowning at his boots as if he suspected them of designs against him.

After a pause, I hinted:   -

"There was a question just now, Mr. Jaggers, which you desired me to waive for a moment, I hope I am doing nothing wrong in asking it again?"

" What is it?" said he.

I might have known that he would never help me out; but it took me aback to have to shape the question afresh, as if it were quite new. "Is it likely," I said, after hesitating, "that my patron, the fountain-head you have spoken of, Mr. Jaggers, will soon—" there I delicately stopped.

"Will soon what?" said Mr. Jaggers: "That's no question as it stands, you know."

" Will soon come to London,'' said I, after casting about for a precise form of words, "or summon any any where else?"

"Now here," replied Mr. Jaggers, fixing me

GENERAL BEAUREGARD. -- [From a PHOTOGRAPH FURNISHED BY E.. ANTHONY]

"THE RESPONSIBLE DUTY OF MAKING THE TOAST WAS DELEGATED TO THE AGED."