eral literature. In the characters and lives of the five illiterate Presidents, Washington, Jackson, Taylor, Lincoln, and Johnson, there was little or no similarity. Even as a sol- General Taylor was a soldier simply, and made no pretensions to be anything else. dier he was only "rough and ready." son's pretensions were preposterous, and beyond those of any of these men, or all others who rose to note. His knowledge of affairs and men was good, but about his scientific and literary attainments it would be ridiculous to talk. Washington, while without scholarly acquirements, stood alone in his general knowledge and the exact and orderly methods of his life. Lincoln's attainments were far superior to Johnson's, and, in most respects, to the others mentioned here; but the secret to the greater part of his polish lay in his natural goodness. Jackson's pomp and surface polish led Josiah Quincy, a hero-worshiper, to call him the most polite and dignified gentlemen he had ever met, and secured for "Old Hickory" the title of LL. D. And Lincoln's amiability and patriotism got for him the same ridiculous title. Dr. Andrew Jackson and Dr. Abraham Lincoln! How could such folly be perpetrated in the colleges and among the people of a nation claiming a high state of refinement and honesty? Although it may be second nature in America to say General Jackson, anything before or after these names, any title of distinction, lessens their strength, and detracts from their simple dignity. CHAPTER III. MR. JOHNSON'S EARLY STRUGGLES IN TENNESSEE-IN THE LEGISLATURE-IN CONGRESS. W THEN Johnson built his little shop at Greenville, tailoring was a certain and profitable business. The day of ready-made clothing had not yet arrived. Most men who were able patronized the tailor. From the outset Johnson was no spendthrift. He was never a gambler or horse-racer, and, saving in two or three "indiscretions," never squandered his money. His first step was to save his surplus means, however little that was. He soon began to put this into land; and after a time was able to build the little one-story, four-room brick house, in which he lived during the first years of his political success. At a later day he moved into the more pretentious structure which was his home. at the time of his death. Until 1843 he worked regularly at his bench, and was deemed a good and honest tailor. At this time it was he laid the foundation for the fortune of nearly a hundred thousand dollars, which he left to his family. During the intervals of his service in the State Legislature he worked almost constantly at his trade, Tennessee only having a session of the Legislature every two years. After entering Congress, in 1843, his work at the bench substantially stopped; from that time on he was only a professional politician. He did his last job of tailoring, however, in 1853, during his first term as Governor. Judge W. W. Pepper, of the Circuit Court, who resided at Springfield, in Robinson County, and who had been a blacksmith, made a shovel and tongs, and, finishing them highly, took them to Nashville, and presented them to Mr. Johnson soon after he became Governor, in 1853. Pepper was a Whig. Johnson was not the man to be outdone at a thing of this kind. He immediately sent for a tailor's tape, and insisted on taking Pepper's measure at once. In a few days he made with his own hands and presented the Judge a new coat. It is said to have been an excellent fit, and a fine piece of work, and in it he took his last stitch as a tailor. At the very outset of his political career, notwithstanding his ignorance, Johnson exhibited great deal of political sagacity, and an extraordinary ability for management. His ambition was evident, however out of place it may have appeared. Whether the friends of his boyhood, themselves ignorant, but having a faith characteristic of the ignorant in their possibilities, had inspired him with notions of his uncommon natural qualities, he certainly had such a view of himself, and never lost sight of the goal he had determined to reach. progress was at first slow, and his pretensions were looked upon with jealousy and distrust by some of His the old party leaders, who regarded the honors and spoils of local politics as theirs by common consent, if not inheritance and blood also. But he kept on his course, and these dissatisfied politicians were not long in seeing their error as to his ability to cope with the Whig opposition. In 1828 he was elected to his first public position, as one of the commissioners or aldermen of the town, and the next year was re-elected; and, strangely enough, in 1830 he was elected mayor. These were trifling offices, especially in such a town; but probably at that day, more than at the present time, they indicated some degree of worth and fitness, in addition to the faculty of management and popularity among the boys." Johnson was in earnest, and this earnestness he made effective. His next step was in becoming trustee of the academy of the town. To this position he was appointed; but every one knows that even in large and so-called refined and educated communities the most illiterate and ignorant of men often push themselves forward for the management of the schools of learning. One of the most villainous mistakes ever made in this country is that men of this class can ever be better "business men" than properly educated ones, or that there can be any degree of comparative reliance placed upon the judgment or conduct of uneducated so-called "business men." The education which is valuable is that which brings out and sharpens and corrects all the useful faculties, that which develops and perfects the mind and life, that which tends to make an unerring and perfect character, fitting man to be the truest, wisest, and best possible as the highest created being. Ignorance, or want of education, is the opposite of this, and its tendencies, acts, and results are in a different direction. The sum of all misfortunes and ugliness is ignorance and a disposition to remain in it. The greatest good to be reached on this earth, and the highest possible elevation, is to be found in the highest and purest state of culture, of refinement, of genuine education. This state is impossible without its moral side, or without Him who is perfection itself. The wise, the good, the true, and the beautiful are only where He is, or where He is felt to be. Life is only worth living for genuine refinement, for true wisdom and its uses, for good and true principles brought into action and made into character. It was natural for Johnson to take the side of that rather indefinite thing called "the people." On his bench and in the "debating society" he had thoroughly demonstrated where his affections were, and the course he was preparing to take. He was against monopolies, against aristocracies, against distinctions, against heaping burdens on the shoulders of those who could barely walk under such as they were willing to impose themselves. These saw in their friend one of themselves, and took him up. Some of his traits were dangerous, and pointed toward the possible demagogue, but how wisely and well he trimmed clear of this breaker must be seen hereafter. |