Sherman belongs to that nest of vipers which the South had been unconsciously nourishing in its bosom for eighty years before the commencement of this war. When it broke out he was president of a college in Louisiana, enjoying a large salary, and professing undying devotion to the South, to its institutions, and to its people. So strong did he pretend that this feeling was in him, that he declared, when war became inevitable, his determination never to draw his sword against the South. He was treated in Louisiana with the unbounded kindness which that hospitable and high-spirited people always extended to strangers as long as they had the power. He was received into their families on the footing of an old and valued acquaintance. Every house was thrown open to him, and he had a seat at every table whenever he thought proper to occupy it. The return he has made, while it is not very creditable to himself, could not have been more instructive to the Southern people. Before the war there was always on the part of that people — in every State, without exception,--a disposition to prefer Yankee candidates for office to those who were born in their midst, even when the qualifications of the latter greatly exceeded those of the former. By steadily adhering to the policy indicated by this disposition, in course of time, and with great care, the South succeeded in accumulating that nest of vipers of which we have just spoken; and if they now sting her whenever the opportunity offers, she may thank herself for the infliction.
Of all the remorseless, hard-hearted, unfeeling brutes that Yankeedom has sent forth to waste the South, this man is the most remorseless, the most hard-hearted and the most brutal. Tacitus says that when you confer a favor on a man, if it be of such a magnitude that he can repay it, he will be grateful for it; but when it is so great that he can never hope to make a proper return, instead of considering it a favor, he will hate you for it. Tacitus lived in the worst era of the world and in the most universally corrupt society of which there is any account. He drew his pictures from nature as it presented itself to him. The observation we have alluded to was, no doubt, true with regard to those among whom he lived. It is to be hoped, however, it is not true of the world in general. Of the Yankees, however, it is eminently true, and to Sherman it applies with greater force than any other Yankee (even) of whom we recollect to have heard. --The favors he received at the hands of the South were not only far greater than he deserved, but such as he could never hope to repay. Hence the undying hatred with which he visits upon the South its great sin of over-estimating his merits. Others have dealt harshly with the Southern people. Fortunately for her cause, there have been few exceptions among the Yankee Generals in this particular. But Sherman surpasses them all. He takes the law into his own hands — decides that we are rebels — declares that rebels have no rights — and insists upon it that his victims shall be grateful to him for sparing their lives, which, according to his interpretation of public law, have been forfeited to Abraham Lincoln. His proceedings have been in strict accordance with his principles. Under his rule the horrors of war have been aggravated to an extent which it is appalling to think of. He is avenging himself upon his former friends and admirers for the good opinion they once had of him. He is teaching them a wholesome lesson, and we hope they will profit by it. He is teaching them never again, under any circumstances, to trust a Yankee, no matter how fair an outside he may present.
In the wholesale expulsion of the inhabitants from Atlanta, he seems to have had several objects in view. First. He sees that the country is rising behind him as fast as he moves forward, and that the ground on which his forts are built is the only ground that he really holds. He knows that the country, by this process, must all return to the Confederates, and he, therefore, wishes to leave no population in the rear. Second. He wishes to convert the whole of Atlanta into a vast fort or arsenal, with no Confederates about it to give notice of his movements. Thirdly. He wishes to intimidate, debase and subdue by severity, making the mistake common to all vulgar and cruel natures, of measuring everybody by his own standard; for these measures will inflame instead of intimidate. That he means to send the greater part of his force to Grant, we believe to be certain, as we believe to be unfounded a report very generally prevailing that, just as he is about to do so, our authorities are on the point of depleting General Lee to reinforce General Hood. Such a policy would be so amazing that we take the liberty of believing its adoption to be impossible.
