Page:The Southern Literary Messenger - Minor.djvu/112

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98
The Southern

As far back as September, at the supper table of the Astor House, in New York, Mr. White was struck, whilst conversing familiarly with a friend, with paralysis. His friends hoped that he might be restored to health and usefulness; but their hopes were delusive. He held out, however, until the 19th of January, when, in the 55th year of his age, he was called to reap the eternal reward of a virtuous and well spent life. The celebrated Rev. Dr. Wm. S. Plumer, in his funeral discourse, paid him a very high tribute.

Its indomitable founder and strenuous maintainer was now taken, but the Messenger had to go on and it did. Messrs. Macfarlane and Fergusson were still in the office; literary friends were in Richmond and Maury in Washington, but becoming more involved in official duties and the demands which his growing reputation caused to be made upon him. Mr. White's son-in-law, Peter D. Bernard, was in Richmond, where he also had a printing office and was occasionally a publisher. He rendered the Messenger such assistance as he could. But there was no one to carry on that extensive and winning epistolization, by which Mr. White had accomplished so much.

Next to the mournful obituary are cases of mutiny at sea, to be continued; articles by officers of both Army and Navy; another "Descrip-