Davis's
new enterprise would become a fixture in the history of nations. And
there was a time when Mr. Davis could, with the means in his power,
have accomplished all these things.
The arsenal, too, was full of gunpowder, of great guns, of valuable
military stores and equipments. And these were just such things as a
gentleman resolved to be a ruler and have a government according to
his own way of thinking would stand most in need of. In short, the
powder and big guns might be needed as a means of convincing those
who differed with him that his opinions must be respected. This is a
queer world, my son, and man is the strangest and most
uncontrollable animal in it. Mr. Davis understood this as well as
any gentleman within my knowledge. And if he had kept as keen an eye
on his finances as he had on his political fortune, it would have
been much better for him. He knew that if he could show to the world
that his new government was sound financially, and likely to
continue so, his prospects would be bright indeed. And with
Washington, and what Washington contained, in his possession, he
could set up his claim to the confidence of the financial world with
more than ordinary pretensions.
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