CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE WAS FRIEND OF "NORTH" AND "SOUTH"

Young Charles was born into one of the most difficult periods of American history, as well as a momentous time in Europe and Asia.

The adult Browne found a tolerant "larf" for "both sides".

The Complete Works of Artemus Ward, 1887 has a "Part II, War" section with leading Letter, "The Show Is Confiscated" -- by "Seshers", who destroy his exhibits. Ward is brought before Jefferson Davis, Confederacy President, who was "quite perlite" and said, "Mister Ward, you air at liberty to depart; you air frenly to the South, I know." Ward retorts to this, "Not agin you as individooals -- not agin the South even -- but to save the flag."

In "War Fever in Baldinsville", Ward helps form a drill company "composed excloosively of Commanders-in-Chiefs". In "War Meeting", wife Betsy Jane becomes annoyed at so many talky "War Meetings", and leads a delegation of women to the Editor of The Baldinsville Bugle. [See drawing and RETURN.] Betsy declares, "We want you men to stop speechifying ... while we wimin go to the wars!" To which Artemus replies, "Go in, old gal!"

In "Artemus Ward in Richmond", Ward meets "A Proud an Hawty Suthener", and addresses him, "Yoo suthern fellers is probly my bruthers, tho yoov kashunly had a cussd way of showin it! Its over now. Let us all jine in & make a cuntry on this kontyment that givs all Yurrup a cramp in the stumik when they look at us!"

"Part VII, Miscellaneous" has a Letter on "The Negro Question". Ward admonishes a young "negro" who is trying to raise money for missionaries to Southern blacks. "'I admire you for trying to help the race to which you belong, and far be it from me to say anything again carrying the gospel among the blacks of the South. Let them go to them by all means. But I happen to individooally know that there are some thousands of liberated blacks in the South who are starvin. I don't blame anybody for this, but it is a very sad fact. Some are really to ill to work, some can't get work to do, and others are too foolish to see any necessity for workin. I was down there last winter, and I observed that this class had plenty of preachin for their souls, but skurce any vittles for their stummux. Now, if it is proposed to send flour and bacon along with the gospel, the idea is really a excellent one. If on the t'other hand, it is proposed to send preachin alone, all I can say is that it's a hard case for them. If you expect a colored person to get deeply interested in a tract when his stummuck is empty, you expect too much.' I gave the negro as much as I could afford, and the kind-hearted lan'lord did the same. I said: 'Farewell, my colored fren, I wish you well, certainly. You are now as free as the eagle. Be like him and soar.'"

In "Introduction", p. 15, the biographer, Melville Landon, a friend, discusses a trip after the War with Browne to Landon's plantation near Lake Providence, MS. "... [Ward] spent several days, minglng in seeming infine delight with the [freed] negroes. For them he showed great fondness, and they used to stand around him in crowds listening to his seemingly serious advice."

A Southern humorist, inspired by the "artemus Letters", was Charles Henry Smith of Rome, Georgia, who wrote morale-boosters for the Confederacy under the name, "Bill Arp". His most famous letter was "Bill Arp Addresses Artemus Ward", Sept. 1, 1865, a tribute to Browne's moderation:
"The reason I write you, in perticler, is because you are about the only man I know in all 'God's Country' so-called.For some years we rebs, so-called, have been trying mighty hard to do somethin. We didn't quite do it, and now it's very painful, I assure you, to dry up all of a sudden and make out we wasn't there."