Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-05-28


May, dawned beautifully bright, but probably col
der than it has ever been on that day during oil
the eighty.two years which have elapsed since the
brave band of patriots appended their names to
what, for all they could tell, was likely to prove
their, own death-warrant. The rising sun was
welcomed By salute of thirteen guns, in honor
of the original States of the Union. The weather
throughout the day was by turns, bright aud low
ering. like the fortunes of the period which 1t
commemorated At l04 A. NJ, the procession
was formed on the public square, arranged under
the supervision of Gen. Young, in the following
order:
Charlotte SAKE Horn Band.
Sons of Temperance.
Citizens and Strangers.
Committees.
Clergy.
Invited Guests.
Soldiers of 1872.
Soldiers of Mexico.
Members of Congress.
Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts.
Governors and ex- Governors Of States.
I. o. o. F.
Vice President.
President of the Day Orator; Reader.
Chaplain.
Having reached the spacious grove of the Pres
byter:an Church, bright with large concourse of
lovely ladies' the procession approached the stand
in inverted order, and after burst of music from
the band. the exercises commenced with an elo-
ouent prayer by the Rev. D. Lacey, D. D. LID.
Gen. Young then introduced the Hon. Mr.. Osborne,
Reader, who, after short but eloquent preface,
read in peculiarly happy style, the 'Mecklen-
burg Declaration of Independence Of the 10th
May, l775." The assembly Was again RECALLED
with soft music, and the President of the Day,
Hon. Frederick Nash, Chief Justice of North Car
LIZ oF tha nor Row X
L. Hawkes. D. D., LII. D., of New York. This
distinguished divine, in an able and eloquent ad-
dress of three hours and half's duration, fully
sustained the reputation he has won for talent and
oratorical powers. In few feeling remarks, he
claimed North Carolina as his native State, and
the lifelong home Of his affections e1claiming,
in the language of the captive Israelites, eff l
forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand for
get her cunning" More than once he moved q
portion of his audience to tears. He then entered
into detail Of the historical bearings of the sub
ject how his own researches had traced the bat
tie of Lexington every mile Of the way from New
Jersey to Charlotte; how the lion-hearted sons of
old Mecklenburg had assembled at the G. House,
on the reception Of the tidings and scorniug the
taint and penalty of treason, boldly declared
themselves independent Of Great Britain and Of
the world. This, it will be remembered, was more
than year before Congress declared for freedom
and the paper here promulgated was undoubtedly
the model on which Jefferson framed the Declara-
ton of July 4, 1776. In an able and we'll sus-
tsined argument, the speaker then utterly talsi-
fed and refuted the traducers who have, with a
semblance of truth, denied the existence of the
Declaration. Those who heard the Grafton, will
ever remember DR.. Hawkes., as an able and &C
complished orator, and profound student OF
American history. After the oration, the meet
ing adjourned to the public square, where some
patriotic hand had hung out the venerated emblem
of old Mecklenburg, an immense ''hornets nest,
tastefully decorated with ribbons.
At o'clock, we all proceeded to the depot,
where most sumptuous dinner had been prepar-
ed, by Messrs Young s Williams, Of the Mansion
House. There were three immense tables, groan-
ing beneath every delicacy which the most fastid-
ious taste could desire, and wine and champagne
was in abundance 1t has never been our for
tune to sit at public dinner where there was more
order and decorum. We did not see single case
of intoxicaton. After dinner, the regular toasts
were read, and responded to by Messrs. Biggs,
Bragg, Osborne, Swain and Barringer, of North
Carolina, and by Mr.. W. B. Wilson, of York, S. c.
We left the dining room amid the laundering of
artillery, for sunset was the signal for salute
(pardon the alliteration) Of thirty-one guns, and
thus closed the festivities Of the day.
But scarcely had the darkness become visible"
GlaQ tn6 sweet sITdiuS VI tuo Ooiuuioio Soioioo
Band were heard from the ballroom, and the
youthful wit and beauty of Mecklenburg began 20
assemble for their share in the jubilee and we'll
did they "deserve place in the picture whose
heroic mothers had so largely contributed to the
glory of their country in by-gone days. In the
emphatic words of Gov. Swain, "the hand that
rocks the cradle rocks the world" But no thought
of rocking cradles or at least worlds, were in
their minds on this festive occasion, though the
youth of North Carolina, no doubt, discovered
that they had to encounter atrer, though scarcely
less dangerous foes than their fathers of 70
But pleasures as well as pains must sometimes
have an end, and after sumtuous collation., the
ball closed at 8 late, or more properly an early,
hour, and we were ere long steaming it back to
South Carolina, our hearts impressed with the
whole-souled hospitality Of the old North State,
and our dreams vaguely mingled with red-coats
and dinner '.6xins," trombones and cannon, far
acomen and hornets nests" h.