Des Arc citizen., 1866-11-17


 ering the whitening bones ofthose they repulsed and slew to raise mounds to deeds made memorable, to memoirs made worthy O. mention by their steel,
 and every stone shall tell the story oi their woe to every passer-by, Now do we want their examples more than dur ing the war, and need to heed them more than ii we needed Gideon to bear
 us through the flaming of the red hot
 war. We need more than Moses now
 to bear HIS up in dungeons of defeat, and lead us out by ways, to prove us worthy ofth great trials with which { our honor is intrusted. l invoke, then. the mighty Confederate dead, and 10 !! instantly the valiant clay of this conse-
 crated valley of Virginia becomes in spired with motion ill every atom.
 1 A grave in Lexington, trembling,
 quickly gives up a lite-breathing spirit
 in great examplc-the sanctified Stone
 wall Jackson. A very Michael of de-
 liverance his example speaks to us ot
 the intrinsic sterling staminia of his
 moral greatness. His christian hero
 ism, the eternal adamant of his cilarae- ter and nature his supreme faith In God, faith in immutable moral laws and
 principles, and in their might to pre-
 vail ill the end against all opposing
 power - these made him stenewall. From this example, which rises up be- 1 fore HIS eTith its immortal fact feyer-
 ently ask counci. here, amid these Con
 federate braves. Here the, speaker
 apostrophized the character of Jackson
 and continucd.l The StoneWall eXa a-
 pie is not only admonishing, but IS 1 cheering and full of hope. It puts to l shame not only the dead Machiavelilan l dogma that q faith, the truth of moral l principle can ever or could ever De SUD-
 mitted to the arbitrament of arms, to
 be conquered by the mere force of mum bers: but it scouts that worse than lm-
 morality which maligns cause worth 1 Stonewall Jackson's fighting for, and
 worth his dying for, by calling it a lost cause. If cruci1iXion could loose
 cause. the Captain of our Salvation was
 concuered. He died that the cause
 might live, and from that day the blood of the martyr has been the seed of the church. If our cause is lost it was false;
 if true, it is not lost !; first victories can
 not be termed final results. There were
 many errors in our ways of going out
 to war Those errors fell. The truths
 for which we fought yet live. Whilst waiting for their resurrection or their coming in this hour of darkness and 1 doubt-to all who, recreant, would
 abandon faith to all who, despairlng, would abandon hope; to all who, tempt
 ed, would resort to forbidden ways; to all who. timid, would shamefully sue
 dumb to all who, inpatient
 At this point the speaker addressed the old Virginians, assuring them that old things must pass away, even the
 glories with the weakness of the past Then. turning to the youdg Virginians,
 he promised them thata day was dawn
 ing bright beyond any that gilded ill the past the hills and valleys ot the land
 of every mans pride. He inquired if thev, too, impatiently exclaimed, what lbetter can we do 2" and said that they must strive to bear theirGlot without
 reproach or guilt; that they must have lpatience, and that nothing could be l worse than dishonor or desertlon. II they answer that they are poor-that Jackson failed--thatc his faith was lm-
 practicable and an obstructlon-thcy
 made a great mistake. Here the gov hernor made q long appeal to the young ] men of Virginia not to emlgrate 10
 take their fortunes as they are, and from
 the present small beginnings again
 work forward He asked them where they would go if they leave Virginia
 Would they leave the United States
 And if they supposed the United States . not free, where else on earth did they
 expect to finda people as free? He ex-
 horted them to a life of work---of con-
 stant, unobtrusive, quiet labor. IfVir-
 ginia' sons will but serve her and save her. she shall, indeed, be one and indi-
 visible:5 a new Virginia; greater . stronger, grander than was old Virgin ia, The orator then stated his views as to the causes of the slow progress ot , Virginia as compared with the other states. In brief, these causes were that Q slavery created a landed aristocracy an , tagonistic to progress and repellant tt n immigration. Proceeding ill his argu
 ment he stated at length the advantage . of inviting immigration now that sla , very was destroyed.
 $ He spoke further of the great mincra t resources of Virginia. The only direc I allusion he made to any political mea : sure was his reference to the division '' of the state and the creation of th' = state of West Virginia as ''the bastard e child ofpolitical rape" Nevertheless
 he said. there is still substance enougl
 left in Virginia to insure her honor an' = more than restore her pre-emlnenee '. He concluded as follows: We catch .' then, the inspiration of this faith, thi :, hope, this life and strength, from tn :, halo of these heroes. The great goot that they have done lives after them . Blessed be their memories. l would V if I could, call them back to me othe ' than in their example. divine no = why 1 or any were spared when the. V were taken, unless to bear testimony t 2 their truth and excellence, their inno u cence and inviobility, and to try to liv ' worthy of their deaths and to be tn 'e more ready when their Master calls t i' meet them in heaven. Bring, then, II 91 cypress here! Bring laurcls to thes U consecrated graves. May virtue, tn 'l only amaranthine flower on earth. kee u | beautiful their turf. Truth, the onl T. lasting treasure, be their monumen 5 Mourn with no funeral dirge, but wit .o exalting anthems swell their note D. praise.
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