The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-10-16
THE SPEECHES EAST NIGHT.

THE SPEECHES last NIGHT.
We were reminded by the Conservative
speeches last night of the Greek tragedian,
who, in performing the part of Electra,
invariably brought upon the stage an urn
containing the ashes of an only child, in
order the more successfully to inspire
himself and his audience with the true
agony of dramatic grief. The expedient
was happy one on the part of the ira
gedian, for without his urn he was a dead
failure on the stage, but with it he worked
himself up to the highest pitch of
tragic agony. and brought down the
most obstreperous braves from the audi
ence. The Conservative speakers of last
night seemed to be suffering under the
same sort Of infrmity as that which
afflicted the Greek tragedian. They, too,
brought their "urnso upon the stage, to
inspire themselves and their audience with
the true spirit of dramatic grief. Each speak
er had his little urn, filled with the ashes of
the dead Confederacy, and oh, what pathetic
grief and kindling radiaucy Of oratory did
not these treasured ashes inspire in them
Not speaker mounted the rostrum who did
not bring his little urn, with which to enkin-
die his heroic soul to the height Of his
great secession argument, if argument
there really was any. Argus did not more
closely watch his COW, the Dragon his gol-
den fleece, or Cerberus the coming in of
hell" than did these Conservate orators
their respective urns, filled with the ashes of
their dear, dead Confederacy. 1t almost
made US weep--in fact, the tears were
once or twice pumped up to the very tips
of our eyes-while these urns were dis
played, one after another, as the objects of
love, pity and devotion, to our oyerstrained
sympathies and really bedimmed sight.
We felt as limp, languid, and liquescent as
If we had been reduced to thaw, or as
if our heart had boon moved by their dis
play of inurned ashes beyond the most
lugubrious plant of Echo, when she ran
whimpering after Narcissus and wept her.
self into pool.
Positively, it was q state Of high drama
tic grief-that into which we were excited
by the display Of these urns, filed with the
precious dead body of secession. In play
ing this role of the Greek tragedian. several
of the speakers were especially happy,
and few of them struck the Hottest tragic
attitude. This was when they came to
contrast the record of Colonel Hughes
''who shed oceans Of ink, but not one drop
of blood" with that Of General Kem-
per and Colonel Withers, whose
nepats ultra of achievement consisted in
prudently outstanding their ink las now
and shedding great seas Of Yankee blood,
in which they waded at Gettysburg and
elsewhere up to their very arm-pits. The
one was the shrimp of all his race, the
others massive intellectual giants; the one
a farthing candle, the others luminaries,
burning and shining in the armament of
Democracy with such briliancy as to
eclipse all other "resplendent meteorso
(oide Wing, passsD0 that ever shone forth
to the gaze Of astonished mortals. The
grand military exploits of Kemper
especially called into play these Greek
urns, as if their use enabled them the
better to excogitate some new thing, or
give forth that resistless eloquence. which
"Welded at will The fierce democracy,
Shook tn arsenal, and fulmin'd over Greece"
AS music is said to cure the bite of the
tarantula, so every now and then they had
a little brass-band " to take the sting out
of their enyenomed speeches.
Where they should have taken draught
Of Lethe in Trophonius' den, in order that
time might bereave then. of their unhappy
memories, if not their hurt, they have
snatched up these sacred urns, wept anew
over their battle-felds, gloried in their
military record, uplfted the 'slost cause"
and made it the browning honor of their
candidates, that they are just as much Sc
cessIonists now as ever, if they did beg
pardon of Mrs. Squeers, whose spoon
they licked All this is fanfaronade
and miserable tragic rags, designed for
the ears of the groundlings. Sensible
men, VINO have had enough of secession
land who has not had his belly full
of it2), want no more Of this sort of stuff,
which made up full nine-tenths of the
speeches delivered last night.
No man has a greater admiration for
true heroism and pluck--such as the
Southern people displayed on more than