Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-26
THE FRATERNAL ERA.
Gen. FItE-HuEh Lees Speech at BOs.
ton.

Gen. FItE-Hugh Lees Speech at BOs-
ton.
At the close of the Mayors speech
introducing the noted Confederate,
Gen. Lee stepped to the front Of the
slatform, and was received with the
widest enthusiasm, a perfect babel Of
applause rising from the vast audience;
the men threw their hats into the air
and yelled themselves hOarse, while the
ladies In the galleries waved their
handkerchiefs and clapped their hands.
When quiet was at last restored, Gen.
Lee said: "Mr. Mayor and Ladies and
Gentlemen: l thank you for the most
cordial welcome you have extended to
my comrades and myself. came here
with the Norfolk light artillery Blues,
a Confederate organization, whose guns
have roared upon many a hard-fought
field. As we arrived before your city,
this afternoon, and were steaming up
your beautiful harbor, the first notes
that reached me from band of music
sent to meet me were of that good old
tune called Aud Lang Syne,' and 1
felt was not goingto Boston, but that l
vas returning again tOa common cOun-
try and a common heritage. APP
plause.1 / should have wished that
my poor presence would have passed
unnOticed, or that might have been
permitted to have remained a silent
visitor in Boston. When l ponder that
this is the first time I have ever step
ped on the soil of Massachusetts,, i
necessarily feel some embarrassment
at addressing such a splendid audience
as is before me, but when l reflect that
I am an American citizen, that /, too,
am a descendant of those men who
fought on Bunker Hill, l feel, that l,
too, have right to be here. to cele-
brate their splendid deeds. Great APP
plause. We come here, fellOw-citi-
zens, to show that we appreciate the 81
achievements of these patriotic fore
fathers of ours-these men who planted
the seeds from which our nation has
sprung. We are here to show by our
actual presence that we are fully IN
sympathy with the sentiment which
found expression upon the recent Dec
grafton days when loving hands en-
tWined beautiful flowers about the
graves of the soldiers of both armies
without distinction. Great applause.
recall that, right here in Boston, lOU'
years ago, a particular divine spoke IN
substance as follows; we pray the
Lord, if our enemies are desfrous to
fight us, to give them fighting enough,
and if there are more on their way
across the sea, we pray thee, o Lord,
10 sink them to the bottom of 1t.
Laughter and applause. Now, when
l see this magnificent demonstration,
when my eyes look on yours beaming
with kindliness andheart-felt goodwill
toward me and mine, feel that hereaf-
ter, if foreign or domestic foesthreaten
ourcOmmOn country, Massachusetts, and
Virginia, California and Florida would
shout with one voice, If they desire to
fight let them have enough. Great
applause. l may be pardOned If L
recall to your minds that, in those days
Of darkness, when the clouds of war
euvelODed your commonwealth, my
State Of Virginia, sent right here into
your midst him, who in The languageof
my grandfather, was 'Firstin war, first
in peace, and first in the hearts Of his
cOuntTymen,' whose character, in the
language of Andrew jackson, cannot
be too profoundly studied and his ex-
ample tco closely followed. Washing
ton appeared here in your midst,
brought order out of confusion, and
saved our country. 1 thankyou, ladies
and gentlemen, most cordially, for the
manner in which you have received
me-" Applause.