The weekly clarion., 1877-05-09
Speech from Hon Jefferson Da-

New Orleans Times, 2S.
The following remarks were made by
Hon Jefferson Davis, to the Lee Associa-
tion, of Mobile, on the occasion of the re-
cent excursion to this city:
Mr.. Chairman and Members of the Lee
Association, Ladies and Gentlemen
L am deeply sensible OF the honor you
have conferred upon me by his visit, and
gratefully rccog .ize the kindness which
has prompted the complimentary express
sions of your crater. Not the less so be-
cause feel that they very 18r exceed 2Gy
merits which the unprejudced would as
cribe to me.
Believe me, am the more proud of this,
as it is the manifestation of Il more rare
virtue in the people | have served to the
best Of my ability. Never before in the
history OF man has there been, tar as
know, an instance in which 4 fallen chief
wYs followed with more affectionate devo-
tion than his associates had felt towards
him in the days of his power. For q PEG
pie capable of such magnanimty, his would
Indeed be a tame spirit who did not feel il
TO be glory to have suffered.
You have passed through 4 terrible Or
deal of deprivation, of wrong, and injustice :;
and yog have borne it with a fOrtitude
only equaled by the gaflantry displayed in
your desperate effort TO maintain cause
which has been crushed, bit not DESTROYED
for it was the cause of Truth, WHICH is eter-
nal and with all these sad memories clus-
tering around you, you come not to up
braid me as responsible for your disasters
but to shield me in the depts ofmy adversi-
ty with the warm covering of your hearts
best affections. Cold indeed would be tn .
nature which did not find in this a solace
for all its disappOintmentS and conSola-
ton for its ruined hopes.
From the bottom OF my heart thank you
Though The SILVER lining of the cloud be
but family discernible, yet be not dismayed.
But that need not say 70 men who never
feel any other fear than th3 o doing wrong.
Then let me say rather, s. BE not without
hope" The cause for which you struggled
was that of Justice and of Truth. The tri-
mphs of these may be postponed, but in the
ordering of Providence must come at last.
your motives be appreciated, sooner or Ia
Ter, foT your sacrifices were made for Con-
stitutiohaI l.ioeIGy; ard those who died
be reckoned as the most unfortnnate; for.
whether bearing a sabre or a musket,
whether on the battlefield or upon the
vessels deck, lie nroDer place for man to
to die is where he dies for man.
For the honOf 81 TIE comrades, whose,
untlmely deaths you mourn, fot the resEect
due to the cause you loved, for the pride
ytu feel in your ancestry, for the hopes You
cherish for your posterity, let not your eyes
revert constantly 10 the past, but, con front
iug the present and looking patriotically on
to the future, let yo-r efforts be made to re-
pair what has beer inj ured and to build
again, higher and broader, on a more solid
foundation, the temple OF human Liberty,
after the model left you by your fathers.
You engaged in no war for sectional ag-
grandisement, you fought no battles for
personal advantage, you were prompted by
no malice, and your knightly escutcheou is
tarnished by no sordid hate or desire fol
mean revenge. The war left you stripped
OF all save honor, and your chilTary was q
incapable of infiicting wrong As it was oi
submitting to it tamely. The Past demands
knightly generosity and faithful devotion t.
the principles you inherited from revolo-
tionary Sires, aud which you will best bles:
mankind by transmitting unchanged tG
your poSterity. Thrice and four times 1 AIR
| thankful for the indications which the daJ
brings TO rs of the revival of the spirit il
| which our Union was founded, from which
our prosperity springs, and upon which it:
perDetuity must surely depend
/ had not expected TO do more than simp
| iv 10 return my thanks to you. 1t would
| be in vain for ni e 10 attempt to express tht
| gratitude I feel. Ny cordial thanks ar
| an | haYe to give, and they are tFqly yours
A