Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-02-26

louder and louder, until startled Israel
should receive the fiery law-"Whom God
has Joined together let no man put asunder.
Mar not the services of the temple with
the discordant orchestra Of jarring worship
pers but with cimbals give praise, ye sons
of Asaph, for is it not written in the book
of prophecy, "the glory of this latter house
shall be greater than Of the former, and in
this place I will give peace" Peace now,
peace forever!
In the interest of that promised peace,
beg you bury the aninosities OF the past
the sectional prejudices of the present. AS
the Thebans, after their defeat OF the Lacedse-
monians destroyed the brazen monument they
had erected in honor Of their triumph, that
no evidence of strife should remain between
Greek and Greek, 80 would I destroy all evi.
dences of the internecine struggles that de-
luged our fair land in blood. Not that l
would forget the Past or her sacred memories !!
Never! Never, while memory is true to her
attributes Never, while this heart throbs
with life! Never, until it is spoken over my
remains, "dust to dust, earth to earth, ashes
to ashes," will be false to the memory of
our Confederate dead. True men will not
censure; brave men will applaud this senti-
ment. For one, I honor the people of the
North for their ceaseless care of the ashes of
their dead And, my countrymen, if ] could
call from their battle-made graves those who
wore the blue and the gray, and could muster
them in one grand army here to-day; aye, if
l could summon the restless living from the
North and the South to witness that muster,
methinks they would see in that mighty
throng the genius of Liberty sandaled with
forgetfulness, girded with charity and crowned
with mercy as she pointed them with one
hand to the bloody past over which was roll.
ing Lethes dark waters, and with the other
to that country of plenty which stretches out
before her in grand perspective, as did prom
ised Canaan before expectant Israel.
Yes, my hearers, this is your country and
my country. That flag that you have given
to the breeze to-day is your flag and mine;
and though the Confederate banner
G. is tattered,
Broken in in its staff and shattered,
yet this bosom was wrung with agony when
Destiny ordered r,s ! .sm.gs
Furl that banner, furl it slowly;
Furl it gently, furl it holy;
For It droops above the dead"
And with reverential regard, 1 exclaim
with the Poet Priest .,.
'"Touch it not, unfurl it never,
Let it droop there furled forever"
Yet, Sirs, true men North will appreciate
the assertion that as fidelity to principle and
to truth bound the people Of the South to
their flag and their cause, so fidelity to obliga-
tions assumed at Greensboro and Appomat-
tox, will make the Southern people true to
their renewed allegiance to the Union aud to
their duties and responsibilities as citizens Of
the government in which they live. For the
honor of that government, for its growth and
development, for its happiness and peace, now
and hereafter, let our prayers ascend to-day.
Fathers in our political Israel, you have
seen your country riven by the tempest and
shaken by the earthquake. You see her now,
basking in the sunshine of peace calm as the
evening ofyour days and lovely as the sunset
of your existence Young men, this is your
country. 1t is the legacy your fathers gave
you. Preserve it-perpetuate it-for it is q
great country.
Grand in her rivers and her rills,
Grand in her "woods and tempted hills"
Grand in the wealth her soil conceals,
Grand in her grain and cotton fields,
Grand in her mines in commerce grand,
In sunlit skies, in fruitful land;
Grand in her temples and in her schools,
Where knowledge dwells and virtue rules,
Grand in her strength on land, on sea, go
Grand in religious liberty; "a
Grand in her men, but grander far ~
In Spartan mothers, as our women are.
Mothers Daughters! Here are the sepul-
chers of your fathers, and here your kindred
dwell. Among these sepulchers and around
these headstones, set the example of patriotic
devotion, and from sepulcher and altar let
your prayers ascend.
"God bless our native land,
Firm may she ever stand, s sti
Through storm and night"
To the altars of your sires and the temple
Of your fathers, I welcome you all to-day.
Come one, come all. Come, true men of the
North, and patriots of the South, and set the
solemn seal to the covenant Of your patriot
ism and your loyalty. Methinks I see you
coming. Methinks see South Carolina, who
severed the first cord that bound the States
together, and fred the first gun of the revou.
ton, bringing to the temple her fathers built,
her sacri6cial Offering of former prejudices
and past animosities. Methinks 1see Georgia,
one of the Old Thirteen, entering the portals,
bearing in her hands golden vessels filled with
richest incense, for the temple service. Me-
thinks I see the Old North State, the mother
of the first Declaration of Independence at
Mecklenburg, entering the "holy Of holies, y
carrying before her the ark of the covenant;
while following in her steps is her daughter,
proud Tennessee, bringing for an oblation
gems from the mountains of her loyalty and
pearls from the ocean of her patriotism.
Solemn assemblage! Sacred duty Hal
lowed ceremonies! Spirit of Washington,
descend to-day and kindle the sacrifcial fires
amid the rejoicings of reunited people;
and while temple and court are filled with a
holy incense, let prayer ascend to our
Fathers God that the sword has forever been
beaten into the plowshare, and the spear into
the pruning hook; that State shall not lift
up the sword against State, neither shall they
know war any more. And that the reign Of
peace, union and fraternity over these States
shall be as lasting as the home Of the stars
as eternal as the foundations of the sever
lasting hills"
NS- For other proceedings Of the day, see next
page.
aA
How WELLINGTON WAS ONCE DELUDEDIN
MILITARY DIsc1PL1NE.-"I got famously ta-
ken in on that OCCASION" said the Duke of
Wellington, once. "The troops had taken to
plundering good deal. 1t was necessary to
stop it, and I issued an order announcing
that the first man taken in the act should
be hanged upon the spot. One day, just as
we were sitting down to dinner, three men