Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-11-21

1t would be to contest bis Cousins claim
!. In q very brief space the Lancashire
. gentleman returned In disgust to hi
i own district. Brixby Lodge became th,
residence OF the Arntons and theiJ
3 children.
Both husband and wife treasure tn,
3 once lost Key above its weight in gold
But for its oppOrtune disappearance two
loving souls might have remained apart
10 1t Kate says she owes her husband
and by 1t Edgar thinks truly that he has
both kept his vow lin the spirit, and
Won wife with fortune.
!. For the SPECTATOR.
, The Stone for the Washington MOnu.
ment,
Inls SUBJECT may, to some of your
readers, be looked upon as trivial. but
the Investigation into the history of the
E9block which was referred to some
weeks since IN your paper, has ELECTED
tnls Interesting communication. After
an utter failure here, either through the
records of the County Court, or By in
:erviewiDg Dnmber Aof citizens ]
thought might recall something of its
history. / addressed letter 10 nv
friend Geu. Imtodeu. In converse.
ton with bin, about year ago. at
Bristol. Tennessee, 1 discovered that
such was the vividpess of what be re
membered Of Staunton when bov of q
few years old, spending more or less
time under the roof of his uncle, Henry
lmbnden, then resident of the town
he could write out its history of fifty
years with more accuracy than any one
now a resident of it.
In his letter of the 1Oth ult., from
Esizabethton, Carter county, Tennessee,
he says:
"In regard to the stone for the Wash
1Dgton monument from Augusta, 1 cam
not rely implicitly on my memory for
minute details, but can give you some
general facts My recollection is that
the movement originated in this wise
to furnish stone from Augusta. The
county had opened a fine quarry in
building the Jail, Ned Taylor, who was
It's architect, having pronounced 1T fit
for any building purposes. In the Tay-
lor and Cass campaign of 1S48, Mr..
Stuart made magnificent speech for
old Rough and Ready and greatly
eDthused the Wings of Augusta. In
his speech he quoted. think, from an |
address made at Princeton, years be- |
fore, by Gov Mcdowell. or one of the |
Prestons, VIM c perhaps, whose |
mother was the daughter of Col. VIM. |
Campbell, of Washington county, Va,
the hero of Kings Mountain, Washing |
iDgtOn's famous exclamation when he |
heard the glorious news of the trium-
phant victory of the mountaineers over |
Ferguson and his vandal horde Leave
me but standard to plant upon the |
mountains of *West Augusta, and I
will Yet rally around me those who will
lift their bleeding country from the
dust, and set hei free Il only quote
substantially the historic exclamation |
1t was new to the people of Augusta
when Mr. Stuart used it, and had an
electric effect. Gen. Tay lor was elected
and soon died. Fillmore succeeding
him, invited Mr. Stuart into his Cabi-
net. Shortly after going to Washington
Mr.. Stuart came home on a visit. per-
haps to move his family there, and on
a public day, think June County
(Levy) Court, was called on for a
speech, which be delivered, and walked
up the enthusiasm of the late campaign
afresh. The Washington monument
was then in progress and exciting a
good deal of interest. One dollar sub.
scriptions were being raised by lady as
sociations all over the country. We
had such an association In Staunton,
aud considerable sum was raised and
sent to Washington City. But at the
Court I mention, after Mr.. Stuart's
speech some one, I think it was Col.
Baldwin, proposed that a stone from
Augusta should be gotten out and sent
there for place in it. The idea took at
once, and to make it contribution
from all the people, the Court was asked
to appropriate the necessary amount.
My recollection Is that there was some
opposition to this, but small sum, $50
or 500. was ordered to be levied for.
A committee was raised, either by the
Court or the meeting. to carry out the
idea think that committee was com.
posed Of C'l John B Baldwin, Col.
Samuel Harnstsrger. Squire Jacob
Bay lor. John n Hendren, and myself.
At all events, the fund Was raised that
day and Ned Tay Ior furpishrd a plan
for the stone. its dimensions, &c There
was good deal of wrangl;ng. in good
humOr, about the inscription Some
wanted the whole of G-n Washington 9
tribute to The patriotism of West Au
gusta TO be put Oh it To this it was OBJ
jec,ed that there would be an anachrOn- I
ism or confusion in it for future genera
tions to reconcile Aud as there was
no such legal entity as West Augusta,
the real county of Augusta should be
cut on it, with short, terse Latin ex-
preston. This was agreed on, and
John N. Hendren, the most classical
man amongst us, fresh from his Uni
versity laurels of few years before,
gave us the Latin you quote. Marquis
& Kelly got out the stoue and put it In
its present shape. Neither the material
nor the work kmanship was what we had
hoped for, and the block was q good
deal ridiculed, and, think, caustically ,
treated in few newspaper squibs. The
ardor about it died out, and it coon
passed out of the public mind, and I
there being no funds to ship it, the ,
thing lay where you found it. I may
be in error in some immaterial points,
but the main facts are as / have given I
them, so far as can now recall them. I
A H Fl. Stuarl's eioquence was the ger
minal point in the history Of that
stone"
Though at the risk of making this
too long, we will mem
tion one or two facts that may be re.
garded germane.
OF the public men of Virginia that
have passed from the stage within the
last quarter of q century, there are two
that we recall who possessed in pre-
degree ali those lovahle quail
ties that fasfen them to their friends, as
it " ere, with hooks of steele. We refes
to B. b. Minor, who. if not the founder
of the Southern Literary Messenger,
was long time identified with it. The
other was the genial. high toned, cour-
teous gentleman, the people of his ma d.
tive region hOnored themselves in maxi |
ing for time a member of Congress,
w. L Goggin. The Washington Mon (
ument in the city of Richmond, if its &
history was truthfully written, owes
as much to those two distinguished
as to dozens of others who
may presently, when time has done Its
work, be credited with the honor
In correspondence in the Richmond
Whiq, of 10Th January, 1S49, between
those gentleman. Mr.. Minor suggested
to Mr. Goggin the utilizing fund of
Sl3, ,O63. 10 which was the result of q
move made in 1918 by public meetings
for the purpose. 1t had been looked
after by the Virginia Historical Society,
ar was a sort of pOetic license in Gov Mo-