The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-08-18

camp and in tho cabinet, in tho. field
and in tho forum, the light Of, his
genius andgallantry ditfmsed its lus-
trous rays and sillqmincd tho land Of
his birth. why try to belttlc and
blacken his character, from which any
thing crueltor corrupt, mean or mcrci-
less, is as thr removed rs the sou is
from the sky? There is no stain on his
shield-it is as spotless as star. lie
is tho truest typo Of all American
scholar, soldier and statesman. Every.
breeze that comes to him from his
loved South is balmy with tho aifcc-
tion of those who appreciate his worth
and value his hcroism. God bless
Jefferson Davis! God grant, that con-
tentmcnt and joy may cncirclc tho
heart of otir noble old Ghetto whom
! this day offer the homage of an hum
bic but DEVOTED Southern soldiers
heart. And l know, my comrades,
that what l have said 0f President
Davis finds aresponSivc echo in the
breast Of every one present.
There may be- aud doubtless arc
tl,ose who would have us to forget the
past--that past in which YOU, Colonel
Davis, and your comrades from Fair
field, Lancaster, Pickcrs, Richland
and York, behaved SO handsomely aud
heroically Yin which SO many OF them
went grondly downto death. But, my
friends, my comrades, if we were to
forget the past we would bo unworthy
to call Carolina mother. Forget the
past-thc history of which has been
written in the blood Of the bravest and
the best of men-thc past in which you
pcriiled your lives, in which the gall
liant and glorious Gregg, the bold and
brilliant Barnes, the brave and true
hearted Miller, the high-mindod and
fearless Bookter, who were the chival-
ry OF courage, who so nobly upheld
the martial rcnown of Carolina,
added neW lustrc to the light of her
fame and met death with fortitulc and
patriotism the past in which the mcn
III the ranks, the real heroes of the
war, displayed more than Spartan
couragc' exhibited more than Roman
t"rtitude, accomplished ali that valor
and selt-sacriIlciDg hcroism could,
whose devotion and daring scarcely
iiliu'a parallel in martial history, who
though outnunbcrcu in every fight
DroEe through the ranks of the foe and
1ollowcu the Southern Cross as it
streamrd over: the crimson-crcstcd
waves OF arand along with the tide
OF triumph from Richmond to Gettvs-
burg! When Robert T.. Lee surrcn-
dcrc'i the remnant Of his heroic army,
we realized that the cause WAS. LOST
We silently and sadly submitted. We
pledged our word to accept the result
OF the issue, to yield willing obcdi-
cncc to the law Of the land: and our
plightcd faith has been sacrcdlv kent.
We baniShrd bitterness from our
breasts. But we did not give up our
manhood when our men laid down
their arms. We did not surrender our
love and vcncraiion for Carolina, be-
meath whose sacred soil the bones Of
our ancestors have crumblcd into kim
urod dust and where we hone to calm
~ rcclinc when our lips are silent and
sealed and our hearts no longer thvob
The rccoficctions we cherish of the
Lost Cause" are As fixed aS the tirma-
mrnt and as tattrlcss as its stars:
" lille the RappahaMnock, the James,
the Potomac and thu Shenandoah con
time to flow--as lnnw as the lofty
peaks Of the Blue Ridge sentinel our
heroes gravcs-So long will the cause,
TO aid which YOU, twenty-five wears
ago, donnca the 'tjackct O gray" slime
IN song and in story. Generations vet
unborn will bless the memory of those
whose hcroiSm and suffering have
lllumincd and cnrichcd the cause of
freedom. In the less prciiudiccd flu
turc the muse Of history will do Justice
to the men who rode with Stuart,
Hampton and Forrcst--Who marched
with Lee, Johnson and Bcauregard.
Nor VIII our noble w0incn DC forgot
ten. Their silent suffering and
sublime sclt-sacriicc furnish theme
to which eloQuencc will cling with
rapture. Their names are inscribed
high on the scroll of Southern fame, in
characters rs brilliant as the sunlight
which beams upon us to-day.
/ 1t has been said that Demosthcncs.
when he pronounced the funeral ora
tlon over those who fell at Chpronca
also pronounced tie funeral Grafton of
Grecian liberty. -Four summers aco
ttie grand and gifted General John S.
Preston pronounced the funeral Grafton
over the Caroiinians who fell in the
Confederate war. The rare cncham-
ment OF his cloqucncc, the chuste lam
guage he used and the intense and i'm
presslVe earncstness with which it was
expressed, quickencd the blood and
thrilled the heart Of the multitude that
stood around the monument. The
majestic manner in which he spoke of
the dauntless intrepidity of our slain
heroes, his powerful tribute to the
purity and patriotism of the Confcdcr-
ate cause, is well worthy to occupy n
place in history alongside of the adj
dress of the great Grccian orator. lie
gave his two sons TO the cause of
Southern liberty-whOse heroism was
as glorious as his dcathlcss devotion to
the South. One Of them fell in the
front Of battle. Severe as was the
shock occasioncd by the death of his
heroic son, no murmur fell from his
lips. lie considered no sacrifice too
great for the good Of the cause. lie
did not imitatc Priam in his pitcous
pleading at the feet of Achilles for the
body OF his son, the slain Hector. But
IN the sublime spirit Of the gallant
OsSory he said that he would not cx-
change his dead son for any living son
IL Christcndom. General Prcston's
lips, which seemed to have been touch
ell by glowing coal from libcrtv's
altar, are now us mute rs tho monu-
mclt which stands in front of the State
House. The figure of the Confederate
soldier which surmountcd the monu-
ment has been shattered. Tho familiar
form Of General Preston i'm tho dust