Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-08-30

illumined and enriched the cause Of free
dom. The good, the generous have already
linked the name of Lee with that of Wash
ington.) In the less prejudiced future the
muse of history will do justice to the men
who rode with Stuart, Hampton and For
rest-whO marched with Lee, Johnston and
Beaureguard. Nor will our noble women
be forgotten. Their silent suffering and
sublime self-sacrifice furnish a theme to
which elOquence will cling with rapture.
Their names are inscribed high on the scroll
of Southern fame, in characters as brilliant
as the blessed sunlight which beams upon
us to-day.
1t has been said that Demosthenes, when
he pronounced the funeral Grafton over those
who fell at Charonea, also pronounced the
funeral grafton of Grecian Liberty. Three
Summers ago the grand and gifted General
j. S. Preston pronounced the funeral oration
over the CaroIinians who fell in the COnfed-
crate war; The rare enchantment of his ell
oquence, the chaste language he used and
the intense and impressive earnestness with
which it was expressed quickened 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
Confederate cause, is well worthy to occupy
a place in history alongside Of the address OF
the great Grecian orator. He gave his two
sons to the cause of Southern liberty, whose
heroism was as glorious as his deathless
devotion to the South. One of them fell
in the front of battle. Severe as was the
shock occasioned by the death of his he
roic son, no murmur fell from his lips. lie
considered no sacrifice too great for the good
of the cause. He did not initiate Priam in
his piteous 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 exchange his dead
son for any living son in Christendom.
General Preston's lips, which seemed to
have been touched by glowing coal from
liberty's altar, are now as mute as the mon
ument which stands in front of the State
House. The figure of the Confederate SOL
dier which surmOunted the monument has
been shattered. The familiar form of Gen
eral Preston in the dust lies dead! Though
he has ceased to be mortal his name will
ever be renowned.
Among the comrades which were present
at the unveiling of the monument were the
four splendid companies to which the capi-
tai of Carolina points with pride. They
who fought beneath the stars and bars,
whose devotion and daring brighten the
pages which "tell the story of the glory OF
the bonnie, bonnie flag" They paraded in
your honor and welcomed you to Columbia
to-day. 1t is gladdening and gratifying to
meet the daring Richland Light Dragons
who rode with Hampton throughout the
war The Columbia Flying Artillery, whose
guns were among the first heard in Charles
ton harbor, who were gallant and true to
the last. The Governors Guards, which
was one of the finest companies in the heroic
Second Regiment, which had as its captain
in the recent past, that splendid soldier and
courtly, cultured gentleman, the Hon. Hugh
S. Thompson, who so worthily and accepta-
bly, fills the office of Governor, which he
dignifies and adorns, who is unavoidably
absent from your reunion in consequence OF
commanded by Capt. Wylie Jones, through
whose heart comes the crimson stream of
that noble old son of York, Colonel Cadwal-
lader Jones, as fine specimen Of knightly
courage and manhood as ever barred blade
in battle, whose white hair shone like silver
in the sunlight, which flashed upon the
famous battlefield where he cheered the
Twelfth Regiment on to victory. The Rich
land Volunteer Rifle Company. OF this
company l can scarcely trust myself to
speak. It occupied the right of the First
Regiment from the commencement to the
close of the contest. Its members were my
friends and cherished comrades. They were
bold and brave in battle.
The limit of time and the proprieties OF
the occasion force me to leave unexpressed
much more that might be said concerning
your command, of the perils they so proud
ly encountered and the privations they so
patiently endured. Although there are
oil lpcarvpp nf the honor
which your kindness has bestowed upon me,
there is no one by whom it could be more
highly priced or more gratefully received.
| have spoken to you in the language OF SIM
certify and truth. 1t has been to me labor
of love to speak of those glorious recollec-
tions, which shine through the mists OF
memory, through the tears and trials and
troubles of intervening years, which come
back to us during many an hour of solitary
musing and dispel the darkness of the pres
ent in opening the vista of the past, through
which we gaze at the dearly remembered
days of our dead nations glory: If have
succeeded in touching single chord in the
harp of q comrades heart by awakening the
memories of the past; in grouping together
some of the cherished days and heroic deeds
which form the guerdon of your glory; in
revealing the images of our long lost COM
rades the sanctifed slain, amidst whose
graves our spirits wander; who walked like
Faithful, through the valley OF the shadow
of death; through the gloom of this world
to the glory Of the home on high-aboVe
the clouds, beyond the stars-I shall feel
that loves labor has not been lost. Guard
the memories of your fallen comrades if you
cannot mark their graves. The people of
Athens inferred their dead heroes in the
most beautiful suburb Of the city, except
those who fell at Marathon. They, in recog-
milton of their extraordinary valor, were
buried on the spot where they perlshed.
Our comrades were buried where they fell,
having like the untOmbed Romans ON the
field Of Pharsalia, the glorious covering OF
Heavens starry arch-a nobler resting place
by far than vault or mausOleum. Devotion
to our dead heroes does not detract from the
duty which we owe to the government.
Loving what is lost does not lessen our 10y
atty to the flag which proudly floats from
Maine to Margenta Bay; from the Straits
of Fuca to Cape Sable. The clouds of con-
test which dimmed that flag have disap-
peared before the blessed sunlight OF friend
ship and fraternity, and its stars now shine
brightly and benignantly upon the graves OF
the men in grey.
Forget not the field where they perished,
The truest, the best of the brave,
Allgone-and the bright hope we cherished .
Gone with them, and quenched in the grave"
EYE EMEMoRY.-Looks steadily at bright
object, keep the eyes immovable on 1T for
short time and then close them. An image
of the object remains: it comes, in fact, Wis,
ible to the closed eyes. The vividness and
duration of impression vary considerably
with different individuals, and the power OF
retaining them may be cultivated. An &C.
centric Old man, the once celebrated but not
forgotten 'N1emory Thompson" trained
himself to the performance Of wonderful