Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-19
Provideptial extension of nv time to enable

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I blessing to me TO hear the klnu eApfeTs'uiis
Z towards me in person from all pait9 Vl wv
country, from people OF an hat'3 Hailp t, VI
al religions aud OF no religion ol 80,
/ ates and Of national troops aIkc. o. 7UiNlcl9
r organizations. of mechanical, sctehthC' re-
lglous and other societies, embracing aill' "St
every citizen 10 the land. They nave ol"usho
( iOy TO fuy heart. If they have nor thS' - ."
/ curs 10 YOU and your colleagues Az
/ know edge my indebtedness t9r having
! brought me through the valley ol ihe huhloW
/ Of death TO enable me 10 witness these thln-s.
And can 1t be said that for his country
/ his sufTeriugs were vain? Long years be-
fore be mad cried out for peace; Let us
have peacew But there had been no
Deacei Nor did it seem that genuine
peGce could ever come until 1t shCulu ne
bought by some tremendous sacflHce.
But now II has como. II has come throus On
hIs own greataRony, every pang OF WHlCH'
running through the nerves OF an ehtIe
people. from the Atlantic 10 the racine
wave, from the lakes on the North 10 the
RIO Grande on the South, exercised the
last remnant OF sectional hate and passion
rom the national heart. He did not die
for his country upon the field OF baHIe5
but in yet sublimer sense did the genius
OF antique patriotism breathe over ms
dying moments its soothing eloquence,
DUice Ct dec0ru13 est pro Pdhd o'ofi.
He was magDanimOus. not simply I'D
the breadth and depth of his emotional ma
ture. but in the absence from Il OF all petty
jealousy in his generous appreciation OF
the merits Of others When did he ever
strike the palm from the brow which de-
served to wear it? When did he ever iail
TO hold TO the lip Of excellence, be II IN
friend, be It in foe, the cup OF praise nlied
to the brim? throughout his entire career
down to the noble panegyric Whion, WIN
his weakening tongue, he so recently pro
nounced upon his great ANTAGONIST, Lee
And now tnat he. too lies in the quiet dlg-
NIFTY OF death, recall, We men OF the Con-
tederate south, recall, If you can, one
malignant glbe, one insulting Gplthet,
nay, one unkindly word, which ever leH
from those cold lips upon man, woman OF
child of the struggling COntederacy. III
was bur natural that the wild passions
eugendered by war should give, for the
time, to any uiterances from him some
thing Of their own lurid hue. Many OF us
will remember the storm Of indignation
which was roused throughout the south
by the simple words be used in advising
against The release Of Confederate sol
diers by exchange ofthe prisoners oil war.
Better feed than fight themW Had ne
said, Better st8rYe than shoot them u
the storm OF resentment could scarce
have been fiercer. Yet viewing his utter
ance in the retrospect, interpolating into
The laconic sentence two additional words,
Better teed our brothers than fight
themv a loyeller emanation could
scarcely have come from the celestial
soul OF the Christian religion. And DO
YOU not believe that 50 he meant nv 1e
chivalric men of the Confederate South,
do you not believe that 50 he felt it? But,
assuming that ne did not, lind, | pray
YOU, the poet or the Orator-the artistic
handler Of words, potent and sparkling
chat could formulate grander enc0mlum
upon tue ragged. starving, bleeding, but
undaunted. Confederate SOLDIER BETTER
feed him than fight himW
Flashes from his subsequent life, cast
ing retrospect light upon the words that
he used, dispel all shadow Of doubt from
his meaning. When the sun OF Appoma-
tOX was rising Napoleon was won't TO
speak OF the sun of Austerhtz as 1.-THE
bright sun OF his destiny''-ere the sun
/ OF AppOmatOX had reached mid-heaVen,
/ ha WAS proceeding thither with no sword
/ buckled about aim, but with predeter-
minatiOn TO decline receiving that other
sword from the hand which had borne 1t so
uOblyt sword OF the sad and broken
oeartsd, but stlll the lofty Lee. Thlther
he was going literally to feed the starv-
ing Soldiers whom NJ was no longer to
fight, TO say 10 them NAY, take your
horses home with you'll You will need
them for the spring sowing. Indeed! in
deeu, the sun of Appomatox was 1.-THE
bright sun of his destiny for it beheld
pouring from his inner nature broad
stream Of tender glory fit for realm be-
yOnd the stars.
But there, as ever the same simple I'M
pretending man. In fact, looking through
his entire career, can recall but single
occasion when, by act or word, he seemed
to assert a cOnsc iOusness of power. When
an order had been framed, and signed, and
was about to be issued, for the arrest of
Lee and his associates, in violation OF the
terms OF surrender at AppomatoX, to his
| indignant remonstrance stanton eXclaim-
/ ing--"You forget that ] am Secretary of
! War''-"And l." he replied, Il am Gen.
Grant" The full grown order fell dead
/ at his feet.
Did there linger the shade OF a doubt as
/ to the love be cherished for the South, it
would surely disappear before the CONVEX
sation between himself and his classmate
and personal friend, the Confederate
/ General Buckner. IL occurred when the
tongue, which bad given such killing
force 10 the gyrating air, lay palsied in it's
sOc>et. and when the patriot soul could
/ only breathe through pen or pencil. Had
I deception In reference to such subject
ever been possible TO the nature OF the
man, according TO all the rules Of evil
dence In all the courts Of the civilized
world, it was now simply impossible; for
the man was dying. Now listen to his
| words
81 have witnessed since my sickness, just
| what wished 20 see ever since the war hHr-
/ mOny and good feeling between the Sc 'tiOns.
/ have always c0ntended that If there had
| been nobody left but tbs soldiers. we would
4 have had peace IN yesr We may now well
/ look forward 10 a perpetual peace ut home,
/ aud anaDiOnal strength that Will screen us
/ against any foreign cOmpliCat Ons. l believe
/ myself that the war was worth an 10 cost us,
/ fearful as that WAS, since 10 was over have
visited every State in Europe and number
/ Ia the East. know, as did not before, the
1 ya'us OF our inheritance"
/ HOW completely had the dying man
merged himself in his country! "Our in
I hetitancel" lie, 50 soon 10 bid eternal
farewell 10 the things of earth, still claim
ing her institutions as his Inheritance
! And did he not utter; answer, We, the gal
liant soldiers Of the North! and We, the gal
lant soldiers Of the south did he not ut
ter your universal thOughty ia IL not
| true, that ''hs0 soldiers only been Left
we would have had peace In a yearf Nay
toward the close Of our fratrieidal war,
had IL been left 10 the soldiers 10 deter
mine, would We not have had peace In n
/ day. Would not the sun that rose upon
armies, lighting each other 10 the death,
have seen them, at a word. consolidate
I into one. before his settingf Antithesis
mos. marvellous in the history OF time
I and yet 40 not al Of ua know that 80.