The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-05-05
JEFF Davis I'm Montgomery.

been called seed corn, moving on with
eager step and fearless brow to the carni-
val of death; and l have also looked upon
them when their knapsacks and muskets
seemed heavier than the boys, and my
eyes, partaking of a mothers weakness,
filed with tears. Those days nave passed.
Many of them have found namelcss
graves; but they are not dead. They
live in memory, and their spirits stand
out II grand reserve of that column which
is marching on with unfaltcring steps to-
ward the goal of constitutional liberty.
Applause.
sit were III vain if I should attempt,
as | have already said, to express my
gratitude to you. L am standing now
very nearly on the spot where / stood
when [ took the oath of Office in 1861.
Your demonstration now exceeds that
which welcomed me then. This shows
that h spirit of Southern liberty is not
dead. [Long and continued applause.
Then you were full of joyous hopes.
You had every prospect of achieving all
you desired, II now you are wrapped
III the mantle of regret-and yet that re-
gret only manifcsts moro profoundly, and
does not oblitcratc, the expression Of
your sentiments.
81 felt last night as l approached the
Exchange Hotel, from the gallery of
which your peerless orator, William L.
Gancey, introduced me to the citizens of
Montgomery, and commended me in Ian
guagc which only his cloquence could
yield, and which far exceeded my merit,
/ felt, [ say again, that / was coming to
my homo, coming to a land where liberty
dies not, and serious sentiments will live
forever. CApplausc,l
81 have been promised, my friends,
that [ should not be called upon to make
n speech; and, therefore, / will only cx-
tend to you my heartfelt thanks. God
bless YOU, one and all, old men and boys,
and the ladies above all others, who never
faltercd in our direst need" Loud and
long continued a~pplause.1
When he retired the shouts were so
long and loud that Mr., Davis had to go
to the front again. He bowed his nc
acknowledgements and thanks.
Governor O'Ncal, when it was possible
to be heard, made a handsome speech in
reference to the cause of the gathering,
and OF the love the people of tho South
feel for the statesmen and soldiers of the
South, and introduced General John b.
Gordon, the orator selected to deliver the
address, as in Mr.. Davis's feeble condi-
ton 1t was understood he could only
speak a few minutes. General Gordon
received Il grand welcome, as many sol
lioIc flat ba bo1 opD,,nonloJ 1,-o,.c ,>,.,,
ent.
In opening his address General Gordon
made an eloquent allusion to Mr.. Davis,
i'll the course of Which he said:
"AsI saw him in that first great conflict
of the C~onfcdclacy, with the shouts of
victorious lcgions in his ears, and the
glory of battle on his face, he was in the
meridian blaze of bis fame, commanding
the unqualified confidence of his South
GIN c~ountrymcn and the attention of
Christendom. But as n prisoner, strip
ped of all power say the power to en-
dure, sustained by that majestic spirit
which no force but death could onouc
awaiting his judicial trial and all its con-
sequences with n repOse of mind, IN
equiposc and dignity of demeanor rarely
equalled and never cXcclled, it was then
that he bound himself to the hearts of
his people in dcathlcss affection and rose
to the sublimcst height of the morally
heroic. OF these two scenes, the one in
the fortress was more profoundly i'm
presslvc. Its lesson is of incStimablc
value to the young moi Of our country.
1t teaches that no revulsion in political
fortunes, however sudden or extreme,
can oveIwhclm or crush the man whose
ailn are lofty and whose life is blamcless.
10 my mind, great and grand as he was
in the hour of his most splendid triumph,
he was greater and gYander still in the
hour of his deepest humiliail0n, And
when alienation and bitter memories arc
gone, when the crucial test of historical
analysis shall be fully, fairly and truth
fully made, then his name and his fame,
his conspicuous services to the country
before the war, his unrivallcd State pa
pers and manly utterances during the
war, and his moral elevation ana match
less fortitudc as prisoner Of State after
the war, will command universal respect
and challenge unqualified admiration"
In abiding to the achieN emcnts of the
Northern and Southern armies, General
Gordon said:
81 acknowledge inferiority to no man
in admiration of the broad libcralitv
which prompted the efforts of Charles
Sumner to strike from the flags of the
Union the names of the battles between
his %estranged and cmbittcred country
men; yet | subscribe neither to it's policy
nor to its justice. All honor to the spirit
of the man who, facing q storm of politi-
cal wrath, could rise to the lofty purpose
of destroying all mementoes Of Northern
triumph over his Southern countrymen!
All honor to the eloquent utterances by
LLlial L. a-..al |