Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-20

| even in his uniform announced his reve'
renee for the old flag; not simply the
| STAKEHOLDER. but the mountaineer went
to the front ; the poor white fought as
valorously as the great landowner the
women contributed as we'll as the men
fought for whilst the men were i'll the
field, the women and children at home
waited and starved without O murmur
and without doubt.
WAS IT REBELLION p?
Was this the spirit Of rebellion A
whole people was in arms. A nation
had arisen. 1t was the apotheOsis OF a
race. When Varno lost the battle OF
Cannae, where the flower OF Roman
knighthood was cut down, and Hannibal
was sweeping down on the Eternal City,
the Roman Senate voted the defeated
Consul its thanks. QUOd dc rGpubiicd
nOn deSperassct. When Lee, with tat
tered standards and broken battalions,
recrossed the Potomac after Gettysburg,
the South exhibited greater devotion to
him than when he forced Burnside stag
gering back across the Rappahannock.
The last retreat of Lees army surpasses
the march of the "ten thousand" That
little band was the crystallization Of
southern heroism.
Across the desolated land it retired
like wounded lion, stopping only to
fight, until it WAS surrounded by the
bestequipped army that has stood on
American soil. Even then It's last cry
was 10 be led against the enemy once
more.
The chrOnicler who can see in this
only the perverseness Of rebellion
lacks the essential spirit Of the historian.
The politician who can discuss it with
derision or view ii with contempt can
never rise to the plane OF craftsmanship.
The deliberate and persistent en-
deavor to forbid to the people that pro-
duced SO sublime a spectacle particIpa-
tion in the Union is greater wrong
than was secession.
] believe that the South to-day is the
newest section of this country.
A LOYAL SOUTH.
The North has every motive OF inte-
rest for it's adherence to the Union. The
prestige Of its warrccorI, the extraor-
diuary war-tlxes that are poured out in
the North, the applause of the world,
and the gratitude Of tho Government are
confined 10 the North.
The South has nothing. Under ira
ducton and villiiication, her properties
destroyed, given over for years to n herd
Of maleiactors, bound by "a more calling
chain than bound Prometheus to the
rock, torn by Il more fearful vulture,
never since Lee gave his paroie at Apo
mattox has the voice Of disloyalty been
heard within her borders.
In the hour of her deepest torture,
like that Roman whom Culna slew, she
has kept her eyes turned to the Eternal
City, exclaiming even amid the agonies
of cruclfxion:
81, too, am Roman citizen"
THE TALIsMANIC TOUCH.
II any one doubt the truth of all this
let him lay aside the fctions which pass
current for history and go to the archives
and annals OF the nation, If he aspire
to do his country service | would say
to him that he must have at once the in-
stlnct Of the historian and the wisdom of
the philosopher. He must possess the
talisman that shall discover truth amid
all the falsehood of generations. He
must have sagacity. He must be en-
dowed with the iortitnde to resist all
to defect by so much as a
hair's breadth from the incxorable facts.
lie must know and he must tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, SO help him God
For such an one Fame waits to take
him in her arms.
THEY WANT TO PRINT IT.
At the conclusion OF the address. which
was listened to with marked attention
and applauded frequently, Mr.. Brock
Offered the following resolution, which
was unanimously adopted:
RcsOired, That the thanks of the So
ciety be rendered DR.. Page for his timely
and scholarly address, and that a copy of
it be requested OF him for publication.