Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-21
COLONIAL VIRGINIA.
HON. JAMES L. GORDON SPEAKS ON
THIS INTERESTING SUBJECT.
Address Before the Association for thu
Preservation Of Virginia
Antiquities.


ed and graceful young orator from Aldo
marie county, addressed the Association
for the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui-
ties last night at the Young Mems Chris
tian Association upon the Colonial History
| of Virginia. The large hall was well filed,
and the audience comprised many OF the
most cultured of RIchmond's society.
Among the weIl-kno@n citizens present
were Messrs. +. V. Valentine, Charles =.
| Wingo. ID. @. Richardson. II. X. Pollard
| Conway r. Sands, and Robert II. Scott.
DR.. w. w. Henry, General Joseph h. An
derson, Judge W. w. Crump, and X. A.
| Brock, Esq.,, occupied seats upon the ros-
| trum.
DIR. HENRY INTRODUCES THE ORATOR.
DIR. Henry presided, and in introducing
| Mr.. Gordon said:
\ for the Preservation of Virginia AntIqui;
| ties,-I congratulate you that we have had
another year Of existence and that we are
| here tonight under such favorable clrcum-
| stances. We started short while ago WITH
| a bakers dozen, and now i understand
| that we are almost a hundred, and tnat
after awhile we will be celebrating our
centennial. 1t is my pleasing duty to pre-
| side over this meeting and TO introduce
the distinguished Virglnisn who VIII ad-
| dress you" -,
| DIR. Henry then proceeded briefly 10 tell
| the objects for which the association was
| organized. Their purpose, said he, was 70
| preserve and keep in proper condition, al
| the localities, cities, and houses OF VIZ
| ginia which have colonial history, ,,
Continuing, he said that though the
mineral wealth OF Virginia whicn lay
| hidden beneath the earth was unbounded,
her hidden history, not yet brought 10
| light, surpassed II.
| He then introduced Mr.. Gordon, who In
| commencing his address said:
Mr.. GoRDoN's ADDRESS.
Mr.. Chairman, Ladies of the Assocla-
tion for the Preservation of Virginia An
tiuuities. and Ladies and Gentlemen,-l
| have lust gotten off the train after long
and tedious trip and feel no little exhaust
ed. and am sure you will expect no very
elegant address from me tonight. When
/ received the invitation OF this assocla-
ton to make this address hesitated TO
accept it because did not see how l
could compress within the time TO which
shall be necessarily limited in reference TO
the colonial history of this Commonwealth
that which would not sound hackneyed
and which has been better said thousand
times before. Pleasant indeed would It be
to trace the origin of our handspring OF ex-
istence as State, but time will not allow
an expression sufficient TO tho Importance
OF that subject.
HOW LITTLE WE KNOW.
/ have often thought how little we know
of the lives of our forefathers, how little
we appreciate the beauty and the glory,
the hardship and the suffering of those al
most-forgotten days. Yet ! am not here,
sir. TO enter into any ex' ded discussion
of the historical data or political history OF
those times. Ii is not mine to tell OF the
| burning of Jamestown; how Bacon raised
rebellion: how Berkely thanked God that
there were neither schools nor printing
presses here how DunmOre removed the
| powder from that old magazine which you
have all heard of.
| CHARACTERISTICS OF oLD-TIME vTRGINIANs.
Mr.. Chairman, it is not so much my
desire to speak of the political history OF
! those times as to speak of the characters
tics of the colonial Virglnian from which
we sprung. Long ago all semblance OF
kingly pomp passed from under this we8t,,
ern dome of Heaven; long ago the royal
standards passed beneath the American
flag, and yet at the end of the nineteenth
| century, here at time when the smoke OF
chimneys shadow the noontide sun, 1t
soothes the heart to turn to contempla-
tion of those serene colonial days.
In the first place. the impulse OF our
| forefathers was to be loyal to their kings
| To serve God and honor the king was o
command whIch TO the colonial Yirgin1an
was to be observed in spirit and in truth
but when Henry's voice rang out IN denun-
citation of tyranny and royalty they rose
as one man and followed the great orator.
DO WE COMPARE FAyoRABLY WITH THEM?
Living as we do in these days it is doubt.
full whether we stand in any advantage
against the men of those times. Then il
was as necessary to be Christian as to be
a gentleman. Though highly educated
they were never exalted above God anc
| his meIcies.
Hawthorne has said I'VE live in dead
mems houses" If he lived in these time:
he would find that every man pulls down
his ancestors houses and replaces them by
| brownstone fronts, and yet nothing SC
completely illustrates colonial times as dc
these buildings of the olden times.
There was q lavish quantity OF brick snc
mortar, and space and room about then
which soothed the heart, while the negroes
were their vassals, although the colonla
| Virginians were not responsible for thai
institution.
HONOR THEIR STRONGEST oHARACTERIsTIc.
IF Iwere asked" continued the speaker
"what was the strongest characteristic OF
colonial days, would say honor. In those
days men believed that it was better thar
riches, and il was from that characteristic
that came the men that made this Govern
ment. From them came Washington"
Mr.. Chairman, even TO this day there are
vet standing here relics of that period tC
! which we owe all that we are. Down by
jamestown there IS hollow, moulderinl
! tower. 1t stands as last evidence of the
heroism and hardship through which Lib
| ii 4. Il
1t witnessed the sufferings of Smith; it saw
Bacon drive Berkely out of town. There il
stands, mouldering away.
RELICS OF FORMER DAYS.
When I was boy at WilliamsburgI uset
to look at the Powder-Horn and wonder il
| Virginia, poor as she was at that time
could not afford to save at least that relit
which would link her with her glorious
past. These are the relics that link III
with former days-relics of Henry anC
Washington-an era when that germ o.
liberty which cost Us 80 much blood VIA.
crystalized.
NOBLE WORK OF THE ASSOCIATION.
l Seeing that Virginia as State has beer
in no condition to perform this duty anC
save these relics, some of her daughters
may God bless them-always quickeneC
with that patriotism which has given Il
us so many blazing stars, resolved
to take upon themselves th'
task of rescuing from the ravage:
of time these old relics. But some vii
say: "What have we to do in this age o.
science with the mouldering relics of al
age gone by?" 1t may be sentiment, bu
il so, thank God for sentiment. II wa
that same sentiment. that is also calleC
patriotism, that has guarded the portals o.
this Commonwealth from the earliest co
lonial days.
TEACH THE YOUNG TO LOVE THE STATE.
LET us teach the young men and wo
men," continued the speaker, to love th'
ground we stand on-the mountains, tn,
fields, the rivers, the valleys, and the hills
This love lodged in the hearts of citizeni
will save the republic when the drum taps.
might speak tonight of many glorious
achievements of our fathers when thel
bore allegiance TO the British Crown-oi
how these Virginia gentlemen resisted thu
authority of Cromwell; of how the Hano
yer troops came to recover that gunpow
der or know the reason why-but sir, this
would be repetition of q history which i
our common heritage. i have simply tC
stir among living Virginians some memory