The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-04-13
ATLANTA Constitution.

Va, should enlist the sympathy OF
every true southerner.
Lightly indeed will it emphasize
that LOYALTY that was pledged by the
south to Mr. Davis, when he came to
Atlanta few years ago, II she IS now
unable to muster the enthusiasm that
IS needed to erect the monument.
HIS LAST VISIT TO ATLANTA.
Not more than five years have
passed since the upturned faces Of
1000 people gazed lovingly into the
eyes of the old chieftain. 1t seemed
that day as if the heart of the multi
tude was actually on fire and when
that superb old cavalier, General
Longstreet, appeared on the platform,
with his battered sword dangling from
his belt, the very air was uplifted by
the shout of the multitude as it rose
from their midst and foated out to
the oaks that Haunted their foliage
over the battle field beyond the
city.
1t was during the month of May
and not a cloud obscured the firma-
ment. The schools were deserted of
their pupils and the children went out
over the city to rob the flower gardens
and the green houses. They worked
the blossoms thus gathered into gar
lands that seemed to pilfer their own
fresh young beauty, and running in
advance of the horses, they showered
their tribute of childhood along the
path of the procession.
Mothers wept around the platform
and fathers looked on in mist of
rcvcry that seemed to lose their souls
in the past. Suddenly the musical
voice Of Henry Grady, went out to
hear of the multitude, and stirred the
bosom of the gathered soldiery with
feeling too deep for plaudits. 1t
glowed with the fervor of the MONDAY
sun and seemed to catch its beauty
from the calendar, that hung its
drapery upon the trees.
HENRY GRADY's WELCOME.
Mr.. Grady turned to Mr.. Davis and
said -
at is good, sir, for you to be here
Other leaders have had their triumphs,
conquerors have worn CROWNS, and
honors have been piled on the victors
of earth's great battles, but never yet,
sir, came man to more loving people.
Never conqueror wore prouder dladem
than the deathless love that crowns
your gray hairs to-day. Never king
inhabited more splendid palace than
the millions of brave hearts in which
your dear name and fame are forever
enshrined. Speaking to you, sir, as
the son of confederate soldier who
sealed his devotion with his life
holding kinship through his blood to
you and yours,-standing midway
between the thinning ranks of his old
comrades whose faltering footsteps are
turned toward the grave, and the new
generation thronging eagerly to take
the work that falls unfinished from
their hands,-here is the suspicious
present across which the historic past
salutes a glorious future, let me
pledge you that the love we bear you
shall be transmitted to our children
and our Children's children, and that
generations yet unborn shall in this
fair land hold your memory sacred
and point with pride to your lofty and
stainless life. My countrymen (turn-
ing to the crowd), let us teach the
lesson in this old mans life that defeat
hath its glory. Let us declare that
this outcast from the privileges of this
great government is the uncrowned
king of your people and that no
southern man, high or humble, desires
a greater glory to bear with him heart
to heart, the blame and the burden
of the cause for which he stands un-
pardoned. In dignity and honor he
met the responsibility of our common
cause. In obscurity and poverty he
has borne for twenty years the reproach
OF our enemies and the obloquy of
defeat. This movement finds its
richest reward in the fact that we can
light with sunshine the end of a path
which has long been dark and dreary.
Georgians, countrymen, soldiers and
sons of soldiers and brave women,
the light and soul and crown of our
civilization, rise up and give your
hearts voice, as we tell Jefferson Da-
Wis that he is at home among his peo-
pie.
That welcome was pearl of oratory,
and when the last sentences ran out
from the lips of the eloquent speaker
the crowd rose up like a trained army
at the cry of their captain. The tumult
gathered like thunder and the shout of
mingled voices was like the roar of
ocean pillows. But instantly the noise
grew quiet, and like the waves of lake
Ienessaret that slept in silence when
the storm was Chastened, the voice of
the 8" old man eloquent swept over
the crowd and their ears were imme-
diately CouChed into listening.
THE OLD MAN RETURNS HOME.
But the day with its fever and ex-
element closed, although the sun
seemed reluctant to touch the horizon
and to quiet the supremacy of a day
SO undisputed by clouds and so rich in
its revelations. The night, however,
with its return of stars drew up as the
day expired and the moon, like a
silver bow, displayed its crescent in
the west. \ lovelier night never fol-
lowed the skirts of fairer day, and
men as they walked the streets in the
gathering twilight remarked to each
other, " vas the sky ever more beauti-
ful?"
When sun arose the following day
there was a cloud in the east as Mr..