Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-02
COLONEL LEA'S LECTURE.
NEARLY TWO HOURS OF DELIGHT
He Was Humorous and Pathetic, Entertaining and Instructve-A Large Audience
 Greeted Him With Applause,

Winnie Davis wigwam last night to hear Col. Sumter Lea's lecture on Southern Philosophy" In the audience were 8 large number of ladies. Every one pres ent seemed delighted with the lecture and the heartiest applause frequently greeted the speaker.
 Colonel Lea is inmitable as a story teller and kept the audience laughing the portion of the hour or three-quarters he was speaking over the many amusing incidents related by himself. The lec- ture is not all humorous, however. but aboundS in good common sense and philosophy as well as pathos. He is an eloquent speaker and entertained his audience in most admirable manner
 Just before the lecture began GrambS band played two or three selections in front of the wigwam, among the number being Dixie"
 Colonel Lea was introduced by Mir. M. w Steele of Avondale, member of Camp Hardee. When Colonel Lea arose he was greeted with applause which lasted for fully a minute. Passing his right hand across his forehead and wp- ing the tears from his sightlesS eyes. he began his lecture, saying:
 Your arms are fair while your purpose in using them Is just" He related an in cident that occurred in an Alabama town early in 1861, when 200 college girls, at tired in spotless white, marched in double rank to present a stand of colors to a company of volunteers preparing to leave for the battlefield. One of the 200, he said, stepped forward and acted as spokesman in presenting the colors, and in doing so wished the brave men who were to bear them God speed.
 That company" said the colonel, turned their backs on fifty years of un- broken peace towards destiny that was fa Nr.c1 1an1. .I.a r1fNf.xr Could those soldiers have seen the in evitable end they would not have turned back; they had counted the cost and weighed the difficulties of war and went where duty called them and to the death less glory of true soldier"
 Colonel Lea said he would refer to nothing that would cause bitter feelings, and that he would refer to nothing but in Vindication of truth and the causes which led to the war.
 Continuing he said: gro designate this section as the south is geographical misnomer. We are north of great many places; we are north of the Gulf of Mex ico and the greater portion of the Ameri- can continent. But we are south of the aurora borealis which is out of sight. This section is hallowed by the sacred memories of those great men who have made this country what 1t is and by the soft glory of the incomparable south"
 The colonel made a beautiful simile when he compared the oceans and their currents to the different countries. He said God made the oceans and created the currents that pass over their bosoms. He said the climatic and productive con ditions of the different countries were regulated by these ocean currents So. he said, 1t was with society. It is these mingled elements that produce the diff ferent conditions
 In alluding to the early settlers in Vir- he col thnxy h fn6 on, ifafa ence in their country probably never equaled by any other people. They set tied down there, he said, and tried to please themselves and not other peo!! pie. He took up the settlements estab- liShed all along the Atlantic coast, dwell- ing on the bravery, honesty and noble heartedness of the settlers. From these unusual surroundings he said there sprang up peculiar civilization that is destined to exert powerful influence in the worlds history.
 Said the colonel: "The revolutionary war exposed the southern colonies to more dangers than any other section. Nearly every man in the south enlisted in that war, while not more than two thirds of the men in New York, Pennsyl- vania and New England took part. It Is true her territory was not invaded much, but her men fought in defense of the other colonies. That war ended they sent forth their sons and daughters to- wards the setting sun to establish new civilization among the inhabitants.
 ''The people of the south believed that man was left to work out his own des- tiny; they believed in religious liberty. They remembered how costly was their purchase of liberty"
 He referred to the period when peace and good will had been restored, to differ ent inventions that enabled the south to make great strides forward, and add ed that he believed that conditions were shaping themselves for the final emanci- patton of the negro long before the civil war began. In speaking Of slavery Col onel Lea said under the influence of southern men the .importation of Afr- cans had ceased long before the war.
 Among the disappearing glories of the south" said he, "are the old field schools, as they were called, many of which were presided over by masters of art. It seems to me that we are going backwards In ed ucation instead of forward In those days the cap was made to fit the head, and not the head to fit the cap. 1 remember an old teacher master of art, who lacked but one virtue-he was to fond of bibu- loSity He kept a ferule in hlS desk, whic he called a 'stigmatta.' The boys didn't mind being whipped with a hickory, but they did object to being stigmatized with stigmatta. This teacher bore no traces of Cupid ever having shot him; neither did he have convivial appearance, but once month he would adjourn to an adjoining town and become inebriated. One bacchanal- ian conyiviality extended over the week, and when Monday arrived he had not recovered sufficiently to return to school. The trustees were called together and, retiring to one corner of the room with the teacher they remained in earnest conversation, inaudible to the pupils, for some time. Finally the teacher jumped up and in an animated tone said: Gen tIemen, acknowledge what you say in part. I believe temperance cardinal virtue and believe in practicing tempeIi- ance but deny drinking bad liquor. have been drinking fine Scotch whisky, as light as dew and as nutritious as milk. That teacher drifted to Califor- mia in 1848.
 That age developed the greatest man. hood and womanhood. Men then thought ,unnnan had heen sent down here only