Birmingham state herald., 1896-05-31
OUR SOCIAL WORLD

(All items of social interest will be gladly noted in these columns if sent to Mrs George C. Ball, Nineteenth street, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues. South High lands. Telephone 9SS)
 On that fateful day, January Il, 1S61 Montgomery was ablaze with patriotic enthusiasm; cannon boomed and bells rang out the tidngs that Ala bama had seeded and claimed the right to act ac- cording to the convictions of her people. That night the old town was illuminated with numberless bonfires; the houses were brilliant with many lights, and the capitol, on the summit of the hill, stood out in the darkness like fairy palace with every window glowing with the light of innumerable candles. Citizens far Into the night thronged the wide streets and spoke of the future as hold ing the realization of long deferred hopes. While Montgomery rejoiced at what seemed the beginning of political mil lennum she was called upon to mourn the loss of one of her noblest citizens one of the truest Christians who for years had borne aloft the banner of the cross For, just as the changing of church bells told the story of secession, the pure spirit of Bishop Nicholas Hammer Cobbs took Its flight into another world, where there are neither wars nor rumors Of wars; and ere he fell asleep to distinguished friend he quoted with cbildlike faith:
 Tn my hands no price I bring
 Simply to Thy cross l cling"
 Since that day, now more than thirty five years ago, there have come to the people of Alabama all the manifold trials that follow In the wake of war and polit- jcal upheaval; mems and women's souls have been tried as in furnaces heated seven times, yet they have stood hrm and true to their God and their state; and the lapse of years only makes them firm CT in their loyalty to the men who made the history of that eventful time. By "the arbitrament of the sword'' has been settled all those disputes Tor which men risked their lives and gave their property in order to establish the right of their convictions The period for a discussion of secession has long since passed away; kt would be worse than folly to drag it forth again in this day of other aims and purposes. The people of every section or this grand republic are true to the con- stitution and loyal to the government. That man is a fossil-a prehistoric relic who would waste time and words in vain regret. We southerners-owing to the training and instincts of genera t1ons- have taken long, long time to rally from disaster, but we have gotten on our feet again, and with the help of providence and the infusion of the latter day ideas of progress and constant endeavor, even against hope less odds, we propose to keep on our feet and march forward, without vast ing any more precious time looking back to a period of luxury and self-indulgence. But while we accept the present condi- tions honestly and Loyalty, we need not shut out from our memories those days when cannon boomed, bells rang and martial music told of the going of brave men to fields of battle, there to contend for honor and principle. Across the years come tales of valor of deeds of daring and of patient sufferings, which must be preserved, for our children's sake as well as for the sake of the he- roes who endured. A people indifferent to the achievements of their ancestry cannot lay claim to any part of the his- tory that has been made They are un- worthy representatives of brave, true men. The greatest value of history and of the preservation of records of another period and generation is that it becomes the cause for emulation, the reason. for higher endeavor on our own part. No man Is worthy of an heroic father who is content merely to reflect the glory of fis fame; and that son is thrice failure who falls far short of his fathers achievements in the battle of life. We do not need the blare of trumpets, the roll of drums or the rattle of musketry to open foS us a pathway up to the heights. In most of our lives there are struggles that wage quietly, but fiercely; breast works to be stormed, under pitiless fire, and steps to be climbed beneath scorch- ing sun that try the courage of soul and body as truly as did those fields of carnage the heroes of other days If we falter if we retreat, we are the cowardly descendants of men who knew no fear, md n low creatures.
 History is a stimulation and an inspi- ration to succeeding generations, and though the bonfires built in the streets of Montgomery more than a quarter of century ago were quenched In deluge of blood, and the joyous ringing of bells became the tolling for dead hopes and a lost cause, still the records of that time must be preserved sacred1y by our people, so that future generations may know the stuff of which they are born. Outsiders, unfamiliar with our en- vironment and our instincts. must not alone tell the world the story of those four years of fruitless struggle. Our record must be given by southern pens, in southern words, from southern hearts; our relics must be preserved as sacredly as the Israelites of old kept their treas ures in the Ark of the Covenant.
 The formation of chapters of Daugh- ters of the Confederacy in different parts of the south will arouse public sentiment on this important question and will sure 1y result in giving the world a reliable southern history as we'll as the preserve tion of priceless relics. The, Battle Ab- bey. which is to be built partly by the generous donation of MT. Charles B. Rouss of New York and partly by south- ern women, will be monument to the
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