Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-06-19

dnOu5 and Offcast elements OF Ea'
! ropean races. For We Of the South
we're and are a homo geneous race
I of people, of the purest blood of
the cavalier Anglo Saxon and the
Gallican races. But our COnfeder-
ate nation vas eclectic, not as to
racial descent, but as to the qnal-
tiles and virtues that make peO-
pie and their history glorious. 1t
had gathered from all races of
men the best and the nOblest. All
the best traditions of the past Of
the white race were hOnOrably up.
held in the Southern COnfederacy.
The stuff that goes 10 The make up
of reDOW in other nations entered
Into the composition of the body
and soul of our short lived Repub.
lic. The pastures in which had
been fed the illustriOus of all ages
were the sources from which her
fibre grew. Ard when The long
suffering cry of the South against
the exactiOns and Cpl ressioLs of
sectional uiusiice and hate began
at length to mateIialze in bold and
decisive action, at once there raj
lied to her the spirits of the past,
from all kingdoms and republics
aud peoples and races, that had
rveI, successfully or unsuccessful ly,
raj Ell the standard of freedom or
Engaged in the conflict OF arms for
cherished rights We have no doc
tlIDe 10 our creed OF thetransmi-
grafton OF souls. But the doctrine,
now well established, of the unity
of the human lace and The sOlldar
ity of mankind, permits us to IN
dulge the beautiful CONCEPTION that
the Penates of Ancient Rome aud
the Names OF her illuslrious dead
entered into the souls OF the Con-
federacy. Down trUdden SwilZer-
land called up from their Alpine
graves the shades Of William Tell
aud his patriot cOnpe ers, and
mantIlug them in the beautiful
romance Of her glorious struggle,
so pathetic in its calamity, sent
them to eEthuze and inspire their
brothers of the South. Unhappl
POland-Ut whose dauntless bat tie
against overpoweriug odds the
poet, Campbell, saug SO eloquently,
"And Freedom shrekel when Kosciusko
fell"-
unhappy Poland with her sleeping
braves hears the cry, and the
Weakening spirits of her KoscluskOs
and Kossuths l,aped to the clash
of Southern arms. There was
once more a gathering of the clans,
that had followed the fated honor
of Bruce and Wallace, sounding the
onset upon the invading hireliDgs
of the North. The very genius
itself, the iovial, iocund genius Of
Robin Hood and his merrie men all,
who galll rOamed the forest of Sher-
wood, entered and possessed the
ranks ofOur Southern hosts, and
peals of merrlment mingled with
peals Of musketry. The glory that
glds the pages OF Froissart, the
wltchery of his recital of pageant
and tourney and battle ard love
and the enchanting story OF
KnighihOOd-all the splendOrs OF
those ages of chivalry-the poetry
aud romance Of the crusadeS, that
still cast thelI spell over noble
minds-all enter into the history,
written aud an gritten-all are
woven into the ephemeral glory of
that matchIrss history and nation.
The sterner and more sterling
vIrlues OF our Revolutionary sIres,
their wisdom and ability az patrl
OTIS and warriors and statesmen,
awoke again to the clarion Of
liberty, and the spirits of 76
again possessed our people. All,
all these spirits of the past gathered
together and unified into the soul
of our Confederacy, to make a
nation and history unique IN the
histories of nations.
Do not think, pray you, that
am lndulging IN the mere extrava.
gance of enthusiasm. | appeal to
the facts TO sustain my assertions,
that no other period of four years
can he found III all the history of
the past, that has gathered into
itself aud exhibited to the world so
much of greatnessiand oI glory, as
the four leafs Of our Southern Con.
federacy. Never has so large a gal
lery OF portraits of iIlustrlous men,
men illustrlous and great iD Sepate
hail and camps, as was exhibited
in that brief period. Pos sibly no
Froisssrt or Walter Scott may
arse with magic pen TO portray
their life and deeds. But let us
believe that these soldier GENE.