Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-07-02
CHARMS OF THE REUNION.

One of the chief charms of such a re-
union as this is the opportunity II aiorus
for long parted army friends to. meet again.
The affectionate greetings that old COM
rades are seen to give one another are
thing not to be understood by one VINO
,s unfamiliar with the camp-life ct Coni de-
rates. Cut off from general society. and
thrown into the most intimate sLsocia-
lions. officers and men formed friendships
that they could not have formed in de-
cades OF ordinary life.
The sharing of blankets and of ratlons;
more than all, the sharing OF dangers
made brothers of former strangers. Most
OF these men went different ways at the
close of the war. and many now meet
after thirty-one years of separation. When
they come together they rush into enc
another's arms and often burst into tears,
oyerpowered by the memories of other
DAYS: days of hard fighting hard times
and bareback.
That there are so many survivors CT
our war is explained by the fact that our
army was composed in great part OF
'boys." The rule was for all the men
to 20 into service at IS. but thousands
went in ut 1G, and hundreds ut n still
earlier age. But. supposing that the
average Confederate was % when the
war closed. we would now have IS as the
average age OF the veteran of to-day.
At So a man has certainly passed the
best years OF his life; but he is not old
enough to be dull I'm heart or head.
And, with reasonable speed in collecting
funds for the building OF the Davis monu-
ment we may hope to see very many
Of the old vets here when we come to ded-
cate It,
BY the way. we have recently seen
raised the objection that the use OF the
term "old vets Is Pathological But the
objection should be overruled. Here old
is an endearing term, as in odd man
and "old fellow" which we constantly
hear when intimate friends address one
another. Besides Sir Walter Scott and
other accomplished writers have sane
toned the use Of "old vets" well under
standing that "old" referred. not so much
TO the persons age as to the place he
holds in public estimation.
Accurately to estimate the size of
crowds is a very difficult thing to do. 1t
Is as easy to underestimate them as to
overestimate them. We think IT possible
that there may have been as many vete-
rams here at the unveiing OF the Jackson
statue or the Lee statue as will be in
Richmond to-day: but. with the arrival
Of the people now en- route here. and who
will be here in time for the parade to-
day. we should say that our city has by
long odds the greatest number Of visitors
that she has ever had.
Our streets have been thronged for two
days. and last night they were "black
with people," 1t is a fact that some men
have not found sleeping quarters, but this
was rather because they did not go at it
in the right way than because quarters
were not to be found here. 1t is true,
also. that scores have slept (and very
comfortably, tool in the parks, but near
" all of these We're men who had ar
rived here late at night. or who preferred
a night in the open air to returning to
their quarters in distant parts OF the
city.
SO far the weather has been beautiful;
in the month Of July nothing better could
have been hoped for And, as rule,
we believe the visitors are enjoying them
selves. attending the veterans convention
and the receptions, seeing the sights,
listening to the bands Of music. meeting
old comrades looking at the big men
and pretty women. and In divers other
innocent and agreeable ways. Wonder
full success has so far attended the re-
union. and we may expect it to continue
| to the end.