The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-07-07
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Tears will Come when War Veterans
Meet,
atlanta Constitution.

atlanta Constitution.
My good, happy, genial friend,
Charley Lane, delivered a most enjoy
able lecture on the analysis of laugh
ter, or "Why Do We Laugh Now,
if he will analyze our tears and tell US
why do We weep, VIC will the better
understand another one Of the mys-
teries of our emotional humanity.
Why does a man weep when there is
no sorrow in his heart-especially an
old mana veteran &? If it were not
pathetic, it would be funny to see the
tears in these old soldiers eyes as
they met and marched and listened to
the martial music or sat together I'M
der the sound of words that came
from the lips of old men eloquent
old comrades in arms-words that
awakened soul stirring memories and
uuickened into life the hard but heroic
scenes that were living facts a third
of a century ago. How hard they
look-these old soldiers-hard in face
and feature but soft in heart. It
seems to me I can pick them out from
common people. Every wrinkle tells
Of service, of suffering and disappoint.
ment. The broze on their furrowed
faces has never yet been bleachcd and
their walk is still a true but tired
march. Yes, I can pick them out all
around me. Look at old Captain
Neal and Major Foute and McCand-
less and Durham and Mountcastle.
They can't hurry now. Their quick
step has gone. They marched and
couuter-marched, they advanced and
retreated, they charged and double
quicked for four long years until the
spring of their instep vas worn down
to a plane with heel and toe and now
it is a fact that the hollow of the foot
makes a hole in the ground.
But why should an old man weep
I remember that when Ben Hills
statue was uncovered and the great
speeches were over and ~queenly Win
ME Davis was brought forward on the
platform and presented to us as the
daughter Of the C~onfederacy by
General Gordon, acclamations rent the
air and reached the heavens and made
the welkin ring. Then everybody
cried except those who had no feeling,
no emotion-no patriotism. Old Gen
eral Black was leaning heavily upon
me and I felt the culver of his mas
sive frame. He leaned more heavily
and I turned quickly to look into his
face and saw the tears coursing down
as freely as if he were a boy. AS l
brushed my own awayI said "What
is the matter, General? Do you want
some water? Are you about to
faint ?"
"Oh, no-no," said he, ':just let
me alone and hold me up a little. [
am feeling good. Thank God for His
mercies. 1 feel like old Nicodemus
when he said, Now let me die since [
have seen thy salvation"
The medical books tell us that tears
are contagious. We all know that and
have experienced it, but ordinarily
our tears come from our own emotions
and not from another's. | suppose
that there were probably ten thousand
bona fde veterans at Nashville, and
while under the influence of the occa-
sion, the surroundings, the memories
of the past and the thoughts that
breathed and the words that burned,
they all shed tears or felt like it.
What a spectacle for Northern eyes.
What a commentary on Northern in
tolerance. How long will it take to
eradicate our love for the lost cause
of our admiration forit heroes. Like
father, like son and daughter, and it
is already, transmitted down the line
from generation to generation and in
a few years more these reunions will
be baptized with another name and
be called the son. of the Confederate
veterans. l said that probably there
were ten thouaand real bona fde Con-
federate veterans gathered at Nash
vile, for it is a fact that u veterans
are swiftly passing away. There are
uUG 1uO,OUO uOW allfC- uoo iloAS ohou
one in even of all who served. There
might have been more, but %unpension-
ed soldiers don't live forever neither
do they multiply as the years roll on.
Thine cuts down al!
Both great and small."
Except a pensioned soldier.
No. For the peace and brotherhood
of all our people it would have been
far better for the North to- have said
thirty years ago: "Now let US be
brethren. You thought you were
right and maybe you were. You
fought a good fight and shall have
your share of all this pension money
If Lincoln had lived he would have
said so and stood on that platform.
Walter Scott says: "Woe awaits a
country when she sees the tears of
bearded men," and so it would be bet
ter to conciliatc our people with kind
ness rather than to ALLEVIATE them with
abuse and unfriendly legislation. See
what a martyr and a hero u people
have made Of Sam Davis, the noble
boy who held his honor dearer than
his life. And this reminds me to say