The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1897-07-09
BILL ARp'S WEEKLY Letter.
CONfEDERAfE REUNION Ar NASH.
VILE DRAWS HIM OUT.
OLD VETERANS MEET and WEEP.
Not Tears OF Sorrow, But Caused BY tho
Recalling of Old Memoies OF
the Battlefield.

MY good; happy; genial friend,
Charley Lane, delivered a most en-
joyable lecture on the analysis of
laughter, or "Why Do We Laugh"
Now, if he will analyze our tears and
tell us why do we weep, we will the
better understand another one of the
mysteries of our emotional humanity. |
Why does u man weep when there is |
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 un-
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
quickened into life the hard but heroic
scenes that were living facts third of
century ago. How hard they look
these old soldiers-hard in face and
| feature but soft in heart. 1t seems
to me 1 can pick them out from COM
| mon people. Every wrinkle tells of
service, of suffering and disappoint-
ment. The bronze on their furrowed
faces has never yet been bleached, and
their walk is still true but tired
march. Yes, / can pick them out all
around me. Look at old Captain
Neal, and Major Fonte, and McCand-
less, and Durham, and Mountcastle.
They can't hurry now. Their quick
step has gone. They marched and
counter marched, they advanced and
retreated, they charged and double
quicked for four long years, until the
spring of their instep was worn down
to plane with heel and toe, and now
it is fact that the hollow of the foot
makes n hole in the ground.
But why should an old man weep?
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 rs the
daughter of the confederacy by Gener-
al Gordon, acclamations rent the cir
and reached the heavens and made the
welkin ring. Then everybody cried
except those who had no feehng-no
emotion-no patriotism. Old General
Rk6e woAleasaaRega hofs heayly SeaqlPlS pPSn ann me
turned quickly to took into his face
and saw the tears coursing down as
freely as if he were a boy. AS T brush
ed my own away said: "What is the
matter General? Do you want some
water? Are You about to faint?"
"Oh, no-no," J." said he, 'just let me
alone and hold me up little. L am
feeling good. Thank God for His
mercies. l feel like old Nicodemus
when he said, Now let me die since T
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 tide veterans at Nashville, and
while under the influence of the occa-
sion, the surroundings, the memories
I OF the past and the thoughts that
| breathed and the words that burned.
| they all shed tears or felt like il.
what spectacle for northern ewes.
What a commentary on northern in
tolerances. How long will it take to
eradicate our love for the lost cause or
our admiration for its heroes. Like
father, like son and daughter, and il
is already transmitted adown the line
from generation to generation and in
few years more these reunions will
be baptized with another name and be
called the sons of the confederate vet
erans. L said that probably there
were ten thousand real bona fide con-
iederate veterans gathered at Nash
Vile, for it is fact that our veterans
are swiftly passing away. There are
not lOO,OOO now alive-not more than
one in seven of all who served. There
might have been more, but unpen-
stoned soldiers don't live forever:
neither do they multiply as the years
roll on.
Time cuts down all
Both great and small"
Except 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 breth.
ren. You thought yon were right and
maybe you were. You fought n good
tight and shall have your share of all
this pension money" If Lincoln had
''ou no wouiu nave sald so ana stood
on that platform.
Walter Scott says: "Woe awaits n |
country when she sees the tears of |!
bearded men, ," and so it would be bet
ter to conciliate our people with kind
ness rather than to ALLEVIATE them with
abuse and unfriendly legislation. See
what martyr and hero our people
nave made of Sam Davis, the noble
boy who held his honor dearer than
his life. And this reminds me to saw