The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-08-21

They ARe NeR Tears eFss, AnN
the Welhinw Up nm1
dovv o. Sacred
Memories.

AM1y ANe Mex TEARS 44 HNNft lag
the victims w ans
dow o. saerea
Memories.
-
My good, happy and genial fEiends
Charley Lane, delivered a most enjoy
able lecture on the analysts Of laugh-
ter, or why DO We Laugh2T Now,
Il he viii analyze our tears and tell us
why we do weep, we will the better un-
derstand another one Of the mysteries
Of our emotions humanity. Why does
3 man weep aen there IS 10 sorrow
ia his heart-especialiy IA aka man
~veteran2 At il wera NOT pathetic it
would be funny to see the teaksin these
old soldiers eyes els they met and
marched and listened to the martial
uusio or sat toaether under che sound
of words en the lips of old
mon ssoq hdas in arms
s~oul-sdrring
memories and quickeneb into Life the
hard but heroic scenes that were lsv-
ing facts a third Of century ago. How
hard they lookzthese old soldiers
hard in face and feature, but soft in
heart. It seems to me + can pick them
out from common people Every wrin-
6le tells Of service, Of ing md dis
appointment. The bronze on their fur
rowedf faces has never yet been bleached
and their walk is still a true but tired
march. Yes, I can pick them out all
around me. Look at old Capt. Neal
and Maj Foute. and McCandless and
Durham and Mountcastle. They can't
hurry now. Their quick step has gone.
They marched and countermarched,
they advanced and r~etreated. they
charged and double-quicked for four
long years, until the spring of their in
step was worn down to a plane with
heel and toe, and now it + a fact that
the hollow of the foot makes a hole in
the ground.
But why should an old nan weep?
/ remember that when Ben Hills statue
was uncovered and the great speeches
were over and queenly Winnie Davis
was brought forward on the platform
and presented t us as the daughter
Of the ~confederacy BY Gen. Gordon, ac-
CARNATIONS rent the air and reached
the heavens and made the weIlxin ring.
Then everybody cried except those who
had no feeling-no emotion-no pa
triotism. Old Gen. Black was leaning
heavily upon me and I felt the CULVER
of his massive frame. He leaned more
heavily and / turned quickly to look
into his face and saw the tears cours-
ing down as freely as If he were a
boy. AS / brushed my own away ]
said: What is the matter, general2
Do you want some water2 Are you
about to faint?"
"0h, no-no," said he, 'just let me
alone and holdime upa little, lam feel
ing good. Thank God for His mer-
cies, I feel like old Nicodemus when
he said: Now let mp die, since I 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 u own emotions and
not from another's. / suppose that
there were probably 10000 bona fde
veterans at Nashville. and while under
the influence Of the occasion, the sur
roundings, the memories Of the past
and the thoughts that breathed andthe
words that burned they all shed tears
or felt like it. What q spectacle for
northern eyes! What a commentary
oE7notfhern intoleranceg Low long
viii II take % eradicate Owe for
the lost cause n our ion Tor its
heroes? Like father he sol and
daughter. and # IS already transmit-
ted down the lire from generation to
generation, and III a lew years more
these reunions will be baptized with
another name and be called the sons
of the confederate veterans. Iaaid that
probably there were 10000 real bona
ide confederate veterans gathered at
Nashville. for It is a fact that our vet
Grams 7 swiftly passing away. There
are not 100000 now alive-not more
than one in seven of all who served.
There might have been more, but un-
pensioneG soldiers don't live forever;
neither do they multiply as the years
roll on.
Time cuts down ALL
Both great ana smallsss
GASSPsA RohSAO1SM hd1u4bf
NO. For the peace and brotherhood
Of all our people it would have been
far better for the north to have said
20 years agos Now let Us be brethren.
1ou thought you were right, and may
be you were. You fought 4 good heht
and shall have your share Of this pen-
sipN money &c Aineoln had liRAd he
emld have said 80 and stood ON that
platform.