The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-11-19

| erdl Lee, oates Oh MS DEtn anu oc1ei
and quotation from our illustriou:
dead. DUTY is the sibilant word In oul
history. Do your duty always. You
cannot do more. You should not dc
less" AS the unwilling OF the tablet was
the day after the reunion at Memphis
I was deprived Of h pleasure of be
ing with the veterans. Nothing but
such an engagement could have KEEP
me away.
It has been my great privilege this
veal to visit our chapters in California
and I cannot express to you the pleas
ure it gave me. Divided from US by
thousands of miles and one OF the
creates ang of mountains In the
world, three little chapters are faithful
as southern women always are. to oul
great and glorious part. AS they have
no graves to be cared for, no monu-
ments to be erected, they devote their
time to the care of the living and &c
the training of the young minds arounC
them in love and loyalty to the past
At a reception given to me in Los An
gels. a band of young girls came up tic
me. and introduced themselves as the
Grand-daughters of the Confederacy
With all the vigor and earnestness OF
youth they begged me to tell them
what the work was that / wished them
to do. 1.-The Jefferson Davis Monu-
ment," I said, 1T is our first great
duty. n 1 hope in the monument
| that is to be erected, the children of
| the south may lave their own portion,
given by them and inscribed with their
names" They promised to go to work
at once. California has come into our
division ranks They have now five
chapters and they formed their division
while 1 was there. They stretch out
their hands in sympathy with their
sisters of the East and in a letter re-
oaix-oI xyoc%4-Inxy f.o-~ %ha --nc;lorf -
the Los Angeles Chapter, it was asked
II it would be possible to get the
Daughters to come to Los Angeles for
the next convention.
Another matter to lay before you, is
the invitation from Charleston to ap-
point a Daughters of the C~onfederacy
day. I also received an invitation from
Buffalo which I declined, after consult
ing some of our officers. They begged
us to appoint a Daughters of the Con-
federacy day and offered to assist US.
I declined as I felt our memories
were too sacred to be paraded
to the curiosity seekers at the Pan
American exposition. they belong to
the south. n we must keep them
there.
1 have one more matter to report to|
you that may prove of interest. I have
been in correspondence with Susan p
Anthony regarding u United Daugh-|
tiers of the Confederacy, the history of
which she wishes to include in her book
on h Organizations of Woman in the
United States. She wrote me for a his
tory of it. from it's organization to the
present day. See the list of questions,
she asks: What have you accomplish
ed? If a charitable organization
what have you Tor in the way of
charity? If for the collection and dis
bursting of funds. give amounts and
how expended" and end with the-to|
me-significant expression "In other
words. let your works praise you in the
gates"
And now my dear sisters. in all the
flush of joy over u success in the
past year., comes the sad shadow of
sorrow and death. Texas again be-
comes a loss. In the death of Mrs.
Benedette Tobin, the president Of the
Division. our whole organization
loses a valuablt and efficient officer, the
United Daughters of the C~onfederacy
a loyal n loving daughter. I re-
member at the Montgomery Conven-
ticn, noticing her lovely face with it's
marks of patient suffering, as she pore
the flag Of her beloved state. Almost.
her last words were of her work in the
United Daughters of the Confederacy,
expressing love and unfaltering devo-
ton. I wish to read to you what one
who knows and loved her, writes in the
report to the Texas Division: 1.-THE
home is the altar before which Mrs.
Tobin stood as high priestess. There
she was at her best-where her infu-
ence was most felt. Believing that
every earnest woman is a unit in the
grand total hat goes toward lending
a helping hand for the betterment of
humanity, h shirked no duty-her|
heart was always open. her hands al
ways ready,
For the cause that needed assistance
For the wrong that needed resistance 81
1 fondly believe that she was equal
to any text Of character. I know that
she was capable Of siding with the weak
against the strong; that in any great
moral question: question perween|
right and wrong-She could have stood
alone. If need be, against all the pow-
ers Of darkness. She was glad of Iifel
because it gave her a chance to lovel
and work for others. These are thel
little guide posts on the foot path tol
peace. prayerfully adopted by her: ITO
be satisfied with your possessions, but
not contented with yourself until you
have made the best Of them; to dispise|
nothing in the world except f~alsehoodI
and meanness, and to fear nothing ex-i
eept cowardice, to think seldom of your
often OF your friends, and
every day of Christ"
n her health began to TAIL she
never thought of givingsup her duties
her work, her sacred trust, saying
She hoped to die in harness." In her
last moments she spoke of the Texasl
Division. and her love for h cause.
and interest in her work never ceased
Bravely she bore her part until the end
came-it ending OF a true,
useful. unselfish life. There are three
words I would indite upon the tomb oil
Mrs. Benedette B. Tobin-'She was
faithful" The United Daughters of the
C~onfederacy mourn with Texas in her
great sorrow.
And now my dear sisters, my last
words to you as your president, words
OF love and gratitude for all the hap
piness you have brought into my life.
For two years you have conferred upon
me the greatest honor that a southern
woman can have-president of the
United Daughters Of the Confederacy.
To each n all I would like to tell
h this has been to me, but 7 have
no right to detain you. 1 may say,
however. that the friendships and loves
that have come to us, will abide with
uS S1wavC Won hove ha1- -