The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-13
WOMEN OF MONTGOMERY
 ENTER TANNED OLD SOLDIERS
Brilliant Reception and Interesting Exercises at City Building Address by Mrs. COry--POem
 by Father Brannan.

tnlng new to him to reply to addresses of women. He was unprepared, but he considered it on honor to have been se- lected for the pleasant duty. It was a great pleasure to be entertained by the people of Montgomery especially, but il was a pleasure to be welcomed so heart. lily by the women. Words could hardly express the appreciation felt by himself and his fellow veterans. He said that the entertainment and welcome had been be- gun by the men of the city, but as it was often in life the matter was turned over to the women-the White House Associa- tion. the Ladies' Memorial Association and the Daughters of the Confederacy. General Harrison said that he was a gi eat admirer of women and theil achievements. and paid a special tribute to the heroism and splendid work of the women during the war.
 In reference to Mrs. Cory's remarks he said he almost wished that the door oi welcome some day might be shut so that | the women could fling it wide open and disclose to his eyes the faces of the glo- | rious women of his State. General Harrison was followed by the singing of a song, Long Aga" the words | of which were compos ed by Judge J. M | Carmichael. A quartette. Messrs. Will | liam Christian, w. L. VanPelt, P Min | derhout and Marshall King, rendered the | song to the air When You and 1 Were Young, Maggie" All he veterans joined 1 in the stirring chorus. Miss Murphree Of Troy sang a song in character which was especially enjoyed She appeared in a dress of her mother S which had been spun by her and worn during the war-literally a "homespun" dress, and sang the sung, The Home spun Dress" Miss Murphree made a delightful impression and was loudly ap- plauded.
 Father Brannon's Poem,
 An impromptu feature of the program was the reading by request of an original poem by Rev. Father Brannan of Wealth erford, Tex.
 The poem, beautiful in its spirit, stirred the hearts of the veterans. The reader was heard with sympathetic attention, and at times throughout the verses was given silent tribute of tears.
 The poem, which was written for the occasion, is as follows:
 In spirit we go back today,
 When all of us were young and strong; When we were proud to wear the gray,
 Opposed to what we thought was wrong When every man stood at his post,
 To do. to dare, and to obey, To prove he loved his country most,
 Resigned to give his life away. lis sad. yet sweet, now to recall,
 The hardships that we underwent; Far worse than Caesar's when in Gaul,
 For often we had not a cent. And haversacks were mighty slim, And everything was. oh! so blue: It almost made the eyes grow dim,
 10 find the rations that we drew. But then 1t was some recompense,
 To slip at night among the trees; And take a turkey off the fence,
 Or rob d fruitful hive of bees. And, maybe. we would get> shote,
 If not, a chicken. or a goose; If nothing else, a billy goat,
 Or anything that lay round loose. The weary mSrch who can forget
 So tired. hungry. sleepy too; TrudR1ng along in cold and wet,
 Trying to find those men in blue. Ana washday, that was something great,
 Wed wash in some stream flowing by; Sit clotheslesS on the banks and wait
 For shirt and other things to dry. Our troubles were enough by day,
 And often they were worse at night. He could not sleep, he could not pray,
 For every soldier got a bite. And often he would have to rise
 And hold his shirt above the blaze: Their numbers try to minimize,
 Ana shorten thus their length of days. But after all we now delight
 To bring once more to memory's door, The beating drum, the march, the fight
 And comrades brave whove gone before The cannon's boom, the screeching shell.
 The fierce contention on the field. The bayonet and the rebel yell'
 Before which everything would yield. Oh how I love to bring to mind
 Dear old Virginias many charms; Her people knightly and refined,
 Her lovely streams. her vernal farms. Her purple mountains. skies so blue,
 The old turnpike, the fence of stone: The clover fields all wet with dew,
 And other beauties all her own. Farewell dear Richmond on the James,
 Farewell sweet Valley Shenandoah; Farewell grand State, which still pro-
 claims
 The Valor which was shown of yore, In silent graves, where now do sleep,
 The cold remains of those who died. Where Memory shall her vigils keep,
 While truth and honor shall abide. The Southern soldier has no cause
 To be ashamed of anything. The world may now withhold applause,
 But unborn poets yet shall sing In glowing language of his name.
 Will tell the story of his past,