The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-08-13
THE GREAT SPEECH
OF A GEORGIAN.
A FINE PICTURE OF THE
CONFEDERATE SOLDIER.

AahI 80
scribed and His Return From
Bloody Fields to PeacefuI>Pur
suits.
The speech of Hon. James w. Aus
tin. of Atlanta, was one of the finest
features of the reunion, and is as fol-
lows:
A distinguished bishop OF the Moth
odist church tells the story OF an m
pecunious old lady who was engaged In
the infant industry of raising chickens
for revenue only, and who, to reduce her
expenses and enlarge her profits. mt
upon b novel idea OF mixing sawdust
with the bran which she fed to her
feathered tribe. Observing that the un-
suspecting fowls readily ate. n APP
peared to thrive on, their mixed dict,
the thrifty. old dame began to lessen the
quantity of bran and increase the pro-
portion of sawdust until finally the old
lady believed that she had struck al
bonanza In the chicken business. After
time, however, one of her hons, which
had been nourlshed ON this sawdust
regime, took to the nest and in the due
course of natural incubation Matched out
q brood, but when the good dame went
out to examine and count her little pets,
she found that of the five chickens the
Olu nSu udu DtOuBut ous loui VI NV "
had wooden legs N the other was q
~woodpecker.
Whatever may be the result OF the
speech which l am scheduled to hatch
out on this occasion, l can say to the
old soldiers whom L see before me that
from the day / slipped GU Of s. South
Carolina cradle to this good hour, / have
been fed on the pure and unadultersted
milk OF the gospel of Southern senti-
ment my heart has been warmed at the
fires of undying devotion to Southern
memories and Southern traditions, and
that L have never yet been fed and,
thank God, never shall be on the miser-
able sawdust Of false history n vile
slander which would impugn the eter-
nal justice and the absolute right Of the
cause for which you fought, or detract
one iota from the splendor Of your re
nown and from that magnificent legacy
of honor which you carved out with
your swords on a hundred battle fields
to leave as a continuing and imperish,
able inheritance to our children and
your grandchildren's children, and l car
and do further assert and maintain thai
the Southern born boy who can look u n
moved on these battle scared survivors
of "a thousand times the nOblest army thai
ever took the field, was raised on saw
dust, and is as destitute Of sentiment
and barren Of soul as a red streaked
long billed, yellow headed woodpecker
Veterans, as l stand here to-day
reverently in this presence and look ou
with sorrowful eyes on tue empty sleeves
and crippled forms before meas L gazt
with love in my heart on your bronzet
n wrinkled faces, l can feel h spiri
form of fancy stealing softly to my side
and deftly touching with her magic
fingers my trembling eyelids, endow m,
with a vision through which / can SC
thnfila ~ n ro rDlt bonl uort 90,
see the scenes Of other and Of older day
pass in review before me and as L lool
upon those moving pictures of the pas
"There comes a voice that awakens M
soul;
1t is the voice of years that are gone--
They roll before me with their deeds"
Fancy lifts her wand, and 10 | L ca
see your gray hairs turn again to blacl
l can see the burrows on your time worl
faces one by one fade out and on you
checks the rosy glow of youthful vigo
sleeves fill cot with the stalwart limb
OF lusty young manhood. l can see yo
stand out before me the same brigh,
eyed, liOn-hearted, strong and handsom
boys o were when wars rude tocsi
sounded out its loud alarum. And or
the echo of the call to arms has die
away, / can hear your answer. Ready
ny Souhtiy buulLloub auo l. RlvC Ill
alp
l can see you the same stalwart an
handsome sons of the South as 70
march away to battle. l can see yo
leave the happy home, the old HON
where your eyes first saw the light G
day, the old home down on the farm
where you hunted the fox, the opossur
doorstep in boyish sport you pitche
your horseshoe quoits, played leapfrog
marbles, mumblcreg and townball; til
home around whose ample firesid
with its blazing logs where on winte
nights you cracked your hickor,
nuts and roasted yOu sweet pota
toes in the glowing embers tn
old home at whose hearthstone ii
the golden long ago you knelt an,
lisped with childish lips the prayer 20,
said at the knee of that dear form tina
looks down on you today from beyont
the stars with that same ~unquenchabl
n unsearchable love.
Yes, l can see you, veterans, take you,
leave OF the old home. / can see you a.
you go off up the road, turn back ant
wave your arms In one last salute at tn,
little group on the piazza, or clustered
at the gate. L can see your OLD blacl
nanny around whose neck your baby
arms had often twined, standing TO one
side wiping her eyes with her red ban
dana. L can see the old grandfather, toe
feeble to stand, seated In his spIitbot
toned chair, leaning heavily on his cane
but vigorously waving his high hat to
you over the bsnister In q last farewell.
can see the fond mother leaning on
the stronger shoulder Of your ,sister,
straining her dear old eyes through her
glasses to rivet one last lingering, loving
look on her departing boy, but though
heart was heavy as death itself, don't
you remember. veterans, how she and sis
ter, and sweetheart beckoned you ON, to
go on, and how they waved you for
: ward with something like this (exhibit.
ing a lady's handkerchief) the first
flags of the Confederacy@even as the
acalding tears ran down their cheeks,
the hottest drops Of consecrated patrio
tism that ver fell from mortal eyesi
The mother who conceals her grief.
While to her breast her son she presses,
Then breathes a few brave words and brief,
Kissing the patriot brow she blesses.
With no one but her secret God
To know the pain that weighed upon
her,
Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod
Received on freedoms field of honor"
pause to pay but this single tribute
IN tho nhcnd ~ tho Gotth Ia