The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-30

resented the United States in foreign countries, first as minister to Belgium, and afterward as minister to Brazil. He declined the mission to Portugal and also the mission to Holland. He lived in Au- gusta at one time, and was a resident of Atlanta at the time of his death, but was buried in Montgomery. I bore his body to it's last resting place there in the beau tiful capital city of the state that had been the scene of his political contests and triumphs.
 Alexander H. stephens
 Years before that had lowered into the grave all that was mortal of Alexander H. Stephens, who was a champion of the whig party in Georgia when Thomas H. Watts and Henry W. Hilliard were holding it's banner aloft in Alabama, and was a congressional associate of Mr. Hilliard After the dissolution of that party Watts and Hillard allied them selves with the merican-somet called the Nothing as did Ben Hill; but MT. Stephens joined the democratic party and became one of it's national leaders, and on the formation of the Confederate states government he was elected it's vice president, of which event the able giographer of William L. Yancey says:
 MT. Alexander H. D Stephens was chosen vice president because of his high
  practical wisdom with which he would be sure to lead the unionists of the coun- try. It will appear that. of all the wis dom In civil politics eonsecrated to the service of the Confederate states, his stood pre-emnent; and for the brave men who joined their fortunes with that gov ernment none were truer than he.
 GrsenviIle's Distinction
 And now I would be willing to wager a moderate sum that no reader of this arti- cle has taken note of the fact that Greenville, Ala. (which we passed a while ago), has furnished cabinet officers for two nations-an attorney general for the Confederate States of America, and Secretary of the Navy for the United States of America. And it is to be noted that while Thomas H. Watts was serving the Confederate States government in the cabinet, Hilary A. Herbert was fight ing for it in the field,
 An Incredible Prophecy Supposed
 Suppose that, around Confederate camp fire ip those days, some one, as suming the role of a prophet, had told the officer in command of that regiment of ragged Alabama veterans that he would some day be in command of the United States navy, who doubts that that prophets vision was a caseless fabric? ? honor in that camp? Who around that camp fire would have doubted that that prophets vision was a bareless fabric Would not the Alabama colonel have eX- pected to see the" cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn tenn ples, and the great globe itself all smashed into smithereens sooner than the coming to pass of that prophecy?
 Gen. William c. Oates
 And that other rugged old Alabama he- TO. William C. Oates. whose fearless spir- 1t left it's battle-scarred body at Mont gomery a little while ago-when he was leading the famous 'Fifteenth Alabama into battle at Gettysburg, into that charge on Little Round Top, who could have made him believe that he would one day be a general in the army of the govern ment he was then battling against? Yet such was the case, and no one who knew him. doubts that he would have fought as bravely for 1t, had occasion offered, as he did against it when his allegiance was due to another government
 Colonel Herbert as we have seen, is native Of South Carolina but General Oates and Governor Watts were both born in Alabama, in adjoining counties. When I first met General Oates his hair was like the crows wing. When l last met him it was as white as snow, but his appearance gave promise of a good many vars more of earthly life. He was a splendid specimen of physical manhood, and gave four years of the prime of his life to the service of his native state. as soldier in the War Between the States He was in it from it's beginning to its disastrous close, was wounded several times, and lost his right arm in one. ol the battles around Richmond in 1864 The south had no better coldier, no more devoted. loyal son than William c. Oates Her defeat by the overwhelming odds against her in the arena of arms never shook his conviction of the righteousness of her Cause, and a few years ago he published a book which Is valuable contribution to the history of the war in which he gave his good right arm to that Cause, and an interesting narrative of the part borne in it by himself and the gallant regiment he commanded. !, Rose From the Bottom i General Oates had no fortune to start life with. On the contrary, he was born in poverty. His schooling was, therefore enlv such as he could get in little village in Southeast Alabama 50 years ago. After that he worked as acommon