The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1911-05-25
SCOTLAND NECK, N. C., THURSDAY, MAY Is, 1911.

had always been. Not day passed
. by that the world was not the better
because this man, humble as he was,
had lived. He uttered truths that
wrought upon and moulded the lives
Of those who heard him, and the
pure and high simplicity of his
thought took shape in the good deeds
that dropped silently from his hand.
And still he gazed upon the Great
Stone Face. And in turn the states
man and the poet returned to the
valley, bearing with them the plaud-
its of the world, and the people in
turn looked upon them and said that
the man had come at last. But
Ernest turned away, melancholy and
almost despondent, fer the man had
not yet come. And he linked his
arm within that of the poet and to-
gether they went down into the val
ley where Ernest was to deliver an
address to the inhabitants in the
open air, and as he assembled the pull
pit he faced the people as did the
Great Stone Face upon the side of
the mountain, and as he spoke his
words had power because they ac-
corded with his thoughts and his
thoughts had reality and depth be
cause they harmonlzed with the life
he had always lived, and the poet
thought that the words Ernest spoke
were robler strain Of poetry than
ever he had written. And at that
moment. in sympathy with thought
he was about to utter, the face of
Ernest assumed a grandeur Of ex-
preston SO imbued with bepevolence
that the poet, by an irresistible i'm
pulse, threw his arms aloft and
shouted, Behold, behold, Ernest il
himself the likeness Of the Great
Stone Facet And ell the people
looked and saw what the deep-sight
| ed poet said was true. By looking
upon the Great Stone Face he had
become like it. and the genteness,
the benevolence, the nobleness which
it represented shone forth IN his
countenance and was eXemplifieG il
his daily life.
SO it was with the Confederate
soldier. There at the head OF
the grandest army Of the nohlea;
soldiers that ever marched TO bat-
tie, an embodiment cf the best
generalship tf.at time had ever lcok
Ell upon, the impersonatiOn Of every
manly virtue, Of all that is great enc
true and best, stood him, whom The
Union arnly led on the mountain TOP
Of temptation and before his ia2aGi-
ration arrayed q splendid pageant oi
conquering armies, swayed by his
word of command. who badc The
tempter get behind him and walked
down that mountain OF glittecing
prospects to the plain of patriotism
and duty where the Southern army
awaited his leadership, f1oper1 4.
Lee, Caesar without his crimes, Bone
part without his ambitions, and
George Washington without hi:
crown Of success. And the Confed-
crate soldier looked upon him and
became like him. Surely be was {
soldier of character. | remember
having heard the Chaplain of Lees
army, ]. William Jones, when he
spoke here twelve or fourteen years
ago, tell of a Confederate soldier.
who, while in the midst OF an un-
comfortably hot fight, and seeing &
rabbit beating an exceedingly nasty
retreat to the rear, exclaimed in ap-
prOval Of the course the rabbit was
taking, 'Go it, molly cotton tail, if
[ didn't have q character to main
tain, l would sho' go with you. .
And it was that character that made
the Confederate soldier the best sol
der that has ever fought a battle.
Gaunt poverty stalked abroad in
the land sickenlng the heart Of the
soldier as he thought of the wife ana
little ones at home deprived of every
thing but the bare necessities Of life
and oftentimes even these, the moth
er at home sending all that was pos
sibIe to spare from the little ones tc
keep the country's soldiers from
starvation. And yet We see min
clinging to his colors while wife and
child at home clutched at his courage
with cries for bread, that courage
: which bounded all the depths anC
shoals Of misfortune and for tins
throttled fate itself. What but til,
splendid discipline and the incom
parable character Of the Confeder
E ate soldiers could have kept hin
= from deserting his post Of duty un
! der such trials IS these and return
to his home, there to comfort, pro
, tect and provide for his loved ones
! The Confederate soldier was hon
, est in his convictions and nothing
2 short of death itself could keep hin
' from the field Of battle. In a con
e ference between the Confederat
e States and the United States 0
n America held at Hampton Roads Ii
i which Lincoln and Grant and Stan
2 ton we're present, representing tn
: United States, and Judge Robei-
Y Ould and one Or more gentlemen re
e presented the Confederate States
e Judge Ould opened the conferenc
e with Mr.. Lincoln by representing t
v him the difficulty the South ha
f with supplying the prisons with foo'
e and medicine and then rendered t
o the United States authorities tn
! whole two hundred seventy thous
!, and Federal prisoners in the Sout
d for the return Of two hundre
e twenty-five thousand of their owi
!, in prison at the North. Mr.. LincoI
f appeared pleased with the proposi
n ton and was favorably inclined t.
d accept but was met by porenptor
e and fiat refusal from General Grant
;, t.<y NJ. ;pccly