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q j VINCENT DE PAUL’S SOCIETY
ANNIVERSARY.
run Jay, the 19th ult., was the Festi
val of St." Vincent de Paul. On that day,
•■ilscj, d> e members of the Literary and
Benevolent Society of St. Vincent de
i., u1 l of this city, celebrated the eleventh
adversary of the foundation of their
Xrkty. Os that celebration, I propose,
w itii your permission, to give a brief
ascription ; and to preface it with a
A - words in reference to the origin
{l Va objects of the Society itself. On a
Sunday afternoon, about eleven years
am, three or four gentlemen of the con
(’(ration, in the course of a conversa-
relative to the rapid growth of
Catholic Societies in our neighboring
dfie-, conceived the idea of establishing
cue in this city. On the same evening,
onC of the gentlemen waited upon the
Father Duggan —in reference to
t j u . ffi atter, and succeeded iu obtaining
i,is blessing and approbation for the
, it w Society about to be started. During
:he ensuing week, the same gentleman
(yen- amongst the members of the congre
,:i;ion, taking the names of those who
wi-hed to join the new organization ; and,
b v the Sunday following, he had about
twv uty names. Such was the origin and
foundation of the Society of St. Vincent
(P Paul. Its objects are: the improve
ment of the religious, moral, and intel
], tual condition of its members, and the
relief, as far as possible, of the distressed
members of the congregation. Since
im foundation, it has increased gradually
and steadily; and it numbers at present
about one hundred members. Much of
its success is, doubtless, due to the
activity and energy of its founder, J. D.
Kavanagh, Esq., whose zealous interest
in its behalf, entitles him to great praise.
He was ably seconded in his efforts,
particularly in the infancy of the Socie
ty, by a lamented member of the or
ganization—the late Chas. Turner, Esq.
Without making invidious distinctions, I
may say, that to these gentlemen, and
to our worthy and popular Pastor, (who,
by his advice and encouragement, lias
and /DC much for the Society, and endeared
himself to all its members,) the Society
is under a debt of gratitude for their
exertions in its behalf.
Hut, I am trespassing too much upon
yo r invaluable space ; I will, therefore,
proceed to give a description of the cele
bration. Mass was celebrated in the
morning, at 7 o’clock, by Rev. Father
Duggan. The Society attended in a
I dy, and not less than seventy-five mem
, tiers recived the Holy Communion, It
was a grand and imposing spectacle, to
see that body of men march proudly,
yet meekly, up to the altar of God, to
receive the body and blood of our Sa
| vi< ur Jesus Christ—that loving Saviour,
| who died on the cross lor love of ns, his
| children, and left us his body and blood
1 as a sacrifice, to propitiate for our sins
j and the sins of the world. What a noble
profession of faith! What a glorious tri
umph for our Holy Church was that act
l, t those seventy-five men, in this age of
materialism and unbelief. Truly, the
power which our holy, our grand old
Hunch, exercises over her children, is
wonderful, and not to be accounted for
on human grounds; and blind must bo
tne man who—after witnessing such a
spectacle as that of Sunday morning—
n "till entertain a doubt as to the di
’’huty oi her origin and her mission.
-hr 3d o’clock, P. M., the Society
: | met to receive the annual reports and
cct officers for the ensuing year. (As
' l;o ,'i st °f officers elected has been al-
I j a 'U published, it is unnecessary to
! ' '-'on their names here.) After the
[I H : s wore adopted, and officers elected,
j ' 1 resident addressed the Society in
!| j r-e and forcible speech, describing
• I ; ;‘bd progress of the Society,
j| VI the difficulties against which it had
s '-nd. ]] c reviewed the action of
|| y'oietv since its foundation, con*
| at-Jating the members upon the suc
| " tdeh had attended their efforts, and
I . l! 'iging them to still greater efforts
f ''! i y cause of Charity, lie closed
liU1 iUs tructive address, by calling
■ v e Reverend Pastor to favor the
I . ; v Ihs blessing. Father Dug
■ 1 a few remarks, expressed the great
i- j 0 l . e (clt in witnessing the beauti
■ eddying spectacle they presented
-I? p Dln S’ concluded by giving
I. his benediction. After passing a
H; V j. nk? to tlie out-going Officers,
§■: . l ;. a,l ! es J>f the Altar Society, and
■ ■ uoir, the Society ad journed. They
h i ." aln o’clock, and pro
-Ito the Church to assist at the
lo,' ’• j erection of a statue of St.
■ t.k ue Paul—presented by the So
■ — Oll the altar dedi
H, • • ,l h,s honor, and to hear a eulogy
B V ! u , of ' the Sai »t, by that eloquent
■ Os the faith, Rev. A. J. Ryan.
■ " ere statues of the Blessed Virgin,
St. Joseph, and St. Aloysius, to be blessed
and erected at the same time.
At 8 o’clock, P. M., Vespers com
menced, the Society being accommodated
with chairs, (kindly loaned for the occa
sion by the Captain of No. 5 Fire Com
pany,) in the middle aisle. The St. Aloy
sius Society, and the Guild of the Im
maculate Conception—both being present
on the invitation of the Society—occu
pied seats in front, on the eastern and
western sides of the Church, respective
ly. After the statues were blessed and
erected, Father Ryan explained in a
clear and lucid manner the reasons why
Catholics keep statues and pictures, both
in their Churches and in their homes
Asa Catholic, I have frequently heard
those reasons explained before ; but the
happy manner in which they were ex
plained by Father Ryan, on Sunday
night, could not fail, in my opinion, to
bring conviction home to the mind of the
most bitter enemy of our Holy Religion.
The Reverend gentleman then proceeded
in a most eloquent and impressive ser
mon to give the history of the great
Saint whose festival we were celebrating
—St. Vincent de Paul. He told of the
holy and pious life and sacrifices of the
priesthood, as exemplified in the life of
the Saint; of the sufferings and priva
tions he underwent during the term of
his slavery in Africa; ami of the glorious
triumph he obtained in converting his
very masters to the true faith : of the
manner in which foundling hospitals
for deserted children were first estab
lished by him; of the founding by him
of the Divine order which still bears his
name—the order of the Sisters of Chari
ty; and of the cosmopolitan character of
the great charity and love he bore man
kind ; which were not confined to his
own country—France—but were extend
ed to Ireland and Poland, and, in fact, to
every country and every people.
Alter paying a glowing tribute to the
devotedness and self-sacrifice of the Sisters
of Charity, and showing that the world
recognized the goodness and wisdom of
establishing hospitals for deserted and
destitute children, in having since imita
ted the example of the Saint, the Reve
rend gentleman concluded a most beauti
ful sermon by an exhortation to the mem
bers of the Society ot St. A incent de
Paul, to continue the good work in which
they were engaged, and to endeavor to
imitate the virtue and charity of the great
Saint whose name they adopted, that,
thereby—having spent their short lives
here below in the service of God—they
might merit the reward of the just in the
world to come. I regret my inability to
give a good synopsis of Father Ryan’s
powerful sermon, and particularly so be
cause it constituted the principal feature
in the celebration. The members of the
Society will always hold him ill grate
ful remembrance for his kindness to
them on this as on all other occasions.
Altogether, Sunday, the 19th ult., was
the happiest, the pleasantest, and I must
add, the proudest day in the history of
the Society since its organization. A.
[Correspondence of the Banner of the South.]
ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY EXAMINATION.
Columbus, Ga., July 13, 1868.
Dear Banner:
Is there any little corner for a very
little letter, from a very uirpracticed cor
respondent ? I have not much to say;
but what I have may be of interest to
a few of your readers; and, as lam
only a little girl, unused to writing any
thing but little notes, you will excuse
the faults, or correct them.
On Wednesday, July Bth, Right Rev.
Bishop \ erot, our dear and venerated
Bishop, and dear Father Ryan, whom we
all love so much, arrived in our city, to be
present at the Exhibition of St. Joseph’s
Academy. The Right Rev. Bishop
examined the pupils in their various
studies, all of whom gave evidence of
great improvement, and the good Sisters
felt as honored, as the Bishop was pleased,
with all the Examination. The Distribu
tion was to take place on Thursday, the
9th, but, owing to rain, it was postponed
until the next day. Meanwhile, Father
O’Hara, to the joy of many, had arrived;
but the Bishop was obliged to leave. On
Friday eve, Temperance Hall was
crowded long before seven o’clock by the
elite of our city. At eight o’clock, the
pupils of the Academy inarched into the
Hall, two by two, dressed in white, ac
companied by the Sisters. Father Ryan,
Father O’Hara, and our beloved Pastor,
dear Father Oullinan, Hon. liobt, 11. May,
of your city, and the Sisters, were seated
on the platform. Two by two, across the
platform, marched the girls, beautiful and
radiant with joy, bowed to the clergy, then
to the people, and passed to their seats.
The Opening Address was prettily spoken
by a pretty little girl, with a voice as
sweet as her lace—Katie Murray. A
Grand Duet was then played by Professor
Chase and Miss O’Connor, which was
—— "
loudly applauded by the audience. A
beautiful piece, “The Mourners,” in the
form of a Dialogue, was then spoken by
Misses Terry, M. Murray, Well, K.
Murray, and Nannie Louden. After
this, there was a Distribution of Pre
miums, Father O’Hara calling the names,
and Father Ryan presenting the Pre
miums, to the happy recipients, with a
smile, and a kind, pleasant word for
each. After the first Distribution, Miss
Amelia Kinchley, a beautiful girl, from
Augusta, dressed in deep mourning, with
lAng, flowing, black curls, and with a face
the sweetest of any in the Hall, sang,
“Thou art so Near, and Yet so Far.”
Her pure, sad voice, thrilled the audience,
and, at the close of each verse, she was
rapturously applauded. The song ended,
she was encored, and the audience was
not satisfied until she came out again, and
sang another ballad. Two original essays
were then read: “The Women of the
South, by Miss Alice Simons ; and
“Memories of the South,” by Miss Nannie
Louden. Both were rare productions for
writers so young, and both received un
bounded applause. A duet—piano and
I lute—-by Professor Chase and Miss
Mary DeCottes, another beautiful girl
from Augusta, was then performed. Miss
DeCottes played her part brilliantly, at
first somewhat timid, but soon recovered
her self-possession, and was loudly ap
plauded. There were five Distributions
ol 1 lemiums, and happy were the faces
of the girls when they received the re
ward ot their industry and application.
It would occupy too much space to
enumerate all the songs and names,
which deservedly received the applause
°f tiie large audience. Misses Simons,
Louden, Katie Murray, Sallie Grant,
Terry, Joey, and Graenc, deserve especial
mention, where all did so well.
The Valedictory was .spoken bv Miss
Nannie Louden, with great effect,
bather Ryan then stepped forward, and
delivered one ot his own Addresses, in
his own pleasant manner, and this closed
the Exhibition.
The good Sisters have reason to feel
proud of their pupils, and Father Culli
nan’s face was radiant with joy there, to
see the success of an Institution which
owes him much for his care and interest
in its prosperity; and all went home
happy and pleased with the evening’s
entertainment.
I ather Ryan remained for Sunday, and
preached to a very large congregation,
and, on Tuesday, he left, taking with him
two of our best girls to their homes.
hut, dear Banner, my little letter is
growing so fast that I must, at once, close
by wishing success to the Banner—and,
part icularly, to the columns of Enigmas—
and, by signing myself, truly yours,
Mamie.
NEW VORK CORRESPONDENCE
OF THE BANNER OF THE SOUTH.
'The Heated Term ” in New York—Op
era Bouffe —Blue Beard—Politics—
Sampson Pulling Down the Pillars
&f the Temple—A New National
Programme—lmpropriety of Admit
ting the Claims of the Bogus South
ern Governments.
New York, July 23, 1868.
The intense heat of last week created
a profound sensation in this very sensa
tional city. As to actual thcrmometrical
degree, the sun was not as pitiless here as
the telegraph reports it at the same date
South, being not over 98 when it was 103
in Augusta, but then there was a certain
viciousness about it which was peculiarly
its own. In Augusta, or Atlanta, or
Charleston, or Mobile, while one feels the
heat, one feels, also, that it is simply hot,
and not that it is a sort of demon abroad
in the air, trying his malevolent best to
melt one’s flesh and sear a hole in one’s
skull. A furious, furnace-like, boring
heat was that of this terrible heated week
you may have heard of, and very fatal
to man, bird, and beast. Horses dropped
in the harness, striving, poor faithful
tilings, to move as their masters wanted
them, even when dying, and then these
same masters, in trying to help the
beasts, would be sunstruck too, and have
to be carried off to hospitals and dead
houses that were full of stricken forms.
Even the poor, innocent little song-birds
suffered, and fell down dead from off
their perches, and the mortality among
the canary birds being especially great.
Four days did the sun beat, and had a
fifth day come like the others, there is no
knowing but that the city itself would
have melted and slid off into the sea. It
was quite curious to see some of the de
vices adopted to ward off sunstroke. Such
as the wearing of cabbage leaves in men’s
hats, whence they projected down over
the eye like an arbor, and the garnish
ing of horses’heads, between the ears,
with huge sponges, kept constantly wet.
But,it’s gone, and that’s an end of it,’just
as it was the end of 236 men, women,
and children before it went.
In a prior letter, I mentioned that the
Theatrical, or, if you will, Musical taste,
ofthedaywas turning towards Opera
Bovffe, which is, in plain English, comic,
or buffoon, opera. On last Monday
night, the opera season began with a
spectacle of this description, called
Larbe-Bleue, or Blue-Beard, and a very
fine scene it was These operas are writ
ten in French, and area melange of son* 7 ,
recitative , acting, and dancing. The idea
is to have everything as funny as may be,
always taking care that the fun is not
gross, for as long as it is not that it is q- u
sidered that Opera Bovffe may be ..s
wicked as possible. In this present
specimen of which I tell you, the first
scene was a view of Blue Beard’s Castle
in the distance, and a group of peasants
enjoying themselves in the village at its
foot, singular peasants they arc, how
ever, being all arrayed in silks and satins,
and silver and gold, and much addicted
to singing in the most artistic manner to
the accompaniment of an orchestra of
fifty pieces. Then the villagers go out,
and Larbe-Bleue comes in, singing an
air very much after the old strain, “My
wife’s dead and 1 m going to get another
one.” At this pious determination, Barbe-
Bleue feels so good he executes a war
dance, which is shared in by all his at
tendant knights, twenty in number, and
alidad in scarlet robes,and steel helmets,
and breast-plates. Having found a sixth
wife, Blue Beard espouses the damsel, but
soon tiies ol her, and orders his poisoner
iri-chief to “ take heroff.” This poisoner
being too sensible to kill off a pretty girl
from out this world in which, Heaven
knows, we have too few already, puts her
to sleep in a cave, as he has her five pre
decessors,and Lavbe-Bleae sets out in his
seat cli for another. This is a King’s
daughtei, and the scene presented in the
royal palace is very fine. Not an actor,
or actress, but is arrayed in genuine silks,
and satins, and velvets, and a small army
of sol diers and servants appears. Just as
the I rincess is about to wed, in comes
the poisoner-in chief, with all the six dead
alive wives ot the would-be bridegroom,
Barb e ~Bleue t tagging on behind him, one
alter die other, and a fearful row ensues.
Everybody sings French at the top of
their lungs, and things look mixed gene
rajly. Finally, it seems that the old
King, the Princess’ father, has, at some
remote period in his charming reign, put
to death five noblemen, who, very obliging
ly, now re-appear, and marry off, in
stanter, five ot Blue-Beard’s wives, leav
ing that muen married man to be proper
ly chastised by his last inamorata. Then
a’l sing, dance the can-can , a torrent of
flowers is showered upon the stage, and
Araminta begins to pick up her fan and
opera-glass, and make ready, under the
gallant attendance of Charles Theodore
Augustus, to go home. Such is Opera
Bouffe, the passion of the hour.
In politics, tor, of course, one must
touch on that topic, all looks well, or,if not
well, at least looks this way—that, if we
tall, those whose cruelty" has heaped so
many oppressions upon us, must fall too.
It is going to be a regular Samson pulling
down the pillars of the temple business
this November election, if the Democratic
party fails. The North is really getting
alarmed, and, what, with their fear about
their bonds, and their apprehensions of
war, and a certain dim consciousness that
is creeping over them that they were glo
riously befooled into a great mistake when
they let loose their bloodhounds on the
South, they present a spectacle it is in
teresting to contemplate. Upset Recon
struction, root and branch, drive out the
carpet-baggers, set the Negroes to work,
and let the South alone, is a programme
that is finding a wonderful favor in the
papers and speeches of the day. So mote
it be. To this complexion it must come
at last, but, would that it had come before.
There is a certain matter that should be
touched before I close. Allusion is made
to the propriety of designating anything
connected with the bogus and "pretended
Governments set up in the South at the
point of the bayonet, in a way that shall
mark their utter illegality.
I see sonic papers, through careless
ness, < 1 course, say, “ The Legislature
of Georgia.” What I that select congre
gation of rogues, black, white, and
brown, at Allanta / the Legislature of
Georgia ! As much as a crow is a ring
dove, or a mule a lion. It should be
termed the illegal, or bogus, or pretended,
or scalawag, or jail-bird, or unconstitu
tional, or mongrel Legislature, on all oc
sions, and in both print and speech, it
being useful to keep up the proper dis
tinctions between right and wrong. So
with the person assuming to be Governor
of the State. Charles J. Jenkins is the
Governor ; this fellow an interloper, who
lias forged the name of that honorable
office. The thing can’t stand long, it is
true, but that is no reason it should have
the least admission of validity while it
— m ~
does last. It is rotten and bogus, and
the child of brute force, fraud, treachery,
and niggerism, from beginning to end.
Tyrone Powers.
NEW ORLEANS (UOCQRRESPONDENCE
OF THE BANNER OF THE SOUTH.
New Orleans, Jnly 24, 1868.
Banner oj the South:
In commencing a letter for publication,
one is often at a loss as to whether the
current e\ent> of the day’, or the writer’s
mental abstraction, were the most accept
able to the public.
The dilemma is best solved, I suppose,
by old adage, “Circumstances alter
cases.” If the writer’s brain be addled,
and unfit to furnish anything fresh, then,
by’ all means, let him confine himself to
the bare mention of facts which alway-s
have the merit of truthfulness, and may
often prove usefully suggestive to the
thoughtful reader.
On the other hand, when the times are
barren ot events, the writer is bound to
fall back upon his own mind for the mat
ter of his communication. But the dif
ficulties of this manoeuvre are apparent,
when we reflect oil the well established
maxim, that “mind is not matter” at all.
Now, since letters, like all other things,
require matter for their construction, it
follows that a letter written without mat
ter, either of tact or imagination, will as
suredly be found (as witness the present)
to have “nothing in it.” With this pre
liminary disquisition on epistolary how
pot-to-do it-iveness, proceed we to the
illustration.
The promised Seymour and Blair Rati
fication Meeting came off duly and suc
cesslully last Saturday night, but proved
to be, not by any means, a large party
meeting, but a regular old-fashioned mass
meeting of tla: people , demonstrating
that in this city, at least, there are no
political parties, the whole population
being now patriots, not partisans.
The few foreign wags scattered here
and there amongst us, are merely the
rotten scales recently flopped off from the
hide and tail of the Northern Puritanic
monster, Radicalism—whence their title,
scaly wags—and wouldn’t deserve notice
but for their ability to make themselves
felt and smelt; precisely like their equally
scaly and fragrant prototypes of their own
latitude, by Englishmen politely yclept
. . .bugs !
Since the recently consummated “resto
ration of t Union” between the gentle
men of tue South and the other men
ot the North, you can see the amount of
confidence that lias been therewith re
stored, by referring to the great national
thermometer, Greenbacks, which have
run down some 5 or 6 degrees of per
centage within the few days that have
elapsed since the President’s inimitable
proclamation, announcing the so-called
restoration of States, and the fourteenth
improvement in the Constitution.
1 am still of opinion that Mr. Grant is
the man destined to take hold and run
the machine so soon as Andrew Johnson
retires, no matter what the people may
wish. Should they vote in a body for
someone else, their supreme master,
Congress, will declare the election a
fraud, and request Mr. Grant to step in
with the sword and bayonet, and once
more “save the Union.” Then he, in
order to spare the dear people any further
trouble, will quietly do away with all
future elections, and remain President,
or something else, in perpetua. It is
well known we, the unwilling and pro
testing slaves of the South, are powerless
to prevent this, while the voluntary syco
phants of the other clime, though having
the numbers and the power, are so utterly
cowed and debased in presence of their
Congressional masters, that they dare not
resist.
A feeble looking boatman was recently
summoned for doing “ grievous damage”
to the Delaware River. In the course of
evidence it was proved that he had twice
attempted to pull up stream.
Some Louisianians are surprised at
the new schemes of public oppression and
robbery daily brought up and passed by
our pretended State Legislature; but,
really, there is no good cause for surprise,
considering the character, or rather want
of character, (and of money), that distin
guishes most of its members. Indeed, I
am daily looking for an Act declaring
that “all property, of every kind, in the
State belongs to the Legislature, and is
held by its present possessors only on
sufferance, subject, at any time, to the
order or requisition of the Legislature, or
any member thereof.” The only pre
sumptive cause for the postponement of
this Bill is that its author is hoping for
and expecting a riot, yellow fever, or
some equally happy event, to kill off
some of his fellow-members, and thus
enhance his own proportion of the
plunder.
Now, if I haven’t fairly constructed an
“empty” letter with “nothing in it,” I’ll
give up. Southern Radical.
7