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[communicated. I 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