Newspaper Page Text
Gathering of the Gr
Memorial Day Poem jZ7
ONE
Once more the flaers have their rippled, red way
Over the brave hearts that beat ’neatli the gray:—
Once more the drum
Thrills the message: “They come!
From away—
From away—
O’er the Lowlands—
And Highlands,
Comes the gray—
Comes the gray!”
And the ghost of the ilag which they fought for—
Whose stars and whose red bars they wrought for,
Waves its phantom folds o’er them today!
And nothing of wrong that it stands for its dream
Where the stripes and the loved stars of liberty gleam!
TWO
Once more! * * * * By the blue heaven o’er us, the sod
Seems to thrill at their coming! the strong hills of God
Seem shaken of thunder!
The water-ways under,
Sing louder to Sea, and the breath’s in the clod !
For they know—•
Ah, they know !—
Hills, and rivers in flow,
The sign of the gray,
As they knew it that day
When they fronted the fray!
They know all the brave breasts undaunted,
Whose blood left their meadows enchanted,
And ever they sing and they say:
“Nothing of wrong that they stand for their dream
Where the stars o’er the red stripes of liberty gleam!”
THREE
Blow welcome, O bugles! drums ! beat as ye beat
When the kiss of the wife and the mother fell sweet
On their brows as they went
To the battle—content
To die for the cause that they cherished! Repeat,
O glad land, their story,
And give to their glory—
That fades not with time,
Welcome songs in the chime,
Of the steeples ; the flowers
Of rare fields and bowers—
And the garlanded street!
For their blood, in the sight of all heaven,
For the sake of their loved land was given—
A sacrifice holy and sweet!
Hail to them, marching in honored array
By the glorious sign of the battle-rent gray.
By Frank L Stanton
BISHOP DUB 7 ry ON LEE
The anniversary of the surrender of Gereral Lee at
Appomattox was celebrated by the Hamilton Club, of
Chicago, April Qth, with an elaborate banquet, to
which 3,500 invitations were issued, and of which
two*thirds were accepted. The chief speaker of the
evening was Bishop Dudley, of Kentucky. After trac
ing Lee’s career from boyhood until the surrender at
Appomattox, Bishop Dudley said :
“Governor Theodore Roosevelt, in his ‘Life of Thomas H.
Renton,* says y American Statesmen Series, page 3&): *The
world has never seen better soldiers than those who followed
Lee; and their leader will undoubtedly rank as, without any
exception, the very greatest of all the great captains that the
English-speaking people have ever brought forth; and this
although the last chief of his antagonists may himself claim
to stand as the full equal of Marlborough and tVellington.*
**Colonel Henderson, of the Rritish army, the head of the
great military college, dectares that the five greatest generals
of the English-speaking race are TVellington, Marlborough,
Washington, Lee find Stone wall J ackson: //<? expresses aston*
ishment that three of these men were born in old Virginia* 9 *
J)
FOUR
Blow, bugles! Beat, drums! They were heroes that day
When the bands first played “Dixie” and led the wild way!
And now if the roar
Of the guns shook the shore,
They’d answer their country—they’d fly to the fray!
They would stand, hand to hand,
Heart to heart, for the land;
Their rifles still ringing,
Their war steeds still flinging
The foam in the faces
Of foes in red places—
Their swords swift to slay!
They shrink not from danger—ah, never!
They are patriots and heroes forever!
They are freemen where freedom hath sway!
Glory today that the bugles and guns
Sound a welcoming song for the glorified ones!
FIVE
Forward! March! Ripple, banners, above them once more!
Shout, guns! Wave green signals, O hills! to the shore;
With gales blowing free
Send an answer, O sea!
For their flag knew your white foam—they rode where you roar!
Where your storm-waves are crashing,
Where your lightnings are flashing
Their brave ships were dashing!
O’er broad seas far-streaming
Their grim guns were gleaming,
And their dead—they are dreaming
’Neath the waves evermore!
Under many an alien heaven
In the rocks arc their sepulchers riven.
And their blood maketh holy each shore!
Sing, bugles, in welcome o er inland and wave,
For the gray,—aye the gray is the badge of tiie Brave!
SIX
Hail them, hills! and sing, rivers, in welcome! O sky,
Light your fairest star fires as the old troops march by!
They come to their own—
Where their glories are known,
And the song’s on love’s lips, and the light’s in love's eye!
They come, crowned of glory :
Fame knows their white story;
Love clasps and believes them.
And honor receives them;
And “welcome” is rending
Around earth and sending
It’s music on high!
This is the land they fought for;
This is the proud soil they wrought for
In the great days gone by!
With glory and honor we crown them today,
For God’s in the glory that gleams from the gray!
fiis Labor
ELL. Fairy, how do you
like my handiwork?”
W H Louise Caldwell look-
□ od up from the basket
of flowers which she
was arranging as? she
said this, and gave
her younger sister, who
had just entered the
room and was standing
beside her rhair watch
ing her, a sly little tap
under the chin with
the half-blown bud of a
I.a France rose.
"Almost the very
color of your dimpled
s hock,” she said as she
laid the bud carelessly against the pink
cheek. '‘We’ll have to split calling you
Fairy and call you Pinky.”
"What are all of those evergre n
■wreaths over yonder for?” asked the
younger one, pointing to a large pile of
wreaths which were heaped upon n chair
in a corner of the room, and taking no
notice of her sister's playfulness.
"Oh. those wreaths over yonder; they’re
to place upon the graves of the unknown
soldiers who lie in Soldier’s Rest. Now,
Isn’t this a beauty, say?” linished Louise
as she put the last touch to the basket
and sat back in her chair surveying her
work with an air of perfect satisfaction.
Come along now. Pinky, and see all of
the designs I’ve made, before they are
sent over to the hall.
"Aren’t they beauties? See that anchor;
it is to be placed upon tin- Rifles’ mound.
Look at that cross and the; pillow made
of white roses; they, every one of them,
have a meaning!”
"A meaning! " repeated the younger sis
ter. opening her eyes half in admiiatiou
and half in astonishment, at her sister’s
words.
“Yes, a manning. Kach represents
something; each is a symbol of something.
The cross represents faith, the anchor,
hope, those throe rings intertwined stand
for love, and the wreaths for immortality.
Do you understand? Have you seen the
cannon?” she asked suddenly, without
giving her younger sister time to reply
to her last question.
“The cannon? No. what cannon?”
“Why, the floral cannon that papa is
of Love jgr A. Memorial Day tStory by Elizabeth J Young
going to present to the veterans to place
upon the confederate monument in hon-
or of the visit of the governor. It is
made of yellow and white daisies. It is
over at Memorial hall now. I must go
and tell Josephine to come and clean tip
the dining room, for we’re going to have
company to dinner, and everything m ist
ho in apple-pTe order.”
* * +
“Josephine! Josephine!” she called out
to a young ereole girl who at that mo
ment happened to cross the hall, “I want
you to clean up this room to perfection;
sweep it and dust it good, and polish the
glass and silver until they shine. And
be sure you get out the finest Hnon for t're
table this evening, and set it with mam
ma’s daintiest china.”
“Yas'm,” responded Josephine.
“For we are going to have company t>
dinner—dlntinguished visitors—the gover
nor is coming; Captain Allison and a lot
of others, and. of course, papa will want
to have every honor shown them; any
way, it shall never be said that Caldwell
house lacks hospitality." And the daugh
ter of the house walked out of the room
superbly, a slight tinge flushing her pret
ty face.
Aunt Deb in the kitchen could be de
pended upon without any instructions
from any one. Iler dinners were her
pride, and upon this auspicious occasion
she was equal to the extra demands made
upon her time, strength and temper. For
Aunt Deli's temper was not of the best
by any means. And there Louise con
sidered it best to let well enough alone.
“Aunt Deb, do you know where Fairy
has run off to?” she said, as she entered
the kitchen, more out of curiosity to see
what was going on there than anxiety
-in regard to Fairy’s whereabouts.
’’Lor’ now. Miss Louise, how you fright
en me! I jus’ lak to drap this chicken
pie and smash it all to pieces. I ain't
seen that blessed chile this whole mawn-
ing. Lak enough she’s over at ol' Tony's
cabin.”
Louise having gained the point at which
she was aiming, had no idea of quitting
the kitchen. Fairy was soon forgotten.
‘‘Aunt Deb,” she said ooaxingly, “Just
let me help you a little. You know you've
got to work hard all day and you’ll be
tired this evening; come now. there's a
dear.”
”Lor’, Miss Louise, how you do tease
dls ol' nigger. Well, now, dnr’s dem
aigs dnt I’m a-gwine ter make frosting
out of for to fros' dem lemon pies. You
kin jes’ beat dem till it's ready to put
the sugar and ’struct in. Here, take my
apron, honey; you git your dress all
dirty up.”
V*
Rut where is Fairy all of this time?
Let us follow her. Having rambled about
the quaint old-fashioned garden in search
of amusement until she was thoroughly
tired out, she made her way to I’ncio
Tony’s cabin, which was situated at the
farthest end of the Held. Uncle Tony
was her hero and she was his idol. He
was an old family servant; had belonged
to Major Caldwell’s father before him.
When the war was ended and the slaves
declared free he had Indignantly refused
to accept the freedom offered him and
remained on with the family, honored,
respected and loved by every member .in
general and by Fairy ■ n particular.
“l'nc!e Tony, you just ought to see all
the designs—flower design?—that Lou
ise has made to decorate the
graves with this evening. There’s
ever so many evergreen wreaths
to place on the graves of the unknown
soldiers. And then there's crosses and
anchors and pillows and lots of others,
and they every one have a meaning.
“Th Cross means Faith; the Anchor,
Hope; the Wreaths, Immortality; and the
Pillows, Rest, and oh. Uncle Tony, papa’s
got such a great big pretty cannon all
made out of yellow and white daisies.”
The faithful friend listened with sin
cere sympathy to the childish prattle, his
ebony face lighted with rapt admiration
at the eloquent descriptions," for whatever
interested his Idol interested him.
“lie's going to present it to the veterans
and they are going to place it upon the
confederate monument in honor of the
governor, and Louise says Governor Wil
kinson, of New York, is going to be there,
just a visitor, you know.”
Uncle Tony’s eyes opened wide in as
tonishment at this announcement. A
northern governor to visit the south, and
take part in a memorial service. Who
ever heard of such a thing?
"Wha' did you said the cross meaned,
11T Mis'?" he asked.
“Faith,” responded Fairy promptly,
“and tile anchor, Hope, and oh. Uncle
Tony, I forgot. Louise had three rings
intertwined and she said they stood for
Love."
‘‘What time is it. !1T Mis'?”
‘‘I don't know, but I'll go and see,”
said Fairy, and away she bounded.
Left to himself Tony scratched his
wooly head reflectively for a few minutes,
then as if suddenly having made a res
olution, and fearing to stop lest he should
not carry it out. he turned and went up
the steps into his cabin.
Tiie little house boasted of two rooms,
one was his living room, the other held
his treasures. And an amusing and odd
array they would have appeared to -in
outsider, but to Uncle Tony they were
worth their weight in gold. On the man
tel was a china cup and saucer, a pias
ter of paris companion piece, boy and
girl, and various other knick-knacks that
Fairy had given him at different times,
and upon a table in the middle of the
room was a gorgeous crimson plush
frame containing her picture; all of which
he prized v — y highly, as much for the
giver's sake as for their own.
Seating himself on the floor beside a
hair covered trunk, he rapidly began to
devastate it of its contents and a motley
array they were. There was an old black
lace mantilla that had teen his wife’s.
Aunt Bessie, and which had rnce been the
property of her mistress, old and brown
and rusty looking. There were two little
flags that Fairy had used in school upon
Columbus day celebration, and which she
had given him There were other things,
but selecting these two he put them aside
and returned the rest to the trunk.
“Why, Uncle Tony, what are you do
ing?” asked Fairy as she returned to the
house about half an hour later and found
him hurriedly constructing the frame for
a cross, using an upturned soap box for
the base; having bored a hole in the mid
dle he inserted the crossed piece.
“They’re all at dinner; there’s lots of
company there ar.d they’ve got lots of
good things ro eat. I Just had to stop and
peep In,” explained Fairy by way of
apology for her long absence, “and Aunt
Deb gave mo this piece of lemon p!e;
won’t you have a piece? Rut what In the
world are you making. Uncle Tony?”
Uncle Tony seated himself upon the
step and accepted the offered sweet.
“What time did you say it was?" he
asked.
“Oh. yes! I'd forgotten. It’s 3 o clock
and. the exercises begin at 3. It will soon
be time to go. and I'm going with you.
Uncle Tony, but you haven't told me what
you are making yet?" finished Fairy.
“Now. you jes' wait, honey, and you’ll
gee pretty soon. What do moss mean?
“Moss?” repeated Fairy, “What kind of
moss?"
“Gray moss, moss what's growing on
dese trees overhead.”
“I'll go nnd get my book on the flower
language and see.”
She was gone some time, and when she
returned was dressed and all ready to go
to the graveyard.
“It means love. Uncle Tony, maternal
love, affectionate love—" but here she
stopped in wonder and astonishment.
The frame of the cross having been com
pleted, he had covered it with mess from
the overhanging trees, made tight anil
secure by a fine w!re which he had
wrapped round and round It as he pro
gressed. The black lace scarf was
draped over the cross piece and hung in
graceful folds to the base of the cross.
He had deftly cut out a number of stars
from gold paper. These peeped from be
hind the drapery. Ovor the top he had
crossed the two miniature flags.
“There now. it’s finished I1T miss,” he
said as he stood back nr.d surveyed his
work with a pleased expression. I’ll go
and dress now, an’ den you’ll seo what
I’s a-gwlne ter do wld It."
Fairy made no comments, but thus as
sured waited patiently whllo he made his
toilet.
* * * *
“It’s time to go," she sa!d as he came
out. “I saw papa and the rest of them go
pome time ago. Hurry up or we’ll be
late.”
“I’m ready; come erlong," and taking
up the queer looking object they both set
out. The exercises were just about to
begin. The beautiful flowers placed upon
the graves round about made a lavish
and gorgeous display.
"Why, I declare, papa,” exclaimed
Louise as she happened to glance out
of the carriage window, “if there isn't
Fairy with Uncle Tony. My goodness!
what can that tiling bo? See. papa, that
queer looking thing he’s carrying. What
is he going to do with it. I wonder?” for
Uncle Tony, nothing daunted by ail that
luxurious display and the curious crowd,
had walked boldly up to the governor.
Fairy, trustingly, smilingly, stood by
his side, her dainty hand clasped tightly
in his toll worn, shriveled palm. Gov
ernor Winthrope stood talking to Gov
ernor Wilkinson, the visiting governor
from New York.
Uncle Tony touched the former lightly
on the sleeve. He turned, recognized
his little friend Fairy, and held out his
hand cordially, while a bright smile
lighted up his face.
“Well,” he said, turning to Uncle Tony,
“what can I do for you. my boy?”
“Massa,” stammered Tony by way of
explanation. “I've brought you a present.
I thought you’d like it." and ho hastened
to explain; “The cross means Faith,
massa. an' de moss means Love—'ternnl
love, ’fectlonate love—love for dem what
spitefully use you and persecute you.”
The governor gasped. “Go on,” was all
he said. The spectators around looked
on wonderlr.gly.
"De stars stan' for de no/t and de
souf. and de veil’s to hide de past.”
Uncle Tony stopped. He had talked
very rapidly and ho was tired.
“And the two flags crossed?” asked his
excellency, “what do they represent?”
“De norf an' souf united, massa. dat
mean dut dnr'll be no mo' war. dat mean
dnt we nil be brethern.”
* * + >!»
The exercises of the day were over, and
the people wended their way homeward.
Upon the broad gallery of Caldwell man
sion sat the host nnd his distinguished
guests discussing the events of the day.
In the governor’s lap was seatod Fairy.
Ills dear little friend,
“Uncle Tony said it *.vaa his labor of
love," she whispered shyly Into Ills ear.
And the trray-haired veteran, ns ho
bent and kissed the upturned lips, re
sponded :
"And you must tell him. dear, that his
labor of love haa not been In vain.”
i u
8
S M