The banner of the South and planters' journal. (Augusta, Ga.) 1870-18??, December 17, 1870, Page 4, Image 4
4
sa»n« of the jNntfc
»W * i
aw’d
Iplantft’g Journal,
DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE, BORTtCUUtVWt,
NEWS. MEMORIES 0? THE LOST CAUSE,
LITERATURE, BCIEN UK mi ART.
HENRY MOOitE,
A. K. WRIGIIT.
VA T 111 Clv VVALS H .
TERMS $3,00 per Annum, in'Advance.
SATURDAY,DECEMBER 17, 1870.
I Ht The* aid and active co-operation
of the Preen and Public of the South
are ♦arnostly solicited to extend the
circulation of the Banner ok the South
ani> Planters’ Journal. We arc de
termined to make our paper one of the
taut in the country, but we must hare
the assistance of our friends. We re
quire Agents in every section to intro
<lnce it and canvass lor subscribers;
Agents will Ire paid liberally, and sj**-
cimen copies sent. free.
* Our Paper.
In consequence of the failure of the
mill, from 'which wc receive paper, to
give us our usual supply, wc have been
compelled in the last two numbers to
use an inferior article. We hope soon
to lie able to prevent the recurrence
of such disappointments.
The Survivors’ Association of South
Carolina.
The gallant survivors of the Oonfede- i
rate army from the State of Smith
Carolina have united in a friendly and
sympathetic association, perfected an
organization and framed and adopted
a constitution and system of bye-laws,
under the name and style of tho Sur
vivor's Association of the State of
South Carolina. The basis and objects
of tliis Association are briefly and jier
tinently set forth in the following pre
amble and resolution:
Whereas, Tho events of the late war be
tween the Confederate and United Slates of
America are still fresh in the memory of its
survivors, and many Confederate records
now exist which will perish unless those
most deeply Interested in the vindication of
the cause and the memory of their comrades
assume the*duty of preserving them;
And Whereas, Many of the survivors of
the Confederate Army are disabled by
wounds received or disease -contracted in
the service from earning a livelihood for
themselves and their families, and many
widows and orphans an* left destitute by the
death of their husbands and fathers dining
the late war, and as it is a sacred duty in
cumbent upon those of us to whom the'God
of Battles lias spared sufficient health and
strength to labor, to share their means, how
ever small, with such of their more unfortu
nate comrades who still suffer and languish, [
and to assist, as far as possible, the widows j
and orphans of their deceased feliovr-aoldlers; !
therefore, i
Resolved, That we, the delegates from the |
District Survivors’ Associations of the State i
ot South Carolina, do hereby organize a 1
State Association, tor -the purpose erf col- j
leeting and preserving the records relating to i
the late w ar, and the materials for its his
tory, and also for the purpose of assisting
our comrades who are unable to labor bv
reason of wounds received or disease con
tracted in the service, and the widows and
orphans of those who fell in the discharge
of their duty.
Wc know of no language which will
express more clearly or more touching
ly the objects of this noble association
and the lolly purposes and exalted chari
ty of its members. In the article on mem
bership the constitution is equally brief
and explicit. Any person who served in
the Army or Navy of the Confederate
States or was discharged on account of
wounds or disease, may become a mem
ber, and also any person, not in the
Army and Navy who performed service
for the Confederate cause of distinguish
ed gsffiautfy and merit; and the chil
dren of those mentioned above or of
those who died in the service, who
have attained the age of twenty-one
years since 18(10, may become mem
bias. • The officers of the Association
BANNER OF THE SOUTH aND PLANTERS’JOURNAL.
were gallant and distinguished officers
in the Confederate Array, as it was
eminently proper that they should have
been: The President is General Wade
Hampton; the Vice-Presidents: Gen.
M. C. Butler, General li. H. Anderson,
General J, B. Kenshaw, General Sam’l
; McGowan, General A. M. Manigault
| and Major T. G. Barker} the Executive
Hoard, Colonel Edward McCrady, Gen.
Elliapn Capers, General James Connor,
Colonel J. MoCutchen, Colonel W. 11.
Wallace, Colonel J. 11. Rion and Col.
C. Irvine Walker; Secretary, Colonel
A. C- Haskell; Treasurer, Captain W.
K. Bachman.
We feel convinced that there is no
] ,r ue man in the South who will not
i ftiMy endqrse this Association and its
objects and bid a hearty “God speed"
:to the men who have organized and
| *«t it in motion. Although the eon.
i diet is now over-and the smoke of bat
j tie has cleared away, and victorious
| wrong triumph—-for a time at least—
J over vanquished Right, tlwre is noth--
ing ol' shame or of humiliation in the
record of the warriors who battled be
neath the fold# of the Southern Cross.
For more than four years they waged
a war which stands conspicuous in the
history of the world for patriotism the |
most exalted, for heroism without a!
parallel and for fortitude the most un- 1
shaken under misfortunes such :is were
never inflicted upon any other nation;
and when at last the handful of ragged,
bleeding spectres—all that remained of
the army of Northern Virginia—stacked !
| their arms and lowered their colors in the :
| presence of one hundred and thirty |
thousand men—the flower of the Fede I
ral army—the verdict of the world—a
verdict which posterity will receive
and confirm—-was that all the shame
rested u]K>n the victors and all the
honor and all the glory of the strag
gle remained with the vanquish
ed. No ; there is nothing in the re
cord of the Southern soldiery for them
to conceal—nothing of which they may
not feel proud and leave a dearlegacv, to
children and to country. Theirs was the
banner of true Republicanism. In
order then that the historian of the
future—he, to whom will be committed
the task of gathering the material for
a history of the late war, of reconcil
ing conflicting statements and separat
ing fact from fiction—may perform his
t;isk so as to do tardy justice to the
Southern side of the story, it is neces
sary that associations such ns this
should be formed in even* Southern
State. The experience of the past five
years has taught the South that if her
sons do not undertake this labor, her
enemies—those who brought on the
war—more her enemies now than
ever—oertainly will not, for they are
keenly aware of the fact that her
glory is their shame. Nearly every
officer who was in the war in the Cou-!
federate array has facts in his possession I
relating to the war which if made pnb- ;
lie would throw light upon many other-1
wise dark subjects. By the formation
of these associations the survivors of:
the struggle will Ik* put in communion ‘
tion each with the other, they will all ’
meet once, or oftener during the year,
and have opportunities of comparing
notes and communicating the informa
tion which they have of skirmishes,
battles and campaigns. By this means
the South and her cause will have a
hearing at the bar of posterity, and
her portion of the contest will lie
given in the language of impartiality ;
and truth.
With regard to the other object of;
this association but few words are I
needed. Scattered throughout the |
length and breadth of the Southern
country their are, alas'! but too many
poor fellows with empty sleeves or upon j
: crutches who, maiaied while battling
fbr the right, now find it difficult to
| eke out a scanty subsistence; mapy
i helpless widows and orphans, whojse
natural protectors slumber in the
shadows of the Blue Bridge or near
the waters of the Mississippi, who are
engaged in a life struggle, and not al
ways a successful one, to keep the
wolf away from their doors. That
these classes should receive a helping
hand from the more fortunate Sur
vivors, duty and gratitude alike com
bine to demand. In no other way can
this noble work of charity and of love
be more successfully carried out tlian
through the agency of these State
Survivors’ Associations with their
ramifications exteudiug into every
(county and district.
] How long shall it be before Georgia
and every other Southern State )|ive
associations similar to the one which
j lias recently been formed in South Caro
j liual
i ■■■■- j.
Citerarg.
I Written for the Btaurr <rf and Planter*’ !
Journal.
Harvest Gleanings from an Autumn in ’
turope.
BT W. H. W aDDSI.L, VNIVBItsnT OK \
gEßbuja.
LONDON.
NO. 5.
WESTMINSTER ABI.ET"
The capacity of describing vrliat a
man has seen, in style which shall be 1
graphic, perspicuous, brief and enter '
taining, is rarely given to the partieu !
lar parties who 1 litre enjoyed the op '
portunity of seeing for them selyes the |
objects described. It has often pained
the writer indescribably to review;
some accounts which lie has written of:
a scene, which was a source of ex
ceedingly great pleasure to him when
beheld and to be perfectly conscious
how far short his description is of the
original. It is as though a painter
had an ideal face in his thought, and
found, after many trials, that his colors j
were not well mixed or his brushes 1
stiff or his hand unsteady or any of j
the thousand obstacles which interpose
to thwart him had * made all of his
labor null and void, and drawn from
him the sorrowful confession that
whatever might be the merits of his
painting, it was not a true represent/!
lion of his Ideal!
I must confess that I oo nimnce
writing of Westminster Abbey with
the misgivings which might be expect
ed to result from the above train of
reflections. Suppose I say that its
length is 41G feet; Width (I. E. length
| of Transept) 203 feet; Height, 101
j feet and 8 inches ; Height of Towers,
' 225 feet, 1 have given un array of
! figures, which I am very sure carry
' iyith them very little significance to my
| readers, and fail entirely to im
i press him even with the comparatively
I unimportant item of the Dimenion? of
the Abbey..
Iu truth, a Church in Europe, is so
uniformly different from the same
structure in America, that the descrip
tion ought always to be premised by a
definition of terms. Naves, Transepts,
Choirs, Chapels Ac., Ac., are not
commonly found appended to an
American Church, which is usually an
oblong parallelogram, with the Pulpit;
at one end and a Vestibule at the other, i
The usage of the Roman Catholics of
the old days made a very different !
thing of a Church abroad. It was a!- j
most always shaped in the form of a I
Cross, either Latin or Greek. The
Perpendicular Bar of the Cross eon-;
■diluted the Nave: the Horizontal
Bar, the Transept. Along c-acli side of
the Nave ran columns of vast size and
the spaces between these and the
Churcß walls were called Aisles. The
Choir was located sometimes in one
place and sometimes in another. The
same Is true of the Pulpit. *
Let us suppose that you enter at the
.door In the South Transept, This and
the Transept opposite with the Nave
and Cloister are free, for admission; to
the remainder you are charged sixpence
and have to wait until a party of
twelve is formed, when you will be
taken in tow by one of those intolera
ble nuisances, a Guide,’ Who is always
one of the Vergers. While you are
waiting you can examine the Poets
Corner, occupying nearly half of the ;
bouth Transept. This name has lieen
applied to it, because of the number
of Monuments here erected to famous
I oets, although you are by no means
to infer that the mortal remains do, in
every instance, rest here. For exam
ples, here is a monument to Chaucer,
although the Poets bones are else
where. Here is another to Shakspeare,
while his ashes sue reposing in the
Church at Avon. But Spencer’s
Tomb marks the spot where his earthly
part is deposited. He died for want
of bread in King Street, and was
buried here at the expense of the Earl
of Essex. Honorary Monuments with
out number stand* around to the
memory of nearly every prominent
literary character of English history.
In another part of the Transept is a
gravestone over the body of old Dr.
Parr, the Centenarian, who lived to be
152 years old. He staved it off a long
time, but he had to come this at hist.
He lived through the reigns of 10
Kings and Queens, from Edward 4th
to Charles Ist, inclusive. Not far off
fie the bodies of Dr. Johnson, Gar
rick the Actor, Maepbersou, the
Translator of Ossian, Ac., Ac.
The “Party of 12" being by this
time collected, we produce our six
pences and are admitted by the Verger
into, First, The Chapel of Ft. Bene
dict, in which are buried several of the
Deans of Westminster; . Second,
Ft. Edmund, containing 20 monu
ments,—viz,—to Sir William de
Valence, with an effigy of enameled
metal, — to Eleanora de Bohun, the
best brass monument in the Abbey and
to various Princes and Princesses,
whose names are only remembered,
when seen here. Third Chapel, St.
Nicholas , with nothing very note
worthy, and the Fourth , Henry
VlT s Chapel, come next. This last is
superbly fine. The entrance doors are
of oak overlaid with brass and gilt
and are of immense and massive size.
The Portcullis shows the union of the
Roses of York and Lancaster effected
by Henry’s marriage. The Monuments
of this Chapel are an Altar-tomb in the
'centre, of Henry Vllth and bis Queen,
which Lord Bacon calls “one of the
stateliest and daintiest tombs in
Europe." In the vault beneath rests
besides the King and Queen, the cof
fin of James Ist. In the South Aisle
of this Chapel is a tomb of Mary
Queen of Scotts, placed over her re
mains by her son, with an effigy, said
to lie a perfect likeness of that ’ unfor
tunate princess. The marble taco is
exquisitely beautiful, the lines cut with
a degree of graceful elegance that al
most approaches life. Here too lie
the remains of the murdered Duke of
Buckingham. In the opposite Aisle,
(vis-a-vis to poor Mary!) are deposited
the ashes of her murderess, Elizabeth,
with a marble effigy, showing the
proud, haughty face, Roman nose and
strongly marked features of her, so of- i
ten falsely called Good Queen Bess. I
Bloody Mary lies besides her. Ara-I
bella Stuart is close by, and not far off!
the Infant Princes murdered by order !
of RicharU Ilf. How many of these '
royal corpses were made such bv!
' violent means ! Here lie George
Monk, Duke of Albemarle, Charles
i2d V illiam and Mary, Queen Anne,
.George 2d and Queen Caroline and
i Frederick, Prince of Wales, the father
jof George 111. The Fifth Chapel
is that 6t Ft. Paul, of which the most
j notable monuments are those of
4 James Watt, the inventor of the Steam
j Engine and Archbishop Usher, who is
, principally remembered for figuring
j out the age of the world. The Sixth
! and most interesting of all of the
('lmpels is that of Ft. Edward the
Confessor, situated immediately in the
rear of the High Altar. This is called
jthe “Chapel of the Kings.” In the
" centre stands the Shiine for which the
I Chapel was named, viz ; that of King
Edward, the Confessor. It wa« erect
ed by Henry 111, and is strikingly
j beautiful, with its rich mosaics and
j profuse ornamentation. They say that
lleury IV was taken sick while kneel
ing at this shrine, with the illness
which ended his life. I can not des
cribe, —I do not think that* any man
can,—the emotions aroused by these
j marble carved effigies of the dead men,
I who sleep beneath them. Here for
| example, is an altar tomb of Henry
I 111, with an effigy in bronze, —ami,
J near by another, of Edward I, —the
(tomb of 5 huge slabs ot marble, bear
ing the following well known inscrip
! tion—
i AUDI'S TRIM IS, SCOTO RUM MALLEUS,
HIC KBT,"
j ie :
■‘llEß* LIES EDWARD IST THE HAMMER.
Or THE SCOTCH !"
In 1774, this tomb was opened and
there lay the mortal part of Edward
Longshanks—,—a crown of tin-gilt
ntion his head, a capper-gilt Sceptre in
his right hand and another sceptre*
with a Dove in his left! In this royal
state they found him lying and in this
they left him
“SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MI’NllI."
The remaining tombs are those of '
Edward 111 his Queen Phillippa;
Richard 11. and Queen; Henry Y, and
a number of minor personages. Here
are the two Coronation Chaira still
used at the Coronation of the Kings of
England, the first containing beneath
it (as described in a former letter) the
celebrated “Stone of Scone;” the second
Chair, constructed for the coronation
of Mary, Queen of William of Orange.
The Chapels of St. John the Baptist
and of the Abbot Islip may be seen
hurriedly, and we pass but then into
fbe eastern aisle of the North Tran
sept, formerly constituting three Chap
els. We were much struck here with
a monument to Mr. and Mrs. Nightin
gale. If you have any ladies in your
party ldok out for a ’ volley of shrill
ejaculations, interspersed with :ui oc
casional shriek. The floor of the monu
ment represents a skeleton starting out
ot a half opened door and in the act of
launching a dart at the dying woman
who has fallen back into her husband's
arms. Allan Cunningham, the poet,
makes the following commentary upon
this monument, viz:
“The dying woman would do honor
jto any artist. Her right arm and hand
j are considered by Sculptors as the per-
I section ot line workmanship. Life
| seems slowly receding from her taper
; ing fingers and quivering wrist."
It would not interest my readers to
! continue this list of tomb stones. Be
i fore taking our leave we will look at a
j small stone in the middle of the North
[ Aisle, with the world-known inserip
i tion—-“OA rare Ben Jon son \" This
| poet is here buried, standing upright
upon his feet. Near by is Congreve’s
! monument, and near that the tomb of
Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, “buried,"
! says a cotemporary authority “in a very
! fine Brussel’s lace'head-dress, a Holland
: shift with a tucker and double ruffles
i the same laee; a pair of new kid
j gloves and her body wrapped up in a
winding sheet.”
Twenty-seven Kings and Queens are
interredin Westminster Abbey. The
last King of England buried here was
George 11. Statesmen, poets, soldiers,
actors, musicians, divines, all may bo
found here—sleeping quietly together,
some of whom could not live together
without an incessant desire to cut each
other’s throats. Sir Godfrey Kneller
may or may not have meant to append
a separate class to the above named
catalogue,when he declared— lf ßy God,
I will not be buried at Westminster!
They do bury fools there !”