Author 
 
 ^^f *o^ 
 
 o 
 
 z: 
 
 o 
 
 Title 
 
 Imprint 
 
 ■Dzt Ty 
 
 16—47372-3 GPO 
 
FUNERAL ORATION 
 
 Pronounced in the Opera House 
 
 IN 
 
 AUGUSTA GEORGIA, 
 
 DECEMBER 11th, 1889. 
 UPON THE OCCASION OF THE MEMORIAL SERVICES 
 
 IN HONOR OF 
 
 PRESIDEINT JE;FFI1H^0N DAYIg 
 
 BY 
 
 COL. CHAKLES C. JOl^ES, Jr., LL. D. 
 
 Prbsident op the Conpbdbrate Survivors' Association 
 
 AUGUSTA, GA. 
 
 Chronicle Pbintins Establishment. 
 
 1889 
 
 BBH 
 
IN HONOR OF 
 
 z3/ 
 
 JEFFERSON DAVIS 
 
 HELD AT 
 
 AUGUSTA, GA. 
 
 December the 11th, 1889 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Confederale Sufvivofs' Association 
 
 ,«.\taiIl7#A.„, 
 
FUNERAL ORATION 
 
 Pronounced in the Opera House 
 
 AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, 
 
 DECEMBER Uth, 1889. 
 
 UPON THE OCCASION OF THE MEMORIAL SERVICES 
 
 IN HONOR OF 
 
 pre;side]nt jeffkrbon dayi^ 
 
 COL. CHARLES C. JOI^ES, Jr., LL. D. 
 
 President op the Confederate Survivors' Association.! 
 
 AUGUSTA, GA. 
 
 Chronicle Printing Establishment. 
 1889 
 
ti^G-7 
 
 ■ \J 
 
 7 
 
THE ORATION- 
 
 Ladies and Grentlemen : 
 
 In yielding to the solicitation of my 
 brethren of the Confederate Survivors' 
 Association to address you on this mem- 
 orial occasion, I was appalled at the short- 
 ness of the period allotted for preparation, 
 and at the magnitude of the theme suggest- 
 ed for our contemplation. T am painfully 
 aware that under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances in any attempt to remind you 
 of the virtues and the services of the illus- 
 trious dead in whose honor we are assem- 
 bled, everything I could sav would be an- 
 ticipated by your thoughts, and I would 
 suffer the reproach of falling far below 
 them. Nevertheless, answering the call of 
 an Association whose lightest request is to 
 me a command, with all the traditions of 
 a consecrated past thrilling through my 
 veins, and cherishing an admiration most 
 profound for the character and acts of him 
 who but yesterday was the noblest living 
 embodiment of Confederate manhood, 1 
 respond, as best I may, to the needs of this 
 occasion, craving your generous indul- 
 gence if I fulfill not the expectation of the 
 hour. 
 
 When Wilkie was in the Escurial study- 
 ing those famous pictures which have so 
 long attracted the notice of all lovers of 
 art, an old Jeronymite said to him; I have 
 sat daily in sight of those paintings for 
 uearlv four score years. During that time 
 all who were more aged than myself have 
 passed away. My contemporaries are 
 tfone. Many younger than myself are in 
 their graves; and still the dgures upon 
 those canvasses remain unchanged. I look 
 at them until I sometimes think they are 
 the realities and we but the shadows. 
 
6 
 
 The battle scenes which the heroes of the 
 South have painted ; the memories which 
 Confederate valor, loyalty, and endurance 
 have bequeathed ; the blessed recollections 
 which the pious labors, the saintly minis- 
 trations, and the more than Hpartan inspi- 
 ration of the women of the Revolution 
 have embalmed, these will dignify for all 
 time the annals of the civilized world ; but 
 the actors in that memorable crisis, they, 
 —the shadows— will pass away. Johnston 
 —the Bayard of the South — Jackson,— our 
 military meteor streaming upward and 
 onward in an unbroken track of light and 
 ascending to the skies in the zenith of his 
 fame— Lee — the most stainless of earthly 
 commanders and, except in fortune, the 
 greatest — and multitudes of their com- 
 panions in arms have already gone 
 
 "To where beyond these voices there is 
 peace." 
 
 But yesterday Jefferson Davis -the com- 
 mander of them all — the most distinguished 
 representative of a cause which electrified 
 the civilized world by the grandeur of its 
 sacrifices, the dignity and rectitude of its 
 aims, the nobility of its pursuit, and the 
 magnitude and brilliancy of the deeds per- 
 formed in its support, entered into rest. 
 The President of the dead Confederacy lies 
 in state in the metropolis of the South, 
 and every Southern commonwealth is 
 clothed in the habiliments of mourn- 
 ing. At this moment, throughout 
 the wide borders of this Southern 
 land, there is not a village or a 
 hamlet which bears not the tokens of sor- 
 row. By common consent the entire re- 
 gion consecrates this hour to the observ- 
 ance of funeral ceremonies in honor of our 
 departed chief. General and heartfelt 
 grief pervades the whole territory once 
 claimed by the Confederacy. Was sorrow 
 so spontaneous, so genuine, so unselfish, so 
 universal, ever known in the history of 
 community and nation— sorrow at the de- 
 parture of one who long ago refrained 
 from a participation in public affairs, who 
 had no pecuniary or political legacies to 
 
bequeath, and whose supreme blessings 
 were utterly devoid of utilitarian advan- 
 tage? This spectacle, grand, pathetic, and 
 unique, is not incapable of explanation or 
 devoid of special significance. 
 
 Within that coffin in New Orleans in 
 silent majesty reposes all that was mortal 
 of him whom impartial history will desig- 
 nate as one of the most remarkable men of 
 the nineteenth century. Around his bier 
 in profound respect and loving veneration 
 are assembled the trustworthy representa- 
 tives of the South. Encircling that vener- 
 able and uncrowned head are memories 
 of valor, of knightly courtesy, of intel- 
 lectual, moral, and political pre-eminence, 
 of high endeavor, and of heroic martyr- 
 dom. In that dignified form— so calm, so 
 cold in the embrace of death — we recog- 
 nized the highest type of the Southern 
 geLtleman. In his person, carriage, cul- 
 tivated address, and superior endowments, 
 we hailed the culmination of our patri 
 archal civilization. In him was personified 
 all that was highest, truest, grand- 
 est, alike in the hour of triumph 
 and in the day of defeat. He was 
 the chosen head and the prime exponent of 
 the aspirations and the heroism of the 
 Southern Confederacy. As such his peo- 
 ple looked up to and rallied ai'ound him in 
 the period of proud endeavor, and as such 
 they still saluted him amid the gloom of 
 disappointment. As we approach that 
 revered form and render signal tribute at 
 the grave of our dead President, every 
 recollection of a glsrious past is revived, 
 and our souls are filled with memories over 
 which;. the "iniquity of oblivion" should 
 never be allowed blindly to "scatter her 
 poppy." It is a great privilege, my friends, 
 to render honor to this illustrious man. 
 Ours be the mission to guard well his mem- 
 ory — accepting it in the present and com- 
 mending it to the future as redolent of 
 manhood most exalted, of virtues varied 
 and most admirable. 
 
 Although no Federal Flag be displayed 
 at half-mast, or Union guns deliver the 
 funeral salute customary upon the demise 
 of an ex-Secretary of War, we may regard 
 
with composure the littleness of the at- 
 tempted slight, and pity the timidity, the 
 narrow-mindedness, and the malevolence 
 of the powers that be. The great soul of 
 the dead chief has passed into a higher, 
 a purer sphere uncontaminated by sec- 
 tional hatred, wholly purged of all dross 
 engendered by contemptible human ani- 
 mosity. 
 
 It were impossible, my friends, within 
 the limits of this hour to even allude to 
 the leading events and mighty occurrences 
 in the life and career ot him whose 
 obsequies we are now solemnizing. Born 
 of Georgia parents in bountiful 
 Kentucky, while yet an infant his 
 home was transferred to Missis- 
 sippi, where his childhood and youth were 
 spent in a community remarkable for the 
 lofty, honorable, hospitable, and courteous 
 bearing of its men, and the chastity, 
 polish, and loveliness of its women. In 
 such an atmosphere he acquired at the 
 outset those gallant, urbane, refined, 
 elevated, and commanding traits which 
 characterized him through the whole 
 course of his prominent and checkered 
 career. 
 
 Leaving Transylvania college in 1S24, he 
 entered the United Htates Milita ry Academy 
 at West Point. Upon his graduation in 
 1828 he was assigned to the First Infantry, 
 aud saw his earliest active service in the 
 Black-Hawk war. On June 30, 1835, he re- 
 signed his commission as first lieutenant 
 of Dragoons; and, having married a 
 daughter of Col. Zachary Taylor — after- 
 wards President of this Republic — estab- 
 lished his home near Vicksburg where, 
 pursuing the avocation of a cotton planter, 
 for some eight years he led a retired life 
 devoted to earnest thought and intelligent 
 study. Entering the political arena in 
 1843 in the midst of an exciting guberna- 
 torial canvass, he rapidly acquired such 
 popularity as a public speaker and as a 
 political leader, that two years afterwards 
 he was complimented with a seat in the 
 Lower House of the National Congress. 
 During this service, and in debates upon 
 prominent issues, he bore a leading part; 
 
9 
 
 never once wavering in his devotion to the 
 Union of our fathers, but, on the contrary, 
 with loyal lip and ready hand endeavor- 
 ing to promote the ''common glory of our 
 common country." 
 
 In June, 1846, he resigned his seat in 
 Congress to accept the colonelcy of the 
 First Regiment of Mississippi Rifles, to 
 which position he had been unanimously 
 elected. Joining his commaod at New 
 Orleans, he proceeded at once to reinforce 
 Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande and, during 
 our war with Mexico, conducted himself 
 with a courage and soldierly skill which 
 reflected honor upon American arms, en- 
 riched the history of that important period, 
 and won for him, from the chief executive 
 of the nation, promotion to the grade of 
 brigadier general. 
 
 Well do you remember the conspicuous 
 gallantry of Ool. Davis when, at Monterey, 
 he stormed Fort Leneria without bayonets, 
 and, amid a hurricane of shot and shell, 
 led his regiment as far as the Grand Plaza. 
 At Buena Vista, too, he attracted the 
 notice of, and evoked hearty plaudits from 
 the entire army of invasion It was there, 
 by his celebrated V-shaped formation that, 
 unsupported, with his regiment he utterly 
 routed a charging brigade of Mexican 
 Lancers, thrilling the natioa by the bril- 
 liancy and the intrepidity of the move- 
 ment, and eliciting from the commanding 
 general commendation couched in the 
 most complimentary terms. It was then, 
 my countrymen, that he received a severe 
 wound from the eilects of which he suf- 
 fered to the day of his death. Yes, my 
 friends, for more than fort? years Jefifer- 
 son Davis bore upon his person the marks 
 of a painful and well-nigh mortal hurt en- 
 countered ia supporting the flag of his 
 country. 
 
 Entering the United States Senate in 
 1847, he became chairman of the committee 
 on military affairs, and exerted an influ 
 ence second to none ia the discussion and 
 settlement of the important questions 
 which then agitated the legislative mind. 
 
 Upon the election of Gen. Pierce as 
 President of the United States, Senator 
 
10 
 
 Davis accepted from his hands the port- 
 folio of war; and, I am persuaded that I 
 indu'ge in no extravagant statement when 
 I afHrm that his administration of the af- 
 fairs of that important bureau was more 
 efficient, noteworthy, and satisfactory 
 than that of any cabinet officer who pre- 
 ceded or has followed him in that position. 
 This I believe to be the consentient verdict 
 alike of friend and enemy. 
 
 Resuming his seat in the Senate Cham 
 ber in 1857, he was recognized as the Demo- 
 cratic leader of the 36th Congress. This 
 distinguisbed honor he maintained, with 
 consummate ability, during a period of 
 unusual anxiety and profound responsi- 
 bility, until the secession of Mississippi in 
 January, 1861, when he withdrew from the 
 national councils and returned home, 
 where a commission as commander-in- 
 chief of the Army of Mississippi awaited 
 him. 
 
 In this exciting political service no 
 smell of fire touched the hem of 
 his garment. No truculent spirit 
 contaminated the manhood of his 
 soul. No utilitarian methods dwarfed the 
 dignity of his acts, or questionable policy 
 impaired the honesty of his utterances. 
 With no uncertain voice he denounced all 
 partisans who purposed an obliteration of 
 the landmarks of the fathers. The doc- 
 trine of popular sovereignty he utterly 
 repudiated. Carefully distinguishing "be- 
 tween the independence which the States 
 had achieved at great cost," and the Union 
 which had been compassed by an expendi- 
 ture of "little time, little money, and no 
 blood," he eloquently and effectively 
 maintained the State-right's theory which 
 had taken such firm root in the constitu- 
 tional thought of the Southern people. 
 Although the admitted champion of his 
 section, he professed and exhibited an 
 abounding love for the Union, and avowed 
 a willingness to make any sacrifice, con- 
 sistent with the preservation of constitu- 
 tional liberty, to avert the impending 
 struggle. Mr. Davis was no political 
 iconoclast — no disunionist in the vulgar 
 |! acceptation of that term. 
 
11 
 
 Tn the first volume of his "Rise and Fall 
 of the Confederate Government," he has 
 presented in a masterly manner his views 
 upon the weighty question of the reserved 
 rights of the States, and has submitted to 
 the world an argument which, in my judg- 
 ment, has not yet been answered save by 
 the arbitrament of tbe sword, clearly 
 demonstrating that the "Southern States 
 had rightfully the power to withdraw from 
 a union into which they had, as sovereign 
 communities, voluntarily entered; that 
 the denial of that right was a viola- 
 tion of the letter and spirit of 
 the compact between the states; and that 
 the war waged by the Federal government 
 against the seceding States was in disre- 
 gard of the limitations of the constitution, 
 and destructive of the principles of the 
 Declaration of Independence." 
 
 I have no desire, my countrymen, in this 
 presence and on this occasion, to discuss 
 issues which have been, at least for the 
 present, settled at tbe cannon's mouth; 
 and yet, in justice to the illustrious dead 
 who by ribald tongue has been denounced 
 as a "rebel" and a ''traitor," in defence of 
 you — brave women and gallant men of 
 the South,— who followed the fortunes of 
 the Confederacy and who are now gath- 
 ered together to pay homage at the shrine 
 of him who occupied the chief seat of 
 honor in the day of our nation's hope and 
 peril, I cannot refrain from saying, in all 
 truth and soberness, that tbe States never 
 having surrendered their sovereignty, "it 
 is a palpable absurdity to apply to them, 
 and to their citizens when obeying their 
 mandates, the terms rebellion and treason : 
 that the Confederate State?, so far from 
 making war against, or seeking to destroy 
 the United States, so soon as they had an 
 official organ, strove earnestly, by peace- 
 ful recognition, to equitably adjust all 
 Questions growing out of the separatijn 
 from their late associates," and that the 
 ■'arraignment of the men who participat- 
 ed in the formation of the Confederacy 
 and who bore arms in its defence as the 
 instigators of a controversy leading to 
 disunion," is wholly unjustifiable. 
 
12 
 
 For many years prior to the civil war 
 the Honorable Jefferson Davis was one of 
 the most commanding figures in the pub- 
 lic eye. His services in the Mexican war 
 had won for him military distinction, 
 while his intellect, his oratory, hia states- 
 manship, and his ability in dealing with 
 questions of moment in the Senate of the 
 United States, and in conducting the affairs 
 of the bureau of war, were admitted by 
 his opponents and applauded by his friends. 
 
 In his esteem constitutional liberty was 
 dearer than life. Possessing in an extraor- 
 dinary rJegree those moral traits which are 
 intensified under the test of heroic trial, 
 he lived to show to the world "the match- 
 less and unconquerable grandeur of South- 
 ern character." 
 
 "In mind, manner?, and heart, he was a 
 type of that old race ot Southern gentle- 
 men whom these bustling times are fast 
 crowding out of our civilization." With 
 him fidelity, chivalry, honor, and patriot- 
 ism were realities, not words — entities, not 
 abstractions. To the South, and the cause 
 which it represented, he remained faith- 
 ful even unto death. 
 
 On Feb. 9, 18(51, in his personal absence, 
 and without any solicitation on his part, 
 Mr. Davis was, by the Provisional Con- 
 gress assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, 
 chosen President of the Confederate 
 States. This foremost office in the gift of 
 the South he contiaued to hold until the 
 disastrous conclusion of the Confederate 
 struggle for independence. It is historic- 
 ally true that if his inclination had been 
 consulted, President Davis would have 
 preferred high military command to the 
 station of chief executive of the nation. 
 
 Summoning to his aid such heads of de- 
 partments as appeared most suitable, and 
 proclaiming iu his inaugural address that 
 necessity not choice had compelled the 
 secession of the Southern States; that the 
 true policy of the South — an agricultural 
 community— was peace; and that the con- 
 stituent parts, but not the system of the 
 government had been changed, he bent his 
 every energy to the creation and the con- 
 firmation of the republic newly born into 
 
13 
 
 the sisterhood of nations. Herculean was 
 the effort, involving as it did the entire 
 organization of the Confederacy, the 
 accumulation of supplies, the consumma- 
 tion of governmental plans, and the enlist- 
 ment, equipment, and mobilization of 
 armies at a formative period when that 
 union of seceding commonwealths was 
 little more than a political name. Volun- 
 teers there were of exalted spirit and 
 capable of the highest endeavor, but the 
 problem was how to arm them for efficient 
 service. In the language of the venerable 
 historian of Louisiana; ''If Minerva 
 with wisdom, courage, justice, and 
 right was on the side of the 
 Southern champion, it was Minerva not 
 only without any armor, but even without 
 the necessary garments to protect her 
 against the inclemencies of the weather; 
 whilst on the other side stood Mars in full 
 panoply, Ceres with her inexhaustible cor- 
 nucopia, Jupiter with his thunderbolts, 
 Neptune with his trident. Mercury with his 
 winged feet and emblematic rod, Plutus 
 with his hounds, and Vulcan with his forge 
 and hammer." 
 
 It is even now a marvel, transcending 
 comprehension, that the Confederate States 
 were able so rapidly to place in the field 
 large bodies of troops. Equally astound- 
 ing is it that a government — born in a day 
 and erected in the midst of a population al- 
 most wholly agricultural — could so quickly 
 summon to its support the entire 
 manhood of the land, establish machine 
 shops and foundries, compass the importa- 
 tion and nranufacture of quartermaster 
 stores and munitions of war, accumulate 
 commissary and other supplies at conven- 
 ient points, erect and man heavy batteries, 
 furnish field artillery, place muskets and 
 sabres in the hands of expectant soldiery, 
 and organize the various departmfnts 
 requisite for the efficient administration of 
 public affairs: — and all this in the face of 
 an impending war of gigantic proportions. 
 That President Davis, in the consumma- 
 tion of this complex and most difficult busi- 
 ness, evinced a patriotism, an energy, a 
 capacity, and a devotion worthy of the 
 
14 
 
 highest commendation, will be freely ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 And what, my friends, shall I say of his 
 conduct as Chief Magistrate of the Confed- 
 eracy during the more than four long and 
 bloody years which marked the duration 
 of our heroic struggle in defence of vested 
 rights and in behalf of a separate national 
 existence? Time would fail me to enumer- 
 ate even the salient points of his over- 
 shadowing intervention in, and controlling 
 guidance of, the operations— civil and mil- 
 itary— appurtenant to that eventful epoch. 
 He was tbe central sun of our system, 
 around which all lesser luminaries revolved 
 in subordinated orbits. He was the guard- 
 dian of our national honor, and the con- 
 servator of the public weal. Amid trials 
 the most oppressive, and disasters the 
 most appalling, he never forfeited the con- 
 fidence of his people; but under all circum- 
 stances retained their loves and their al- 
 legiance. His messages, state papers, and 
 public utterances were models alike of 
 statesmanship and of scholarly diction. 
 His constant effort was to maintain, upon 
 the highest plane, the purposes and acts of 
 the government. Every suggestion was 
 discountenanced which was not in har- 
 mony with the dictates of the most ap- 
 proved international ethics and the prin- 
 ciples of civilized warfare. In communing 
 with citizens and soldiers he inculcated 
 sentiments exalted in their character, and 
 counselled every sacrifice necessary for the 
 accomplishment of the vital purpose in 
 view. His energy in the discharge of the 
 multifarious, perplexing, and important 
 duties which devolved upon him, never 
 flagged. His sacrifice of self was conspicuous. 
 His spotless integrity, tenacity of convic- ^ 
 tions, courage in maintaining his opinions, 
 his enlightened conscience, his resolute 
 temper, and his clear conception of right 
 and honor in every relation, were potent 
 factors in the solution of the tremendous 
 problems claiming his attention. His res- 
 olution — formed after the most careful 
 consideration — was followed with a relent- 
 less fidelity. Some men thought him dic- 
 tatorial ; but an iron will, inflexible nerve, 
 
15 
 
 and the bravest assumption of personal re- 
 sponsibility were demanded by the occa- 
 sion. For the guidance of the time and the 
 control of events there were no precedents. 
 Action, immediate, decisive, was the 
 watchword of the hour. "They that stand 
 high have many blasts to shake them," 
 and the marvel is that he was able to en- 
 dure the tremendous pressure, and to bear 
 the burthens incident to the position he 
 occupied, and consequent upon the perils 
 which environed his beleaguered nation. 
 Some there were who questioned the pro- 
 priety of certain appointments to and re- 
 movals from important commands, — crit- 
 icised his plans,— and denied the advisa- 
 bility of some of the public measures 
 which he favored ; but no one ever doubted 
 either the sincerity of his convictions or 
 his absolute devotion to the best interests 
 of people and government as he compre- 
 hended them. Difficult beyond expression 
 was the execution of the momentous trust 
 committed to his keeping. To say that he 
 perpetrated no mistakes, would be to pro- 
 claim him more than mortal. In the light 
 of past events, and in expression of the 
 general verdict, this we will venture to 
 affirm: that with the resources at com- 
 mand, and in view of the desperate odds 
 encountered. President Davis and the 
 Southern people achieved wonders, and 
 accomplished all that the purest patriot- 
 ism, the most unswerving valor, the 
 loftiest aspirations, and the most patient 
 endurance could have compassed. 
 
 "Till the future dares 
 Forget the past," 
 the fame of both shall be 
 
 "An echo and a light unto eternity." 
 
 With the surrender of the armies of 
 Generals Lee and Johnston, and upon the 
 disintegration of the Confederate govern- 
 ment at Washington, Georgia, the end 
 came. While attempting to reach the 
 trans-Mississippi Department, and cherish- 
 ing the hope that with the assistance of 
 Gens. E. Kirby Smith and J. B. Magruder 
 and the forces under their command he 
 
16 
 
 would there be able to prolong the struggle, 
 President Davis was captured by a de- 
 tachment of Federal cavalry. Subjected 
 to petty pillage and to annoyances incon- 
 sistent with the usages of civilized war- 
 fare, he was conveyed under guard to 
 Portress Monroe where, charged with be- 
 ing an accomplice in the assassination of 
 President Lincoln, and accused of treasoB, 
 separated from family and companions, 
 heavy fetters riveted upon him, he was 
 immured in a stone casemate. "Bitter 
 tears have been shed by the gentle, and 
 stern reproaches" have been uttered by 
 the "magnanimous on account of the 
 needless torture" to which he was 
 then subjected. For two long years 
 did this illustrious prisoner endure 
 this unmerited disgrace, —this unwar- 
 ranted and oppressive confinement. Could 
 you, my friends, at this moment, with 
 uncovered heads approach the coffin which 
 encloses the mortal remains of our dead 
 President, and reverently lift the shroud 
 which enfolds his precious body, you 
 would even now discover, on those pale 
 and shrunken limbs, the abrasions caused 
 by Federal gyves. Behold, my country- 
 men, what he suffered as the representa- 
 tive of the Houth ! Behold the martyrdom 
 he then endured for the alleged sirs of his 
 people. He was indeed "a nation's pris- 
 oner." 
 
 Bravely did he bear himself during this 
 season of privation, of loneliness, of in- 
 sult, and of attempted degradation, pro- 
 tracted until satiated by their own cruelty 
 and baffled in their rage, the prison doors 
 were opened, and the Federal authorities 
 were forced to acknowledge that the 
 charge of complicity in the assassination 
 of President Lincoln was a lie; and that 
 Jefferson Davis— President of the Confed- 
 erate States— was not a traitor. 
 
 If anything were needed to consecrate 
 his memory in the affection and the grati- 
 tude of the Southern people, it is surely 
 supplied in this vicarious suffering, and in 
 the nobleness of spirit with which it was 
 endured. 
 
 Time and again since his liberation have 
 
17 
 
 the shafts of falsehood, of hatred, of de- 
 traction, and of jealousy, been directed 
 against him; but, successfully parried, 
 they have returned to wound the hands 
 \rhich launched them. 
 
 In his quiet home at Beauvoir, ennobled 
 by the presence of the live-oak— that mon- 
 arch of the Southern forest— , beautified by 
 the queecly magnolia-grandiflora, redo- 
 lent of the perfumes of a semi-tropical 
 region, fanned by the soft breezes from the 
 Gulf, and cheered by exhibitions of respect, 
 att'ection, and veneration most sincere. 
 President Davis passed the evening of his 
 eventful life. Since the hush of that great 
 storm which convulsed this land, he has 
 borne himself with a dignity and a com- 
 posure, with a fidelity to Confederate tra- 
 ditions, with a just observance of the pro- 
 prieties of the situation, and with an ex- 
 alted manhood worthy of all admiration. 
 
 Conspicuous for his gallantry and ability 
 as a military leader— prominent as a Fed- 
 eral Secretary of War— as a senator and 
 statesman renowned in the political an- 
 nals of these United States— illustrious for 
 all time as the President of a nation which, 
 although maintaining its existence for 
 only a brief space, bequeathed glorious 
 names, notable events, and proud memo- 
 ries whick will survive the flood of years — 
 most active, intelligent, and successful in 
 vindicating the aims, the impulses, the 
 rights, and the conduct of the Southern 
 people during their phenomenal struggle 
 for independence— his reputation abides 
 untlouded by defeat, unimpaired by the 
 mutations of fortune and the shadows of 
 disappointment. 
 
 Surely no token of affection can be too 
 profuse — no mark of respect too emphatic 
 —no rendition of honor too conspicuous — 
 no funeral tribute too imposing for this 
 dead chieftain of the South. Dead, did I 
 say? 
 
 "To live in hearts wa leave behind 
 Is not to die." 
 
 Eren now his name is upon every South- 
 ern lip, and his memory emshrined in every 
 Southera heart. 
 
18 
 
 Bveu cow, all through this brave South- 
 land funeral bells are tolling his requiem. 
 The bi'avest and the knightliest are rever- 
 ently bearing his precious body to the 
 tomb. Benedictions, invoked by lips 
 touched with a live coal from off the 
 altar, are detcendiug like the dew of Her- 
 mon. Pious drops bedew the cheeks of 
 noble women, and the heads of stalwart 
 men are bowed in grief. The hour is holy, 
 and the occasion most privileged. 
 
 In biddiug farewell to our President, we 
 rejoice that, by a kind Providence, it was 
 granted unto hira to spend in our midst 
 
 "His twelv« long hours 
 Bright to the edge of darkness; then the 
 
 calm 
 Repose of twilight— and a crown of 
 
 stars." 
 
 We rejoice that he was permitted to 
 render back his great spirit into the hands 
 of the God who gave it, sui'rounded by de- 
 voted friends, accompanied by the loves of 
 Southern hearts, ana amid the comforts of 
 the metropolis of the South. We rejoice 
 that having attained unto the full measure 
 of human life and enjoyed the highest 
 honors which Soutneru hands could offer- 
 all mundane cares overpast— he has, as we 
 confidently believe, serenely entered into 
 that Upper Real aa where there are "trees 
 of unfading loveliness, pavements of 
 emerald, canopies of brightest radiance, 
 gardens of deep and tranquil security, 
 palaces of proud and stately decoration, 
 and a city of lofty pinnacles through 
 which there unceasingly flaws the river of 
 gladness, and where jubilee is ever rung 
 with the concord of seraphic voices."