Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 22.djvu/364

 352 Southern Historical Society Paper a.

her away nor seriously interfered with carrying out the programme of exercises.

When it was determined to proceed with the exercises despite the weather, Hon. D. C. Richardson opened them without delay, and received therefor the thanks of the waiting people. It was twenty- seven minutes after 4 o'clock when President Richardson called the audience to order and said : " Let us begin these exercises by re- turning thanks to God for all His blessings, and invoke a continuance of his mercies. Rev. Dr. Hoge will now lead us in prayer."

As the distinguished divine, whose face and voice are both famil- iar throughout the South, advanced to the front with hand uplifted, every head was uncovered, and there was good order.

DR. HOGE'S PRAYER.

Dr. Hoge's prayer was as follows:

Almighty God, we inaugurate this impressive service with the rev- erential and adoring homage which we pay to Thee, the greatest and best of beings, the high and mighty ruler of the Universe, God over all, blessed for evermore.

From this hushed and silent throng may there arise, as from one heart, the devout acknowledgment of our dependence on Thee for all that exalts and ennobles life; for all that can give sacredness to this solemnity ; for all that can fill the future with glad and grateful recollections of this day, consecrated to all that can give inspiration to the purest and sublimest patriotism.

We come to thank God for the illustrious commanders, whose knightly valor and supreme devotion to duty won for them unfading renown. We come to crown with the same laurels the patriotic private in the ranks, to whose splendid courage our great leaders ascribed, under God, all their success, and without whose heroic aid no commander could have won the place assigned to him in the Pantheon of our Confederate glory.

They lie in lowly graves, and the cause to which they gave their lives is lost, but above their dust uprises this enduring column to testify that their memories are not lost, and high above these lofty hills it towers to tell the coming ages our love for the private soldier, who fell in defence of constitutional liberty on the land, and for the gallant sailor, who fringed his country's flag with glory on the sea !

We rear this shaft of stone; we unroll the historic pages; each shall be the guardian of our Confederate's story. We print on