Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/387

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were lu-ld for him all over tlu- South, (irady said eminent will not render t<> him the pomp and circumstance of" a a death; l)iit his people will give him a tribute- <>!' love and tears, surpassing .ill that government could do, and honoring his memory irthly parade c-.uld not do." And so it wa>. America never saw tx -lure -o wonderful a pageant as that which passed down the street^ of New Orleans. The funeral of that generous soldier, (ien- eral Grant, I am told, cost more than $100,000. The even more impressive funeral of Mr. Davis cost nothing; all hills came in ceipted. It was the spontaneous outpouring of a people's love. The people of the South may not be rich in material things, but they are not poor in their hearts.

It was my duty and privilege to be present at his funeral, and also to accompany his remains on the way to Richmond, and I shall never forget it. No conqueror's march was ever half so triumphant. In the capitals through which it passed his body lay in state, visited by thousands, and everywhere along the way the people, old and young, thronged, and stood with uncovered heads day and night along the railroad as the train rolled by to testify their devotion to the dead. It was spontaneous; it was sincere; it was universal.

We are gathered here to-day to erect a monument to him. It is foroursakes; not for his. His memory belongs to the ages. His life will stand like a snowy peak amid the centuries. His remem- brance will abide in the hearts of men when this stone has crumbled into dust. Jefferson Davis' life teaches us that character is secure. Character was his bulwark against all the slander, ridicule, insult, which the wit of man could devise, and that defence stands sure. He teaches us that love follows sacrifice. He who bore everything for his people received a reward such as an emperor might have en- vied their unfeigned and abiding love. He teaches us that life offers something better than success. It is when moral worth is defeated that humanity becomes sublime.

As a soldier, his brilliant and promising career was cut short. He had no opportunities to develop the great qualities of Lee, the prince of commanders. As a statesman, he did not quite reach, perhaps, the commanding stature of Calhoun, to whose work he succeeded. As an orator, he may have lacked the impetuous fervor of Yancey, the splendid declamation of Lamar. He surpassed them all in his majes- tic strength, the chaste beauty of his thoughts, and his thrilling ear- nestness. Hut Davis was greater than them all, in that he combined them all. He was an accomplished soldier, a great statesman, and