Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 26.djvu/239

 Unvoting Confederatt .)/////////////// Montgomery, Ala. 229

years, an inspiration and a blessing to the people in their .Venerations as they come and go. Deputed by the Governor to per- form this pleasing but solemn duty, and speaking in his stead, on behalf of the great people who make the State, I accept it for them a- a shrine where their patriotism will never forget to pay its wor- ship. Let us remember, according to the inscription on its base, this monument has been secured and consecrated by the women of Alabama a memorial to the heroism of all our soldiers and sailors, of those who are living as of those who are dead. That devotion to duty which marked the shining pathway of the Confederate soldiers and sailors, to their own undying fame, is not merely a glorious epi- sode of the past, a thing for memory and for epitaphs, but in the persons of those who survive is still a living and a breathing claim on our gratitude and reverence. As the State and people shall honor them, so shall this pile of stone and bronze be not a tribute which we have gathered to feed our vanity and pride, but a blessed emblem and outward show of what is in our heart of hearts."

IMPRESSIVE TABLEAU.

The prettiest feature of the exercises was furnished by the tableau, which concluded Miss Sadie Robinson's .recitation of "Furl That Banner." Miss Robinson was tastefully costumed in gray to repre- sent ' ' The Southern Confederacy. ' ' She illustrated her recitation with the torn and tattered battle-flag of the 6oth Alabama.

The thirteen pretty sponsors who represented the various States, clustered around Miss Robinson, their fair hands resting on the bat- tered flagstaff.

Attired in gowns of immaculate white, with grey uniform caps and bright, crimson sashes, the bevy of pretty girls presented an unusually attractive spectacle. The sponsors, all Montgomery young women, were:

South Carolina Miss Jean Craik. Mississippi Miss Maggie Crommelin. Florida Miss Joscelyn Fisher Ockenden. Alabama Miss Rebecca Pollard. Georgia Miss Katie Burch. Louisiana Miss Sarah H. Jones. Texas Miss Mattie Thorington. Virginia Miss Caroline Hannon. Arkansas Miss Mamie Holt.