Journal of Richard Y. Dwight, April 18-November 19, 1856

Journal of Richard Y. Dwight, April 18-November 19, 1856

Journal written by Richard Y. Dwight which includes various speeches he gave while at The Citadel.

AF Dwight

The Citadel Archives and Museum

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Charleston (S. C.)

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Richard Yeadon Dwight
The Citadel
Class of 1856.

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Speech Delivered by Richard Y. Dwight at the Exhibition after the Semi-Annual Examination on the 18th of April 1856.
At the Citadel Academy. Charleston. S.C. Subject - “Happiness.”

Note: Richard Yeadon Dwight, M.D, was born on October 4, 1837, and died on Dec. 6, 1919. He was a graduate of the South Carolina Medical College, 1859.

Feb. 12, 1953 Henry R. Dwight

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Happiness.

If we examine carefully the actions and feelings of men it becomes evident that there is one great object in life common to us all, which prompts our every deed and regulates the tenor of our whole life.

All men desire to be contented and happy; and to effect this end we find them enduring more than we would have believed humanity could endure.

Frequently so intent are they on the object of their pursuit, so sure of reaping a rich harvest, that they forget the present in the anticipation of the future, and content themselves with hope of better days.

This is owing to the happy constitution of man’s mind, which if unconnected with the baser feelings attendant upon his fallen condition, would exalt him to an equality with angels. But with the gold alloy is mixed, which renders it an impure mass.

Through the weakness of his nature he is unable to look providentially forward, and prepare for the future; to secure himself from all danger, and put himself beyond the reach of sorrow and distress. He profits not by the experience of those who have preceded him, but sets out

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to trace his own path to the abode of happiness. And if on his toilsome journey, he occasionally finds some shady fountain in which to cool his parched lips, or rests his weary limbs on beds of down, he fancies that he has discovered a better way than any had before; nor can Reason with all her eloquence recall him from the error of his ways. He pursues in sullen silence his wayward course, until unable to retrace his steps - he suffers the penalty of his obstinate folly. That the opinions generally received concerning the manner of attaining happiness, are erroneous, must be evident to all, who will bestow but a passing glance on the subject. Many there are who regard knowledge and wisdom as the bestowers of this inestimable blessing. But how can we be happy with knowledge alone, which only teaches us the wickedness of our ways, and points not out the means of averting the direful consequences of our errors! Or how can wisdom avail us [illegible], when

“To be wise, is but to know how little can be known;
To see all other’s faults and feel our own”!

Power too is the prize which many strive to obtain, fondly hoping that happiness will be its attendant. But no sooner are they exalted to that position, which they imagined would be free from care and trouble, than they find that they have been deluded, and been led by an ignis fatuus into bogs & fens, and not to the halls of joy and happiness; that some syren [sic] tongue has enticed them to a barren isle, and left them to perish, and their bones to be whitened by the winds and storms that sweep over it.

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But what if most universally regarded as the giver of happiness is gold, “that true magnetic pole, to which all hearts point duly north like trembling needles”. And persuaded by the whisperings of some evil spirit that to be rich is to be happy, men, year after year, struggle with every difficulty, and encounter every danger, to procure this “bane of man, seducing cheat” which is no sooner got than lost. Unhappy indeed, are they who are the dupes of such false fancies! No! Neither wisdom, no power, nor wealth can unaided bestow so dear a gift! There must be something higher, nobler, purer,

“For who did ever yet, by honour, wealth,
Or pleasure of the sense, contentment find?
Who ever ceased to wish when he health,
Or having wisdom was not vexed in mind”?

‘Tis virtue that gives happiness. Hers is the path that’s trod by wisdom and that leads to God.

What nothing earthly gives or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy,
Is virtue’s prize”.

There are many who believe that happiness belongs not to this world, and who deem it sinful to expect aught but misery in a world of sorrow. Under this delusion they inspire they inspire the rising generation with a dread of the coming ills and hardships of life; they endeavour [sic] to persuade them that childhood’s years are the brightest stars in the firmament of man’s existence; and thus reproving the hopeful

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spirit of youth, they fill the mind with sad forebodings of misery and woe. Experience seems not to have taught them that the fire of hope, which lights every youthful bosom can be extinguished and that to filch from its possessor this inestimable benefit is to rob youth of that joyous sunlight which warms his heart and sheds so bright a lustre [sic] around it. Now indeed it is as they imagine. The days of youth are not more happy than those of age. The youth has his cares as well as the man of maturity and if the latter is troubled with worldly concerns so is the former. Their cares differ in kind not in degree. For this opinion we can easily find a reason. As man advances in life he sees all his past actions reflected from memory’s glass, and so changed is their appearance, that even circumstances which embittered his early days are remembered with pleasure.

Happy is the man who, industrious, honest, kind, has the cooperation of one, who unites in mutual endeavours [sic], and rewards his labours [sic] with an endearing smile. With what confidence, and how cheerfully does he resort to his merchandise or his farm; fly over lands, sail upon seas, meet difficulties and encounter dangers, knowing that he is not spending his strength in vain, but that his labour [sic] will be rewarded by the incompatable [sic] sweets of home. Solicitude and disappointment enter into the history of every man’s life

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but he is well provided for the voyage, who finds an associate for his happy hours, while for his months of darkness and distress a sympathizing [sic] partner is prepared.

In whatever station a man be found, whatever his profession, if he lead a virtuous life, he will have the best, the surest foundation for happiness.

“‘Tis not to any rank confined,
But dwells in every honest mind;
Be justice then our sole pursuit,
Plant virtue, - and content’s the fruit.”

Let each one determine then

“While he lives,
To know no bliss but that which Virtue gives;
And when he dies to leave a lofty name,
A light - a landmark - on the cliffs of [illegible].”

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Oration Delivered by Cadet R. Y. Dwight on the Occasion of the Semi-Annual Exhibition of the Citadel Academy on the 22nd April 1856.

Subject - “Modern Eloquence”.

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“Modern Eloquence”.

Well might it have been supposed by those who mourned around the death bed of Demosthenes - that with his soul eloquence had forever taken its flight from Earth - and amid the lamentations of his countrymen might have been heard the voice of oppressed freedom exclaiming in accents of touching sadness -

“Ah Eloquence! Thou wast [sic] undone;
Wast [sic] from thy native country driven;
When tyranny eclipsed the sun -
And blotted out the stars of Heaven”!

But such was not its destiny - Noble ends were yet to be effected by its power - Rome was soon to be illumined with a light scarcely less brilliant than the flame which had shed its lustre [sic] over Greece - and whose departure had left her in a darkness that has never been dispelled.

But with the death of Cicero Rome like Greece was undone - the torch of Eloquence was extinguished and for nearly eighteen centuries darkness veiled

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the Earth. Then indeed did it burst forth with increased splendour [sic], and the world trembled at its power and magnificence. England was selected as the theatre of its action - and the little island not many ages before rude and almost savage - became the centre [sic] of all that was great and noble.

One by one in rapid succession did her eloquent sons enter the lists – Chatham, Grattan, Sheridan, Fox and Pitt - a noble galaxy - England’s proudest boast. These are the names that should stand first in the catalogue of her heroes - ‘Tis these more than her warriors that will bear her glory to posterity - and secure to her till time shall end the admiration of the World. In reading this portion of English History - the conviction forces itself upon us that there lived giants in those days - at the sound of whose mighty voices the very pillars of the Earth shook - and to whose sway the power of faction and popular prejudice yielded as the strong branch of the oak to the fury of the blast. Never did the council chambers of the Greeks - nor the Roman Forum

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present such spectacles as were common to the Parliament of Britain. What if Aeschines and Demosthenes hurled against each other the power of an eloquence that seemed almost divine - Do not the mighty words of Sheridan, Fox, Burke and Erskine still resound throughout the Earth, and cause men while they listen - to be confounded by their grandeur! -

But among all the wonderful orators of this golden age stands first in power as in time Lord Chaltham. The wisest and most eloquent of Englishmen - he well deserves the eulogy pronounced upon him by our own Franklin - “I have sometimes seen eloquence without wisdom, and often wisdom without eloquence, but in him I have seen them united in the highest possible degree”.

His eloquence arose from his innate nobility - he was the most powerful orator only because he was the first man of his time. He was the chosen instrument of Heaven “to stem the torrent of a downward age”, - and nobly was his destiny fulfilled. -

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“Not like the stormy flood of Demosthenes - nor the splendid conflagration of Tully - his eloquence resembled sometimes the thunder and sometimes the music of the spheres”. Never did he fail to espouse the with all the mighty power with which he was gifted, the cause of the weak and oppressed, - and long will the freemen of America revere the name of him who so nobly defended their liberties - and cast a withering curse on the unnatural - the unholy oppression of his country.

‘Twas a feeling of love and reverence for this champion of Liberty - that induced the Commons of our State to erect a statue to him and to inscribe upon its pedestal words which were the expression of their appreciation of his noble endeavours [sic] - words that declared with a sincerity that could not be feigned that “time shall sooner destroy this mark of their esteem, than erase from their minds the just sense of his patriotic virtue”.

It is evident that England has been the spot hitherto most congenial to Eloquence - and there did it grow and flourish - there did it attain almost perfection -

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and we are fearful that it will never again reach that position in which the last century beheld it.

It is remarkable that in this department England should have so far outstripped France - in many respects her superior - True her pulpit has given to the world splendid examples of eloquence - and the love of liberty has inspired many of her sons with the power of words - but she must nevertheless yield the palm to Britain - who has indeed been the chosen spot of Heaven - the blest abode of Freedom’s noble defender - godlike eloquence! - The eloquence of our own liberty will compare perhaps, more favorably with England’s than any other of modern times, and here we can find many who fell little short of rivalling the greatest of British Orators. While the giant voices of the mother country were heard defending in thunder tones the rights and liberties of their oppressed brethren - the spirit stirring words of a Patrick Henry were filling and warning the hearts of these his countrymen - nerving them for a contest

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which a holy cause alone could have endured - and teaching them like himself to kneel at Freedom’s fame and pray for “Liberty or Death”. What need of others to obtain for us a lofty place in the Temple of Eloquence. Already has fame borne him on high and placed her starry crown upon his brow - the voices of a grateful people sing his praises - and when time shall be extinct - “eternity itself shall catch the glowing theme and dwell with rapture on his name”. Pride whispers that our own home should not be forgotten and proclaims the names of Rutledge, Haynes, Legare, Lowndes, McDuffie, Preston and Calhoun. It bids us cherish their memories with love, honor, and reverence, and bequeath them a dear patrimony to our children forever. Conscience too upraids [sic] us for not erecting memorials to their patriotic virtue - and I might be pardoned were I to turn aside here for a brief space to censure that spirit which prevents the people of our state from doing honor to her departed heroes, and makes it a work of ages to return a slight mark of gratitude to him, who fought his lifetime through, and died in the defence [sic] of our rights

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against lawless oppression - Let not the charge of ingratitude so base be laid upon us - But let the voices which a noble cause makes eloquent be raised not only to recall the memory and actions of our departed fathers - but in bidding us hearken to their sage advice - ever to be jealous of our liberty - and make our Country what it was when they were her guardians and protectors -

“A free Republic - where beneath the sway
Of mild and equal laws, fram’d by themselves,
One people dwell, and own no Lord save God!”

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Third Quarterly Oration of the C.S.

“The Noblest Aim of the Student”.
An Oration Delivered by Cadet R.Y. Dwight-
Before the Calliopean Society of the S. C. M. Academy
On the of July 1856.

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“The Noblest Aim of the Student.”

How various are the motives that excite men to action! How different are the views of life that open to each individual! How numerous the modes of preparation for its difficulties and responsibilities! The importance that should be attached to the above considerations cannot be too highly estimated -

Contemplate those misfortunes and miseries of life the result of a failure to attach due weight to the great rules that should guide and direct us - and we will find that ‘tis to this neglect to which they are all to be attributed - Can it be expected that his course should run smoothly - who has set out in error - who mistakes the motives by which he should be governed!

He whose views of life are erroneous - who perceives not clearly the dangers to be encountered cannot provide or fortify himself against them - And his lot must inevitably be sad whose early training and education have not only not prepared, but actually rendered incapable of overcoming the difficulties - or even

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appreciating the blessings of which the earthly existence of every moral and accountable being is made up.

It is evident then that life will be happy in proportion as the motives which impel to action are just - the views of life correct and extended - and particularly as the preparation for it has been thorough and complete, and the blessings and misfortunes, the joys and sorrows which it presents are appreciated.

It is to the young that these questions are specially [sic] important - for when ago has crept upon us it is too late to retrench principles inculcated in youth and practiced [sic] during a lifetime. And upon the Student more particularly is it incumbent to study and understand these principles. His position is eminently fitted for this study. He is preparing for life - and on the principles then formed defend his future welfare and prosperity. With a due degree of attention he will surely adopt just and proper views on the above named questions, and having

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gained the truth - he will be prepared to meet the vicissitudes of life, and may feel assured of all the happiness to which man in his fallen state may aspire. Let Truth be his object! ‘Tis the only principle of success - ‘Tis the noblest aim of the Student -

At no time of our existence are we so prove to to [sic] error as while our characters are being formed and moulded [sic], and preparing for the stern realities of life -

Temptations are more numerous - and so easily are we led away that of times we are persuaded even in the midst of an immoral action, that it is justifiable - that morality has received no violation at our hands - The evil passions of our nature have then the most powerful influence over us; and even the ardour [sic] and generosity of youth hurry us during moments of excitement into the committal of actions entirely at variance with our calmer views and convictions -

The importance of the proper cultivation of this sublime principle must force itself upon every mind -

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there can be none who will deny that

“All truth is precious, if not all divine
And what dilates the powers must needs refine.”

But let us turn our attention to some of the aims to which we find the Student in his preparation for life directing his efforts - Many there have been, who satisfied in their own minds that “Power is Happiness” have devoted themselves with all the energies of their nature - with a perseverance that knew no bounds, and with a determination which nothing daunted or discouraged - to the most laborious study; have reduced themselves to the mere form of men; and lived on by this all absorbing idea have even brought themselves to a premature grave -

Others who have survived so hard a trial - have only lived to prove by their lives that happiness is not to be looked for among the great - but that too often the trials of a high position outweigh the gratification derived from its attainment.

That there have lived many great men whose lives have passed almost without a cloud to obscure

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the brightness of their glory - we are far from denying. The history of the world, and especially that of our own native land furnish examples enough to show the justice of such as assertion - and we have but to peruse the lives of the bright luminaries who have adorned the pages of our history to see the truth of this opinion. But it is not the less true that most of those whose names have been sounded loudest in their day and generation have been unfortunate either in their private or public relations - and have died in poverty and distress - or else after having been raised to place and power have been dragged down dishonored and disgraced by the ever changing breath of popular desire and caprice.

None will say then that Power is the noblest aim of the Student - Let him look upon the lives of great men as beacon lights or dangerous shoals - warning him that approach is danger - contact - death. What is the lust of power but Ambition, and this

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“A fire
And motion of the soul which will not dwell
In its own narrow being, but aspire
Beyond the fitting medium of desire;
And but once kindled, quenchless even more,
Preys upon high adventure, nor can tire
Of aught but rest; a fever at the core,
Fatal to him who bears, to all who ever bore -
This makes the madmen who have made men mad
By their contagion; - Conquerors and Kings,
Founder of Sects and Systems, to whom add
Sophists, Bards, Statesmen, all unquiet things
Which stir too deeply the souls secret Springs,
And are themselves the Fools to those they fool;
Envied, yet how unenviable! what stings
Are theirs! One breast laid open were a School
Which would unteach [sic] mankind the lust to shine or rule.”

But perhaps a more powerful - certainly a more universal object of desire is Wealth. Walk through the busy scenes of life and look upon man in almost any condition - and you will find this great

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this powerful principle of action rousing every energy of his nature - and hurrying him forward to the goal of happiness which his distempered imagination pictures, oftentimes destroying every feeling of honour [sic] and justice and making subservient to the thirst for gain all the ennobling qualities of intelligent - intellectual man - As it is the most universal object of desire - so there is no cause that has brought more misery upon the state of mans temporal existence - or that more frequently excites the wrath of his Maker - We by no means advocate that opinion which would make men careless of their comfort - and regardless of the means of earthly enjoyment. We condemn the rule which directs men to despise wealth - to shun it as vile.

We look upon wealth as the greatest earthly blessing of Providence, bestowed for the purpose of ameliorating the condition of man - and as an effectual means of showing the wisdom of his designs. There is scarcely any effect of any importance to man into which money does not enter as a cause - and it is thus a bestower [sic] of a great proportion of the happiness of life -

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Religion, Education, Position - all are immediately and importantly affected by it - and surely what is necessary to man’s earthly happiness can not be justly proscribed as pernicious and destructive of all morality and virtue. It is not the use of wealth - but its abuse that we condemn. When used as the Creator designed it - as a means of comfort - given to man to employ for his welfare and gratification - to bestow in charity upon his fellow man - for the purpose of educating and refining him - and to extend the knowledge of the great Creator to every people, then does it perform that blessed and for which we have said it was given! But abused as it too often is by being made subservient to the vilest purposes -

“Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled
Spurned by the young but hugged by the old,
To the very verge of the Church yard [illegible]
Price of many a crime untold – “

it becomes the most fruitful source of misery - and what was bestowed in mercy and kindness - is converted by him who gave it into the most miserable of curses.

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He who sets out in life believing that wealth is the aim to which all his efforts should be directed must be borne along by the current which carries on its surface so many deluded creatures, and soon reach the rapids that will shatter the frail bark in which his temerity has led him to launch upon an unexplored and unknown stream; or else lulled to rest by the calm and gently flowing waters - while cool zephyrs softly fan his temples - he will only awake to find himself in the midst of the mighty Ocean - tossed by its storms and tempests with no hope of safety or succor [sic] -

“Can Wealth give happiness? Look and see
What gay distress! What splendid misery -
Whatever fortune lavishly can pour,
The mind annihilates - and calls for more”.

The error of supposing wealth to be the bestower [sic] of happiness universally leads to the same consequences -

The victim of the fatal delusion suffers the penalty of his failure to examine more minutely so important a principle - and wherever found may be heard lamenting his lot, and giving vent to feelings like those which

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filled the soul of the unhappy Spencer, and prompted the affecting words of Sydney’s Poet-friend -

“Thus is my Summer worn away and wasted,
Thus is my harvest hastened all to rathe;
The ear that budded fair is burnt and blasted;
And all my hoped gain is turned to scathe;
Of all the seed that in my youth was sown
Was none but hopes and brambles to be mown”.

We have noticed but two of those unfortunate principles by which the happiness of the Student who adopts them as the aim of his life must of necessity be utterly destroyed - and yet did circumstances permit, many others might be considered further to establish the infinite importance of the inquiry and determination of the question “What is the noblest aim of the Student”. But circumstances compel us to leave the subject here. Let all who feel interested in their future welfare resume it whenever occasion allows it requires thought and study - and its solution is fraught with the most intense interest. To all who bestow due consideration upon it will [illegible] the most abundant benefits - Life will no longer be “a tragedy

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full of sad sights and sore catastrophes” - the world will no more be called “a fleeting show for man’s illusion given” - but Gods works and laws will be appreciated - and the united voices of the universe join in glorifying its Creator who is “glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.”

Gentlemen of the Calliopean Society - the duty which you imposed upon me has been performed - Of the manner in which has been done you of course must judge - I have used every endeavor [sic] that circumstances allowed to present something of interest - I am of opinion that no opportunity should be lost of attempting to do good, and if the hurried and imperfect views that I have presented should prove in any way beneficial in their effects I shall be doubly grateful for the opportunity of rendering you a service. I have endeavoured [sic] to impress upon you the importance of studying life - Let experience teach you - it is worth more than vain theories and false imaginings - It is the star of safety to guide you to honour [sic] - to light you in the path of Truth - and

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unless you avail yourself of what is so graciously bestowed, you must wander farther and father - and expect to be stranded on the quicksands of misfortune.

Study and determine first what are the duties of life - then in selecting the aim to which all your efforts are to be directed ask yourself the question - “What are the aims which are at the same time duties” - the true answer will be “They are the perfecting of ourselves - the happiness of others”.

Then will you have gained truth -

You will have discovered the noblest aim of the Student - Press forward then in the performance of your duties - to the reward of your labours [sic] - still bearing ever with you the importance and truth of the words of the great reader of human nature -

“This above all - to thine own self be true;
And it must follow as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

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“State Pride.”

Graduating Oration delivered by Richard Y. Dwight at the Commencement of the S.C.M.A

November 21st, 1856. in the Hibernian Hall.

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State Pride.

Constant and unwearying [sic] toil had made the forest home of the American settler one of happiness and contentment. The savage tribes which had so long been the destroyers of his peace and comfort had been driven to the distant borders of the great Father of Waters. Industry and perseverance had overcome the difficulties and dangers that every where opposed him, and commerce, agriculture, and the arts were placing with rapid strides the cities of the New World in active rivalry with those of the Old Great and glorious were the effects of the indomitable energy of our forefathers - but there were at work influences far more important than any exercised by men, which were destined to secure the blessings of prosperity and Liberty to the inheritors of this fair land. The glorious war of the Revolution was the first evidence of the spirit that dwelt in the breasts of our sires, and the Declaration of Independence was the Reveille of Liberty that roused the world from its slumber.

It could not be that a people who had judged so well

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of their nights and so nobly maintained them, would take no measures to secure what they had so dearly bought; that they would yield to any power of Earth that sovereignty and independence sealed with the blood of so many of their brothers, or that having experienced the benefits of a division into separate states, they would ever willingly consent to consolidation. From their very settlement they had been united only by the bond of a common protection - their character and pursuits were different, and after they had cut the cord of connection with the mother country - they owed obedience to different authorities. Every feeling of their hearts was favourable [sic] to this division - and more than all they saw in it the most effectual means of preserving their liberties. Having formed a union for their common welfare, and having retained the division into independent and sovereign states - they had a double field for the exercise of their patriotism. The glory and renown which they had in common acquired while defending their rights was a cause of gratifica

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tion and happiness to the patriot heart - while the remembrance of the particular part which his own state had acted in the glorious drama aroused within his breast the strongest emotions of pride and pleasure.

Many have been the causes whose effects are to bind our hearts more closely to our native states. These have been constantly acting - and now, as fervent as is the love for the constitution and the constitutional union, there is probably not a heart that does not beat more strongly with love for its native State - and as proudly as it swells with the glory of the Union, it swells yet more proudly at the remembrance of the triumphs of the State of its birth and affections.

The cause that has perhaps been most effectual in originating and developing this pride which we feel for our native States is the remembrance of the splendid and heroic deeds of our own immediate ancestors - of our patriot warriors and statesmen who have sealed with their blood the nights they defended, whose warning voices are still heard

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around us, perpetuated by the inheritors of their wisdom and patriotism, who have rendered dear and sacred by acts of valour [sic] every foot of soil they bequeathed us, whose deeds mighty and glorious have made them immortal.

Nothing can be more delightful to the lover of his country than to recite the story of her wrongs, and to tell of the patriotism that sprang up to oppose, overwhelm and destroy her oppressors, to point out the places of her triumphs, and to sing the praises of her defenders’ spirit - to pay homage to their greatness and to emulate their virtues -

There would indeed be little to bind us to our native State were the pages of her history unadorned by the names of virtuous and patriotic heroes and statesmen. Our boasted pride would dwindle into nothingness, and all those great qualities that raise men above the common crowd, courage, wisdom and patriotism would have no existence among us.

But how can the patriots heart remain un

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moved by the recital of the glorious and hallowed events which make up the record of his Country’s honour [sic], how can it remain cold when illumined by the fire that burned in the breasts of his fathers, how can it throb but responsive to the beatings of their true and faithful hearts! Never so long as we have such illustrious examples to incite us, such happy success as was their lot to encourage us, will we forget that we too are to perform our part in life, that we are expected to follow in the way they led, and that future generations will scan with as eager eyes the pages that record our deeds, as we have those that bear evidence of our fathers’ greatness.

Our hearts ever swell with pride when contemplating the great events in the history of our Country - with joy we hear of the noble deeds of our sires, of their rich and abundant rewards, and filled with the inspiration which led them triumphantly along the path of fame, we too begin to climb the rugged steep - grasping with firm and steady hold the banner of our Country’s honour [sic] - we boldly prep onward -

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and joined by kindred spirits we chant in our course the fame of her heroes, and sing the song of her triumphs!

In many sections of the Union pride of ancestry has added great strength to State Pride. The same feelings which arise in the breast of the Hebrew - when mindful of the ancient race from which he sprang; the same which caused the Greek to be warmed with the love of his home, and the Roman so proudly to boast of his citizenship may be found to exist in many of the States of the Union. New England is proud of her Puritan forefathers, and loves to dwell with praise on the difficulties and dangers which their determination overcame; Carolina rejoices in the chivalric spirit she derived from the noble Huguenots who found a resting place on her shores, and others, have like cause for the indulgence of this feeling. It is natural and proper - and tends greatly to increase the ardour [sic] of patriotism.

State Pride derives additional power from the influence which the natural features of the country exercise

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upon our affections - Its hills and dales - its lakes and rivers, its forests and mountains all extend the patriotic feelings of our hearts and add to love deep reverence for our native State.

These are some of the causes that induce the feeling of State Pride - they are constantly acting up on us - and he who is not proud of his native State must be dead to all affection, he who loves not his country cannot love the mother of his infancy - nor the father of his youth - self must be his ruling principle - and despised among his fellow men he will pass through life without finding one so mean as to do him honour [sic].

But oft the sneerer [sic] is seen to paint in scorn at those who raise their voices in praise of their native State, and who are patriotic enough to glory in having descended from illustrious ancestors - in having drawn their first breath on soil hallowed by their deeds and blessed by the bounties of Providence, and claiming as their brothers men who are wise enough to know their rights and spirited enough to maintain them.

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Our own State, furnishing as she does the best example of State Pride, has probably been oftener made the butt of the coffer than any of the Union. Is there any justice or reason in this? Is the pride that we feel for our State so unfounded as to deserve to be ridiculed? If she has no cause to be proud - if those conditions that make pride justifiable are wanting with her - then may she justly incur the censures of her enemies - for their dwells not beneath the light of Heaven a prouder people - more jealous of their nights than those of South Carolina. Prejudiced, unjust and unreasonable must he be who finds not in her history enough to make the most indifferent and unpatriotic of her sons glow with fervent love for the happy land of his birth. Let him turn to the great book of Fame and mark the names of her illustrious sons.

What land so blessed with the possession of great souls and minds! “Greece there are no prouder names even in thy own proud [illegible]”! ‘Tis here the Carolinian may look for the chief source

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of the pride. He cannot be indifferent to the glory of the heroes and statesmen who drew inspiration from her soil, for they have sanctified by deeds of valour [sic] and of wisdom the land which gave him birth, and taught him to regard with reverence the very swamps and [illegible] that gave them protection.

But it would be well to enquire here whether we have paid due honour [sic] to our departed heroes and statesmen. A mortifying answer is promptly rendered by the fact that untiring perseverance and praiseworthy determination have both alike failed to erect a memorial to the great asserter and defender of our political rights, and that the mortal remains of one of Carolina’s most gifted sons have been suffered to be for years neglected among our northern enemies - without a stone to mark his resting place.*

If we assert that the virtues of our great men are kept hallowed in our hearts, and their names cherished with love and reverence, let us not forget that “every man who has honoured [sic] his country should live forever in her memory. His example, his attainments, his celeb-

*Hugh Swinton Legare - buried in, Mt Auburn Cemetery - near Boston. His grave only known from the registered number.

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rity his life, and above all his funeral should be held forth for the emulation of ingenuous youth. To be mourned by a nation is the privilege of greatness Death disturbs not the sceptre of eloquence, which rallies around its grave all the virtues and the affections, enchanting them in mute amaze and melancholy.” If we erect no posthumous memorials to their honour [sic], let us at least remember ever to revere their names and memories, and thus let us show the truth of the pacts words, -

“Genius like Egypt’s Monarch’s timely wise, -
Erects its own memorials ere it dies;
Proclaims aloud the empire of the mind,
And makes a Mausoleum of Mankind”.

Does the sneerer [sic] who ridicules our State Pride look for a noble race as the germ whence we have sprung - “we know no nobility but that of the virtuous, the patriotic and the brave” - titles acknowledged in Heaven - and who shall deserve them of not the Huguenots of France! Martyrs to the cause of freedom of conscience - they left the bright

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land they had been taught to love, the clear soft sky that so long had shed its light upon them - and frowned upon the cruelties of their persecutors - the home of their hearts and the land of their affections - they braved the storms of Ocean, the relentless hate of the savage, and the dangers of famine, to worship their God in peace - And when they had found a land of happiness - and felt themselves its possessors - when peace and plenty had brought prosperity and comfort - they did not forget to be grateful or merciful - No doctrine of intolerance was incorporated in their creed - no Roger Williams was ever banished for holding opinions of variance with theirs, nor did women and children suffer the penalties of the evils of imagined witchcraft. But applying themselves to the various arts - they soon spread around them the happy affects [sic] of temperance and industry - dispensed the holy light of the Gospel throughout the extent of their new home, and united their voices in one common strain to praise the beneficence of Heaven.

And have we no cause to be proud of the natural

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features of our State of the beauty of her scenery, of the fertility of her soil? Few are the lands more fair than this, for

“Every charm that nature knows
Shines freshly here - the towering trees,
The sea that sparkles as it flows,
The flowering shrub - the murmuring bees,
The verdant land, the glassy stream
As placid as an infants dream.”
W.J. Grayson’s “Chicora”.

If that portion of our duty, then, which requires us to do honour [sic] to those who have honoured [sic] our home be fully performed, if we are truly grateful for the benefits derived from the great men of our State, and if we have indeed enshrined their memories in the depths of our hearts - we may justly assert our right to be proud, and rejoice that we live in “a State where no ‘alleviating law’ ever defeated the administration of justice, where no facilities of divorce ever loosened the hands of Society, where no sectarian spirit ever thwarted the path of philanthropy, where no false economy ever retarded the

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march of letters, where no conscientious scruples ever relaxed the sinews of patriotism, where religion was never the stepping stone of ambition, nor conception the means of power.” (Wm Crofts)

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Valedictory Oration.

Delivered Before the Calliopean Society

Of the Citadel Academy,

Wednesday Evening. November 19th, 1856,

By

Richard Yeadon Dwight.

Of the Graduating Class.

In the Hibernian Hall.

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Address

Mr President and Gentlemen of the Calliopean Society,
I appear before you as the representative of those my classmates who are this night to take leave of our beloved Society. I regard it as no idle and useless ceremony that has called us together - but deem it one which the circumstances of the case render necessary. It is an occasion of importance long to be remembered with feelings of mingled pain and pleasure - of pain - for it is one that is to sunder the tie that years have strengthened - one that is to separate friends endeared by long communion - it is an occasion to be remembered with pleasure for it will be kept in our memory as the last union of hearts that beat responsive to a common call - that are warm with the love of a common parent - To part with friends is ever sad - to be divided from those to whom we are attached is ever painful - but when long

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years of intimacy and friendship have added strength to the hand that joins those already united by the ties of a common profession - separation is doubly painful - when those are about to part who have so long been joined in delightful fellowship, who paid their vows at a common shrine, and who have drunk refreshing draughts from the same pure fountain - it is no ordinary cause for sorrow. It is [illegible] that we should thus linger ere we part, and before we forever bid goodbye to those so long and so nearly associated with us, give vent to the feelings of our hearts.

To us who are about to leave you this occasion is of intense interest. Living as we have been for four years subject to the regulations of an Institution, which from its nature as a military Academy imposes restraints which must almost necessarily be borne with impatience -

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we had need of a channel into which our minds and thoughts might be diverted when worn out by the monotony of our regular duties we needed some object more intimate than our Institution around which we could unite more closely, and upon which our hearts could rest with more affection. What could better have served the purpose than a Literary Society which had for its object the cultivation of the forensic arts and the pleasures of fraternal intercourse - where laying aside the restraint of the soldier, and forgetting the difficulties of the student - we indulge in the excitement of debate and the happy freedom of social communion. We are greatly indebted to those of our predecessors who first founded our Society - We can all look back with sincere delight to the many happy scenes we have [illegible] in our Hall - We all remember the trials through which our Society

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has passed during our sojourn as her sons. We all feel that we have borne our part in these trials, and now that Fortune has favoured [sic] our exertions and cheered us with her smiles - now that we can see the bright prospect open before us, and can indulge the fairest hopes for the welfare and prosperity of our beloved Society - a bond of union has been formed among us which passing years will only strengthen. Already each one of us regards as brothers all her children who have been faithful to our common mother - and look with feelings of mingled pride and respect upon those whose course in life is as honourable [sic] to her as creditable to themselves - Doubtless we all feel deep interest in our Institution, and are solicitous for her advancement and success. We are all fully alive to the benefits we derive from our connection with it, and appreciate the importance

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to our success in life of the education to be acquired under its teaching - but the feelings we entertain to it and our Society respectively are different both in kind and degree. Those which we bear to our Institution are strong and lasting indeed. We will look back with gratitude at the wholesome lessons we have here been taught - we will experience in years to come the excellence of its system - and when it shall have added to its own intrinsic merits - the prestige which age confers - we will be proud of the mother who prepares her sons so well for the varying fortune of life!

But the feelings we bear to our Society are far more tender - These different feelings may be compared to the affection which a child bears its father and mother - while it entertains the strongest love for each - there is yet more depth and tenderness in the love which is borne towards the mother who ministered to his earliest wants, who first gave direction to his character

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and disposition, who watched with unceasing devotion at his side, and with whom every act of his childhood’s years is inseparably connected - than for the father who by his position is excluded from the performance of the thousand kindnesses that so often wrap the very existence of a child in that of her mother. And yet there exists a most intimate connection between our Society and Institution, and one which, instead of endeavouring [sic] to weaken and destroy, we should labour [sic] to render more close and lasting - and I would take this opportunity of impressing on the mind of every Son of Calliope the importance of associating Society and Institution together as one and inseparable -

Love the one truly and act your part towards her faithfully - but do not suppose that therefore you cannot feel any affection for the other - Remember that the interests

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of your Institution cannot suffer without producing a like effect upon the prosperity of your Society - and satisfied of this ever labour [sic] to secure the advancement of both - by working for the one from which the other derived its being - and through which alone it exists -

It is needless to say that the Commencement of an Academy is a most important era, in the life of those who then enter upon the duties of manhood - it is one, too, that is hailed with delight as the end of the trouble incident to a Student’s course. He feels that as tho [sic] the restraints which have so long been upon him are removed, and alright future is before him, the world with its allurements and enchanting pleasures seems ready to receive him - One cannot but rejoice when so glorious a day as this seems has come to usher him into a new existence. To all who have been subject for four years to the rigour [sic] of military disci

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pline, and who have been so constantly employed as we have in the duties both of the Soldier and the Student - to those who have been compelled to submit to the discomforts which are necessary in such an education - the day of graduation must be doubly pleasant - Thus is it with every one of us who is soon to leave the walls of the Citadel. Academy - We all feel happy in the thought that we have stood the severe test to which we are here subjected - and regard our diplomas as the reward of our labours [sic] - we would be [illegible] longer remain members of the Institution - but still there are many causes for regret at our leaving forever things which time has made so dear, and it would be strange indeed if we could take our departure from a place that has been our home as long as this has, without a feeling of sorrow. We must have formed some attachments, we must

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have made some friends - we must have conceived some affection for the very inanimate objects that have become familiar - these alone would have been sufficient to have caused us some pain at parting – but to this is added the far greater pain of bidding farewell to our Society - to you my brothers and friends!

It would be as vain as useless to attempt to describe the feelings which the occasion induces - each one of you will one day experience them - suffice it to say that to take leave of our Society is by far the most unpleasant necessity which our graduation requires - and the circumstance which more than any other will cause us to look back with sorrow upon the day of our farewell -

Before leaving you allow me to give you a parting word of advice - Never despair of the Society - never cease to labour [sic] for her benefit. What if we are few in number! so much the

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greater reason to be stout of heart! Be encouraged by the past history of the Society - Remember how high you have raised her - and be not discouraged by apparent difficulties. Let no one fail in his duty and our brightest hopes for her future will be realised [sic] - In her delightful teaching are to be learned some of those lessons which will prepare us for the world - which will make us useful citizens - and never have there existed a people more in need of men fit for every sphere of usefulness than those of the South - Dark days are coming fast upon us - a despotism more miserable than ever befell a civilized people will soon crush us beneath its power, unless some speedy and mighty effort is made to repel it - a time is coming that will try men’s souls, and we must bear our part in the struggle! Fame with its perils and delights my brothers must be ours - Welcome its

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rocky precipice! Welcome its amaranthine garlands! We must wear them on our brows, we must leave them on our graves – We must – we will fill our lives with acts of usefulness and crown them with deeds of honour [sic] – and when we die there will be tears on the cheek of innocence, and sighs from the bosom of virtue – and the young will wish to resemble and the aged will lament to lose us!

But I have already detained you too long

Why defer what we are unable to prevent –

We must part – Probably we will never all meet again – but remember that though we may be absent you will not be forgotten. The remembrance of the pleasure which we have shared with you as member of the Calliopean Society shall never be effaced from our minds – but memory will love to linger as it recalls each familiar face – every little occurrence that impressed itself upon us – and as hon-

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orary members we will not be forgetful of her welfare and interest, but as such exert all the influence we may possess for her progress and advancement.

The fair would still delay ere we sundered the tie that binds us so closely – but other – more pressing duty bids us away – we must hearken to the call – but as we move from the circle in which we have so long been accustomed to find relief from care – in which the happiest hours of our Cadet life have been experienced – unite with us in the sincere and heartfelt hope that the Sons of Calliope may never forget to love cherish and protect her!

Farewell!