Memories of Virginia
vice to be held in the old church October 13th. when the Chapter D. F. P. A., of which my sister is president, will attend in a body, to take the cup of remembrance. I hope you and your wife will be present, and "as ye do this in His name," give thanks to God for the life, work and character of Samuel Matthews, who is to me the pioneer hero of American History. There is another chieftain who stands only second in my hero worship, another Virginian, George Rogers Clark, "the Hannibal of the West."
In conclusion let me add, it is my hope that you may make one of your homes on some part of "the sacred soil" of the Denbigh Plantation, the American home of your ancestor, to stand an enduring memorial to the Matthews family, a family with a grand colonial background since Founding Days of Virginia, to attest "to soil brave men are ever true."
And now, my friend of memories,
I'll wake the echoes with refrain,
The echoes known to every heart,
"Never again! Never again."
Echoes from the old Welsh mountains,
Echoes from Great Britain's shore,
Echoes from the land of Baldwin,
The old time echo, "Never more."
Echoes from Denbigh Plantation,
Echoes from Point Comfort shore,
Echoes from the Old James River,
Echoes we seek to hear once more.
Echoes from the Mississippi,
Echoes from the Tappan Zee,
Echoes from the Rappahannock,
They call to you—they call to me.
[55]
