Description The text of a speech written and delivered by W. B. Bennet (William Baker Bennet, 1827-1908) before the Phi Delta Society on February 22, 1848, at Mercer University, then located in Penfield, Georgia. Bennet describes the nation's important role in supporting learning and the arts, using the example of Ancient Greece, and encouraging similar appreciation in America for developing a culture that values intellect and artistic expression. He particularly stresses the power of oratory in a...

Scope and Contents The Bennet Collection preserves the personal papers, photographs, letters, memorabilia, and family histories of the Bennet family, early residents of Quitman and southern Georgia. Dating from 1826 to the late twentieth century, these digitized materials offer a window into the daily lives, travels, relationships, and experiences of several generations, including Oliver Winn Stevens, the Reverend William Baker Bennet, and Samuel Stevens Bennet. The collection includes letters, diary...

Description

A letter from W.B. (William Baker) Bennet to Harriet ("Hattie") L. Stevens, dated May 16th, 1887, in Quitman, regarding a recent visit in which he expressed romantic feelings which she did not reciprocate, and promising to honor her request to be "friends." He includes some poetry which he wrote immediately after the visit describing his despair at the change in feelings.