Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1842-01-01

heart, now beating with the fulness ofhope.
must, ere long, forever cease to throb. The
thin easement that encloses the immortal
spirit oil man is as brittle as glass, and gen.
tie rap OF disease, il it do not entirely de-
molish it, may so shatter it that all the medi
Gated putty in the universe can't hold il to-
gether. The gossamer threads that are
woven in the web of mans mortal exis-
tence are so fine in texture and so feeble in
strength that the slightest breeze of physi-
chi affection will sometimes snap them a.
sunder, and leaves them dangling in the
dusky sepuchre, like so many superannua-
ted cobwebs in the corners of a miser's ho-
vel.
My friends--the uncertainty Of life is as
certain as quarter day. have seen new
born babes imblbe the poison OF death with
the very gasp that gave them existence. |
have seen infancy creep into the grave, ard
give back its life into the hands Of its Ma
ker, unused and unchanged. | have seen
childhood and youth kicked out Of the world
AS though they were committing depreda-
tons in its llowery garden, and had no bu-
siness 10 occupy even a niche in the broad
empire of animated nature. have seen
manhood fall from the topmost cliff of am
tlty, and lie forever buried in the turbid
wave of oblivion. can now see old age
knocking at the door of the tomb, and beg
ging to rest his weary frame within its sa-
cred walls, where no earthly jars can dis
lurh its sIumbers. Yes, my friends, old
Time. in his moving, takes sweep from
one side Of creation 10 the other, and all
that comes within the reach Of his scythe
must fall TO fade and withsr. Before it, Iifes
! fragrant poses WELD up their sweetness
| like neW-mown clover, and the incense is
borne to the realms Of that Almighty Pow
er which gave it. How unwecome the
thought, that lie, 50 full of the highly con-
centrated compound extract Of sweetness,
should be so bri1f-and the candle of exis-
teuce should so frequently cease to burn
before the tip enl Of the taIIow is fairly
consumed it should so soon, at best,
flicker in lis socket, and the melted grease
Of mortality run down upon the cold clay
Of the grave.
Ny dear friends! on this occasion, all the
lighter feelings that pertain to human ma.
ture have deserted the domain Of my heart,
and have left nothing instead hut a vacuum
of solemnty. \ man is dead! he was moth
ing more than a man-but it is something
to be man in these degenerate DAYS Of
hypocrisy, conceit and selishness. Yes,
the man whom we had but latel Y chosen
from body Of seventeen millions TO pre-
side over, govern and direct the political
affairs OF tins free and independent nation,
is now no morei His immortal spirit has
! flown to Join companionship with those OF
| his five ilustrious predecessors, whose souls
1 | have reas n to believe, are in heaven
whose bodies have returned 10 dust-whose
aOble virtues are emJa!med with the incense
OF memory-and whose names are written
high upon the ebelisk Of fame. TO be read
and remembered by the children OF posierl-
ty. Yes my friends, he who but Yesterday,
as it were, was crowned with the costLieSt
coronet Of honor, has now gone to furnish
no better food for the worm Of the valley
than the beGgar who DIES for the want OF Il
crust. Those ewes that so lately lveyed
! the thronging multitude. and witnessed the
sincere manifestations OF a nations respect,
are now fastened together with the adhesive
glue of death, to gaze no more upon the
worlds busy scene. Those hands which
| formerly received the congratulations Of
thousands, are crumblng to ashes in the
Wondering sepulchre; and that generous
bosom, once warmed with the fires Of pat
riotsm that bIazed upon the hearts living
altar, is now as cold and inanimate as the
marble that covers it. hear funeral
drge in every breeze; the sun, 10 me, is
clothed insackcloth: the eagle perches upon
the cypress. and dro0ps its wings inssor-
row: the stars that spangIed upon 'iberty's
banner are darkened with the emblems at
grief; mourners fill the streets: and a wall
is heard throughout the lane for the loss of
one. who, through the al-wise dispensltions
OF Providence, yielded up the trust conf
ded to him by his fellow counrymen while
the blossoms Of hope were in their fullest
bloom,
Such, my friends, is the fraiIty Of life
such the insignfcance Of human greatness
and such the vanity Of all earthly expec-
tatiOns. Death shows no preference for the
humble tiller of the soil over the king on
his throne. The high. the low. the rich. tie
poor, the beautiful. the ugly, the lat and lie
lean. are all slaughtered indlscriminately,
and packed awav in that turEcovered house
appointed for all living. Man surely is but
shadow and life a dream!
Reflect, my friends, upon what feeble, dy-
ing insects you are, that craw for day
along the sunny path Of existence. and then
are crushed into the dust to inhaEit the
earth no more. Oh, think of this, and live,
while you live, in the daily expectation OF
diving, so that when you die, you may die
in the expectation of living. So mote it
! be-