Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1847-10-29
WHAT THE END SHALL BE.

WHAT THE END SHALL BE.
Death, in all its various forms, Is calculated to
impress the mind with ave. 10 remind mortas of
the Grail tenure of their earthly pilgrimage; and
10 teach the most though,ess that "Man's days
are few and full Of troubles" In the varied rou.
tine Of worldly existence, the most prudent are
subject TO occasional alterations with their fol.
lows. Such schisms are, in all cases, certainly
lamentable, and, if possible, should be avoided.
But the breath Of sander-lhe voice OF deirac-
uon-the whisper Of pollution-or the hint of
suspicion, arouses our snimosiiies, and causes US
10 meet our traducers with marked coldness, if
hot with absolute hatred. In such cases, carried
away by our passions or our prejudices, we are
incompetent of forming correct estimate of the
characters Of The offenders. Their vices are ar.
rayed before oureyes in characters of living light
and from these we make up our decision; but
their virues-lhose adorning embems Of con-
trite spirit-those mementoes of u chastened in.
IelIecl-those speaking evidences Of we'll dis.
ciplined mind-lhose uudying testimonials Of an
unseared conscence-aways, 10 greater or less
extent, found in every character, are entirely los.
sight Of. Their characters may be betainted-their
pursuits may be uesonable--their hands may
bc polluted by crime-or their very existence
(orleited but they arc not devoid Of every vir-
tue. A latent spark Of what they might have
been, had not temptation been too great for their
yielding natures, or had not The hearlless world
met their first anxious aspirations after fame with
a chilling indifference, still remains. Like the
aosis ia the desert it is Cbscured from our view
and for time we are unable TO discover one re-
deemng traiI--one retrieving principle--in what
to US, seems compound of denominations.
But the time for these feelings is limited; like
other earthly things, it is aeetng. The object of
our hatred is laid low by dealh; he is taken from
hence the "winding sheet" is all that remains
a solitary mound in the graveyard alone evden.
ces his exislence We hear Of his departure
with awe, and feeling of regret, fain, it may be,
takes The place Of our former prejudiceS. His vi
ces are at once forgotten; and his virtues treas
urcd as pearls Of great price. The most harden
ed speak Of the deceased in terms of respect
None are so abandoned as to carry their enmity
beyond The portals of the grave. None willing
TO war against the dead.
These reflections were forced upon our mind
by the reception Of letter announcing the de-
cease of WILLIAM R. LINDSAY, at the Hospital
in Cincinnati. In years gone by, when our days
were fewer and our heart lighter, we were init.
malely acquainted with tho deceased. At the
same stand, for months, we performed our daily
task; and when our labor was completed, we sat
and listened to his converse, laughed at his well
told jess, or sympathised with his misronunes.
Even then the spellof the tempter was upon him.
He was not altogether abandoned TO virtue; nor
yet the hopeless dcbauchee; but the bandsh-
ments Of the toper-.he jovial carousings of the
inebriaie--lhe entIcements of the bachinalian--
and, above all, the chilling recepton---,he cold
reserve--ihe marked dstrust--the whispered i'm
pu;alion--and the avened looks, received from
the moral portion of community, were fast lead
ing Tor perhaps we should say driving) him from
the path Of virtue. He was at that critical peri.
cd of life when surrounding circumstances seem
to combine for the purpose Of exaltng man, or
causing his final overthrow. Had religion spo.
ken her words Of consolation--had pety whis.
pered the promptings Of hope--had virtue plead
with the errng--had meekness pointed out the
path Of righteousness; all might have been well.
A man endowed with natural talents Of very
high order might have been rescued from threat.
ened danger, and made shining star in the fir
mament. These were withheld; nay, the door
of the sanctuary was closed against him, and all
inducements 10 reform placed beyond his reach.
Under such circumstances he finally Yielded
1t would be strange il he had not. We cannot
trace his sdownward career. hepursuit Of worldly
affairs separated US. Our paths since that time
have been different. We have met but twice,
and heard from each other butseldom. But the clo-
sing scene unfolds the tale. death in the Hos
pilal, and burial place in the Potter's ield!-
He died far from his kindred, friends and the ac-
quanrunces of his pany days! He died amid
strangers, and surrounded by filth and CRIME! He