The Daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1845-1850, 1850-07-26
Mourning Newspapers.

a parallel case | wish TO state that weekly
paper published in Worcester, Mass, came TO
It's subscribers with no mark of mourning
whatever, and no commenls--simply copying
the announcement of the death of Gen. TAYLOR |
from the n. Y. Tribune.
The paper purports to be an anti-slavery
and peace paper, and it may be supposed that
the usual marks of mourning were Withheld, |
because Gen. Taylor was warrior and slave |
holder: but am inclined 10 think that Gen. |
Taylor had one trait that would shine with |
peculiar brilliancy and distinctness, even upon |
the character of lsurritt's Christian Citizen, viz
Charity.-BoSt0n Journal.
Our attention has been directed to the pre-
ceding paragraph by one OF our friends, and
We will premise what we are about 10 say in
relation TO il, by rendering our thanks to the
profound critic, and accomplished ethicist TO
whom we are indebted for this overwhelming
exposure, Tor the opportunity he affords us of
referring to this custom OF dressing newspa-
pers in black, when ostensibly great men
die.
The charge Of this grave censor against Us
is, that our paper, on the Saturday after Gen.
Iaylor's death, !" came 10 our subscribers with
no marks of mourning whatever Now we
have looked at this charge as closely and crit
ically as we could, and not having been able
TO perceive that there is anything essentially
Immoral or atrocious in the fact; and having
weighed the consequences of our temerity as
seriously as we could, we have concluded 10
plead guilty 10 The charge. This point being
settled, we proceed from the grave charge Of
the correspondent TO the correspondents in
ferences; and to that mysterious inuendo about
Charity with which the author of the letter
TO MIR. Sleeper puts the climax on his terrible
castigation of us.
In the first place then we say that the put
ting of black lines through our paper, at any
time, or upon any occasion, does not come
within the compass of editorial duties, and
consequently The structures OF Mr.. Sleepers
correspondent, who assumes that they do. are
based upon a gratuiious assumption. We
know that in the old world when George
Fourths, William Frederics, Nicholases. BON
bas,and other men, of supreme station, bnt low
morality, die, use-and-wont, or law, prescribe
TO what broad sheets are there, the stimulation
of grief; but we have yet TO learn that there
are newspaper sumptuary laws in the United
States; or that anybody with superior intelli
gence TO Mr.. Sleepers correspondent ap
proves such a custom. We know, perhaps bet
ter than this correspondent does, the entire
mode Of doing up mourning papers and We
know that, though a solemn, it is but a yer,
specions way of gaining popular considera
ton. 1t IS simple, cheap process. Yol
gust require to turn your column rules, expenC
the extra ink, and the thing is done We d.
not question the sincerity of the gref of any
of our brethren who did so, on the death o
the late president; although in the dolefu
rhetoric of one of our contemporaries il wa:
tall H. h.xs Al,
believe that we would have compromised ;
principle had we done so. We will not now
criticise the life and character of The lat,
Zachary Taylor: we will NOT say less of hin
than this, that for his laie attitude towards tn,
South, we h0Bored hins as much as any ration
al man could; bsE on this question of putin.
black lines on newspapers when he died. We
confess ourselves utterly be,erodox.
True grief, Ike true love, is modest sen
timent; it shrinks from HAT mendacious dis
play oil outward uappings which sensual bar
harism adopts, to exaggeraie the appearance
Of sorrow aud which civilization has consti
tuted cold formal fashion.
We did not, even when those dearest TO u.
were torn by death from our heart, put sable
robes upon our body, to attract mems eyes t.
our sorrows. We would never desecrale The
memory Of the beloved departed BY saying il
effect to the world. Behold how | weep.
True sorrow is too sacred in our eyes to be-
made the pretext for such harlequnism. 1
we would not dress ourself M dolefu black.
when rigid custom and the technichality OF
duty seem to demand that we should, il is mol
likely that We would now simulate doleful
woe, merely because such stimulation has be.
come q custom. We do not choose to fioai
down the stream of fashion with the dead pol.
lywogs who are borne on It's currents, although
Mr.. Sleeper's correspondent thinks we ought
We can sympstllise with General Tuylor'c
family in their bereavement; but we cannot
forget even in the moment OF his death, whal
we deem the awful inconsistencies Of his life
We cannot shut from our eyes the CORY fields
of Mexico, or the blood hounds imported by his
advice, pursuing the flying Seminoles through
the ewamps OF Florida. The groans and
sighs of three hundred chaueized human be-
.ngs by whose unrequited toll, upon his plan
taiion ia Louisiana, the President has become
rich, come 10 our ears upon the same breeze
that bears the lamentations of his family over
the fresh turf thai covers his grave: We think
of other bereaTements as inexorahe but more
cruel than death, ia connection with that most
yillainous system OF iniqnity in which he was
so largely apariaker. and orr conscience will
not permit us 10 make pystensiens 10 an excess
of grief which we do not feel, by meaning
less display Of the outward i.appings Of sor