Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1850-08-09
THE CONGRESSIONAL DuR1aL-eRoyND
ny RopGlgr cnIswrL1. IN.


ut is better to go the house of mourning Than
to so tie house offtasting: for that Is the end of
al men and Ike living Will Icy it to oheart"-SoL-
ONION.
During visit to Washington,
rode out to the Congressional Burial
Ground. Though | have sort OF
monomania for graveyaids. my idio-
syncrasy is not of a gloomy or mo-
rose character. love to stroll thro'
the paths and avenues cf ccmctrics,
and peruse the often touching in
scrlptions TO the departed, because
they afford more instructive material
for meditation than any other places
whatsoever.
IKE Congressional Bm:ial-G omd
is situated about one mile and half
east OF the capitol, near the waters
oi the Anacostia, and comprises
about ten acres of ground. The sit
uation IS rural and picturesque in the
cNtreme- Nature and Art have
combined TO bcautify and adorn this
final resting-place of mortals-thc
former, by the location, and by Gov
ering the ground with large pine and
cedar trees, and the latter, by all that
affection, taste, and wealth can do.
II may Very appropriately be called
silent city Of marble, from the ma
ny splendid productions of the sculp-
tors gc"lus with which it is peoplod.
Silent city No lum nor din of
business is heard here: carriages and
horsemen do not jostlc together in
thy streets: thy pavements are not
throngcd by the carc-worn or pleas
'We-sceking crowd: the shriIl whistle
oi the engine and the voice of its al
tcndant bell are not echoed through
thy green retreats: commerce and
exchange have no place within thy
walls: the strife for wealth and the
strng@'e For fame cease here!
Oh! could we become acquainted
with the history of the occupant of
each grassy hillock, what thrilling
revelations would be made What
hopes and fears what passionate
lo.c and violent hatred what hapDi-
ness and miscry what cxultation
and despair what bliss and agony!
what struggles for wealth and fame,
exactly such as the millions Of living
ci;,ua are battling for at this present
moment
found here the memorials Of
promjscuous multitude. The man
of commanding form whose tongue
once electrified the Senate lay at the
feet Of the babe a span long. In
this "housc appointed for all living"
the servant and master, the INDECENT
and the opulent possessor lay side by
side. Truly, Death, thou art the on
ly levelor !
In strolling through the ground, |
was struck by the peculiar and af-
fectlng style of commencing the epi-
taphs on some of the monuments,
showing by what relatives they were
erected; if by parents, the inscrip-
ton commences thus: -"Sacrcd TO
The memory of our dear SON." or
"daughtcr,' and Uice rersa. I'm one
place, my eye caught this simple and
touch sentence: Sacred to the mem
ory of my only boy!" Doubtless
tbs monument was erected by
widowed mother, and he was ssihe
only son of a widow" How affec-
ting! 1t must have pierced ones
heart TO behold that sorrowing moth
er following her only boy to his long
home. Methinks I can see her at.
tending the awful obsequies Niobe-
like, she remains dumb while the
dust is heaped over his slumbering
form. AT length the anguish of her
soul grows too big to be repressed,
and she advances to the brink of the
grave. All her soul is in her eyes as
she catches the last glimpse of the
dismal coffin, and as she looks, she
eXclams-"Farewell, my son my
son my only beloved Would to
Cod had died for thee Farewell,
my child Farewell, all earthly
happiness! Attempt not to comfort
me! will go mourning all my days,
till my gray hairs come down with
sorrow TO the gravel" Here is GER
tainly the climax of misery.
Farther along, the words "Om
Father" arrested my attention. Some
of the sleepers, perceived, had ar
rived to the age of threescore wears
and Ten, and a few had felt the frosts
of iourscore winters. 1t is to be hoped
that they came to their final resting
pace as "shocks of corn fully ripe for
the harvest;" that in their last mo-
nonfc tbo rotroc,ooot c a. -.