The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-03-10
From the Farmer and Planter.
NEGLECT OF FAMILY CEMETERIES

Our last resting place on carth-the mar
row spot where caro- and anxiety, ant
toll and trouble, and sin and hope, arc al
put to rest forevcr-shall we not contem
plate it in otherlights tLan as the nero house
Of clay which needless and restless human
ity so often makes it! 1t was beautiful
custom, whore but fow were proprietors o.
the soil, TO consecrate Goods Aero" around
the venerable churches. Thcro, safe from,
tire footstep Of intrusion-from the uphcav,
ing swells of progress-from tho greedy
grasp Of gain-loved relics rested in poacc
SO It is in England, with her parish system,
of State worship. So it is III Continental
Europe in Nordland-cverywhero,
She churchyard, with its holy relics, is sa-
cred soil, peoplcd with the dead, and orna.
mented and improved Ivy the tasteful cul-
ture of the living. But how different in
young, buoyant, restless America? How
different from New Eugland-whch has
preserved Il lingering touch Of grave sane
tity from the better types Of the Old
Worlds the system cf scpulturc in the
plantation States? Here, every family of
comfortable means has its own cemetery.
On the plantation from which we write
this article, there arc ninc burial grounds,
five Of which contain tho remains of tho
whites of the families, and four, those Of
the negroes belonging TO the different cs-
tatcs, which have bccn absorbed and con-
solidated into one. Ely hit Of these are
in state Of neglect, and have been so long
years agone. A stray post-tlnc remains
of wooden paling-a totterng tombstone
or two-somo red mounds-arc all the
indexes that point to the neglected resting
places of those who opened the Forest and
stood in the burrows Of life before U.S.
Whilst there ! S much to blame in the self
sh system which prompted our forcfathcrs
thus to scatter their dead, we can see mucl.
moro to censure in the neglect in which
the present generation leaves these sacred
spots. we may he told that tho fault lies
not with the present, who have no liability
in the matter. But let those who thus
speak, reflect that there arc stronger duties
claimed from man than those which arc
merely compulsory. We think it is Pauld
ing who has so properly uttered the senti
mcnt that 1--WE arc all moralsts when wo
sit upon grave stones"
We never contemplate the certainty Of
Death until he casts his shadow across our
pathway-obliterating, forever, the smiles
of loved ones, constituting the sunlight OF
existence. lie is the great antagonist of
life; and the cold thought Of the tomb, is
the skeleton of all festivals. "The dark
valley" of his shadow does not tempt us
onward, although it may lead to Paradise.
Charles Lamb said that hc did not wish
to lie down in the muddy grave, even with
kings and princes for his bed fellows. But
Natures decree is inexorable, and we only
nourish as We fade; aud SO do flowers and
all that is beautiful on earth. Men and
grass appear and vanish together, and the
myri:.ls Of to-day will echo no sounds Of
life upon the shores Of 10 morrow.
But all this ife-ilitting is pregnant of the
great instincts Of Immortality, and finds Il
holy response in the thinking mind and
thoughtful soul. How beautifully docs
Ion, the death devoted Greek, when about
10 yield up his young existence to the
sacrifice Of fate, respond to C1emanthc
when size asks {" if they shall not meet
again.:
Il have asked that dreadful question of
tho hills that look etcrnal-of the clear
streams that flow forever-of the stars.
among whose fields of azure my raised
spirit hath walked in glory. All were
dumb. but while I gaze upon thy living
face, fell that there is something in the
love that mantes through its beauty thar
cannot wholly perish. We shall meet
again, Ciemantbc."
Such thoughts crowd the avenues oi
every heart; such feelings hallow memories
beside freshly Ieaped, d,up mounds. We all
vow better things than wc ever pcrform.-
But are these reflections carried out? We
fear not. II we cannot protect these scat
tered resting places from ruin, let us do al
We can to preserve them from the intrusion,
Of the plough share, before which so many
have fallen, unnotccd. Let sheltering tree:
spring up to hide and protect the forsakc,
mounds. The cedar and the pine, and tho
clustering vine, are better friends to tic
dead, than is wing man. Then, these ST
lent dwelling places will be in quiet rest
until that hour cometh, when the sea sl,al
give up its dead, and the desert shall quick
en- with the hosts that have been swallowed
d, in its burning sands.
If the injudicious action of the past can
not now bc remcdied, We should strive, b,
every means in our power, TO adopt sucl
precautions in arranging and preserving
fN<Ns Aorl,~