Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-01-27
nlisteIIanp.
Three little Wreaths.

When the royalty Of England was engaged in
the solemn duty OF burlag the dead Of the pal
ace few weeks ago among ths ceremonils
which hungly alte ded the ertombiHg OF a prince
nothing vas 80 touching, so profoundly suggestive,
as the laying Of those three wreilhs Of moss and
voets On biz coffin, the simple token Of a dlugh-
ter's love. Il has been remarked among thought.
fu. persons, that 10 the numerous accounts we
have mad o, the last hours Of Prince Albert moth.
lng has been said OF any religious ceremonies,
nor is u known whether the earthly prince was
reminded, OF was able to be reminded, If the
fact that he was about entering presence where
the forms Terribly court, do 10. exist, and Waere
the garments 70 be worn are neither VI the pur-
pie VI human royalty nor Of the pattern OF hu-
man approval. /, would have been well to say Of
HIN lhA. he died in the Christian faith and 10
leave or record, in connection with his .4st hours
on earth, something whereby we might gather
that the EnslIsh nation regard the death Of q
princs as bis descent to the level Of humtn ma
turs. Bat, from AughI that appears, no one seems
to have tho1glt Of him as any thing but dead
prince, TO be smbalmed aud buried with the ro,a,
dead Of Eugand.
No one, except those children, who, 10 the
presence Of the grim monarch, forgot ibcir owa
line, its prerogl;yes and power, while they laid on
the coffin Of lhsir father the token VI uudyug
love, the embems Of resurrection aul reuaion
hereafter.
1t is the smallest but most meaning incident IN
the funeral story. A hous nd years hence il
may be lha. some porer will be searching among
the ruiss Of Winds r, 'or relic, OF the ancient
days. Should he hnd that vault, where the kings
aud their children lie, he will wonder at the splen.
~. 4 l. l.
adorn the solemn repose Of the dead But Il
he should, by chance, hnd on the collin Of Albert
some wthered moss, some petals Of dead yiolsts,
they will create in h,s sreasi more tender emo.
tons, they will carry him back with more OF the
sense Of common blood and common destiny TO
the ,ong past years than will aRy carved stones or
monumental brasses. 1t isin the affections as in
the common 10. Of man, that princes and beg
grs are equal.
Taere IS something interesting in the fact that
10 all ages and almost all countres flowers have
been slrown o-er the dead, and laid on their
graves as tokens Of love that reaches through the
darkness. We remember 10 have seen an Egypt.
an mummys case opened, in which lay the en-.
ba,med body Of q priestess or princess Of early
days. How many thousand years her body had
repo,ed iu the Iheban mountain, undislurbed by
the fall Of empires or the crushing chariot wheel
Of time, ns one could tell with accuracy Doubt
less she lived before the Parthsnon was founded,
before Rome was. The monuments OF human
greatness had been created and had cfumb.ed
the memorials Of kings and warriors had beer
decteed by senates, carved oy sculptors, admired
by generations Of men, aud gone TO dust under
those chariot wheels, while the repose Of th,
Egyptian girl remained calm and when i. wa,
at length broken, we found aound her head q
wreath Of braided leaves and blossoms, unbroker
even in their delicate tendrils. Thus, a token O
affection, simple weaving into wreath of thes,
memorials of human love, had oullasted the mos,
splendid creations of art the most elaborate WORK
OF man in honor Of his dead heroes. So tn,
love they typify outlass all earthly measurement
Of duration.
1t will hardly be that those wreaths will Ions
continue IN the atmosphere Of an English burial
chamber. But they speak Of love that over.
looks the changes OF Time, that reaches heyonC
the confines Of life. There is not much oye in
dLogand Tor the dust that sleeps in ths, vault
The Princes" Charlotte, alone, perhaps, of al
that have been there, is retained in afFeciiona,,
remembrance, and those who remember ia,
nations mourning for her are fast growing fewer
bat The Prince who has now been laid there hat
many qualities that endeared HIM TO those VIII,
oest knew him, and is mourned bya widow VIII,
anus I'iue consolation 10 her royalty, and by chill
u'en who lind mournful pleasure in gathering
moss a. d ylolets at O,borne, to make wreaths 10
his coffin J0uradi Commerce,