The Portland daily press., 1866-04-25
isAoR1FICEs of the PEOPLE at HOME.
g AN ADDRESS DELIVERED By
Major General j. IL. ChamDefiahh,
ATTHE OPENING OF THE FAIR FOE THE BENEFIT
OF
Widows and Orphans of Deceased Soldiers,

AT THE OPENING OF THE FAIR FOB THE BENEFIT
Widows and Orphans of Deceased Soldiers,
Monday Evening, April 20.
I speak tonight for those who have spoken
best for us all, and who speak no more. We
gather here because of the "unreturning
brave" We come in the name of those who
in our name went forth to bear up the nations
honor, which was her life; and having fulfill
led that highest duty of citizenship, and given
that noblest proof of manhood, sleep now i'll
the bosom of country thus made more dear,
and beneath the sure protection OF the Tag
which they protected, whose colors wave with
deeper beauty and broader meaning forever
more Yes, to-day, amidst the smiles of re-
turning peace. and the congratulations OF the
world; while delivered country looks up
from her sorrow with thanksgiving, and en-
franchised humanity shouts for joy; to-day,
when no stern buge sounds the thrilling re-
nellie of new campaign, and the ordinary ac-
tiyities of life are no longer hushed through
dread of the morrow's tidings-yes, to-day,
amidst these airs of Spring that waken all
things to life and love,-to-day we come to
weep, to lay fresh offerings on these glorious
graves, and to mingle with them the precious
need of tears. iti-l F'- 4
And not alone do your generous hearts res
pond to this feeling, not alone your beautiful
city--this "city by the sea" famed in song and
not unknown to story, comes to do honor to
the dead and Justice to the living. A grateful
Nation refuses to forget her martyrs, and
hands left feeble and the hearts left forlorn.-
1t is one of the high necessities Of states no
less than one of the holy instincts of huInani-
ty to cherish the memory of those who have
given their lives for their country. Their
names el0quence has hOnored, poetry immor-
talized, art glorifed, philosophy revered, re-
ligion canonized. Even the shallow epicurean
must confess the manly sentiment Ii
Dulce ct decoram est pro pGtsi0 mort.
at is sweet and fit for ones country to die"
Yes alas, that it must be said, "the hand of for
gotten brave men have made it a world for us. .
Not that we do not wish to remember; not
that we must diminish aught from the force of
the truth just affirmed, that mankind holds in
} honor and affection the memory Of those who
lay down their lives for others; nor yet that
we unjustly ascribe to the great names of his
tory the work that has been wrought by the
unnamed, nor that we suffer ourselves to be
so dazzled by the leading spirits of the world
that servile homage usurps the place OF hon
est sympathy. 1t is because all are so easily
forgotten. The great world cannot remember
ltS UtucldCtOIS, cACcpt ny budt ulCiC tSiihs liz
crowding of events, the swift revolving scenes,
the constant shifting of the actors, the multi
tudinous affairs, the press of life, force into
oblivion these who can no longer urge their
claim. 1t is with sadness, and yet with &C
qulescence in the wisdom of the law--the mer-
cy that mingles with the necessity-that we
must note how easily after all the world will
go on without us. 1t is thing to sober our
ambitions and to humble our pride, to think
how, to all seeming, at least, our little part in
the play could be left out and not be missed
save in some narrower circle where silence
would sit in our place, or where, alas tender
ness and weakness missed its strength and
stay. But shall we therefore despair? because
time seems to conquer all, even gratitude, ev-
en- love? No, the busy enginery OF time may
fly so swift we cannot see the parts, but in the
stiffness of eternity they all appear. What is
OVERCOME by the rushing tide comes to view
again in the calm, broad sea. Give the restless
spirit then its win, that it may work deeds
worthy of itself though unheeded now. Let
us snatch from the greedy hand of forgetful-
ness the name and the fame of those who
stood with us and for us in the mortal strife,
and with allreverence and love offer to these
bereaved ones the ministries which time cam
not touch. ~ i9tsfef fii
For we bring our offerings tonight not with
ostentatious charity, not with seif-complacent
thoughts, as II our good deeds would give us
better credit in the sight of man or God, but
with a sense of justice, a feeling OF gratitude,
as an act of love and service of religion,
which enjoins no less to visit the fatherless
and widows in their afdiction, than to keep
ourselves unspotted from the world. Let us
then bring our brightest things to beautify this
service. Let our blessings descend upon these
stricken hearts till their grief shall be robed
in beauty, even as beneath these April show
ers the gentle earth bures her dead in bloom.
Yes, bring the best. Flowers shall lose moth
ing Of their glory because we lay them in so
many graves, and wreathe them into crosses
to soften their sharpness. Here let us gather
all that can assuage, all that can help, all that
can strengthen. Thus blessing, may we too
be blessed, by the exercise Of these noble
sympathies, by the remembrance of heroic de-
votion, and by the contemplation of those
most generous of giyers who have not with
held the costliest of earthly offerings in the
cause which is SO dear to us all. For we
come here surely in the fellowship of a COM
mon cause, to acknowledge and to take, so
far as we may, our part OF the responsibility
to share, if it may be, the burdens, the
sacrifices, the offerings, borne in our behalf,
and which the vicissitudes of this mortal life
have laid with too unequal a hand on some
least able to bear.
1 say we come with sympathy. We stand
together, by whatever ways we come. On
this issue we join as one. Whosoever will,
let him come We bar out none from this
communion. Here let us revive no bitter
thOughts-let us waken no harsh chords; but
over these open graves mingle heart to heart
and pledge hand to hand!
But | am not here to speak of the soldier
alone. l prize this opportunity which allows
me with propriety to give utterance to cher
ished conviction, and to do justice to large
body Of the countrys valiant defenders, whom
the blazonry OF arms and the eclat of martial
deeds have left, believe, too much out of
recognition and regard. For they are not
alone the country's defenders who stood be-
meath her flag on the reeling decks, or bore it
on the perilous edge of battle. We are scarce
ly less indebted to those who upheld the cause
by their steadfast devotion at home. Without
them no ship could keep the sea, no army the
field. Without them the sineWs of wal would
fail, the Nation would be powerless to resist
her fierce foes, the glory of her flag would be
extinguished, and darkness fall upon the anx-
ious eyes of humanity. When the gloomy
days oppressed us, when ndisapp0intments and
reverses, and the growing complications of the
struggle made the stOutest hearts tremble;
when our finances were exhausted, and our
revenues and legitimate resources were made
quate to meet the crisis; when foreign pow
ers were but too ready to cast doubt upon the
public credit, and stood aloof. from our distress
that they might enjoy finer perspective of
the ruin they prophesied; when indeed it
seemed that we had no friend in earth or
heaven, who were they that came forward in
that perilous hour. and counted not whether
it was the half or the whole of their posses