The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-01-15
The Voice CT the Dead.

generous affections Of youth mantled on his
cheek; his foot was upon the threshold Of life;
his studies, his preparations for honored and
useful life, we're completed his breast was
filed with a thousand glowing, and noble, ami
never yet expressed aspirations but he died!
lie died while another, OF nature dull. coarse,
aud unrehned, OF habits low base and british,
of promise that had nothing in it bat shame
aud msery-snch an one, | say, was suffered
to cucumber the earth. Could this be. if
there were no other sphere for the gifted, the
aspiring, the embyro thought just bursting
into expression, the deep aud earnest passions
OF a noble nature, just swelling into the ex-
panson Of every beautiful virtue, should
nevsr manifest lis power, should never unfold
itself! eau &c believe that all this should
die while mcanness. corruption, scnsna!l:y,
and every deiorlued aud dishonored power.
Should live? No, ye goo3iy and glorious ones
We die ROT in vain; ,e teach, ye assure US,
that We are gone to some world Of nob!sr life
AID action.
l have seen one die; she was beautiful
we're the ministries OF lie that we're gwen
her to iu:!:!. Angelic o,e!nass enroaed
Xxi diQ d EidIt,. itS ~ ~ NCiS SaAy nv AIcAsa
heaven. Lfea,!cd in every tone, hallowed
every affection, saome in every ac,ioD-;uyest-
ed as a halo her whole existence, and MADE 1t
light aud blessing and charm s:id vision
Of y.daess to all around hes; but she died
Friendship a.d love, and parental :nndness,
and i,l;::.t ws:sa iscss stretched catte;r band!
10 save her, l.,i. they could no; save her and
She died. !" Ia; did AL that luvel'Ec-s Gle
Is there 30 laEs Of the blessed AID loIesy
one, Tor such to. I've ia? Forbid it rcasen, re-
Iig;ou .-bcrcay,d affection, and uhdying
|loye. forbid the ,hoaeh II cannot be that
such die ia Gods ccunsel, who siye In trail
human memory, forever!
| have seen one dic-in the maturity Of
every power, in The earthly perfections Of
every alaoui;y when many temptations had
becu overcome, aud many bad lessons had
| been learned; when many experiments had
made virtue. easy. aud had given facility
to action, aud a success to endeayor; when
wisdom had been learnt ffoin msay mistakes,
and a skill Mad been l.beriously acquired in
the use OF many powers; ard the being, i
looked upon, lid just comprised that most
| useful, uo,t practical Of Ill knowledge, how
to live, and vac, well ana wisely yet have
seen such an one die Was all this treasure
gained, only to be lost? We're. all these IA
cuites, trained, ouly TO be thrown into utter
disuse! Was this iistrument-the intelligent
| soul, the nublest in the unverse-was it so
laboFiou " fashioned, and by the most varied
and expensive apparatus, that. on the very
moment oEbeiug finished, it should be cast
away forever? No, the dead, as We callt hem,
do not SO die. They carry our thoughts to
lis, and especially by all the strange and
seemingly untoward circumstances OF their
| departure from this life, that they and we
shall live forever. They open the future
world, then, to our faith.
! They open it also, in fpe, to our affections.
No person OF reflection and piety have lived
long. without beginning to fud in regard to
the earthly objects that most interest Inn
his frien6s-tllat the balance is gradually in
Ching in favor OF another world. How
many after the middle period of lie and es-
pecially in declining years, must teel-if the
experience OF lie has had any just effect upon
them-that object their strongest attachment
are not here. One by one, the ties OF earthly
affection are cut asunder one by one, friends,
companions, children, parents are taken from
US; Tor time, perhaps, we are in a strait
betwxt two" az was the apostles, not decid
ing altogether whether it is better to depart !;
bat shall we not, at length, say with the
disciples, when some dearer friend is taken,
,lct us 90 aud die with hinl?"
The dead have not ceased their communi-
cation with us, though the visible chain is
broken. II they are still the same they must
still think OF US, As two friends on earth
may know that they love each other, without
any expression, without even the sight f
each other; as they may know, though dwell
ling in different and distant countries, with
out any visible chain Of communication, that
their thoughts niagle together, so may it lie
with two friends OF whom the one is on EARTH
and the other in heaven. Especially where
there is such an union Of pure minds that it
is scarcely possible to conceive Of separation;
that union seems to be a part Of their very
being We may believe that their trienship
their mutual sympathy is beyond the power
OF the grave to break up. But ah!' we
say. iii there were only giimps Of that bless
cd land; ifthere were. indeed, some mcssen-
ger bird. such as is supposed insome countries.
to come from the spirit land, how early should
we question it!' In the words Of the poet,
we should say, sltf.g
"But tell us, thou bird Of the solemn strain,
Can those who have loved, forget? ts'}
We call-but they answer not again.
DO they love, do they love us yet
We call them far, through the silent night
And they speak not from or hill:
We know, we know, that their land is bright,
But say, do they love there still ?" 7r8e
The poetic doubt. we may answer with plain
reasoning, and palmer scripture. We may
say. in the language OF reason, if they lipe
there, they love there. We may answer in
the language of Jesus Christ. che that liveth
and bei;eveth in me, shall never die" And
again, '.have ye not read, saith our. Saviour,
that which was spoken unto you by God.
saying, | am the God Of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, aud the God Of Jacob? God is
not the God of the dead, but. Of the living"
Then is it true that they live there; and they
yet speak to U.s. From that bright sphere,
from that CAIN region, from the bowers OF
life immortal. they speak to US They say to
us. sigh nos in despair over the broken and
defeated expectations of earth. Sorrow not
as those who have no hope. Bear, calmly
and cheerfully, thy lot Brighten the chain
Of love, OF ympathy-of communion with all
,,r., minds IN oarth .uH ir, ho.uov, sch;uL