Litchfield enquirer., 1868-09-17
NORFOLK.

NORFOLK.
 The Soldiers Monument ordered by the citizens of this town has been completed at the quarry in Westerly, R. l., and will be forwarded here during the present month. It is designed antl built by Wm. A. Bur dick, agent of the Westerly quarries and is made of the celebrated granite of that To- cality. It has two bases, die, plinth and shaft, and is 24 feet 4 inches in height.
 Upon one side is the inscription, ''To the memory of the Soldiers from this town,
 who gave their lives to their country ill the
 War of the Rebellion" Upon the reverse side is carved the names of the hero-mar tyrs-th -thirty,fve in all-with the dates of their deaS1s. The monument as a whole is simple. effective and grand; eloquent in its silent massiveness of the story it shall tell to alf posterity of the steadfastness ev- en unto death-of those whose glorious deeds it commentaries and whose memo
 ry 1t preserves. It is to be erected up-
 on the public green in the village, and will doubtless be inaugurated with appropriate ceremonies, due notice of which will be given in our columns The whole cost of the monument, erected, will be $2,2OO, S75O of which was voted by the town, and the remainder raised by private subscrip- tlon. It will be an ornament and an hon. or to the place.
 - The town meeting was held on Sat urday last, for tic purpose of voting upon the proposition to lend the credit of the town to the "Western Conn. R. R D in tho sum of S45,0O0; or in other words, to pur- chase 415 shares of the capital stock of the proposed company. The meeting was large and enthusiastic, and the vote was l93 in favor of taxing the town for the above amount, to 40 opposed-a much lar ger majority than the necessary two-t thirds. Folks arc already listening for the shriek of the locomotive, and it will doubtless, be more musical-when it comes-tl,.n tho shrieks of the taxpayers.
 - There are two topics which can hard ly be called {" items of news,' perhaps, but which should cngage the attention and consideration of the free and enlightened citizens of Norfolk when they meet ill council at tho annual town-m meeting in Oc-
 
 tober. One of these is the public sign-post at the N. w. corner of tho green, which is also made to do duty as yuit}e-bod,'d. The post and boards are all there, aud in tol- erable state of preservation, but the Lette,.- s19g has become so indistinct with the lapse of the ages since il, was inscribed, and the action of the elements from Noah's timeto the present, that it has become exceeding ly difficult for fluid traveller, in dark night, without spectacles, to discern either the roads or the distances the post is SUD- posed to point out. A vote of the town, (lf that Is necessary, little black paint, a skillful artist and a very small amount of fractional currency would so abate this small evil that the anxious wayfarer shall as often stop before the post and bless the town, as he is now inclined to do he same Ming.
 The other topic for the towns observa- tion and correction is one of graver im- port, and consequently deserves more se- rious consideration. In a word. tue toun needs neaO hearse BADLY. The one ill present use has been handed down from generation to generation to generation, till it is safe to say it has buried the whole town over and over, and now stands a grim and ghastly, rusty and shabby memorial of bye-gone times and long-gone ancestry. It IS disgrace to the living and mockery of the dead. It should be buried out of sight, or better-burned- the sight of it no longer add needless horror and dis tress to every funeral. It is said that the remarkable longevity of the inhabitants of this town is due in large measure to a natural reluctance of the people to be car- ried to their burial home in this convey ance. So serious subject, as we have al- ready said, should command the most seri- ous consideration of the town, and we beg of them for the sake of public decency and private feeling, to vote MemseZoes q ue,o hearse. Or will they prefer to cut off two or three feet of the present box, cover it with new but cheap piece of black bom- bazine, grease the old axles and hubs, and make it last for another hundred years, and bury three or more generations? P.