The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1870-10-26
WINNsBORO, s G., WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCc

been merged into tho great ocean q
cternity. To-day South = Carolins
stretches out to Virginia, the weeping
and widowed mother Of statesmen and
heroes. the hund Of sympathy aud af.
fcction. Together they bend over the
simple tomb of, bin. they loved aud
together they raise III silent cloqucncc
their bloody hands to Heaven and cry
for Justice
Unwilling to trust myself furthc,
upon a theme so great and so sugges.
tive Of deep emotions. offer to the
meeting the following resolutions
Rcso|vel, That We have heard with
profound grief of the death of Gene.
raj RoBERT Il. hrE, the foremost man
of modern history, alike prceminent
as patriot, soldior and christian,
and in common with every community
within the limits of the late Couiede-
rate States, and with the liberal mind.
cd of every civilized nation and of
every enlightened cline, we weave a
memorial chaplet Of our hearts
choicest affections, and lay it with
reverence upon his grave.
Resolred, That we will cherish for
ever with heartfelt love aud devotion
the memory aud example of his sub.
lime virtues, which, while We may
claim them as the peculiar heritage
of the Southern PEOPLE, reflect re-
splendent ,lory upon humanity itself
RcSo(oed,; that :. copy of those rcso.
lutions be sent TO his family and to
the Governor Of Virginia, and that
they be published in tic County paper.
The Rev. G. r. Brackett then
arose and said
1 second the resolutions, and in do
ing so, l do not feel that l am in any
measure transcending my sacred call
ing in turning aside from my accus-
toned duties to unite with you in the
public expression of a common sor-
row-iu lament'ng the q eat national
loss VIC have sustained, and in paying
respect to the memory of our fallen
Chieftain. Although I have come by
special invitation to partici pate in
these mournful services, yet, had
there been public summons to
d general and spontaneous ut
tcrance of feeling, I am sure my
heart would have prompted the to
have been among the foremost to drop
tear at the urn Of the Christian Pa
triot, and lay my humble tribute upon
his honored grave. -"
l am aware it is not the "ofiicc of tho
pulpit to praise the dead or fatter the
living. As it surveys departed great
ness with different eye from the
eye of sense, it can bring no Of
ferings to tho altar of human glory,
nor erect monument to the
achievements Of human genius
But the preacher is man and citi-
zen, and in these relations he may feel
and weep as others weep, at the cx-
tinction of a great light, and dwcll
with delight upon those rare gifts
which the Supreme Disposcr c! all
things has conferred upon a mighty
statesman.
During the dark days of the
var, we bchcld star after star,
and constellation after constellation
blo'tcd from tho Southern sky, and
our eyes have been resting with
fond and lingering gaze upon the scan
ty luminarics that shown so brightly
amid the dismal blank. We have
thanked God that he has not only left
Ms some stars Of the first magnitude,
hut few suns Of central light and
Influence fitted by superior genius and
ripe experience ITO he our leaders,
guides and teachers, in church, in state
and in the halls of learning.
But now another sun tho brightest
of them all, is extinguishcd, and in
the darkness that dccpens around US,
the shadow of great grief covers the
whole land with gloon and; sad ddens
every henft. 3>-N i3..E .'HlE
! 1t is not n time for the mockery Of
set phrasc,' for fulsome eulogy, and
rhetorical, defamation. owe have
come to bury Cesar, not to praise
him" We have come to pour out
our hearts together in spontaneous ex-
lpressions ofygrief, not TO summon rca-
son to~anS elaborate analysis Of his
greatness, or Imagination to paint,
with cunning art, the beauties Of his
pure and noble nature. The pen Of
tho historian will do justice to his
genius and character and when q tit
ting monument shall be erected to his
memory, there will not be wanting
orators to- unfold his greatness in the
ear of reason, and portray his moral
excellence to the eye Of taste.
BE ours a humber task, the duty of
the heart shall [ not rather say, the
privilege of affection for do wo not
feel, as we stand beside tho grave
of this glorious man, Ike sobbing
children by the grave of allowed and
honored father, paying tho tribute Of
I fi'ial gratitude and lovo1 TO us, he
was "first in war, first in peace," and
iwo fec that we are now mourning the