Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-06-09

Let us then forever cherish and pei
petuate this hallowed and holy ceremony
let this day be forever set apart as q da
consecrated to the memories OF those VIII
gave their lives for the Republic. Why
my conrad es, in what other way coul
we so well keep alive in our own minds
and in the minds of our children, tn
memories of those who died that tn
D nation might live; and in Whit wa.
could we SO tenderly set forth our Low
and affection for them, as by this simp,
! ceremony, of gathering the earliest flower
of spring and laying them, moistene,
With our tears, upon their new mad
4, graves these silent mementoes are the EN-
blems of our Immortality and are the pures
and hottest tribute which sincere aff,sc
ton can offer at the shrine of the de
parted.
In what other way could we so renew
our own lives, and receive new baptism
into the service of our country, and at thu
same time teach our children the lessons
OF pure and matchless patriotism which
they have taught us, as by these ANNA
pilgrimages to the tombs of our countries
defenders, and there oft repeated pledges
OF our allegiance upon this sacred altar Of
eur common country.
In all ages of the world, and among all
nations, the names and memories of those
who fell fighting their countries bat
ties have been preserved, cherished and
Immortalized; the brazen pillar and the
marble shaft have been reared to mark
their final resting place, and to tell the
anxious and weary pilgrim that the soil
whereon he stands is holy ground; it is
the universal and spontaneous tribute OF
affection and reverence, which grateful
| country pays to her devoted sons. The
natural instincts of mankind have always
prompted them to honor the memory of the
departed hero. The silent city of the
heroic dead has everywhere been held
sacred ; art has adorned them with the
most beautiful monuments and over them
genius has uttered those sublime SEMI
ments of universal gratitude and yenera-
tiion, which men have ever cherished for
those whose ashes they contain.
We are told by the historian that in
Athens it was appointed by law, that the
obsequies of those who fell in battle,
should be performed at the public ex-
pense, and in the most honorable manner ;
their bones were carefully and tenderly
gathered up and brought home to the
lay in state beueath tents of honor to re-
ceive the votive offerings of their fellow
citizens, flowers, weapons and precious
ornaments, the last tribute of surviving
veneration and affection. At the end of
these three days of mourning and adorn-
ing, ten caskets OF funeral cypress receiv-
ed the honored deposit, one for each of the
nine tribes of the city, and one in honor
OF the knnuvn a,H nnraoorni1oI laoI
whose remains could not be recovered On
the fourth day the mournful procession
was formed and moved out of the city to
the place of interment in the most beau
tiful suburb of Athens, place which had
been adorned by the city with walks and
fountains and columns whose gardens
were kept forever green by streams from
the neighboring hills aud shaded with
sacred trees whose ages were coeval with
the foundations of the city; whose path
ways cleaned with the monuments of
the illustrious dead, wrought out by the
most consumate masters that ever gave
life TO marble
There in quiet and solitude, beneath
the overarching trees among whose bran
ches " the attic bird trilled his thick way
BILE note the summer long" they laid
them down i'll their honored beds.
These tokens of respect were required
to be paid at Athens to the memory of
those who had sacrificed their lives for
the Republic.
For the immortal heroes of Marathon a
peculiar honor was reserved as that ter
rifle and bloody conflict was distinguish
ed from all others, in the history of
Greece, as the great turning point in the
fortunes of the Republic; as the great
question whether Greece should continue
to live under the blessings of her Repub- |
lican Government, or be swallowed up In |
that vortex which marked the grave yard
of Republics depended upon the issues of
that day so the honors lavished upon
the heroes of that battle were such as
Athens bestowed on no other occasion and
on no other men.
The most skillful artists were procured |
who inscribed the names of these martyr
heroes upon ten brazen pillars which were
erected upon the mound which covered
their sacred dust those monuments have
since disappeared and mouldered back to
their original elements, but the venerable
mound still points out to the weary pill
grim where the heroes fought, and
showed tho world that they were not
afraid to die.
"That battle field where Persia's victim horde,
First bowed BEN ath the brunt of Hellas sword. :"
Can we my fellow citizens, with all
these bright and glorious ex amples before
Us, and in the glowing light of our
couutry's history for the past ten years,
remain Indifferent and stand unmoved
over the graves of our brothers and sons,
who but few short months ago on those
bloody and terrific days which change a
nations history; moments upon whose
issue hung the fate of this Republic for
all coming time? No, heaven forbid it
For if we sd uld become 80 callous and
insensible to every feeling of honor and
PATRIOTISM as to forget our duty to these
men, not only would you my friends who
have come up here to-day to drop the tear
of love. and flower of affection, upon a sol
diers grave. cry out for shame, but the
bones of our fallen comrades which fill
there venerated sepul.hers, would heave
with iudignatiou beneath the sod which
covers them.
No. loved and venerated shades OF my de-
departed comrades; swear by my adopted
country, whose laws and Institutions L
honor and revere, that l will not hold my
peace May my right hand drop neryeless
by my side and my tongue become palsied,
if ever forget you and your bloody sacri-
fee, or faii at ali times and under all cir
cumstances to speak your praise, and urge
my countrymen to initiate your noble ex-
ample We come to-day and pay you the
willing homage of our gratitude and vene-
ration, because you cheerfully sacrificed
your lives that our country might remain,
and that we might live in honor and in
peace The tribute we bring justly due
and with our eyes dim with tears, and
our hearts filed with love and gratitude
beyond expression, we now commend
your last resting place to the blessings OIL
heaven and your fellowmen.
| &" In peace and honor rest you here brave sens,
Vermont's noble champions;
| Repose YOU here in silence and eternal sleep;
Here turks no treason, here no envy swells
But the daughters OF eternal love and fame,
Shall with holy fingers Gull the freshest
And choices flowers OF Spring, to scatter
On your honored turf" ~
You may well pause here, for moment,
and ask. for what cause did these brave