Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-09-24
ELMWOOD.
The Resting Place of the Dead Of Ksmphls-
KeditatIOns Among the T0mbs.
Modest Memorial SIabs-StOried Urns and
Monumental Brass-The Story
Of Our Dead.

Modest Memorial Slabs-StOried UrHs an
Monumental Brass-The Story
Of Our Dead.
Bring roses 70 place in the dying ones hand
0 Pale roses light-tcuehed with dew,
. A few wiIhered buds from the sunny land
; AS emblems sad, yet true.
| Bring roses, white roses, TO plant on the gray
OF the loved one fallen TO sleep.
Bring roses 70 streW over mis- narrow cave;
Where the dropping willow sweep.
Everywhere in Elmwood one eneoun
ters evidences Of The love entertained BY
Z the living for the desd. The very care
and ossseless labor expended in beautify.
ing the charming place, approved by &
: whole community which reverencss the
name and virtues Of him who devotes the
energies of his being TO the adOrnment oi
Elmwood, demonstrates the wonderful
strength Of that sentiment which binds
, | us TO the spot in which repos6 the 8shes
of the loved and lost. There is not in all
this broad land g more attractive spot.
Hills and daies, and grand old oaks, and
dense shades, and evergreens from every
land, and roadWsys defined by taste and
skill in landscape gardening,g give absolute
| perfectiOn 70 the charms Of ElmWood
kscentlythe srssiof the beautiful cemetery
hiss been enlarged by an addition of forty
acres. An enclosure has been made which
4
is perfect in its materials and in manner
of construction. Each cedar post, as
when the Hebrews Wer5 building the
temple, was brought from another Leb-
/ anon, Snd every care was taken that the
! material should be fsultlsss and enduring
| Notehed nails used, wsrs made especially
| for the ElmWOOd Association in an Ohio
| village. EveryWhere in the cemetery there
are marks Of progressive improvement.
Oarrisge-wsys are extended, and widened
| snd paved; new paths are defined for
| those who would seek solitude among the
| resting-plsces OF the dead; weeping viii
| lows are made to bend over the graves of
/ youth and age and lOveliness; bright flow
1 ers shed fragrance over countless little
! hilIoclZs that tell how some mothers heart
| was almost broken when a sinless little
/ life lsft its body 70 reposs beneath the
| rOse-crownsd sod. And here on the quiet,
| silent, holy Sunday sf5ernoon-
"Out in the gold, OF the blossoming mold"
| pale flowers, hardly more pure or meek
] than they WHO Set them there, seem to
| brsEthe for the prayers and unutterable
| love and aspirations for higher, hOIi6r,
mode of existence, which may render The
living fit for that other life begun By those
whose bodies rest so quietly in Elmwood.
WHAT PEOPLE WOULD KNOW.
Its quite impossible TO wander, with
Ten thousand graves OF the beautiful Gem
eterv, We are wont TO contrast the sim
plA monuments reared here by affections
hand with those mighty memorials lifted
up by wealth, and vanity, and power, in
other lands. Modest marble slabs, on
which are recited simple stories of lives
begun and ended, are OfJeneT found than
grest monumental piles. Love would
only have an enduring tablet on which its
grief msV be recorded. It was vain-glOr-
ions ambition that reared the pyramids,
that built ths wonderful tomb OF hsusa-
lrs and dug catacOmbs b5nesth imperial
Rome. Here, in ElmwOOd, sea shells that
chant ever sad reQuiums ncwers that
bloom psr6nnially, and lmmOrteIles
breathing out beauty almost musical in
postical utterance, tell the story OF deaths |
invasion Of households from whose door |
WAYS the sunshine was shut out forever !
RULES OF TIE CEMETERY.
Entering the iron gateway on the south |
of the enclosure, one dnds on the wall Of |
The gate keepers lodge and on guide |
bosr5s. the sRules and Regulations Of /
the Cemetery" By these the graves are 1
protected against desecrstion, and hOWeis |
and trees against unworthy footsteps. |
Gste-keepers, gardeners and supenntenG-
ents are invested by special enactment /
OF the legislature, with ths rights, powers
and immunities OF policemen snd may
make arrests, and viOlaboTs OF the rules OF
the csmeteTy mSy be punished IS are they /
who violate the city's code.
THE PRECEDENT OF ELM WOOD ASSOCIATION.
Under the act Incorporating the gssoci-
alton. fifty gentlemen subscribed $500,
each, creating q capital of 81, Geo. A tract
of forty acres was first purchased, and re-
Gently forty more have been added, st g
cost, we believe, Of $50, GOO. This pUr-
chase, and the construction Of the costly |
fence around the place, nave retarded the
progress Of many improvements contem-
plstsd by President Lenow, &c whom we
have already referred. The company not
only owns Elmvood but the abandoned
Morris Cemetery, on Main, near South |
street. Such has been The company's
good fortune that its property, derived |
IRON an original investment OF SZo 900, is !
now worth two hundred and hfty thou
sand dollars. It was sgreed when the as
sociatiou was organized thst no dividend
greater than ten per cent. on the original
Investment ISIS 0OO) should ever be dis
tribubed among the shareholders, and TO
this contract the association has eYer rig
idly adhered. The whole annually ac-
cruing income of the company is expend-
ed by Captain LenOw in perfeeting the
mstchless attractions Of this parsdissieal
resting placs of the desd. To this purpose
not less than $40, 900 srs snnuslly devoted.
ANOTHER CITY PARK.
Railroad and other companies have
often sought to buy ths old Morris cems-
.erv. but with singular fidelity to public,
rather than private aims Of speculation,
the Elmwood association refuses TO sell,
syer insisting that the city shall become
The owner of the old cemetery that it msy
be made another park as beautiful as that
known as Court Square, ever attracting
snd exciting the admiration Of all stran-
gers visiting the city. The association
would hold CITY bonds and thus g perma-
1ent fund be provided tor the perpetual
and prosecution Of improve
nents in Elmwood. Every lot owner in
he cemetery is interested in the success
'ul execution Of Captain Lenow's plans,
md those thus interested, are potent
enough to cause, sooner or later, the &C
5essiOn of the city government to PROPOSE !
ions msde by the thoughtful President of ,
he association If the association were ,
iispOssd TO specuis'e, il might water It's |
stock, giving il fees value equal to that |
II lis property, and on this $3.50, 600 snnu-
ally declare dividends of ten per cent, ,
.hus making the annual revenue OF each
shareholder eq Isl to the sum Of his origi-
nal investment. No one would have the
light to com plain, and few associations of ,
gentlemen, in this corrupt age, would be I
by an agreement to act differ I
5ntly, made only among themselves and /
n reference 60 which OthsT persons have I
10 right to speak. Even As 1t is, and in {
view Of facts we have defined, Jealous, /
snvious, or ill-nstured people, are an !
lOyed because OF the prosperity Of the Z
and such is the peTsistency Of I
hose who utter inuendoes derOgstory TO l
he unbending good faith Of the sssocia- J
ION, that proposition is now considered I
~ the corporation contemplating its own z
dissolution and the transfer of the man
cement OF the properly to the owners of n
Ots in the cemetery. Most people would a
.eem such action great public calamity I
'hat Captain LsnOW would always retain I
.is place no one doubts, but the fewer the Z
.Onest masters Of such g corporation, I
ach pscunisrily interested In the proper
onduct Of its affairs, the better for those
ybo would have Elmwood, as 1t surely
7ill transcend in attractiVeness Laurel
nm. Mount Auburn, or Greenwood. The
,lmwood association was organized in
352, and should be as young ss to-day, in A
152. and its fortunes and fame would
ever be impaired through the coming
sntury if its present supervisors were
My indued with immortal life.
TINE TO DIE.
Captain LenoW has presided over and Il
napsd the fortunes OF the corporation q
trough the past thirteen years. He hss v
2iQ that ten years hOulu De r5qulf6o Tor d
ne perfection of plans and improvements t,
3 hiss conceived and that when these
re achieved and nothing more can be n
one to render ElmWoOd more beautiful n
hen its fountains send up spark 81
ug columns flashing like dia- o
,opds; when pretty lakes glitter in 81
1e sunlight and. every tropical il
over that blooms in fsdeless beau b
: sheds its fragrance there; and when n
ysrv tree that bends gracefully before
1ft winds that sigh above the graves Of n