Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-04-12
IN MEMOREAM.

IN RfEMOREAM.
The refinement of the remains of
DIR. II. A. Pearls, was an unobtrusive
event of "Wednesday last, the 10th in
slant. Our reahers will remember
that OH the 9th of August 1871, he died
at Red Sulphur Springs, of pulmonary
disease, and that his remains received
temporary interment at the foot Of An
gels Rest, one of the grandest and
most beautiful of those promotories
with which nHture has distinguished
the New River Valley. Itwas deemed
appropriate, that for at least time,
be should sleep beside certain loved
ones Of his fathers household, who
had there gone down beneath the
sod in the perpetual sleep OF
death. II was the place of his birth
and il is one of those localities where
nature seems to hare been profuse OF
those rare features Of grandeur, which
often mould into splendid proportions,
the young and plastic mind which re-
CeiYes from them its first impressions.
There surrounded by the great hills
which rear their majestic curves far
toward heaven, there 10y the shadows
invited his advert IrOus and untutored
foot steps, there to the hymn of that
same grand and turbulent stream
which sang for him the morning song
Of his boyhOOd, we opened the sod of
the valley. and laid i'm its temporary
bosom, the body of the husband, fa-
Their, brother, yun-the. heavy temple OF
clay which heaven had not yet de-
manded of Us.
Eight months have elapsed, and it
has been deemed proper, that all
that we have been allowed to retain Of
this gOodly man shall follow, rs near
~ as can be, his living friends. The
departed ones have doubtless with
them the immortal part which has
scared to its congenial summit in the
skies, and it is not likely that the mere
ashes of one so worthy Of perpetual
remembrance and whose beautiful and
sublime record is so invulnerable TO
the touch Ofcriticism, can come and re-
main within the horizon Of those who
seek to follow his footsteps without
eXerting ! favorable and holy influ-
ence upon their lives. There is vir-
tue in our cOntiguity 10 the graves of
our beloved dead. Those sweetest
and divinest moments of the year
which seem to come down the narrow
avenues of celestial Intercourse, tempt
ing Us to visit and kncel above the
dust of those who for while have
moved at our side, and, in the midst
of our temptations and sorrows. led
holy lives, who bore their burdens and
shared ours and murmured not, sure
ly such moments. such influences are
OF celestial imCt TT. Who can tell but
that in the blindness of our tears,
while we see them not, they lay their
holy hands about our heads, and while
they leave us weeping, leave us with
holier impulses i'm our hearts? If so,
the friends of Dr. Pearls have done no
fruitIess act in depositing his body in
our GOOdsOn Cemetery. In the world
he was al honest man. in poverty he
was diligent and faithful, amid the
affiuence of a successful life he was
large hearted and liberal, in trouble he
was brave and self reliant, in tempta-
ton he was true, in life he was an ed
ucatad, polished, and piOus gentleman.
His charity was as large as his knOwl-
edge of adversely was ample. Pa
tient and faithful i'm duty, his heart
abounded in apologies for the frailties
and follies of others. Can it be Won
dered at. that such man was neither
to live nor afraid to die. He
and the writer were boys together.
Even i'm youth we. found in him that
exact and splendid equipOisc of intel
lect AMI emotion which made him our
beau ideal of man. Often have we
upon the subject Of death. q
subject upon which we were singular
ly agreed. To his mind it was full of
and to enjoy them fully
we were content to study them and to
follow their indications. as far
out into the fields of thought, as our
finite powers could reach. The sub
ject was one upon which we ventured
" til that curious temerity spPjes-
ii W Of the forbidden tree of know =
edge. But the day so long anticipated
came. In q beautiful August after
noon, he WAS stTolling through the
beautiful grounds, which embellish
the Rcd Sui .hur Springs. He, though
for years an invalid, was still dreaming
of DAYS to come. But within the
shadows of that mountain gorge, there
came in shape insidiOus, and with
a step familiar and soft, n HeSscn-
gc- so often seen by him that he new
not the import of his present coming.
Alas the human intellect seldom rec
ognises at first the angel of death. He
went to room No. 10. Soon his friends
were abont him. Gradually the silk
en- curtains of well spent life came
down about him, and the darkness of
the shadow of death was over him.
The splendid light that was within
revealed the fact that he was ready.
AS we stood about him in our little
group of sorrow, he placed his hands
on wife and child, and, "a he leaned
out upon the golden hand of fate, as
sured them that without the possibili-
t. of a doubt he would soon tie in the
arms OF his blessed Jesus. In a mo-
ment, and at the hour of noon, the
darkness which SO often precedes
death, came upon him. Believing it
TO be night, he announced that lie
would die before morning, and calling
to him his wife to whom he said, al
love YOU" in moment was dead.
The terrible affection was over.
We had stood for the last time
around our friend, and amidst our sor-
row and his smiles, had seen him
sawn aSSunder by the iron nand or
death. Through the physical ruin
his mind had lowered in all its per-
spicuity and force. Facing the grand
prospect of heaven, he had refused TO
recognize affection, or acknowledge
grief. The moment was our ultima
th'Ilc of possible contiguity to the
spiritual world. The celestial warden
with his convoy of angels, had swept
before our blinded eyes, and gather
ering TO his retinue the tried and chas-
tined spirit we had tenderly watched
but could not keep, left us to our con-
tiguity with mortal things. For the
twinkling of an eye we had been upon
the narrow promontOry which separ-
atcs sorrow and bliss. A moment
more and the great gulf was between
us. In its silent shadows the invinci-
BILE and cold sentinel of death took his
station. and we went back to the