Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-12-19
THE GREELEY OBSEOUIES.
Remarks Of Rev. Henry Wa,d Beecher
ana DIR. Chapin-Desc rlptiOn Of the
Church Decorntions-An Immense
Procession to the Cemetery.

Church DecoratiOns-A An Immense
| Procession to the Cemetery.
The following is full and interest
| ing account of the funeral obsequies
of the late Horace Greeley, whose death
occurred at the residence of Dr. Choate,
near Pleasanton, New York, on Friday
November, 30, 1872:
| Rev. Henry Ward Beecher spoke sub.
stantially as follows: "When men
have filled the household of God with
their presence, it is not surprising that
we miss them when they leave us for
ever; and yet they are constantly, like
in the present case, going from us, and
others are being called upon by means
of a heavenly impulse, to take their
! places IN the great cause of Gods
truth. The occasion, my friends, is a
solemn and sublime one, and we forget
the strife and contest of the world
that strife that separated us politically
in the affairs of the nation and | JON
IN this meeting to weep over the re-
mains OF him who is now in our pres
ence and soon to be taken from us, but
whose memory shall live forever in the
annals of his country. Who is this
man whom we are here today to com
memorate? For thirty years he has
filled the land with the .;reatest contro-
versy. He was a man on va, and vet
he died without civic honurs private
citizen, and yet we honor HIM, one and
all. The President Of the United
States and his officers are here, and
bow in silence to the will of God in
taking from us orr great brother. A
little time ago we were in the midst of
fierce battle with the great dead, the
leader on one side, and yet he now lies
! lifeless before u.s. 1t is because the
man was something more than
a professional man, SO good and
noble that he has few com
peers, it is for this reason that we
assemble here to mourn the loss of
Horace Greeley. For thirty years he
built for himself no outward monu-
ment and no estate; but here to-day,
between the oceans, there is not man
who has not felt the effects of Horace
Greeley. What matters it that in the
conflict over political economy he
should be upon one side and you or
another He has given his life blood
for the good, to the purposes OF noble
manhood. 1t is the presence of the
man to-day. We are all speaking kind
ly and sorrowfully for him. Think of
these conflicts in which you forget hui
mainly, out of which you have come,
and summon your charity now, you
that have been battling on the other
side. After a long and tempestuous
voyage he has reached the shore, and
angels will welcome him to their out
stretched arms. Let us hope that when
we die angels will open the gates for
us and receive us to the glory of the
! Lord.
After the address of Mr. Beecher,
which continued but a few moments,
"Sleep the Last Sleep" was rendered
IN beautiful manner by the choir from
ST. Francis Xavier's Church.
Rev. Il. H. Chaplin then spoke as fol
lows: Gone month ago many who are
now present met in this place to ex-
press their sympathy with one who sat,
with pallId face and quivering lip,
heart -striken mourner over his wife.
To-day, as in the freshness of his quiet
sorrow himself, he . to be by her side.
| The shadow OF death through which he
was then passing has onveloped him.
| Such is Providence, that checks all
human operations, and makes life
continued surprise. | cannot attempt,
here and now, to unfold the life nor es-
/ innate the worth of Horace Greeley.
| Such an attempt would on one hand be
premature and on the other unneces-
sary, because the trials and lessons OF
| the great life can but be reviewed when
/ the grief and excitement have ceased.
4 This work ought to be done, and trust
/ will be done, in the utterance of some
public memorial service which will de-
mand much wider hearing than | can
/ give 1t,
To speak of Horace Greeley is I'M
necessary. 1t has already been doue.
/ There have been but few instances IN
our history where expressions of re
/ gret and regard have been so spontane-
Gus, so universal, and so similar These
eulogies, that pour III so thick and fast
/ from every part of the land, are not
made up of artificial rhetoric. They
are genuine. Tears are rs freely shed
to-day by the country firesides and in
distant cities as beneath the shadowlng
drapery of this house from which he Is
soon to go out forever. They represent
the invisible sympathy, but represent
the people thoughts, and are twined
about the peoples heart, bearing wit
ness to a career of honest purpose.
And why this deferential regard tor the
memory of Mr.. Greeleyl 1t is not for
his mere intellectual ability large and
undeniable as it was. 1t is not be
cause he was an high official,
for Horace Greeley held no Off
cial station. The will of the people,
] Elaptprol Col l.