The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1872-03-23
OBITUARY.

DIED, nj his residence i'll Columbia, Cald-
wei parish, La. Oh the night of tho 4tll
INST. attcra most painful illness, DIR. CICERO
{. MEREDITH, i'll the list year of his age.
Like many great minds whose brilliancy
and strength arc historical and the Splcndol
Oh whose brightness commands involuntary
admiration, he had from early youth Il fr.il
an! delicate body. He manifest cd IL deci-
ucu preference for the profession of mcdi-
cine while vet q boy, and in 1858 he entered
the office Of the writer rs Il student of med
lclnc In the winter of '53 and "a he attcn-
ded his first course of lectures, and i'll the
summer of 1851 he did efficient service as all
assistant of the writer in a laborious prac-
| tlcc. III the spring of 1856 he graduate ed
with distinguished honor i'll the medical de-
partnlcnt of the university of his own ma
tive Louisiana, and Immediately thereafter
entered upon the active duties Of his profess
sion. In this pursuit he has been assidu-
ously engaged ever since, with only occa-
slonal short interruptions caused by the
urgent opportunities of friends to enter the
arena of political life. The peculiar elo-
1uencc OF his langiage, and that name1ess
fascination of style which attaches only to
the natural orator, endeared him greatly
to his friends, and made him invincible on
the hustings. Every time he would allow
ms name to be used, he was triumphantly
elected by large majorities, and for several
sessions he served with distinguished abili-
ty as Representative in the State Legisla-
turc and Senate.
III the winter OF 1857, DR.. MEREDITH was
married t" Il most amiahle and accomplish
ed lady-~a daughter of Robt. A. Blanks,
esq, of Columbia. In Il little more than
tw" years Of married life of complete fte-
lett ". he hpYoo~-nI l>-l Il Of II
pnion and tw" lovely babes. This terrible
allirtion caused so rude !, shock to his deli
cate and sensitive org:tniZ at ion as to shake
1t I" its very centre. and he was Frustrated
ny several fits of protracted and dangerous
Yet, with Il devotion truly self
sacrificing, he pursued his profession with
an energy and success seldom e.,ualled-
perhaps never surpassed.
In an epidemic Of yellow fever which
threatened to decmate the little village of
Columbia, i'll the autumn Of 1865, he justly
acquired II reputation for skill which many
sex igcnarianS in the profession have failed
to achieve; and in subsequent years his
success in the treatment, of the no less ma
li%nant toNcmia called "swamp fever has
been unprecedented.
In 1850, DIR. NJ. was initiated, passed and
raised to tho sublime degree ola Master
Mason in Columbia Lodge; and the rapidi-
ty with which he attained proficiency in all
the degrees soon caused him to be chosen
Master of the Lodge. In this capacity he
served for several years, with honor to him.
self and profit to the fraternity. Only Il
short time before his death he was again
chosen Worshipful Master for the current
year.
AS Il man, DR.. MEREDITH was an:,blc,
genial and polite; friend, none were
more constant and true as Mason, pro-
foundly versed in all the teachings and
principals of the order, ever ready to aid an
unfortunate brother and whisper good coun-
Gil to the crring-he was a complete exanl-
plitication Of 4 type Of nobleness peculiar
to that ancient order. AS a physician, he
was kind, attentive, faithful and skit1fu1 to
degree rarely cpuallcd. In all the diver
sitied relations Of life, he dignitied and
adorned whatever position he assumed
Cut down by the ruthless hand Of death in
the primo Of his manhood and usefulness,
he is beyond the reach ofpancgyric and his
ear is forever deaf to culogy. \ great void
wont to labor, and many hearts send forth
wall Of sorrow, and many eyes are be-
dcwcd with tears of anguish, because of the
untinclN death of one so fitted by nature
for usefulness to his fellow beings and to
cmbcllish all the walks of life. In contcm-
plating the end of such men we arc forcibly
reminded that ''dcat II ever loves 4 shining
mark While we mourn his rreparable
loss to us, VIC H"voutly hope It's his eternal
gain. L. r. w.