Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-12-20

that when we die, angels will open tho
gates for us TO the glory of the Lord.
After the address of Mr.. Beecher,
which continued but q few moments,
"Sleep the Last Sleep" was rendered in
a beautiful manner by quartette from
st. Francis Xavier's Church. ii aa
THE Rev. L. II. Chaplin then spoke as
I ollows a,
One month ago, mafiy Who are now pres
ent met in this place " express our sympa-
thy with one who sat WIFI palld face and
quivering lips, heart-stricken mourner
over his wife. To day, as In the freshness
of mis- quiet sorrow himself, he is 10 lie by
her side. The shadow OF death through
which he was then passing has enveloped
him. Such Is Providence, that checks all
human operations apd Tmeeek6bI Heae foo now
unfold the life or estimate the worth Of
Horace Greeley. Such an attempt would on
one hand be premature, and on the other
unnecessary. Premature because the traits
and lessons of D. great life can but be
have ceased. This work ought TO be done,
ard trust will be done, in the utterance of
some public memorial service, which will
demand and receive much wider hearing
than l can give it. To speak of Horace
Greeley's worth is unnecessary; 1t has al
ready been done. There have been but few
instances in our history where expressions
| of regret and regard have been so spontane-
Gus, so universal, and so similar These
eulogies that pour in so thick and fast from
every part of the land are not made up Of
artihcial rhetoric. Tney are genuine. The
tears are as freely shed to-day, by country fire.
| sides and in distant cities, as beneath the
shadowing drapery of this house, from
| which he Is soon to go out forever. They
represent no invisible sympathy, but repre-
sent the peoples thought, and are twined
about the peoples heart, bearing witness to
career of honest purpose. And why
this reverential- regard for the mem
| ory of Mr. Greeleyp 1t Is not for
his mere intellectual ability, large and unde-
niable as It was. It was not beeause he was
| an high official, for Horace Greeley held no
official station. The will OF the people ex-
pressed through the Electoral College to-
| day decides that he should hold no such sta
tion. To-day the will of God elects him to a
| place from which all human ones look small
and dim. Why is It, then? 1t is the mag
netism of simple goodness Mr.. Greeley's
heart was as large as his brain. His love for
humanity was inherent. He touched all sides
of humanity, so to speak The hundreds of
| poor toll worn men, who pressed through
the crowd to take a last look at that worn
countenance, were moved by no mere curl
osity. They came there not to gaze upon
! the face of the great journalist orpolitician
but because he had always been the poor
mans friend, the sympathetic companion of
| the workingmen, who had struggled through
their claims. Ali his public acts were d-
rected by the same impulses, and it enlisted
him in the service Of very many causes. Not
only did it inspire his lifelong war with op-
preston, vice, and wickeduess of every kind,
| but it made him unspeakably generous. Per-
haps he erred on the side Of mercy against
| justice, but If man must err at all that is a
| good side to err on. Whatever may have
been the mistakes of him who lies dead be.
fore us, there was no mistake in the main
current of the principles which characterized
his life, and therein is a lesson for us also.
How faithfully he did his work and led
his life, it is superhuous for me to say. 1t
was an eminently practical one. What
various interests Of art, OF labor, of educa-
tion, OF temperance, of domestic policy, of
freedom, go mourning for him to-day
WELDING the mighty power of the mightiest
engine of the times, placed in the editorial
chair that he was, it is no light thing to say
that however strongly some may think that
severely he used his pen as an instrument of
his thoughts and principles, he never de-
based it as stimulus of impurity, ormade
it the vehicle of a single social wrong.
While Horace Greeley had made many an.
tagonists, he had few, If any, enemies. And
may not, without violating any of the pro-
prieties of this occasion, express my satisfac-
ton that, while political differences lay
scaled within these enclosed lids, the high
est representative of the nation to-day here
bows his head in honor of the thinker, the
worker, the patriot, and man.
(Attempted applause, which was sup.
pressed
The address was followed by earnest
| prayer, and another hymn, angels Ever
Bright and Fair"
The Rev. Mr.. Chaplin then pronounced
the benediction, and the choir sung a
most beautiful and touching chant, 30,
what is life?" after which the procession
moved down Fifth avenue, the police
having previously cleared the roadway
| from curb to curb.
No music was in the line. The process.
sion, as it slowly moved down the avenue
presented a magnifcently imposing ap,
pearance.
The door steps of all the houses along
the avenue, without exception, were
thickly crowded The windows and
balconies were full, and the hotels, club
houses, and public buildings of all kind;
! presented a sea of human faces. The
gathering was greater than the multitude
which welcomed the Grand Duke Alexis
or watched the funeral of Abraham Lin
coin. From DR.. Chapin's Church tC
Madison Square, distance Of Just a mile
the avenue was nearly blockaded. Or
the outer edge of the sidewalk the crowC
was huddled two and three Deep and or
the walk within there was barely room L
pass. In Madison Square and on the
space before the Fifth Avenue Hotel, the
concourse was still greater.
All along Broadway, from Fourteenth
street, through which the procession
moved, to Hamilton Ferry, there was {
dense mass of people. About Bowling
Green, the Battery, and the ferry.house
the crowd stood patiently waiting.
On the Brooklyn side, the same scenes
were repeated. Along Union street t
Fourth avenue, and down the avenue tt
the cemetery, stretched the wonderful
double lines of watchers. At Greenwood
there was a still more surprising sight
Here an enormous ConCourse had gather
ed, standing about the entrance gates
and fringing the winding roads, and con
centrating about the open grave, so tina
the mOurners, when they arrived, had tn
greatest difficulty in following the hearse
About one hundred and twenty car
riages followed the remains to Green
wood. The body was deposited in Mr.
Greeley's lot There were no ceremonie
of any kind further than laying the bod
in its last resting place.