Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-05-30
conclusion DR.. f. A. Duncan came forward and
re ad the following poem:
Original POem-ssMemOrial.s,

| As on it goes rushing, so resistlessly fast,
| Till lest in the ocean Of the fathomless past
| And many dear comrades, far on it's broad bllow.
nave passed ont from our view as we watched o.
Many who met with MS on this same sacred spot
Fall many and sad ming have been the dark change.
That have shrouded our hearts with its dread pail
And often ears have been shocked with the echo
As fast, on some loved one, changed the door of the
Some have died in their homes, some have sunk in
Ard some have met death on the battle field sands
| Like the heroes for whom our flag now 10 drapei.
Wbo fell in full harness meath the savsge's hand;
In the held. IN the cam p, on he ocean they die;
| And We mournfully mark, as We reckon each year,
How the arrows of Death have been thinning our
And how lessened our number each time NEE,
The dread angels black pinions over our pathway
Throws oft its dark shadow, and his cold blasting
Chs the blood in heart, a. he rides on the gale
| striking down some comrade-while recruiting for
But few short seasons, and the last one will come
To bring his last of ring, and the last time to
Till they bring him, and lay him among these 10
But all v 10 rejoice in the great boon of living
OF that measureless sea, the improved hereafter,
Bnt 'tissad to contemplate the end of a life
That has wholly neglected humanity = claim,
And FER turned a deaf ear to each call of duty,
so that no one vii, mourn bin, or cherish his name;
With ali Of the that can bring
Theres no soothing drsught in the font Of remem-
And no hope in the future to pluck out its sting
Saa most happy are they Who after lifes fever
Well knowing they leave a proud record behind
And name that will ever be cherished as blessed;
Like those We have gathered from fields Of their
And have tenderly laid precious treasures to keep
Where We may come yearly with off rings memorial,
E HnG ponsy lay them where they peacefully sleep
Sink down in their graves, and are remembered no
But like those who put of perishing garment,
To don one immortal AS er martyr'd saint wore.
And when history writes down the tale of eur gran
deur,
Their shall be embalmed in song and in story
And he part that they played shall with reverence
While voice remaineth TO speak of our glory;
Aid the spot which their ashes have made hallOwes
| A patriots Mecca. fronsnenceforward shall be,
As TO Araby's shrine the Mo,lem deyotee;
Now blssfully blind to life's heritage Of grief
Will stoop meath the load of accommodating years
And the n weary weight that comes with "scene aud
They II sit in summer shade, or by the Winters fire.
And their grandchildren call TO leave their childish
And hear the Oldmans tale of these, our martyred
And learn with lspng tongue speak their honored
names.
Thus will generation to generation tell
The story of the past, and Of our cherished dead
AID here each sPriRgtime bring the floral crown Of
To lay upon the turf, above their sacred bed.
Deer buried shall ie under Times gathering dust;
The sword of the Conqueror who warred but for
Will have wasted away meath centuries of rust;
But the crowns Of those Sovereigns, and the sword.
Meier will tarnish or rust, in all coming ages;
Nor their laurel wreaths fade, or their memories
While Truth guides the stylus on Fsme's golden
rAeir lives and their dying, shall e'er furnish
theme
For song to the Minstrel, or Romancer's story,
While there left on earth aught to reverence the
Every river and ll shall be link ed with their name
.n historic legend, Or IN ch IL, rhyme
That will send down their fame through the arches
Long centuries afier our bones have nouldered,
And mixed with the dust Of our own and far lands
There still will be those who will come, yearly pill
To deck these mounds sacred with Springs richest
Thus showing to all ages that those who have died.
In defence Of their country on War CORY plain,
Filled proud mission, met q fate that was noble
death that was glorious and lived not in vain.
The choir then sang "Peace on Earth, after
which the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, OF Brook
Ign, n. Y, delivered the following grafton:
Grafton Of T. Ne witt Talmaxe, ID. ID.
Friends IF those tchO Died for their Country.
lence and congratulation. Assembled for the
first time in this memorial building let u.s. be-
fore any words be uttered, dedicate il to the
holy purpose for which 1t has been erected.
We cOnsecrate it to the memory Of the country's
martyrs, and to the God Of the soldier and the
sailor, the God OF the land of the sea- the God of
Gettysburg and South Mountain. Year after
year may il stand to show that they who suffered
and died for their country shall be held in ever
lasting remembrance while the name of our
enemies shall rot. 0nlArlington nights to-day,
| great host OF sympathetic sOuis-you- hands
and eyes and lips all expressive of gratitude
for which our departed brethren did for ms in
agony and tears and blood. If there be in all
this audience soul 50 base as to feel no tender
| ness or thanks, let him be gone now and take
his polluted foot out Of this holy dust. But hail
| all the sympathizers who have come here to-
| day! Hail to the living soldiers who have
come to look upon the resting place of their
| comrades. " Hail to the chiefi'' The second
| fifteen thousand! walk softly about the place
They have gone into tent for the night; their
head on pillow Of dust; their arms stacked; their
march ended; their battle fought Sleep on
| great host, till the morning streams through
the riffs of the tent and the trumpet sounds the
reveille OF the resurrection! The third army
| on Arlington Heights is the invisible host that
hover above us-the immortals who mingle i'm
all grand and holy occasions led on by the Lord
| of Hosts, WHO is mighty in battle. Blessed be
select these graves for especial honor +? tits no
| isolated or strange thing for men to die In bat
| lie. At Chal0ns 800 600 men fell. In Marius'
| army x9,eo GOO M men fell; under Jhengisghan, at
In one campaign of Xerxes i've million men
were sacrificed. Think Of the 1l2 600 that per
ished in the seige Of Ostend; Of 800 GOD al
Acre; Of 100 600 at Jerusalem; Of one million
eight hundred and eleven thousand dead AZ
Troy, and remember that the slain in battle
according to an estimate rendered upon state,
ment Of Edmund Burke, have been many more
times than the present population of the whole
earth. When 1t is so common q thing to die in
battle, why select these graves with such
speciality Of reverence and Affection it is for the
same reason that when q child takes handful
of flowers out to Mount Auburn or Laurel Hill
or Greenwood she puts hem all on one grave in
the family Let. You say: "Why not scatter
them all over the cemeterv!'r She will tell
| you, "'tis fathers grave" So my friends, Ar
lington is our family plat in the worlds great
cemetery. The men who lie here went forth from
our homes. The dread war proclamation came
out. Father came in from the post Office and
excitedly read It and said: 81 wonder If any a
our boys will have to go?" That very night the
sons came in from the field and said: "Father
you are too old to 60; you stay at home and
take care Of mother and we're OF to- morrow
morning for the war;" and then the song went
through the streets, "Father Abraham we're
coming, three hundred thousand stroneo
Then there were hasty farewells and the
putting. of . few tAings in Q package
with . daguerreotype. The train halted at TIE
village depot, and then crowd around the car
III II 49, a.,