St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-06-05
Decoration Day.

ate services were had, including process
sion, strewing flowers, music, and ad-
dresses by Rev. L. O. Brastow and
Ex-Gov. j. G.. Smith. Below we give
Mr.. BrastOw's excellent remarks:
CIH-ens-We honor ourselves in hon
oring the men who sleep here beneath
the benedictiOn of our hearts. They
do not come for our blessing. The
spring time brings once more the green
ing world. 1t brings the flowers with
which we decorate these graves but it
brings not their forms before us. We
cannot touch them with these garlands
We cannot penetrate to the silent
chambers where they sleep, with our
words of praise and gratitude. We
cannot reach them there, in that far
off mysterious bivouac of the true and
brave, where mid the march of the
eternal years they halt awhile, nor glad
den their hearts with our memorial hon
Ors. We cannot stem oblivion's stream
with our paltry words. We cannot dull
the tooth of time that eats noiselessly
at the heart of all things. They. too.
will he numbered at last with all the
forgotten braves. And vet it is for us.
|
there still fingers i'll our hearts some
sympathy with their heroiSm some
honor for their patriotism some graft
tude for their sacrifice, some tenderness
of Sensibility for all their toll and pri-
walton and suffering. 1t is for us to
testify that not Vet iii the rush Of time,
shifting Of The actors and the scenes,
the changes OF the political and social
,..l al
ruption of an age when honor seems
hait-dead. are they wholly forgotten.
And submit that it is for lis to resolve
that the living shall not. God helping,
Ii>urp the honor of the dead that the
privileged few shall not aggrandizc
themselves ut the expense of the un
privileged many that the men of dis
homer shah lot spoil the work of the
men of honor. 1t is for us to resolve
| that here and everywhere. now and
always. in all ways legitimate and pos
sihlc. we will honor them. the living
and the dead and that 50 fan is de
ponds on us. the generation to come
shall honor them too. if not i'll form at
least in spirit. is we honor them to-day.
Why should we honor them Have
not other men ;IS loving and aS loved
gone ont from kindred. home ami
! friends Have not others as strong
/ bowed themselves before the pe>tilencc
/ that wHlkcth i'll darkness. and the de
>tructiou thai waStcth ut noon day
/ Have not others aS comedy gone clip
| Piled and broken. dragging out mtlan
ch"lv days Have not others a> brave
and loyal an! true died Yes. hut not
fur liz. other noble citizens in times
that tried mems souls" made large ven
/ lures Int these men made the venture
of lite. They threw much into the
scale of PATRIOTISM. These men flung
themselves. fang life with all its hopes
and prospects and joys aud treasures
and cndcarmrnts. till all else beside
that sublime loyalty was ;l> vanity. and
kirlicd the beam.
/ There. yaWnrd chaSm once in AN
Client Rome. which could not lac closed.
and the oracle declared that only the
dearest thing i'll Rome. flung therein.
could close that chaSm. Then came
Curtius. nuhlc>t and hravc>t of the Ro-
mans. and flung himself therein full
armorcd. aud tire chaSm closed over
him. There yawned Il chaSm between
/ the di>ntrgratn% sections of the nation.
/ the nation dcrrrcd that DULY that when
VAS dearest To our hearts could close
| the cha>m. Then upro>r these men.
each one Il CurtiuS for us. and flung
themselves in and the chaSm closed for
ever. Thclc stand many monuments
/ about us here but. save in one. we
/ have no possession in them. for THEN
dead are not our dead. Why is it. men
of Burlington. that We shall not suffer
Il. lii
and LOYALTY To stand impeachcd and
condemncd before the nation Why is
it that another monument shall stand
here. one that for grandeur shall match
that of the old hero of Vermont. in
which we shall all have possession
Why but that rs these men were ours
in special. for service. while living. now
that they are dead are ours i'll special
to honor.
Others have told us of the po>Sihili
ties of Republican manhood but these
men have cNempiiicd and verified it.
We had often been reminded of the
virtues of our ancestors. Our hl>to1-
ans had recorded them : orators on fes-
tai and historic days had celchrated
them: olr teachers in the public schools
had commended them oUr parents at
home had iuculcltcd them. We know
why they came to these shorcS-what
they thought. and meant. and did. and
what WAS expected of uS-tilat we
should prove worthy of them. There
were kept before lis. somewhat by pub
lie legislation. by the public press. by
public speech. in these late Years eSpe-
cially by intense moral agitation. those
ideas and principles, i'll which the nation
was founded. and on which should de
pend its greatness and prosperity and
perpetuity. Here in this broad and
generous domaim-hcrr amid these rich
= memories here amid these fostering
institutions. we had grown to Il colloS-
sal greatness. We were not without Il
theory that notwithstanding our moral
, aud political compromises. notwith-
standing our mHtcrialiStic bias. our
greed tor gain, tue colossal bulkincSs of
our accomplishments. our dullneSs to
the highest sense of political and ma
tional honor. there were still within us
the possibilities of Il citizen greatness.
But we did not know ourselves. In
that dark hour did we not distruSt 9th
. erS Did not citizen distruSt citizen
Did we not distruSt our trueSt and best
Did we not diStruSt ourselves. even
men UproSe these men 10 testify what
WAS in them, to testify that the Rcpuh-
lie that fosters liberty. fosters also man
hood; thai the institutions that cmcour-
age material enterprise and growth and
thrift aud gain. also foster respect for
law and government, and right and
: duty. Who were these men Not
, hireing>. but citizens. We stood amazed
, that those we thought our weakest and