The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1876-12-16
In Mem oriam.

After Il long sojoIrl in the charming and !
CAV resorts of distant lands it is sad to return
to the old haunts and find desolation in once
happy homes-sad to miss familiar faces, per
sons with whom we have exchanged senti- |
ments in habitual meetings--but sadder still !
to await i'll vain, the hearty welcome from
a much admired warm and genial friend |
whose voice we delighted to hear. and whose
hand was ever grasped i'll friendship. All
how the heart swells with griet at the thought
that WILLIAM SIMS will never more beseen
i'll our midst, bright example of noble Chris
tian manhood! / knew him well, and must
be pardoned for offering at this late day a
well-deserved tribute. He was born April
a. 1898; died Sept. s, 1876. Although quite
young when our late civil war began, he en-
listed, proved brave soldier, was imprisoned
ON Johnson's Island, and suffered much hard
ship; but he never swerved from duty. At
the close OF the war he was penniless,
! widowed mother and several sisters depend
ent upon him. Full of energy and possessed
of taleut, he studied law, was admitted to
the bar and located in NapolconvIlle.
In few years he wooed and won love
ly and intellectual girl-in every way com
panionable and sweet, indeed, was the pic
ture of that devoted couple as they clasped
hands, plighted troth, knelt at Gods Altar,
and invoked His blessing. God did bless them
with seven years OF unalloyed heart happi-
ness--no fortune of gold or land was theirs
but, each to the other gave love; true,
tender, sincere and abundant-their spirits
were united as the hues OF a rainbow, and
at the last, when the death damp chilled his
brow and his voice was weak and low, he
gave to that stricken wife the most precious
of all earthly rewards, the commentator of
pare, appreciative. noble heart Darling,
l feel that death is upon me now all through
our welded life-in sunshine and storm,
through adverse and favoring winds-our
hearts have been together. beat to beat.
beat to beat AS a cherished wife and
mother, you have been all | could desire.
| Oh! Lord have mercy on my soul; Bless
my wife and children; Spare me to them,
|
His character was unexceptionable-a
temper full of kindness and charity for all !;
to do good and speak no guile, was his rule
of life. Uaths never escaped his lips, and
| he was never seen angry but once and then
his honor as a judge was ilnpeached unjustly.
He was good lawyer and an honest man
upright, Just and fair in all his dealings
with men pure and virtuous in his social
/ intercourse, and to his children he has lett u
! golden inheritance name unspotted before
i the world ]
A member of the church. he was prac-
! teal every day Christian. Religion governed
| his thoughts and actions and sustained him
| through all the trials of lille and enabled him
| TO meet death with tortitude and resignation
/! When hope of recovery no longer checred
him he expressed his faith in a few words ::
81 believe IN the Lord Jesus Christ. i know
that my Redeemer liveth ~ All! how easy
tor such an one to live and die! Amid the
shades OF Glenwood." Il spot he loved and
| around which clustered so many sweet men-
| cries, he passed his declining days. There,
| surrounded by dear friends, his sweet spirit
| left its mortal tenement. He was Mason
| That noble order of men-helpers of the
! helpless; friends in need-tlue to the pro-
/ fessiun of brotherly ioye and kindness, sought
the privilege OF laying away his remains,
and in conjunction with the church, per-
| formed the last sad rites over the form of
the once honored man. the brave soldier, the
good citizen the loving father, the devoted
husband and the noble Christian! One of
the brightest of earth's jewels has been
transferred to tie heavenly crown and while
sorrow, too deep for words rends the heart
let us remember. that, il faithful. we shall
meet again; altl too, that
..Ours is but a selfish grief
| In yon bright world bliss,
Hall nc vSra know file ltsffer care
That .lims our path in this y