Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1881-04-14
7rom tie Chronicle and Constitutional
of Sunday.
Death of Gen. NJ. w. Gary.

q of Sunday.
q Death of Gen. w. Gary.
A few days ago, Gen. M. W. Gary Was
lin Augusta, apparently in the fullness oI
+ vigor and health. He is now no more
Our whole community was shocked te
4 hear Of his sudden demise, which was un.
Slooked for as the fate of
"Ships that have gone down at sea
4 When Heaven was all tranquility"
Death, come in whatever shapeit will
Bin infancy, in the young morn ofslife, al
4middle age, in the twilight of existence
with suddenness or after lingering years
sof pain. is always mysterious and always
q pathetic. In the case of Gen. Gary it is
8peculiarly startling, not merely on ac
gcount of the violent t.ansition from lusty
5manhood to stiffness of The heart, but
because The life that passed unscathed
9amid hundred battles should have yield
He'd to the insidious attack of an acute and
sSsalmost unheralded disease. We who knew
ahim best and appreciated him mostfeei most
akeenly the loss; for while he was stern to
Ahis foes, so long as they kept the field in
EARNS, he was loyal AMI staunch and true
Ito friendship. No knightlier soul ever
Event forth to the ranks of war than NJ.
NV. Gary. No cavalier ever welded a
3orighter and better blade in defense of his
section and his principles. No braver
warrior ever led troops into the thickes.
Sof the fray. Few of the glorious men Of
the South-the men Of Clever so rap
Idly and worthily rose from rank to rank
Huntil only the very loftiest prizes were
smissed. AS he was the idol of his sol
oilers in war, he was their chosen champion
4 in the angry truce that followed and the
peace that came largely through his in
shuence and his leadership. was moth.
sing of courtier; therefore sSe mere bauS
4bles of politics were Dispersed tc others
aBut to him, more than any one person in
South Carolina, is due the exceptional
aglory Of saving that Commonwealth from
The organized hell" of reconstruction, res
eacuing civilization from organized barbar-
gism, and making it possible for others 70
wear and hold the honors Of place and
] 8preferment that they now enjoy. He was
Ia serious, determined, energetic man.
There was no disguise Of his sentiments,
(which were fixed and ultra; and there was
no hesitation in consummating the plans
his quick and tenacious Judgment approx
He'd. He had enormous faith in himself
sSmiscalled vanity-but really the individu;
aaalism of strong, undaunted character,
(which knows its masterfnl power and has
tine valor to maintain its hold upon the
1.-THE world. He succeeded as soldier, y
! a statesman, as planter and as lawyer
aHis mind was cultivated, grasping, cour-
Sageous, self-possessed and as versatile as|
lit was profound. Foibles he had, as all
have; but his good qualities far surpassed
4whateyer was imperfect in his nature. He
lacked reverence, perhaps, and missed, we
think, some of the divinest gifts and tless- I
aings; but his natural virtues were rare
! and radiant. lis nobler part will be re
Smembered fer many day in the Palmet
Ito State and in Georgia, and by all whom
he ever met. HIS more earthly frailties|
! Twill be buried and forgotten. He had one
gtrait of character that proved him to be,I
ssat the core, a good man. He was the best
4 Of brothers and most afiectionate Of sons
beyond even the devotion to hi< country
were his love and care for hisS pr, and
1--we hold it to be eternally true that no som
athatl loves his mother can be other than Al
good man, despite any other unfortunate
environment. We bid farewell, then, to|
I the hero, the statesman, the orator >the|
advocate, the patriot, she good, true Sssn|| 2
aof South Carolina and the pride Of Edge
field. May the Spring roses bloom -apon|
his grave and the turf rest lightly upon
ibis manly form The earth will take.whatj
lis mortal to her embrace. But from the|
clay there shall arise the imperishable'
memory of one who scorned to be hypo-
5crite, asked only to be painted as he was.
and, inhcxible in honor and truth. bore IA
[ Ib,ld spirit in loyal breast"