The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-09-28
A Dav of Mourning.

4 The people of to-day have witnessed sceneS
3such as has never before occurred ON theS
face of the EARTH Mourning so universal
land so heartfelt has never hitherto bowedA
down the heads of men. Rulers, beloved off
their people have died before and haveS
Ibeen mourned by the nation which lostF
them and perhaps by some sympathizings
lhearts in other lands; but we have nowk
sseen for the first time not only great na-f
3tion lamenting as one man, but sincere asS
3well as demonstrative sympathy in griefs
nearly all the civilized nations. E
Many things have combined to produce thisf
result. There is everywhere, and especially
among people of Anglo Saxon blood, AZ
quick and eager sympathy for any victim of
assassin alton, and the minds of everybody
|were powerfully affected by the dramatic forced
lof the situation. Then came the long sus- /
3pense, the wearying alterations of hope andk
fear, the weary watching by the couch on
spain where the patient and heroic strug-
3gle against fated death went onz
flor the dreadful hours and days.
land weeks and months. The rapldityE
land completeness of the transmission of intel-E
sgence, entirely without historic parallel, Il
3has served to bring all men into an immedi-
late accord of feeling through all the shiftingE
phases of the tragedy. Thus all the peoplesf
Iof the earth have feared and hoped and de- 4
SPARED together. This unity of feeling has I
had much to do with the intensity of t. 4
The common action of many minds quick +
lens the movement of each mind. The ex-
Ialted station of the sufferer and the vast in
|terests affected by his life or death excitedN
the Imagination, and his patient endurancek
!of unmerited suffering softened the heart.
but above and beyond all these reasons for6
Thought of the man himself, highk
land fine in character and life, with a wideR
land enlightened mind and warm, human&
heart, with intellect clear TO comprehendE
|and purpose and capacity to fifty per-
form the great duties devolving upon
him, with quick sympathy for the oppressed /
land sorrowful, with appreciative love for all s
that is true, and beautiful, and good-the
man himself. the greathearted, large-mind-
led, man-loving and God-fearing man is v hat
touches the hearts and dims the eyes of the
world. Nor do men forget the tender sym
pathy due to the devoted and noble wife in n
|her un speakabe affiiction. What can weH
Say of her more and better than that this
ways the fitting mate of the great ANDY
good man who loved her so well. HerM
grief meets with answering grief in all#
hearts.
So it came about that the world saw onE
Monday spectacle such as it never wit-E
messed before-a great historic spectacle &
which other generations will read of withS
wonder. They will learn how fifty millionE
and mouined as those who weep for nearE
and loved kindred-how that every city, will
|age and hamlet was covered with the drap-
|ings of woe and its people assembled them E
selves together in meetings great and small
Ito say in words and show in looks the sor-
ROW that was upon them all-how that diff
|ferences of creed and section and stationE
Jwere forgotten in a common emotion and
the American people were drawn together
Jas never before-how that in other lands, es +
1pecially in those who use the EnglishE
speech, were like demonstrations of sympa-
gthetic grief, and how we came to love ourk
mother country for the good, kind and sin-k
}cere words and deeds of sympathy of theB
Queen and her people, and how our neigh n
2bors on the northern border became oneE
zwith us in mourning, and how, in truth, inE
I all lands and in all tongues was show ofH
sympathy in kind and degree quite beyondS
historic precedent. 1t was a great and nota-
! BILE occasion, whose memory will not fadeZ
i from the minds of the present generationE
2 and which will serve as standard for esti- +
mating all fu ture demonstrations of publicE