Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-10-13
A FINE SPEECH.
a Pittsburgh Democrat on the Late
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Col. Robert Gibson, of the Pittsburgh
bar, is characteristic Western Pennsyl
vanian. He is a leading Democrat and
favorite political orator of his section.
The following was his short speech On the
death of the president at the memorial
meeting of the Pittsburgh bar. 1t is a
memorable production.
The dead president has grown upon US
in these sorrowful weeks. He never seems
to have plotted or schemed for place. The
honOrs were cast upon him.
The chances are that the prOudcst hour
of the presidents life was when he car
ried his first weeks wages home to his
mother. These two were all in all to each
other-she 4 widow and he an orphan,
young and strong aud good.
How the two must have sat in the cabin
door on pleasant summer nights,-the
stumps in the clearing aud the great
woods near-the sky SO blue, the gray
stars as witnesses-and talked together as
to how to get on. She would tell of his
father who died when this son was quite
young.
They would be together when the forest
Redeemed in the brown autumn, and frost
came and gusty winds began to grumble
about the gables.
Then would come upon them the long
and bitter lake winter, how long and Bit
ter only the poor can know.
At last would come the great thaw,
when the nights in the hill or forest
country give out that sound rs of far off
tide beating upon a lonesome shore-thc
Scotch call it the Sough. And it means
that Mother Earth is about to present her
children with her yearly hymn Of June
meadows and song of birds. These simple
things made the poetry of his life.
Bye and-bye he had gathered fifteen
dollars very hard to earn and save i'll
these days. He was off on foot to q dis
tant schOol-this money to be the en-
trance fee. He had five dollars in his
trolser pockets, and ten in wallet in his
| coat. He felt of the money often as he
walked on, but at last his young head
running Oh the little that he had read
and hungering for knowledge-(who has
not felt that? he lost his $40 and ran back
the road, looking after it, when he saw an
older youth at fence in front Of log
house, who asked what he was looking for.
The reply was my $40. "Herc it is " said
the other,-that other is DR.. Bliss Now
l have been displcased with DR.. Bliss at
times,-I thought he Was too much on
papcr--but now [ forgive all. This ex-
plains why he was so near to the president;
and it is a beautiful side light, showing the
presidents gracious and grateful moral
nature. That found $40 may have made
the man. lie could not forget Bliss. Well
the curtain is falling over one of the
greatest tragedies knowp in history and
more significant in many features than
any other.
lie is dead and l have said before that
his life Was triumph and SO was his
death.
Tho man who could SO live that when
he was smitten by that vengeful, sane
assassin, fifty millions of people watched
about his bed and listened for the news
about hinl-whose sufferinss buried party
and siicnced factiOn-to whose sick bed
there came from all Europe by lightning
under the sea, inquiries ofhis pulse beat
| this man did not die in vain.
Mr.. Chairman, this has made ME think
much. have been dreamy reader of the
scientists. They have eliminated the
devil and arc trying to abolish tradition,
and at times it looks like contentins
ioctrine. But We can't get even with
scOundrels and assassins here. [ now
strike hands with the orthodox, turn q
sharp corner and stand where my mother
placed me many a year ,ago-and vote
unanimously for hell.