Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1881-11-07


tor, H. F. Austin.
know ye not that there is a prince, and great
man fallen this day in Israel ?" II Samuel iii, SO.
History sometimes strangely repeats
itself; Abner was brother of Kish, and
hence the paternal uncle of Saul, the
first king of Israel. He was the chief
captain of the army of Israel. He was
the real political ruler of the people. un-
der the nominal reign of Ish-bosheth,
the impotent, if not the imbecile, son of
Jonathan, and grandson of Saul.
Through mad revenge and insane jeal-
ousy, with malice prese'as, he was cruelty
slain by Joab, the chief captain of the
army of Judah. 1t was a cold-blooded
murder in the first degree, though under
the gulse and pretence of blood venge-
ance, but really without justifable cause
or provocation.
King David gave Abner an honorable
public burial. The people, weeping.
joined the king in his bitter lamentation
over the chieftain slain by the cowardly
assassin, saying: GAS villain dies,
should Abner die? Thy hands not
bound and thy feet not brought into fet-
ters; as one fallest before the sons of
malice fallest thou" Abner was not
slain by the hand of justice. or in battle
or by accident; but as culprit, by the
cruel hand of the villainous assassin.
And DAVID said: "The Lord shall re-
ward the doer of evil according to his
wickedness.-And the king said unto
his servants: Know ye not that there is
a prince, and great man fallen this
day in Israeli"
History strikingly repeats itself in
the chief points of analogy between the
cruel murder of the ancient Abner by
the jealous, vindictive Joab, and the
cowardly assassination of our modern
Garfield by the malicious, vindictive
Guiteau.
The words of the text, and the weep
ing of the nation suggest this theme
"The lamentation of the people over the
death of prince and great man"
L. 1t is the people that mourn to-day.
That there is sincere mourning through
all the land, causing tears of genuine
sorrow, anguish unspoken, and almost
"groanings that cannot be uttered" is
too patent to every loyal citizen and pa
triotic heart, too deeply felt in every
sincere soul, to call for further proof
than the simple statement of the propo-
sition. The first click of the telegraph
and the first stroke of tolling bell. telling
of Garfeld's death, awoke nation to
tears and spread a wave of sorrow
through the startled air, such as the
wide, wide world never saw or felt be-
fore. Our whole country is one vast
congregation of mourners to-day because
Garfield is dead. Never before did so
many human hearts feel such a weight
of sorrow, or human eyes behold such a
sight of woe among the sons of men.
The angels of heaven never witnessed
before such scene on earth of a people
weeping so generally and so genuinely
in every section of so wide spread a
country; they never saw more sincere
sorrow or heard deeper sighs from SO
many sad hearts in single nation of
fifty million stricken souls bound in pro.
founder grief at single grave of mortal
man, than at this present time. In city
and country, in factory and field, in
shop and school, in congregation and
choir, are falling tears and sad tokens
of great calamity, and the voices Of
bitter lamentation.
The coming historian, writing of these
times and things, will tell how nation
of fifty millions of people in all parts Of
the land lifted up the voice and wept
over its dead ruler; and as Israel wept
over Abner slain he will truly testify
and all the people wept over the death o.
Garfield.
The people wept when Washington
died, for they loved the father of hi
country; but it was not such lamenta
tion as now, for then the prince ane
great man fallen had three years previ
ously ceased to be president; and thel
the people were numbered by thousands
where now by millions.
The people wept when Lincoln wa
slain, for they loved "Father Abraham
as good president and great man
but then it was but part Of the people
and but one portion of the land tha
wept his untimely death; for the natio1
was divided by most cruel, bloody civ
il strife, brother going to war wit
brother. Hatred and wrath filed tn
land. instead of friendship and peace
Hence the lamentation over murders
Lincoln was heard mainly in the loya
portion of the land, while another por
tion had but few tears for the prime
and great man fallen by the hand Q
the assassin; but now the great West i
mourning joins the weeping East; th
| returning South weeps with the ruefu
North; and from the borders of Main