Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-06-09
NO. 23.
Horace erseIe,,. erss, sorro,

horace Rreeley's Great SORROW
New York gentleman sends to the New
York Tribune the following hitherto unpub-
lished letter. It tells its own story Of lad
but interesting page in the history of Horace
Greeley:
NEW York, Dec. A. 18i9.
MY FRIEND You ask for an hour. have
now but fifteen minutes, yet will endeavor to
say something.
The loss of my boy makes a great change
in my feelings, plans and prospects. The Joy
of my life was comprehended in his, and ]
do not now feel that any personal object can
strongly move me henceforth had thought
of buying q country place, but it was for
him had begun to love flowers and beauti-
full objects because he liked thom. Now all
that deeply concerns me is the evidence that
we shall live hereafter, and especially that we
shall live with and know those we loved here.
The rest seems subordinate and trifling.
mean to act my part while life is spared me,
but no longer covet length of days II felt
sure on the point of identifying and being
with our loved ones in the world to come,
would prefer not to live long. As it is, am
resigned to whatever may be divinely order
ed.
1 am not often sad, and suffer little 1 feel
none of that eating away of the heart which
attiicts my poor wife and makes me appre-
hend she will not live long. She has cried
very little, and laid our darling in his coffin,
after thoroughly washing him, with dry eyes.
We had but few hours to prepare for our loss.
He went TO bed as hearty and happy as ever
at A. NJ ho wanted to get up but went di-
rectly back to bed, complaining of no sick
ness; a little past he called again, and soon
the purging and vomiting commenced in
earnest butwe stopped this at 8, and did not
feel that he was in danger till about l P NJ,
md ~ ha ta1 lo1 Ia
him fiddle the day before which delighted
him beyond measure, and he was only induc-
ed to lay it up at night by his delight at the
idea of coming up in the morning and sur
prising me by playing on it before l got up.
In the morning, at daylight, 1 was called to
his bedside; the next day followed him to
his grave You cannot guess how golden and
lovely his long hair (never cut) looked in the
coffin
We have lost four out of five children, and
have only an infant left. Our last girl was
only six months old the other two were in
fants. Pickle was five years old last March,
So much grace and wit and poetry were rare
ly or never blended in SO young child and
to us his form and features were the perfec-
tion OF beauty. We can never have another
child and life cannot be long enough to eff
face, though it will temper, this sorrow. 1t
differs in kind as well as degree from that we
have hitherto experienced.
For the present my prevailing sentiment is
that of some adventurous Cortez or Pizarro
who has burned his ships and most of his
baggage on an inhospitable shore, and feels
he can henceforth advance freely. 1 do not
feel that have heretofore been derelict, but
hereafter, feel confident that 10 fear of per-
sonal consequences can deter me from doing
my duty. The road before me seems hilly
and heavy, and have less strength than
had, but shall swing my pack soon and face
those | meet with as blithe countenance as
ever. Kind regards to Mrs. Randall. Yours
HORACE GREELEY.
P. 81 wrote full account of our disas-
ter to friend, and will let you read it some
time if you wish.