The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-05-26
THE MEMORIAL SERVICES.
Held Yesterday at the Central Presby-
terian Church.-An Eloquent
Sermon by the Pastor.

decorated. Ihe pulpit was adorned Dy
two large flags. After some excellent
music by the choir, Rev. Cryer delivered
the following sermon. which we give in
its entirety:
There is time of war and a time of peace. ="
Eccles Ill IS.
Soldiers and veterans, | am conscious
that in speaking to you this morning OF
the past, / am speaking of events that
need no words of man to stamp upon your
minds Already they have been stamped,
by the lightning fash of battle, by the
wild rain of bullets and shells, by long
days of marching, sleepless nights OF biv-
ouac, by aches and pains of wounds and
sabre thrusts, by marks that you will
carry to the grave But it is not merely
to speak of the past that l address you
this morning, Memory is the treasury of
the past. and brings us Joy or sorrow or
the bitter sweet of life, but hope lies in
the future, and kindles like beacon light
upon the hills no longer distant to many
of you that encmcle the little valley of
our lives, beyond whose shadow lies the
deep dark river. am not here to speak
meaningless words of laudation and
praise, but as far as in me lies, aided by
divine truth to speak the wise, the manly,
the christian word, nor do you expect
aught else.
1t was appointed in Athens in the an
cient days that the heroism of those who
fell in battle should be honored by memor-
lal services. Their ashes were gathered
from the funeral pyre and for three days
lay in state to receive the votive offerings
of friends and relatives Flowers, vases,
weapons and wondrous works of art were
consecrated to them. Eleven collins re-
| ceived their dust-one for each of the
city's ten tribes and one for the nameless
dead the lost and unrecovered, On the
fourth day the procession moved, mothers,
wives and children were mourning for
their beloved, and led the way. Then fol-
lowedsrelatives friends and strangers and
thus they moved out to the city of the
dead. The most beautiful suburb of
Athens adorned by the hand of Phidias
Cimon and others. Columns, fountains,
temples and groves filled with the shrine
of deities marked the way, and beautiied
the spot. There near the monument of
Athens illustrious dead in this Westmin
lister of Greece, with no fretted arch of
Cathedral or long dim aisle resounding
to the marshal tread but under the plane
trees sacred to Minerva with the green
from the neighboring mountains and the
deep carpet of earth kept beautiful by
streams vaulteds azure of heaven in the pre-
sence of an assembled multitude. The ora
tor delivered his eulogy of the dead. Such
was the honor bestowed by that ancient
Republic on the memory of her fallen
heroes and such the honor which every
nation gives her patriotic dead. We are
not peculiar when we gather the first
flowers of the spring and hang them in
clustering garlands on their graves. 1t is
simple impulse of humanity. 1t is a ma.
ton doing for its dead what the individ-
ual does for his, when the
white face is still in death,
when the white hands have been
crossed upon the still bosom aud the white
lids closed upon the white cheek, ther
there remains but one thing that we car
do, lay the cross of flowers on the breast,
lace the white rose against the pale
cheek, and cast into the grave the fra
rant wreath and that is all-no, moi
all, for when the spring time come!
we plant the rose, the lilies, tht
violet or some other favorite flower
upon the mound and watch it with the
same loving care that We would glvt
the dead. watering it with tears, making
it fragrant with the breath Of slghs
Thus our service is simple heart service
consecrated forever by the words of him
l ,bCf To ho 40 uhaY
he pointed to the lily and likened it tl
what the true life should be.
Who are these whose memory We woull
reverence today? Can any one call tht
roll of the dead? On southern battl,
fields, in deep. dark trenches. in nameles
and forgotten graves. In cOnsecratet
cemeteries they are lying, and even thu
sea, the deep lone sea, has its treasures o
these dead. God only knows where somt
are today. When the roll was called nj
voice answered to their names. All. sine
then too whole companies have gone
They came home shattered, broken ant
decimated from the war only to lie dow
( ct last near the graves of their ancestors
These we would not forget. But onl,
the arch angel whose trumpet shall wax
!, the earth's slumbering millions, know
and marks the graves where all are restin:
. and only the wild flowers, as if planted b.
angel hands, decorate some of thos,
graves, and the birds sing sweet caro-
where no sound of marshal music or voic,
of human affection breaks the stiffness
But there are names living and dead ths
can never be forgotten. because they hav
become historic with events The nam
of Fort Sumpter and Robt. Anderson. VIII
after the war raised again the very fla
he had been compelled to strike: tn
name of Antietam and Burnside; tn
name of Vicksburg, forever associates
with the Declaration of independents
since that glorious Fourth of. SO, and th
name of Grant, the name of Meade tn
valiant Fitzpatrick and Gettysburg; th
name of Chicamuga, and the lion heartel
Thomas, who with few divisions with
stood 10000 of the enemy long after a
others had been swept away, receiving th
mighty war shocks of battle like rock
The name of Chattanooga and the sam
iron leader; Hooker and Lookout Noun
tain; Sherman and Missionary Ridge, an
the battle raging the entire lengt
between until that memorable nigf
of November "a, when the en'
my fed. leaving their stronghold
their artillery and arms. The name {
Atlanta and Sherman; his march to Ii
sea; the Christmas gifts of the city @
Savannah to President Lincoln in thes
words: Permit me to present the city {
Savannah to you as Christmas git
together with arms and ammunition an
1000 bales of cotton" The capture {
Columbia the battle of Averysboro an
Bentonville, the junction with Gener,
Terry's force at Goldsboro and the SUI
render of Johnston's army at Raleigl
These are names and events never to |
separated, and were we to speak of Il
true heroism of the soldier we might mel
tion the bravery of the New York Zouave
or Pet Lambs, as they were calle,
- who in that disastrous battle of Bu
Run, when the sinews of war we
Strengthening and when bravery meal