Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-06-01

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~ be lnteFesleo iu pab5c stztrs a.iLd - - /.
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and E 49, hls elstoEsl ~ brave erlilessin s1ia +
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bstleF. and ea- - hs foli1Q 81 tue pSAs o. 4
eieetlon aay, a1a n-s fo4cs 80 isezrd Hoflna-
latlnz ana expressing the desires of patriotic +
men ana god eIilzeas st tfas pablie meetlng.
There 4as 30 deed Of shame ihzt be dld nOt
teuouIlee. aEd ~ Dohle 1ct ttaf ne uld nJt
praise &Ith sylcs and pea. II h 40 4l.I'ar-
agement - 0tbers u say that Dc VIA the
best known man IA thls city, and one " tbs
most beloved
Ia All thar pertsinei 10 the hfe " yoang
men hs took zn active, iDteihgen part. tie
xas a valued friend and promoter OF our
public school system. he was trustee VI
Ohvet College, aud one Of tae founders Of
the Young Meas Christian Association here,
aud filed Its various Offices Tor many Years.
lie secured Salaable contributions for its
library aud vas largely Instrumental Ia
building e ap 10 its present proportions
OF him - the dear faithful friend dare not
trust myself - speak. here come ihrOng-
lng 10 my miad with the nlsnilon OF his
name the sunny memories Of days oG delight
ful cOmpaplonshlp. Of ambfo-ial nights
niled With the richness Of his entertaining
commsnts on books and nen and events;
Of ms habit OF taking the unpopular slde OF
questions Ia order 10 draw from the knOwi-
edge OF others; of the gilmpses OF the beau
ufui stainless character OF the man that
gioxed and shone - those who knew him
bet; OF MS help OF our gratitude; OF these
things dare not trust myself tO sleak. For
twenty years De was familiar aud promi-
uent figure IN the lfe OF this city, and died
IN the midst OF work and usefulness, with
plan. and purposes unfinished and unper-
formed Ia the fall ripeness OF his man
hood, at the nOontIde OF his career the sum
mons came and no was prepared 10 20.
Unwilling 10 give pain 10 others be Kept
secret the knowledge that the dark shadow
OF the fatal disease was upon him, and none
who listened to hlm on that last Sabbath
morning will ever forget the shock OF the
announcement or the unutterable sadness of
his last spoken words IN that pulpit 10 the
people he had loved and served.
The shortness OF human life Is ever present
with US. To the old Saxon king with his mobiles
gathered about him in the ancient hall, MT
ting emblem for II was found III the little bird
which, attracted by the freight, comes IN
from the darkness, fiutters around the room
for an instant, aud then flies out into the
darkness again and is gone. Such Is the life
OF man. But whether our years be few or
many We shall not forget this kindly chris
tian gentleman whose life was so full of all
that blesses. ennobles and elevates man
kind.
There will linger with Us recollection of
that anxious summer, of the profound grief
which fell upon every household here when
the news came that mis- loyal heart had ceased
/ 10 beat, of the solemn and touching funeral
/ where his last messages were more efiec-
/ tive sermon than he had ever preached be
fore: and as the old Italian painters used
/ the shadow In their pictures III their treat
ment of the human face only TO make the
/ lineaments more distinct, so as the sha-
/ dows of death settled about him the beauty
/ of his character shOne resplendent on that
/ sombre back ground We will recall the
/ great concOurse of loving friends, and the
| last sad rites when his body was laid here on
| that October day to await the resurrection OF
/ the just.
/ This monument, simple yet massive in its
/ purity, Is typical of him it commentaries.
/ Ii IL the result of a contribution which came
/ II Il only from members of his own church,
/ bnt largely from those who were not MEM
/ bers of his immediate congregation, but
were part of that larger congregation to
which he ministered daily and which en-
! braced all classes and all denominations.
One of the old tales Ia the mythology he
/ loved tells the story of Memnon, son of Auro-
ra, goddess OF the morning, who died at the
/ siege of Troy. The hours and the Pleads
mourned forthe son of the dawn. Night
yelled the Heavens in black, and all nature
mOurned for him. According to the beauti-
\ full and poetic imagery the deT-drops on the
/ grass in the early morning are the tears of
/ Aurora inconsolable for her son. On the
banks of the river Nile, in Egypt, statue
/ has been raised to Memnon and il is said, that
/ owing 10 some peculiar formation of the
structure when the beams of the morning
I fall upon it a sound is heard TO issue from il
/ like the vibration of harp string.
/ Touched by its orient beams
Responsive rings the living Tyre
And tremblos al its string7.
IL Is right that this monument should tell
/ Of the pure and noble life of Morgan Smith,
but his statue has already been builded and
/ dedicated in our hearts, and whether in the
busy city, on the mountain, lake or river, at
the thought of him rs the light of his good
life falls upon Il, wherever we may be, "the
mystic chords OF memory viii vibrate re-
spOnsively "a the seasons come and CO."
7 This monument will under the influences of
time decay and be resolved again into the
I earth. but better than the towering Obelisk
/ or sculptured column, more solid and en-
| during than brass or marble, IL the memoT-
/ ial and monument he himself has builded in
/ the good that he has done, IN the lives he has
/ lifted up toward higher and holier ideals, In
/ the widening circles of influence which
/ he has set IN motion; influences which will
/ continue To 90 on increasing and ever-widen-
/ ing until they break at Last on those distant
I shores where his pure, chivalrOus, knightly
soul has entered into the rest prepared for