The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1885-05-28

Decoration bay. At the time Of year
when the earth emerges from It's
weeks Of rain fresh, cool, green and
beautiful, suggesting the ever living
green Of the Heavenly Hills, h0W
suitable 10 gather all luxuriant blos-
sons, and the newborn roses, ano
repair with them in orderly decorum
20 the sleeping places OF our hero
dead, and there In silence deposit our
heart tribute 10"
That which h best IN our Decora-
ton Day comes straight from the
heart.-the Sabbath stiffness, the ees-
satiOn Of business and worldly drive,
the myriad flowers, gathered from
public and private gardens ana
dropped by gentle hands on unnamed
graves, - are all memories which
make it sacred and tender
sAnd While ne racs shall here BE- free,
And While ue al shall equal BE-.
Throaghost this land o. ours;
For ave, for are, the nfriie1i day
0fever-Eeioome, beautiful hsy
Shall Be The day for a0gert.'
For sOldiers dead and h0Eeu-
In the second place. notice II you
please. that flowers are symbols OF
peace and kindly feeling, = FLOW
ERs are symbols Of peace and kindly
feeling, yes, OF tenderest attachment.
The lover sends flowers Of beauty 20
his sweetheart as the most fitting eX-
preston Of the high esteem and ten
der attachment In which be holds
her lOveliness aud graces, her beauty
sf person, her graces Of soul, and, II
she returns the tender sentiment, she
manifests IL by 3 return OF lovely
| flowers-a delicate button hole bOu-
auet or other floral token, which he
| treasures up ever thereafter among
| life'a most precious meinentOes,
But who ever heard of any one
ever sending flowers TO his enemy as
an expression Of his feeling Of enmity
| towards him?
When made that sagaciOus pIOph-
ecy Of philosophy, founded on nation
al characteristics, / also fiattered my
self and took credit for my magnan-
unity in wishing the prophecy TO
become true, inasmuch a. Il Was
desirable to bury In oblivion every
thing that would remind Us Of that
unseemly frateFnAl strife of civil war
/ in our reunited land.
Bat now / see my blunder, owing
to my obtuseness which failed to per
eeive the distinction there Is between
burying everything that would tend
10 irritate, aud ALLEVIATE, and keep
alive sectional strife; ana the proper
holding In memory of the facts Of his
tory by exalting into prominence all
those features which tend 10 heal. and
unite and bind together all parts Of
the grand Republic In the strongest
bonds Of mutual affection and regard.
And what could do this 50 beautifully
as this very custom Of Decoration
Day?
For whenever our boys in blue 60
out to the "silent city" on that day,
and find sleeping together In the
peaceful embrace OF death-in that
mysterious realm where all animOsl-
ties are forever left behind-thOse who
in life wore the gray side by side with
those who in life wore the blue, they
look upon the one with no more ami
mostly aud III will than upon the 9TH
er but with the soldiers great heart
they revere the memory OF their brave
foe who bit the dust fighting ~ hon
estly though mistaken, but As honestly !
In his own belief for his very fireside
aud "the loved ones ct home" ~ they |
in blue for God and country and ma,
tive land and from these alternating |
graves there rises this common senti- |
ment.
Prom our dead foeInen comes no ehidiug forth |
We lie Al Psase, Heaven knows no South, ne
with roots OF trees and aOusrs and fern and
heather,
God reaches dOvn and clasps our hands together
And upon such graves our boys |
heap alike their tribute Of tiOwers to |
express the real sentiment Of their |
hearts and thus the better angels OF |
our nature have touched q ehOcd that |
thrills with the sweetest melody Of
peace from one end OF the broad land |
TO the other.
But the main reason why flowers |
are so appropriate IS tokens Of mem
ory on the graves of our departed, and /
have been so used from time imme-
mortal, is no doubt, because they are
eBlblcnls Of Immortality. FIOlOers are
eHlbIeBls Of iBlBlOrtdiay-Of personal
Immortality.
We stop not now TO inquire into the
origin of this old time symbol; wheth-
er the poet, seizing the idea that "a
thing OF beauty is joy forever" and
IN Imagination carrying the plueked
flower, symbol Of beauty cut of by
death, = over the dark River and
transplanting Il In celestial soil 10
bloom In Immortal beauty there, or
IN some other way, - still the fact Is
recognized 10y all, 10 use the language
OF Germany's greatest poet, (changed
q little In wording but not in sense)
that children and flowers are teachers
Of Immortality.
Hans Christian Andersen, the great
Danish story teller, has among his
inimitable stories, the following:
Whenever good child dies an angel
from Heaven comes down TO earth
and takes the dead child In his arms,
spreads out his great white wings and
flies away over all the places the child
has loved in life, and picks quite a
handful OF flowers which he carries
up 10 the Almighty, that they may
bloom more brightly there than on
earth. And the. Father presses all
the flowers 10 his heart, but He
best, and the flowers are endow-
ed with a voice that they may Join ia
in the great chorus OF praise. ''See,"
this Is what an angel said as he car
ried 8 dead child up to heaven aud
the child heard IS II In dream and
they went on over the regions Of home
y NnG GAAAAA AAa4 AfeAl NA-A4N Il
through gardens with beautiful How
ers. (which or these shall we take
with ne to plant Ia Heaven" asked
the angel.
Now there stood near them q slen
Ter beautiful rosebush, but q wicked !
land had broken OFF the stem, 80 that Z
III the branches, covered with half !
,psn buds, were hanging around quite
Fithered.
''The poor rosebush, ,"said the child,
take il, that IL may bloom up yOn-
Ter"
And the angel took Il, and kissed Z
he child, and the dear little one half !
opened his eyes. They plueked some
4 the rich flowers, but also took with !,
hem the Wild pausy and dsspised \
luttercup.
''Now we have flowers" said the I
hild, and the angel nodded, but he
lid not fiy upward 10 Heaven. 10 +.
ras night aud quite silent. They >
emained in the great city. They o
Oated about there in q street where :,
Az heaps OF straw, ashes and sweep U
lgs, for It had been removal day. =
here lay fragments OF plates. bits Of 2.
lasler, rags and old hats, and all this =
ID not look we'll; and the angel 2
Ointed amid al this confusion TO q L
w fragments Of q flower pot, and q o
mp OF earth which had fallen out, ]
=, a -. ErrI snrrafkae he fha rnunfa ~ z