The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-02-24
SRx roe WHIrNEY said !:

1
MR. PRESIDENT: it is an immemoria
custom, one that has come down to u
| through all the ages, to honor the dead
| 20 strew flowers over their graves, {,
| extoi their virtues, 10 commemorat.
their good deeds. 1t is a good anC
| beautiful custom-one born Of the mobiles
! feelings OF our natures-One that shoulc
| be held sacred, and ever green in oui
| hearts and our memories
| Ia obedience, sir, 30 this time hOnored
| custom, we are assembled here today tc
| honor the memory of one of our own
mem bers-One who was so dearly loved
| by some of Us, one who WAS so warmiy
esteemed and respected by all Of Us So
sudden and unexpected was this calami-
ty, 20 sudden and cruel the blow, that
we can scarcely ye. realize that our
friend is indeed gone We stand today
Mr. President, in the very presence Of
the king OF terrOrs. Senators. do YOU
see yondfr chair and it's dark habili-
ments Of woe? Oh, how more eloquent
ly than any words of mine, do they
speak-hOw more orrowfully do they
tell Of our irreparable loss. Oh, death
thou art indeed terrible, and the tear.
the groan, the knell, the pail, the bier,
and all we know, or dream, or fear Of
agony, art thine"
/ suppose. sir, there is scarcely one in
all this assemblage who knew Mr.
Nertner for a longer period of time than
| did. He was, indeed, the friend of my
early days | knew hiEl, and knew him
well, in the days of our boyhood-for we
were at College together-those bright
and beautiful days when there was
such glory in the grass, such splendor.
in the flower" when to our charmed
visions this world was but weedIess
garden where every tint spoke natures
loveliness, every sound breathed heavens
melody, and every breeze was but EN-.
bodied fragrance. When, indeed, all
above was sunshine, and all beneath was
flowers. But, as ! remember it. we were
not al the same college together for
more than one year or perhaps a little
longer, when he left, and went to Prince
ton, where he completed his collegiate
course. After this, for quite period of
time, our lives diyerged, and we were
widely separated. ! do not undertake
to give the details Of his life during this
period, for | am not sufficiently ac-
quainted with them. | only knew, as |
was informed, that like thousands of
others, he had gone to seek his fortune
on the golden shores of the far-otf Pa
ciiic
But time, in its ever ceaseless rounds,
brought us once more together on
our materer years. And | well re-
m9mber the time, the very day when
again saw him for The first time after our
l. l. L /
dreary winters day that we met at a
country court, in the interior of my own
county, as opposing counsel in "A case to
be tried on that day. here we spent
most of the day renewing our old friend
ship, and talking over old times-mutu-
ally surprised to find, that so late in life,
and very near the same time we had
e embarked in the same profession. After
wards, residing, as we did, in adjoining
counties we frequently met, ard from
that day on to the dav of his decease,
we were, As in former years, warm per-
sonal friends. Always, at all times
under all circumstances, Mr.. Nertner
was the same high-toned, honorable,
polished, elegant and courteous gentle
man-always, the same VAIN, gener-
Gus hearted friend. Neither in social life
nor at the bar, was there ever any indi-
rectness in his conduct, or in his
methods. On the contrary, he was.always
perfectly open, candid, frank and
generous, in all things. He was devoted
10 his profession, and rapidly attained
to eminence and distinction therein. As
a lawyer, he was careful and painstaking
to an extraordinary degree Able,
learned, conscientious, of the highest
integrity, he readily commanded that
success to which he was so Justly
entitled. His character and reputation
were above reproach, and he was dearly
loved and greatly honored by the people
of his county.
Such, Mr.. President and Senators, was
the man who so recently stood here in
our midst in all the conscious pride of
health and strength and mental vigor,
such the Senator, whom we ali so
highly esteemed, and whose untimely
end we all so much deplore.
But, sir, he is gone, and We shall never
in this world see him again. That
voice, once so eloquent, is now hushed
in death; that eye which so beamed
with intelligence and kindliness is
indeed now closed forever; his form lies
mouldering in yonder cemetery where
loving hands have laid him, but his
example and his good deeds live on
they will never die.