Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-02-05

He had . rare tact With men aad an e.
quisife dsfersnee for vonen- whefsvef h
sas. be never fofeos that b vas . gentle
n 10, and his unfailtue eouSsesy flowed.
Ike the cir. 70 ali alike. 70 The child and to
the gray beard, 70 The humble and the high
Welcome 70 and grscins the most polished
society be never forgot that man vas born
before society, And humanity vas broader
than culture. His reading vas vide and
intelligent, his memory stored and respou
sive, his writing graceful and effective. 10
talk he had his fathers facinAsioo, and,
somewhat of the appealing
grace of . woman. calling for sympathy
snd love. At home be vas charming and
adscsionate. and nothing can dll the widen
ing loss 70 mothers ssd sisters and breshers.
Above oil be moved through life With rare
gensieness. Though young in years he had
almost Q vomans .hoaghffulness for others
and many an uaOticed deed Of kind
mess will keep bis memor, green in sorrow-
log hearts. Soldiers - we'll - citizens
have cause TO remember him, for almos.
the last act of his life, before the fatal
sickness overlook him, was to restore to ~
old soldier, under circumstances familiar -
your presiding officer. the msagre pension
snich his years Of service bad earned. that
he might pass his few remaining years IN
comparative comfort. He vent for this in
person to the Secretary Of War, and the
latter gracefully wrote him that he had
bad made up his mind to refuse
his next request to prove that he vas not
irresi.ribleS but he granted the
boon 90 unselnshiy asked for
another. 5veetiy must the sun have se.
on his dying bed, and on lis beams he
passed into tine eternal rest. There al the
beautiful gates Of the yAlhalia has worth
shall be vArrsn, Of his Welcome, for he
~ss kind to many, and he died loved Of ali.
He was my friend, and NAV not speak OF
him ~ ought II he had faults they
we're too fe~ 10 tell, or only such ~ en-
denred him.
Han thea .nd harse. from The re aims Of help
The, s,iil. despite the distance and the dark,
" hat was, again may be- some Interchange
OF grace, some splen dpr once thy very Thought
Some D. nsdietion ancient tiny smile"
Soldiers of the war, the white blossom OF
sympathy springs easily from the grave
and gen.leness become, the hero ike 3
flower. Shall xe not then tonight suspend
for moment our festai wreaths while We
send 70 the bereaved this soldiers tribute
for the soldiers friend
But you, Veterans Of the Blue, whose
valor asd sacrifices have given Us thi.
united country for which we speak-wha'
,haii..we say Of you?
ITO sag you are welcome -upe riiuous.
place upon the volume OF your deed-
As In ut!. Iag., your worth In arms.
u han f.sssr. han
since every worth In show ends irs-lf."
Only this That whatsoever crate flu
words or willing hearts may do 10 welcome
you, is yours. Nay, whatsoever else i,
ours of hospitality, or cheer or banquet
we make it yours. Ill fares it with the
land you saved when your worth shall moi
be warrant OF your welcome" Ye are the
survivors of what is indeed, the Grand
Army OF the Republic. Fear not that with
increasing years or lessening numbers your
welcome shall abste. The great pines OF
the foIest seem the statelier for their fallen
fellows whom we miss, and grow in value
with the lapse of time. And so you Wear
ers of the Blue, shall. like the leaves OF
the Sibyl, but gather glory from you,
wasting numbers You have right
to dwell upon your country, for
you made it free, and on your own past
for you made it glorious. Time was, when
the nation stood at the narrow pass between
life and death, and called her sons TO save
her. Marie did not lag behind, out sent
forth her Sous as the unnumbered pines
shake out their needles to the gust. For
four long years whenever cloudy heights
were to be scaled, or death flashed forth
from scabbsrds, Maine was there. From
the opening battles Of Bull Run to the pass
ing Of swords at Appomatox. the Maine
troops held their way. When Grant
burst, conquerng into Vicksburg and
o. the Fourth of July formed his
troops in square about the Court-house
heights, Maine WAS there With Sherman
when he sheared through the heart Of the
rebellion. and marched to the sounding sea,
Maine was there. In the death-swamp1
about Richmond, ia the prisons of Libby
and Belle Isle, Maine blood sank and
Maine lives wasted snd at Gettysburg, in
the critical moment of the war when, or
our own soil, the battle long hung doubt-
ful. and hope was fast yielding to despair,
when charge after charge had failed, and
at last the whole fury of rebellion swep;
round the heights of Round Top, Maine
was there. with Chamberlain and Howard.
TO turn desperate disaster into the
ringing cheer of victory On tina,
day and those that follow it. the old
America, the America of slavery and of
contested cons'itu ion. closed its life; aud
by the Grand Army of the Republic the
gates were swung open upon the America
Of the future, the America of freedom and
increasing States and stars; AMI while with
words we welcome you to this scene o.
reminis :enee, in very truth and in larger
sense it is you vho welcome US to this great
country of the future.
When the soldier, On guard or picket
begrt with danger and with dark. all night
long has outwstched the circling Bear, none
know like you how he strains his eyes fot
the coming of the day. or. weary with the
long days march and fighting, how he longs
to let slip his cares into the great peace OF
night. And yet not Morning, when flushed
and i,cund, becsmes a tiptoe over the
eastern hills, not Night, ~hen she wraps
herself about with the glory and gold OF
stars, ever ushered in transition of such
spendor, as that which your valor offers to
the American people. Politically We are
free The faint 81 slavery is out forever
Forty two States and stars already cluster
on our banners. Terrtorially we are
varied fertile, exhaustiess. In population
and wealth we are moving rapidly forward
ln1ustrially it Fere hard to set q limit to
our possibilities. Sections and climates the
most diverse, contribute their products
The North is pouring out its manufactures
and its colonies, and the South, which has
long lain fsllow, has for the first time I'M
locked the secret of her marvellous re-
sources.
Externally there is no foe to vex, while,
under the Congress Of Nations, our com
merce may fast stretch itself to new con-
quests in the rich regions of our own couti-
uent, long shut to us. Our tender sky of
literature is slowly filling with constella-
tions; against the Tyre Of Teunyson we put
the sweet reed music of Longfellow. while
Emerson is already immortal with Bacon
and Browning in the Westminster Of the
skies. To all this you, the living and the
dead, are welcoming US. To commemorate
this fact, in the person of your disting-
uished commander the pines of Michigan
have come nodding to the pines of Maine
and We give them welcome. Those that
are gone beckon US forward. and blow in
spiration back. May We learn from you,
as from them, the Lesson of chaste and
sober living, of high aims, of the beauty of
sincerity, of the infinite gentleness of
heroism.
Tosstmaster Michaelis next introduced
Commander-in-Ch Alger, saying; We
are no, here tonight to sing our praises and
therefore | shall say nothing of the military
record of our CommaLder-in-Chief, but |
am going to tell you something that may
possibly IN the not distant future have
some historic interest. After the war. like