Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-06-20

Bonneville bis last message 10 his wife and
mother and child, it sounded Just like a mes
sage that a northern man dying far from
homs would send TO his wife and mother and
child.
AMI when l picked up from the battle
field Of AntietaLn the fragment OF a letter
which | have somewhere yet for the name
and the address were torn of, I saw it was
,Ae words of q wife to her husband telling
him how the little child prayed for their
father every night that ha might not get
hurt in the battle and might come homs
sound and coma home well, but that il any
thing happened to them they might all meet
again in the world where there ara no part
ings, it read just az a northern wife would
writ to a husband away from home and IN
peril conveying the messages OF little chill
dren. Oh, yes; they were honest on both
sides. And those who lived to get home are
living yet were Just as honest, and ought
they not for the suffering they endured have
. coronal CT some kind!
But we must not detain tho two garlands
any Longer from the pillows Of those who for
quarter Of a century have been PROSTATE
in dreamleSs slumber, never oppressed by
summer heats or chilled by winters cold.
Both carlands are fragrant. Both have in
them the sunshine and the shower OF this
erriuctime. The colors Of both were mixel
by Him who mixe1 the blue OF the sky, and
the gold Of the sunset and the green OF tho
grass. AMI the whitenesso OF the snow crystal.
And | do not care which you put over the
northern grave and which over the southern
grave.
: These august throngs gathered this morn
iny in these pews and aisleS and corridors
aul eallerie; are nsignificantcomparet With
the mightier throngs Of heaven who mingle
in this service which we render to God and
our country while we twist the two garlands.
Hail spirits multituilnous! Hail spirits
blest! Hail martyred ones come down from
from the Kings palaces! How glad are We
that YOU have come back again! Take this
kiss OF welcome and these garlands OF remln-
f@scence, We who Ianguishel III hospitals or
went down under the thunders aud the
lightning Of Fredericksburg and Cold Har-
brr and Murfre3sboro and Corlnth ana
Yorktown an above the clouds on Lookout
Mountain.
Among the thousands of gatherings at
the north and at the south for Decoration
DAYS | am conscious that tins service II
unique, and that 1t IS only one III which thera
has been twisted two garian Is, one tor the
grave OF the northern dead aud the other 70.
the grave Of the southern dead. OLor.1 Go,
OF the American Union, is it time that ",
bury forever our old grudges2 Nv Nv Ca,
t Ipt he at peace on earth when this mo
1nent IN heaven dwell, in perfect love
Ulysses ,. Grant and Robert F.. Lee. Win
IAN !. Sherman and Stonewall jackson
ana tens OF thousands of northern anC
southern men who, though they once looked
aShithco at each other from the opposite
baIlkS OF the Potomac and the Chickahominy
and the James and the Tennessee. now ar,
on the same side Of the river, keeping jubi-
lee with some of those old angels who near
nineteen centuries ago came down one
Christmas night to chant over Bethlehem.
"tflory to God in the highest: on earth
peace, good will to menr'
have been waiting for some years for
some one else to twist the two parlands
that | to-day twist, but, no one doing it. in
me ioVe OF God and my country put now
my iland TO the work, ana next spring
about this time, if | am living and we'll !
VIII twist two more garlands for northern
anu southern graves, and every springtime
uiIil some man or woman whom | NAV
nave cheered a little in the struggle Of this
Tie shall come out and put a pansy or two
ON my own grave. But if the time should
ever come when this land shall be given
over to sectional rancor and demagogism,
anu north and south, or east and west shall
forget what the good God built this nation
for, and it shall halt on its high career of
righteousness and liberty and peace, and be
come the agent of tyranny and wrong and
oppression, then let some young man whom
l have baptized in infancy at these affairs g,
out to Greenwood and scoop up my dust and
scatter it to the four winds of heaven, for |
do not want to sleep, and l will not sleep in
a land accused with sectionalism or oppres-
sion.
Aud now | land over the two garlands,
both of which are wet with many tears
tears of w~idowhood and orphanage and
chlldiossness, tears of suffering and tears of
gratitude; and as the ceremony must be
performed in symbol, there not being enough
flowers to cover all the graves, take the one
garland to the tomb of some northern
soldier who may yesterday have beel
omitted in the distribution of the sacra
ment Of flowers, and the other garland K
the tomb of some southern soldier who ma,
a month ago have been omitted in the distri
button Of the sacrament Of the flowers, ant
put both the wreaths gently down over thu
hearts that have ceased to beat. God bles
the two garlandsl God save the Unite'
States Of Americai
How to Pack Cut Flowers.
This is the way florists pack their Ell