The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-06-10

Two cities OF earth are in such rapid and
constant communication as earth and
heaven. and the two great Decoration
Days of north and south are better known
in realms celesrlal than terrestrial.
With what interest we visit the pace OF
our birth and Of cur boyhood or glrlhood
DAYS, And have the departed no inter-
rest;n this world where they were born
and ransomed, and where they SUITE ed
and triumphed? My Bible does not
positively say so, nor does my catechlsm
teach 1t. but my common sense declares
it. The departed do know, and the
bannered procession that marched the
earth yesterday to northern graves, and
the bannered procession that marched
a month ago to southern graves, were
accompanied by two grander though in
visible professions that walked the air
professions of the assembled, professions
Of the martyred, professions OF the
sainted-and they heard the anthems OF
the churches, and the salvo OF the bat
terles, and they stopped down to
breathe the incense Of the flowers.
These august throngs gathered this
morning in these pews and alsles and
corridors and galleries are insignificant
compared with the mightier throngs OF
heaven who mirgle IN this service which
we render 10 God and our country while
we twist the two garlands. Hail spirits
multitudinous! Hail spirits blest! Hail
martyred ones comes down from the
Kings palaces! How glad are we that
you have come back again! Take this
kiss of welcome and these garlands Of
remlnlscence, ye who langulshed IN hos
pitfalls or went down under the thunders
and the liShtnings Of Fredericksburg and
Cold IIarbor and Murfreesboro and
Corvinth and Yorktown and above the
clouds on Lookout Mountain.
A UNIQUE SERVICE.
Among the thousands of gatherings
at the north and at the south for Deco
ration Days am conscious that this SER
vice is unique, and that 1t is the only one
in which there has been twisted two gar
lands. one for the grave Of the northern
dead and the other for the grave OF the
southern dead. o Lord God ofthe Amer
ican Union, is 1t time that we bury for
ever our old grudges? My! My! Can
we not be at peace on earth when this
moment in heaven dwell, IN perfect love,
ULYSSES S. Grant and Robert E. Lee,
William T. Sherman and Stopewall jack
son, and tens Of thousands OF northern
and southern men who, though they
once looked askance at each other tront
the opposite banks Of the Potomac and
the Chickahomlny and the James and
the Tennessee, now are on the same
side of the river, keeping jubilee with
some of those old angels who near nine
teen centuries ago came down one Christ
mas night to chant over Bethlehem,
''Glory TO God in the highest; on earth
peace. good will to men!"
I have been waiting for some years
for some one else to twist the two gar
lands that today twist, but, no one do.
ing it, in the love of God and my coun-
trI 1 put now my hand to the work, and
next spring about this time, If I am llv-
ing and well, l will twist two more gar
lands for northern and southern graves,
and every sprlngtlme until some man or
woman whom I may have cheered lit
tie IN the struggle of this life shall come
out and put q 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, and
north and south, or east and west shall
forget what the good God built this nA-
ton for, and it shall halt on its high ca
reer of righteousness and liberty and
peace, and become the agent of tyranny
and wrong and oppression, then let some
Young man whom I have baptized IN
infancy at these affairs 60 out to Green
wood and scoop up my dust and scatter
it To the four winds OF heaven, for do
not want to sleep, and I will not sleep
in land accursed with sectlonallsm or
oppression.
And now I hand over the two gar
lands, both of which are wet with many
tears-tears Of widowhcod and orphan
age and childlessness, tears OF suffering
and tears of gratitude; and as the cere-
mony 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 been omitted IN the
distribution of the sacrament of flowers,
and the other garland to the tomb OF
some southern soldier who may month
ago have been omitted in the dlstrlbu-
ton of the sacrament Of the flowers, and
put both the wreaths gently down over
the hearts that have ceased to beat.
God bless the two garlands! God save
the United States Of America!