Passaic City record., 1891-10-10
An Hour Among the TOmbS.
Battle Ground and Grave Yard.

drove from the heights back OF
Sing Sing along the old aqua
duct to the historic high ground
used as burial place just north
Of Tarrytown- -on-the- Hudson: The
object of DUR trip was any
thing but cheerful to contemplate;
and is expressed in the one word
"Tombstones."
1t is no doubt every way beft-
ting that we should show due re-
spect to the lives and memory of
the dead. But it may be question
whether there Is not better ways
Of doing this than erecting vast
and costly structures which served
no other purpose than the one just
named As our horses turned to-
ward the entrance through which
SO many prominent New Workers
have passed for the last time, we
were confronted by ten large gilt
letters on a huge iron gate which
formed the words DUST TO
DUST-as If the forest of tomb
stone were not a sufficient remind
er that we must all die. Just through
the gate stands, like a sentinel of
the city of the dead, a large bronze
statue of a soldier with his musket.
We didnot pause to read the in
scription for others were desirous
Of entering the same driveway,
but passed on to the left and
north and spent a good hour
among the tombs." A grave yard
is always solemn place to us but
we found it interesting to alight
from our carriage and peer through
the massive brass and stone doors
of the different sepu1chers which
contained the remains of many
asleep in death.
Conspicuous among the mon.
uments were those of Mr.. Del
avan of Albany and of Mr.. Owen
Jones, the we'll known New York
dry goods man. Mr.. Delavan' s
plot is a large one; in the centre
of it is massive column probably
80 feet high, on the top of which
stands an angel with key in his
hand. Angels also adorn three of
the corners of the plot while on
the fourth corner stands beautiful
figure representing Christ. Mr.
Delavan is said to be one of the
most irreligious men living, and
yet this is the kind of company he
wishes his body to be associated
with in death. Mr.. Jones monu
ment is equally elaborate and
beautiful, the central figure being
a statue of himself exquisitely
carved from snow white marble
A little to the south OF the Della
van plot we observed a smaller
one adorned with an obelisk-1ike
monument into one side of whic /
was set an old-fashioned clock
This was SO unusual a sight that
we stopped our horses to look at it
The clock was going! Eighteer
minutes past five by the clock and
eighteen past five by our watches
Not satisfied with this, we alight
ed and, climbing up on the base
of the pedestal, placed our cal
against the brass framework and
listened to the "tick, tick; tick
tick of the ancient time piece
The inscription on the stone read
"My fathers clock, placed here
by my request" There is prob
ably an interesting history back o.
this which we would have been
glad to learn.
Colonial bravery marks the
spot where we were standing, fol
few steps farther brought u.
alongside an old cannon and ball.
used against the British wher
they reached the high ground bacl
of Tarrytown in their marcl
against Washington's army. Fa.
down the steep incline to the lef
the waters of Sleepy Hollow
brook trickled along its rocky bee
and then formed a sluggish pont
ere it flowed into the Hudson
Readers of Washington Irving
works find this an interesting re
gion. and we could easily spend
day in the neighborhood withou
firing, but the eastern sky wa
throwing the mantel of darkness
DER the earth and bidding Il
withdraw from the solemn enclos
| ure.
| As we took a last glance back
| ward at those costly production
of the sculptor's art we thought
| Are there not other monument
than stone that would do just a
well, better even, and at the sam
time benefit the living? There ar
many ways, surely, in which thi
could be done: in the establish
ment of libraries, reading room
lectures bureaus, schools of ar
literature etc, and other nobl
and charitable institutions. W
never see a cemetery with its hui
dreds and thousands of dollar
worth of outlay in mere structure
and tablets of stone, that we d
not wish this vast sum of none
could have been expended
) ways that would be of more re-
1 ~.