Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1892-08-25
All Saints Day.

J pidck, Io give Vne IlrSt uay OF N0Vem-
Der of each year to the care of the
graves Tor rather the tombs) for,
with the exception of the He
brews, all the dead are placed in
! tombs, of their loved ones. This
was originally, and nominally is now,
a Roman Catholic custom, and All
/ Saints is church holiday. But it is
| SO good a custom that Protestants as
well have adopted it, and on the morn
! ing of this day the streets leading to
the cemeteries are thronged with car
riages and pedestrians, all going to do
honor as best they may to the memory
! of the dear ones who have passed over
the valley, not of the dark river, but
"Of the broad, blessed light and per-
feet air, with meadows, rippling tides,
and trees, and flowers and grass, and
the low hum of living breeze, and in
the midst Gods beautiful right hand" )"
as Walt Whitman describes it, Some
bring magnificent bouquets, wreaths
and crowns, and spend large sums of
money on the ornamentatiou of the
tombs. Nearly all, even the poorest,
have some little token, the chaplet of
beads, the wreath of immortelles or
white chrysanthemums, which are sold
in the neighboring streets by the wag-
on load. Sometimes sad scene is
there. Some poor mother or orphan
child who can only pull the weeds and
scrape away the gathered dirt and
moss and sit mourning with her loved
ones. r
But it was not to describe this event
in the quaint city of the crescent this
was written, but to ask why should not
other cities and towns adopt this GUS
tom. We Americans have too little
reverance for things sacred ; too little
care and respect for tender memories.
1t is true in our pride we build Green
wood or Mt. Auburn, where those
whose pockets are heavy may have the
graves of their dear ones made a show
Of, but it is pride and not reverence
that does this.
Why should not Jonesboro give
day to renovating and beautifying its
cemetery? Surely, dear sir, for one
day your store may be closed, your Of
flee door bear the placard "at the cem-
etery," your shop cease for a day to
resound to the chink of the hammer,
your farm to care for itself dear
madam or miss, your parlor or kitchen,
your dressmaking or crocheting may
be left, and as your talent lies, with
scythe, mattock and hoe, you of
brawny arms with trowel or scissors,
pocket knife or bare hands, do duty,
each in some spot where tears of love
have been shed, or under chosen lead
ership, in a general war on weed and
unseemly growth of briar and branch,
make the place thing of beauty. In
deed it must be hoped that should such
a day be spent, not alone would the
graves of personal friends be cared for,
but of those dear to some one perhaps
themselves across the valley and no
one on this side to care for them, or
far away among other scenes.
No money need be spent and none,
perhaps, be lost, for if the day be made
general your neighbor will wait until
tomorrow to buy his sugar or get his
horse shod. You are not Roman Cath
olics and need not do it because they
do, but because it is good thing to do.
1t need not be done ON the first of No
vember, when the skies are apt to be
drear and the winds bleak, but it may
be in September or May. 1t need not
be All Saints Day, but Old Mortality
Day, If you please. Who that has read
Sir Walters wizard tales has not in
fancy wandered among the church
yards of Bonnie Scotland with the old
man and his pony as he went from one
to another ON his errand of love and
duty. Or it might be Renovation Day,
or whatever you like, but 1 am sure
you would all be glad to see your cem-
etery made beautiful. II.