The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-05-31
MEMORIAL DAY.
IT'S. OBSERVANCE AT NUUANU
CEMETERY
ELOQUENT Grafton BY Hon. W. X.
Castle.


Memorial Day was generally OBJ
served yesterday as a half-holiday.
The banks and principal business
houses closed at noon. The gov
eminent offices also closed at the
same hour.
Commencing early in the after
noon ladies and children could be
seen at Nuuanu cemetery busily
engaged decorating the graves Of
departed soldiers and friends, and
by the time the procession arrived.
the decorations were nearly COM
pleted.
About 3 o'clock the George W.
de Long Post, G. A. r., left their
post room on the way to the ceme-
terry, where the exercises were to be
held.
They were escorted by squad
of police, attachments from Com
panies A and E, and the Hawaiian
band. When the cemetery was
reached the following programme
was carried out:
"The Duty of Today" .............
1890. 1855. ..-......... Post Commander
Music-....... ........ Hawaiian Band
vi
To-day is the Festival of Our
Deadu Post Commander
Decoration of the Graves.....-.......
......................Of Officer of the Day
Comrades, by this Service" .....-
........ ........-......... ""..... Chaplain
Music. .......... ........ ....... Choir
Address. ......... Hon. w. II. Castle
Roll Call of the Dead.-..... Adiutant
salute the Dead" Post and Escort
America ...... Choir and Band
Benediction......R Rev. e. G.. Beckwith
Appended is a copy of the elo-
quent grafton delivered by Hon.
w. r. Castle:
SOLDIERS OF THE GRAND ARMY:
Not in sorrow, but rather with joy
have you come to renew the associa-
tion5 which bound you in life and are
not severed by death. 1t is well to
revive the memories of your glorious
past; not for the sake of vain triumph
but to inspire the people with noble
resolves for the life of today, and to
help toward a higher life i'm the flu
ture. We read in the sacred story that
as the Hebrews entered the promised
land they paused and built enduring
monuments of stone; not for their
own glory, but to cause future genera
4. Il.
great lessons, and thus TO assist in
better life for them. Is it not SO with
this Memorial Decoration Day? AS
you strew flowers and garlands upon
the graves OF the brave VINO have
passed on with the vanguard you
honor their memories; you bring their
faces, their noble deeds again before
you. Once more you are with them
in the long march, in the night
watch, around the camp fire. Again
you spring from sleep at the sound of
the long roll; you rush to battle.
Again are you in the midst of the
smoke and thunder of the fight.
Friends are falling, but you rush on
10 victory, and when the smoke has
cleared away you are still there, and
these whose memories you honor were
spared with you for another life
than that of q soldier. You cast your
eyes upon this sword and your blood
has quicker flow; n new life thrills
through your nerves when you re-
member its story; how it flashed in
the sun through the terrible scenes of
the wilderness, slowly fighting its way
toward the heart of the great rebel
lion. 1t joined in the bloody fight at
Cold Harbor; held its place at Cor
louisville, then witnessed and did its
share in the fearful scenes around
Petersburg. Over the mountains i'm
the lovely valley of Virginia again it
helped in winning the hard struggles
at Strasburg, Cedar Greek, Winches-
ter and other bloody fields till its
proud career was ended at Waynes-
borough. Or you are with the noble
Foote upon the rivers; with him you
you enIure the fierce bombardment,
or your memory goes back to the eX
element of the chase over the spark
ling blue of the mighty deep. You
and we all are moved with pride and
joy at the recollection of the fine
achievements of our navy. The fight
on Hampton Roads changed the nav
al warfare of the world. How many
dumb symbols revive the memories
of that past till you feel again the
shock of the fight, the excitement,
ZIG Shilii VI OalGics vi yOui luOuSAlS
turn to the bitter sorrow of capture,
the weary waiting, the enforced idle
ness of prison. a world of memories
Hood your brain.
"old faces look upon one, old forms go
trooping past,
And my dIm spirit wakes again upon the
verge OF night"
To us in Hawaii has come another
stroke of sorrow. The death of our
gallant Armstrong brings more than
the sadness which goes with the death
Of the brave and the true. He was
ours, he carried into the war for free
dom our hope and strong effort for a
noble cause. Every sound of his
voice, every ring of his sabre was q
note from Hawaii. We gloried in his
splendid manhood. His advancement
was our PRIDE And when the war
was over he enteTed the greater but
peaceful struggle, the battle for a
higher and purer life for the people,
then we Joined with that great land
to do him honor. Such life is gain
to the human race. In his death all
have lost a firm true friend Such
work as his helped to heal the ami
mostly of the past.
But the old war time bitterness has
gone Today We think with pride and
respect OF the brave and yalorous
enemy who made the fight so hard to
WIN. no longer are they enemies. 1t
To 40 longer the North and the South.