The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-09-27
LAMAR.
BY l.. l.. KNIGHT .

FIN Rose Hill cemetery. Macon, Ga, the
ashes of l.. y. T.. Lamar. one OF the pureet
and gentlest men that Georgia ever gave
to the nation are inferred. 1t may not be
out of place, in this connection, to Inscribe
the following lines to his memory j
Here lies gentleman In every deed
A cavalier in manners so refined
That courtesy adorned him like the SILK
Fresh from the loom in public life
And private station, 30 dev0utly pure
That no suspicion dimmed his knightly
Or stained the chivalry of France. In blood
The crimson of the IiuguenOt, unblanched
nv tyranny, Suffused his cheek and reused
His spirit To maintain the right or swell
Its martyrdOm II seemed that in his soul
The sterner fabric of the hills was mix d
TO strengthen the magnolia bloom and on
Tho grandeur Of the peerless oak was shed
The breathing of the violet. He loved
His fellow men and lived their pattern in
The Romans pride of honor. In his life
He moved so light that he seemed to tread
A velvet highway and to charm the world
BY greatness. He lowered every inch
A man, and yet around his noble form
As if to make him nObler still, it seemed
That wOmanhOOd had thrown her modest
veil
And Joined her sweet humanity
In speech
He robbed the winter of its snow to wed
The deeper thought that in his soul repOoed
Like stainless marble III the vestal dream
Of purity. In craftsmanship he sought
No private end, but nObly served the state
And fOnnd his gain i'll her prosperity.
In law and letters he manta aimed the lead ,
Nor was he satisfied to merely reap,
But piOwed the fields and nursed them into
grain.
In Oratory he revived the spell
OF buried elOquence and like the storm
Embossed upon the sea, he stirred the deep
And hidden caverns Of the soul. He
ScOrned
The vile traducer who cssaycd to crush
The idol Of his section. He cspouscd the
truth
And challenged falsehood its author.
dashed,
Cried out for mercy and the eager crowd
Looked on IN admiration to behold
That Cicero, to rescue craftsmanship,
Had broken the eternal silence aud
DemOsthenes from out the tomb had step
To give the blush to Philip. Yet he loved
The yirtuous and the good 50 when the
OF summer paused he first of all pro,
claimed
The gospel Of forgiveness and the North
and South
FOrgetrul Of the gloom began to feel
lark
Commenced to sing and from his tender
soul
The morning star leapcd forth in witchery
Toc charm the budding twilight.
Oh Lamar
Rest on In GeO:gias bosom. in the lap
OF her who nuItured thee beneath the
stars
That brought their jewels to thy birth anC
smiled
Upon thy sleeping May the gentle rose
That caught the rumOr of thy life and told
The garden of thy coming, guard thee still
In years to come thy golden heart shal
beat
In gentler bOSOms, and the nations you'll
From thee Sha III learn the art of courtesy
Not deathleSs marble, but diviner men
Shall speak thy eulogy, and tell the wor !,
The story of thy passing and at length
If men should spurn thee for the lust o
gold
Thy spirit still in refuge to the fields
Shall wed the loneliness of nature and,
Among her gems, lift up its balmy soul
10 swell the incense of the roses breatl
And die upon the daisy's bloom.