The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1896-12-12
the same hopes and the same misgiy.

) the same hopes and the same misgiy-
{ ings and the question that was then
, uusolved is unanswered now
'.How fare they. they Of the pallid faces.
, Beyond our power to beckon their return,
{ How is il with them in the shadow places,
How can we learn
BY any earnest seeking of our own
IN what realms they hover; in what high day
Or in what sombre shadows of the night they
Are forever hidden from our sght:'
1t is Inherent in the nature OF man
that he is loath to yield his loved ones
to the embrace of death and when once
they are gone he seeks in reverent
ways to do honor to their memory.
The untntored savage, who when death
has claimed friend or dear one, beats
an idle drum and pierces the air with
cries and discordant intonations is but
being guided by the same emotions as
is royal blood when with the ostenta-
tion of place and power it proclaims its
grief to the world. And so when We
are here today. met in lodge of sor-
row we are but following the inclina-
tions which move men now as they
have ever moved them since first the
Almighty made the twin creations and
into one breathed the breath of life
and gave 10 the other the wand of
death.
Tony mind there is nothing more
| beautiful than this tribute which the
Elks pay their dead. II is the utter
auce of the deepest emotions and be-
tokens sentiments worthy the creatures
who were made in Gods own image.
I am not here to eulogize the Benev-
olent and Protective Order of Elks:
this is not the time nor the place
nevertheless it is not uniting to call
the attention of those, Tor some there
are, who look with disfavor upon fra
ternal organizations, to the scene that
is being enacted here and to ask in all
sincerity whether or not the senti-
ments which fern the foundation of
our order are not such as work to-
gether for good in the progress of the
world towards the realization of the
| brotherhood of man.
Across the threshold of our lodge
the shadowy spectre has not come
since last we met in memorial services.
Our tablet bears no added name and
from our hall no cherished flce has
gone to: return no more. For such
dispensation our hearts go out in
thaukfulness to the Exalted Ruler of
the Uaiverse and we learn the more to
sympathize with the lodges of our Or
der over whose portals is placed the
wreath of mourning.
But the feelings of an Elk are not
bound by the limits of the lodge room.
His sympathy, his consolation go out
in unstinted measure wherever there
is need. "There is o Wilderness in his
mercy like the Wilderness of the sea" and
wherever there rises the moan of the
sorrowiug one-there-close at hand
can be found the comforting ministra-
OiOhS VI al lbO
istic service which we have just con-
cluded has brought to my mind as
never before the difference between
being remembered and forgot.
Through the darkened valley that
leads to Deaths dominions each must
walk alone: no comforting friend can
lend a steadying hand; the journey is
lonely at best but how much more SOL
side to drop tear because the world
wearied traveller has gone. Solon,
the wisest lawgiver of Ancient Greece,
once said that he could count no man
happy till he had known the manner
of his death and the saying is, in some
respects, l think. worthy one.
Which shall you call the happy life,
Benedict Arnold-whose earlier years
were full of the honor such as comes
to few men but who died forsaken and
alone in London garret or Lincoln,
who struggled with poverty through
| years of preparation but whose life
went out amid the tears of millions.
To die is one thing but to die and leave
none behind 20 speak a word of regret;
to have no .mourner save the night
wind wailing its dirge; 10 tears to
moisten the sod above save the tears
which Heaven sheds for all, adds
greater melancholy to the scene.
/ nNI,i- 1nna1ry mi ruh iah1 \
surrounds itself is taken away from
every Elk. No matter where may be
your resting place, o fallen brother,
your memory is cherished and kept
your comrades. Whether the dread
summons comes in distant lands and
your eyes are closed by unknown fin
gers, your name and deeds are kept
alive on the altar of our lodge as the
vestal fires that burn continually.
Should you lie on some shell torn
battlefield, with the moaning of |
the pines your only requiem and the I
stars of heaven alone look upon your |
resting place with pity, the Elks, whom |
you have chosen to be your brothers |
will give to your memory thereverence
that is due. If the ocean billows roll
with ceaseless rythm and hide you
from the sight of man, still your name
is written upon our tablet of love and
memory in letters that shall live as
long as Justice, Char ity. Fidelity and
Brotherly love form the corner stones
of our order, and you will be mourned
here even as the "surges kneel upon
the shore and tell their sorrows DER
and DER" and the wheeling seagull in
piteous tones proclaims the solitude of
your grave.
You have gone, 0 departed comrades,
gone to a distant land. You have
walked the last long journey towards
the Setting sun and though we miss
you and dwell upon your names in
lingering wistfuiness no answer comes
from out the great beyond and there
is silence. You have marched a
quicker journey and are waiting at its
end till your comrades shall o'ertake |
you-till they, too, shall sail from out 6
the sunlight, in the purple mists of
evening, ito the islands of the Blessed,
to the kingdom of Ponemah, to the |
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