The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1897-06-11

ing. They are waiting. With composed
limbs they lie, in silent ranks, line upon
line, row upon row. They hold no COM
munion with each other. They are
waiting. The sun rises from his dewy
bed in the east, and, respondent in his
royal car, rides his sweeping course
through the heavens and sets, bathing
himself in flood of glorious light; still
they are waiting. The dews fall from
heaven; spring and summer, autumn
and winter chase each other in quick
succession through the years, giving
cold and heat, rain and sunshine, blossom
scented orchards and fields of waving
grain-still they are waiting. The ships
disappear on the horizons dip, make
their long voyages round the world,
carrying our commerce to farthest
shores; returning, they still are waiting.
THE COMET DARTS ITS PATHWAY OF
LIGHT
among the stars, and, after describing q
course OF thousand years, comes back
TO find them still waiting. And yet they
shall wait, till, with lightning fash and
deafening thunder peal, the Son of
God comes in glory amid the sever
ed clouds of the sky to call to
His judgment the quick and
the dead. OF course, we cannot do them
any good by what we do to-day and there
are some who would not have us keep
this day. These say it is not best to re-
vert to the sorrows of the past, forsooth
they would prescribe oblivion for the
heart aches and the griefs that were
made in the days of the Civil War. All I!
that is not the way to cure the grief that
the true heart knows. 1t is neither manly
hearted or forgetful. AS we remember
the dead, we ourselves become more gen
tie and true and sympathetic and kind {;
and this Memorial day will indeed have
failed in it's intent and meaning unless
those who stand beside the green
mounds let their hearts soften and mel
low as they think of the fallen brave.
This day is sacred to noble heroes and to
glorious history it surely is not for the
reviving of hatred or of resurrectiug
buried animosities from the grave. Let
US remember that they were all our
brothers, whether they wore the blue or
whether they wore the gray. Let us re-
realize that it is true that while ''the ma
ton wept tear after tear with the blood
that was she'd" those tears and blood
have "turned into flowers" We keep
this day for ourselves.
OF course, it was not expected, when
the vast multitudes gathered, some
| weeks ago, around the completed tomb
of ''the silent captain by the river" and
| all rejoiced that, at9last,sthe great soldier
had found mausoleam worthy of his
great deeds, that they could do him any
good by what was there said and done.
The projectors of the celebration did not
think to add to the fame OF Grant. Long
ago his name reached the very highest
place in the pinnacle of greatness, and at
the very highest point there is nothing
beyond. After the American people had
twice lifted him, by the power of mighty
majorities, to the seat of chiefest honor
within their gift, after he had made his
triumphal journey around the world and
the great heads of empires and the
crowned monarchs of the Old World had
stopped very low that they might do
honor to the simple, uncrowned Ameri-
can, after that there was nothing more
that we could do. For the hero of Bel
mont, Shiloh, Donelson, Vicksburg,
Lookout Mountain, the Wilderness, Pc
tersburg and Appomattox we could not
add single leaf to his chaplet of praise !;
but in emulating the courage that made
him great, in cultivating the love of
country that inspired his heart, in cher
ishing the peace for which he fought, we
can get much from our thought OF him.
In another thing the great National
Memorial Day Of the Jews was unlike
our own. The victory which their Feast
of Purim commemorated was bloodless
one; it was achieved without the raising
of weapon, without the striking OF q
blow. But our victory! with what a
baptism of fire and blood it was secured
with how stupendous debt with how
many broken honest with the sacrifice
of how many noble lives Some day that
debt may be wiped out, but when will
you remove the scars of the war? Let
US see what that war cost us in human
lives (you could hardly expect me to
preach Memorial Day sermon to you
without giving some figures.) 1900 900
men followed our Gag, loving It enough