Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-05-20
REMARKS OF REV. J.R GRAHAM

REMARKS OF REV. j.. GRAHAM
of Winchester, Va, at the Funeral of Hon
j. Randolph Tucker at Winchester, Va,
February 18th, 1897.
There are times when Gods minister
needs the grace that enabled Elihu tt
pray: "Let me not accept any man'l
person; neither let me give 1atterine
titles unto man."
We have happened upon such time
to day; for, confessedly, we are in the
preseace of a temptation, unusually
powerful, to employ language that
might be accused of extravaganza, and
to give titles that might be thought to
Savor Of flattery. But it is not the
language of flattery that is used; they
are simply the words OF truth and SO
berness that are spoken, when We say,
that "a Prince and great man is
fallen'' in our land, ripe. indeed, in
years, and in honors, and sincerely
mourned by wide circle of devoted
relatives and wider circle of admlring
friends. And yet, on this mournful oc
casion, in this distinguished presence,
and in this sacred place, I may not
even in speaking of him-indulge in
the language of panegyric. My obliga-
tions to the living, and my regard for
the dead, equally rebuke elaborate en-
comium, and excessive praise. The
severity of truth is at all times our
proper duty, and in this instance, hap
py, is our truest, wisdom and strongest
consolation.
Our modest city has never been want
ing in honored names to adorn it's an
nails. Its sons, in all the years of it's
existence, have shed lustre upon its
history not only, but also upon the his
tory of our State. Among the most
distinguished men of this Common
wealth have been many who claimed
Winchester as their home, either by
residence or birth. The Bench, the
Bar, the Halls of Legislation, the Pull.
pit, Medicine, Surgery, Finance. Art,
Science, Literature-every department
of business, and every walk of life,
have been made illustrious by the great
and good men who have been born, or
have lived, among US. But without
detracting one iota from the merit OF
others. or abating aught of their just
fame, it may be safely asserted, that
our honored fellow citizen, whose NOR
tai remains now lie before us, was, in
all that constitutes true intellectual
and moral greatness, the peer OF the
noblest and the best. Indeed, it is not
too much to affirm, that, while the peer
of any, he, in some important respects,
surpassed them all: And that, when
death claimed him, he stood, in the
judgment of his contemporaries, the
foremost man, not only of the city that
gave him birth, but of the Common
wealth in which he lived, and which
he SO passionately loved. and so faith
fully served.
With the public life of JOHN RAN
DoLPH TUCKER, the whole country is
acquainted. The biographical sketch
of him recently published, and to which
all have access, is SO satisfactory in its
fulness, and 80 accurate in it's details,
as to relieve me of the necessity of re-
peating rare historical facts with which
all are familiar.
In our community his name is a
household word. Here he was born;
here his boyhood and early professional
years were spent; here we're the homes
of many of his nearest relatives and
most devoted friends; here he often re-
turned to revive the memories of his
youth, and to find refreshment and rest
in the associations he dearly loved; and
here, by his own direction, all that is
mortal of him is now to be laid to sleep,
till awakened by the Archangel's voice,
and the trump of God.
He loved the people of this town, and
in return the people of the town loved
him. The cordiality with which he
was always greeted. on his not infre-
quent visits here, was an intense de-
light to him. High and low, rich and
poor, old and young, white and black,
received him with smile, and grasp
of the hand, that told more distinctly
than words, how sincere was the pleas
ure his appearance among us always
gave. This devotion met with quick
response in his generous nature and
wherever in the providence of God his
lot for the time was cast, ''his heart
untravelled fondly turned" to the home
of his childhood. No wonder, then,
that he chose that his grave should be
here; not only in the place of his faith.
er's sepulchre. but where SO many OF
the friends of his youth, and of his
ripper years are buried.
The personality of Mr.. Tucker was
most conspicuous, and to remarkable
degree attractive. No one who ever
met him can forget the impression peo-
duced by the frankness of his manner,
the kindness of his spirit, the charm of
his conversation, and the high quail
ties both of mind and heart with which
he was endowed. Beyond most men
he possessed the enviable faculty of
winning and retaining the enthusiastic
admiration and steadfast friendship of
those who knew him. In every rela-
tion he sustained, and in every position
to which he was called, during all the
vicissitudes of long and not unevent-
full life, he exercised commanding in
fluence; and that influence was always
powerful for good. The elements of
his power were not difficult to discover.
First of all, he was man of incorrupti-
BILE integrity and unblemished purity
of morals: a. generous, high. toned.