The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-12-06

| steeds with fury along the well-beaten
| pathway of the sun; the music Of the
! spheres rol!s on through the universe
and dies away like the sweet strains of
the harp Aeolius, but to all alike Obliv-
| tous our dear absent brothers" sleep
on in the graves where our brethren
have laid them.
In life they labored diligently with us
in disseminating and practiciRg the
great underlying, fundamental princi-
pies OF our ordeIs--charity, justice,
brotherly love, and fidelity. They CO.
| operated with us to make our days less
hurdensOme. and to embower lifes
pathway with fadeless flowers OF en-
| 1oyment, peace and love. Side by side
with us they shared In the rich treas
ures OF rare enjoyment, Of good fellow
| ship, of close cOmpanionsiip, which
| How from association with our beloved
order Hand in hand with us they dis
charged the solemn obligations resting
upon all OF us In common. Together we
| endeavored TO succor the distressed, TO
cheer the despondent, to aid the unfor-
tunate, and to carry sunlight and
warmth into the gloomy abodes OF mis-
cry Jointly we sought TO dtspei pain
| with pleasure, TO give smiles for tears,
and laughter for grief, And In ohedl-
! ence TO the solemn injunction laid upon
us we did these things In secret, with
out ostentation or parade, and In such
| manner as. not TO touch the pride OF
or bring the blush OF shame or humlia-
ton to those who. either by misfortune
or by their own faults or frailtles 1--WE
stopped not to inquire which,, had be-
come the beneficlaries Of our efforts,
But what beyond? Is death the end
OF all? IL It all when we close the eyes,
when we spread the winding sheet over
the dead and shut I'D the room Is it
all when with beautiful service We hurry
Our dead. Is II all when earth has done
her work and has taken to herself again
earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust
to dust, 1.-THE outward forms of our
loved ones? All, no. there is something
beyond. II has been the universal be-
|les OF all peoples and all ages that the
soul of man survives after the death of
the body 1t Is that belief In immor-
tality which comes moi to the heart OF
man from without, but issues from 1t
In resistless flood of conviction, that
prompts exercises ike,,we are holding
to-day.
Sailors tell us that there is bird
which they have named Mariners
Bird that they have seen in every
quarter OF the globe. but always above
the clouds and near the blue, us ii
scorGtng to sail save on the sea Of ether
They claim Ia have seen 1t holding on
Its majestic fight amid the blaze OF
auroral splendors that sciutilate in the
polar air, its plumage ailame with cleo
trio brightness; they have seen 1t where
equatorial heats make lurld the sky, It's
crest ruddy with the glow of the troplc
sun; they have seen II cut With Its
hrpuI M tho innunIaananf tNuln NJ
the comet, and fash amid the raining
fire of bursting metGors, in clear atmos-
pheres, and skimmlng the azure pavil-
ion of cloudless skies, and, anon, family
discerned amid the misty galaXles OF
the Milky Way; they have seen 1t meas
urinS with it's wings the constellation
of the Southern Cross, while doubling
the capes BY day and by night In
calm and in storm. 1t never pauses, but
dashes and floats ever onward, far be-
yond rifle range as II disdaining earth.
and intent on an eternal eTrand. No
one knows It's pedigree, or In what nest
II was brooded. No one has ever seen
It pause and poise on balanced pinions.
When and where II feeds, andswhere 1t
rocks and where It broods It's young Is
II mystery as profound as the riddle Of
the sphinx Ali they who claim to have
seen 1t know. Is, that above the thun-
der cloud, above the currents of the at
mOspheri1 Seas, In the cool calm in
which the star fires fash, II files sub
timely on, never swooping. never stop
ping. Whether this be merely fable
Of the forecastlo or fact Of ornithol
OEy, Il is a striking symbol of the hope
Of immortality. At cither axle, or at
the equator OF life above the mists OF
tears and the clouds Of grief, where
tempests never rOnr, nor IightningS
Hash, In eternal sunshine and unrunled
blue on high and on tireless wings
soothing the earth. and child of the skies,
1t keeps Its steady flight. Children dis
Germ Il at the dawn of life youth be-
holds II in its Frightening morn; strong
men see II at their meridian; old age
catches the CLINT Of it's FURNISHED wings
through the golden gates of sunset; the
dying gaze on II gladly ag IL PUSHES
through the gate Uf sinking day and
sails away amid the twilight stars. No
endearment of earth can WOO II to sweep
from its lofty path; no rifle of infdelity
can bring II. wounded, down; no hunger
can stay II to feed on tines daintles.
no thirst can tempt 1t to drink at the
world's-foun,ars. The immortal spirit
may disappear from our ARMAMENT, but
It brightenS another hemisphere, and
furrowG another ether with its golden
fight.
# is an old. old fashion. death. said
Charles Dickens, but let us thank God
for that older fashion yet, OF immortal
lily.
No man iiveth to himself alone And
so, this afternoon. IN many q hall and
church and lodge room, In little country
hamets and crowded cities, words are
being said Of loving kindness for those
who are gone, and of tender sympathy
for those who are left. and everywhere
the loving kindness includoC in some de-
gree those men whose names we heard
called here to-day, but who answered
not. and who viii answer, In this life.
no more forever; and sympathy does
come to you. my brothers. from all Elks.
as your love and sympathy goes out to
all other lGlks. There Is nothing that
can be said to the loving ones that
mourn and to all who are left behind
that Is new. yet 1t Is always good to re-
member that morning follows night;
that a rainbow turks behind the Shad- !
ows of every cloud that weeps its rain
away to be flowers on land and pearls
at sea. Life rises out Of the grave; the
darkest hour Is Just before the dawnng,
and no dawnlng is hopeless
"Therc liz no grandeur In gravcs-.thcrc is
no glory In gloom
For oHt Of the gloom future brightness Is
born,
AS after the nlgllt corr. Tho sunshine OF
morn,
And the graves of our dead wltl the grass
uvcrgrown,
May yct form tho footStoo! Of Ibcrty's
thrOn,,
And each single wreck In the warfare OF
might
Shall yci bc rock In the tomplc OF right"
My brothers, In our circlos Of mem
bershlp, cAch year ilndg a familiar face |
gone. nn6thcr brother called from life |
on nnrlh lnln ll[n nInrnnl md NJ IhnN |