The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-14

1
along through, is that of a beautiful. flow
er too beautiful and bright for earth
uansplanted to bloom in heaven. This
thought and belief is wrought in and out
through all the dying of the young. 1t is
expressed over and over again, in verse
ana prose, until one comes almost to be-
lieve it. And there can be no doubt that
II was great comfort and consolation "a
the bereft. There was of course, regret
and deepest pain that it should be so, and
YET there seems TO have been a sort OF
gladness and joy and inspired awe in it.
and so, the young flower life, after it had
faded away, lived on here among those
who were left, a potent factor and a sweet
perfume in a world where there was all
TOO much of the sordid and the harsh.
Here in four lines it all is:
This lovely bud so young and fair
~dId hence by early doom
Just came TO show how sweet a flower
In Paradise might bloom.
Another
This lovely bud. so early pluck'd
From its own parent stem,
Now blooms in Paradise, no doubt
A pure and holy gem.
Then parents, dear, dry up your eyes
And urge your passage on
To that celestial region where
Your darling boy has gone
Others that have interest and are stan
dard variations on the them are these:
To died at years of Group.
So bloomed our Ann Eliza here;
And scarcely did the bud of life appear,
When 10, in childhood opening hour
Death preyed upon that charming flower;
But faith will raise the streaming eye,
To worlds where nought will ever die;
Where the young cherub waves her wings,
And her eternal anthem sings.
1t will be noticed that there is a trans
formation of the flower into the wing
waving chrub. But such little unaccount-
ab.es disturbed not at all the writers of
these days.
Some others;
Alas how changed that lovely flower,
Which doomed and cheered my heart!
Fair. smiling comfort of an hour,
How soon we're called TO part!
So fades the lovely blooming flower,
Cut down and withered in an hour.
AS bowls the storm at even
Nor marks the rosebuds sigh
So breathing low a prayer to heaven
She bowed her head TO die.
OF Group. From rudy vigorous health, in
less than two days, ne was gone.
Sweet flower the wind passed over it and
it died.
In rambling through columns and col
umns of such as these one can but re-
call the query of the boy, after he had
been roaming through an old graveyard:
Papa, where are the bad people buried?'
Where are the death notices of the bad
boys and girls? Where is that of the lit
tie girl with the little curl who could be
SO very very bad, when she tried?
1t is curious, and fact that the various
figures and smiles used in these obituary
notices were used in sort of fellow-sheep
fashion. If perchance some one composed
a little set of verses with the requisite
number of scriptural quotations and the
essential touch of pathos the papers for
the month or year following would contain
repetitions of the same. Or, perhaps, there
would be minor changes to make the lines
apply to the particular case. Certainly pc
euliar mixtures of metaphor and certain
figures of speech there are which had pop
uiarity and vogue ike the popular song
Of to-day. And presently they would pass
from use. 1t was for a long time not the
beautiful flower that death liked for his
own or that was transplanted in heaven
LUZ II was the SuulilS iIldIh AiicA dtdNll
wished. And so, in verse after verse, we
find reference to the shining mark which
death had hit. 1t may be mentioned in
passing that there seems to have been al
ways a communicate appointed or on
hand for the purpose of preparing obituary
notices, for a majority of the notices are
signed thus: Comm" The majority of
the "Comms' were more or less skilled in
both verse and prose and could evidently
prepare a notice in short order. But of
me Shining mark" fad. Here is sample
bit of verse:
Death Loves a Shining Mark
She was too bright, too lovely for the
earth,
or there's a blighting chilliness comes
Even upon the noontime of our days.
Death loved to linger with so bright
prize,
And wooed her out of being. You might
see
How. his red hand circled round her cheek
beautiful destruction; and it came
She died. Her soul went up in music,
and
our tears now fall upon her grave.
his is much more elaborate than the av-
rage of its class, and is on that account
re reproduced, even though IL does not
50 distinctly as most bring out the idea
VI deaths shining mark. Another with
iAe same idea: But he is no more-he
mas gone-passed away-vanished like the
'.W of the morning. He will now mingle
vain US no more forever. The kind Faith
which afilicteth not willingly. broke
IAe CHAIN which bound the family togeth-
or and took the brightest link"
Inc silver chord and the golden bowl
IN to have had some essential meaning
'Aen. They are found much mixed in
"eiaphors, and were evidently objects por-
"n-ful at that time. One notice says:
Inc silver chord in twain has snapped.
Inc golden bowl is broken.
an interesting quatrain reads:
ne golden bowl BY death Is broke,
Inc pitchers burst Ia twain;
me- eistern wheel has felt the stroke,
The peasant child is slain.
ma a prose selection IN this line
we sorrow for thee. sophie. as few
Fow for thou vert very. very dear to
Thy pure spirit ana cyaulted char
.'ef ha1 20 lntewovcn thfe ~ our lives.