Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-08-03
SERVICE WAS SIMPLE.
Friends Gather Round the Bier of
the Late Col. IngersoII. and Read
Extracts from His Writings.

New York, July 90 The funeral Of the
tate Robert 6. Ingersoll took place
Tuesday Afternoon from Wdlston,
Dobbs Ferry. where he died on Friday
last. No clergyman was present to coa-
duct the services; there was no music.
and there were no pall-bearers. The
body lay on a cot in the room where he
died. 1t was enshroudcd in white, and
Just one red rose placed on the breast.
The services were held at four o'clock.
Mrs. lngersoll sat beside the dead, and
beside her were her daughters Mrs.
Walston IL. Brown and Miss Maud In
gcrsoll. They were very much agitated,
and wept almost continuously. Mr.. and
Mrs. {. L. Farrell were present, and
Charles Broadway Rouse, Col. lnger
soils oldest friend, occupied chair by
the side of the bier. There were some
40 others present, and they remained
standing throughout.
The intense silence was then broken
by DR.. John Clark Ridpath, who in
voice full of emotion said: My friends,
it is "A very sad duty to read in the
presence of the dead the last poem
Nill''Il " Nol. INblltl W. IIlStl S'Iis til-
titled "Declaration of the Free" This
poem Col. Ingersoll had read and al
tered in some of its parts only "A few
hours before he was stricken down"
Maj. o. J. Smyth, who resides in
Dobbs Ferry and who was a close per-
sonal friend of Col. IngersolI. then.
without preliminary words, read an
other extract from Col. Ingersoll's writ
ings, entitled MY Religion"
DR.. John Elliott, of New York, read
the funeral Grafton delivered by Col.
lngersoll over his brothers dead body.
This concluded the short and simple
services. Nearly ali present took a
parting look at the dead and passed
out. After they had gone Mr.. Rouse
arose from his chair and, as he is totally
blind, passed his hand over the face of
his departed friend, and said: Per
haps he is better now. No one can un-
derStand it," Mrs. Ingersoll said to
him: The colonel wanted you to put
your hand upon his heart and suitiug
the action to the word, she directed his
hand to the left breast of the deceased.
Mr.. Rouse asked what she was going to
do with the remains. Il can't give him
up She said, Il can't put him in the
ground. | can't bear to think of it.
We're going to bring him back home"
The body will probably be taken 10
Fresh Pond, /. l., on Thursday for Gre
nation, but this arrangement is subject
to change.
During the morning there were many
visitors to look upon the face of the de-
ceased. Among them were several old
colored servants of the family who
had come from Washington and took
four days off or paid their expenses to
do honor to their benefactor Among
these were two former buffers of the
family. One old man. who was a bag
gageman on the railroad. came from
down on Long Island, others came from
Chicago, Syracuse and Buffalo. Many
additional telegrams of sympathy
were received Monday, one of them
being from Gen. Miles. Floral tributes
were received al! the morning, and
there were two rooms full of them. \
photograph of the body was taken in
the afternoon just as il lay surround
ed by these flowers. 1t took a three
quarters view of the face.