The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-07-26
THE LAST Sad RITES
Over the Body of the Late Colonel
Ii 4 4 4 Robert G. Ingersoll.
SERVICES SHORT AND SIMPLE.

| eS1oSticho ohi thS Dtuu oTulOF' >
Writings Read by Old Time Friends.
Old Servants Come From Washing
ton to Honor Their Benefactor.
! New York, July 26.--The funeral of
the late Robert G. Ingersoll took place
at o'clock yesterday afternoon at
Walston, Dobbs Ferry, where he died
on Friday last. No clergyman was
| present to conduct the services; there
was no music. and there were no pail
bearers. The body lay on a cot in the
room where he died. 1t was enshroud-
ed in white. and just one red rose
placed on his breast. About the cot
were banks of floral tributes sent by
friends, wreaths and punches of BIOS
SONS.
Mrs. Ingersoll sat beside her dead,
and beside her were her daughters,
Mrs. Walston H. Brown and Miss
Maud lngersoll. They were very much
agitated, and wept almost continuous
ly. Mr.. and Mrs. C. P. Farrell were
present and Charles Broadway Rouss.
Colonel Ingersoll's Oldest friend, oc-
cupied chair by the side of the bier.
There were some 40 others present,
and they remained standing through
out.
The intense silence was broken by
Dr. John Clark Ridpath, who, in a
voice full of emotion, said:
My friends, it is very sad duty to
read in the presence Of the dead the
last poem written by Colonel Robert
G. lngersoll entitled, Declaration of
the Free"
This poem Colonel Ingersoll had
read and altered in some of the parts
only few hours before he was
stricken.
Major O. J. Smith, who resides in
Dobbs Ferry, and who was close per-
sonal friend of Colonel Ingersoll, then,
without any preliminary words, read |
another extract from Colonel Inger-
soils writings, entitled my Religion:"
ITO love Justice, to long for the
right, to love mercy, to assist the
weak. to forget wrongs and remember
benetits-to love the truth, to be sin
cere, to utter honest words, to love
liberty, to wage relentless war against
slavery in all its forms, to love wife
and child and friend, to make happy
home, to love the beautiful in art, in
nature, to cultivate the mind, to be
familiar with the mighty thoughts that
genius had expressed the noble deeds
of all the world to cultivate courage
and cheerfulness, to make others
happy, to fill life with the splendor of
generous acts, the warmth of loving
words to discard error, to destroy pref
udice, to receive new truths with
p1aHnoce Tn oI,1tiuata bnpa tn ho |
calm beyond the storm, the dawn be-
yond the night, to do the best that
can be done and then be resigned, this
is the religion of reason, the creed of
science This satisfies the brain and
heart"
Dr.. John Elliott, of New York, read
the funeral oration delivered by Colo
mel lngersoll over his brothers dead
body. This concluded the short and
simple services. Nearly all present
then took parting look at the dead
and passed out.
After they had gone Mr. Rouss arose
from his chair, and as he is totally
blind passed his hand over the face of
his departed friend and said:
Perhaps he is better now. No one
can understand it,"
Mrs. lngersoll said to him: 1.-THE
colonel wanted you to put your hand
lpon his heart" and suiting the action
10 the word, she directed his hand to
he left breast of the deceased.
Mr.. Rouss asked what she was going
% do with the remains.
II cannot give him up" she said.
1 cannot put him in the ground. | ..
ant bear to think of it. We're going '.
o bring him back home"
The body will probably be taken to
Fresh Pond, Long Island, tomorrow :
or cremation, but this arrangement is y
ubject to change.
During the morning there were :
many visitors to look upon the face =
# the deceased. Among them were :,
everal old colored servants of the :,
amily who had come from Washing :,
on and took four days off and paid /
heir expenses to do honor to their =
enefactor. Among these were two u
ormer buffers of the family One old "
nan who was baggageman on the ~
abroad came from down on Long e
sland; others came from Chicago, "
yracuse and Buffalo. h
Many additional kilograms of SYM
athy were received yesterday one of
hem being from General Miles.