Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-10-02


ship Brooklyn, that was to lead the
squadron, turned back, be said he was
at a loss to know whether to advance
or retreat, and he says: 81 prayed, %
God, who created man and gave him
reason, direct me what to do. Shall 1
go on? And a voice commanded me,
60 on And I went on Was there
ever a more touching Christian letter
than that which he wrote to his wife
from his flagship Hartford? "My dear
est wife, write and leave this letter
for you. 1 am going into Mobile bay
in the morning if God is my leader,
and hope he is, and in him I place
my trust. If he thinks it is the proper
place for me to die, am ready to sub
nit to his will in that as all other
things. God bless and preserve you,
my darling, and my dear boy if any
thing should happen to me. May his
blessings rest upon you and your dear
mother"
Cheerful to the end, he said on board
the Tallapoosa in the last voyage he
ever took, "It would be well if I died
now in harness" The sublime Episco-
pal service for the dead was never
more appropriately rendered than over
his casket, and we'll did all the forts Of
New York harbor thunder as his body
was brought to the wharf, and well did
the minute guns sound and the bells
toll as in a procession having In it's
ranks the president of the United
States and his cabinet and the mighty
men Of land and sea the old admiral
was carried amid hundreds of thou
sands of uncovered heads on Broad
way and laid on his pillow Of dust in
beautiful Woodlawn Sept. 80 amid the
pomp Of our autumnal forests.
But just as much am stirred at the
scene on warship's deck before San
tiagO last summer, when the victory
gained for our American flag over
Spanish oppression the captain took
off his hat and all the sailors and SOL
offered thanks to Almighty God for
what had been accomplished, and
when on another ship the soldiers and
sailors were cheering as a Spanish
vessel sank and it's officers and crew
were struggling in the waters and the
captain of our warship cried out:
Don't cheer; the poor fellows are
drowning" Prayers on deck! Prayers
In the forecastle! Prayers in the cabini
Prayers in the hammocksi Prayers on
the lookout at midnight! The battles
Of that war opened with prayer, were
pushed on with prayer and closed with
prayer, and today the American nation
recalls them with prayer.
A Nations Greeting.
We hail with thanks the new genera
ton of naval heroes, those of the year
1898. We are too near their marvellous
deeds to fully appreciate them. A CEN
tury from now poetry and sculpture
and painting and history will do them
better justice than we can do them
now. A defeat at Manila would have
been an infinite disaster. Foreign ma
lions not overload Of our American
institutions would have Joined the 9TH
er side, and the war so many months
past would have been raging still, and
perhaps q hundred thousand graves
would have opened to take down our
slain soldiers and sailors. 1t took this
country three years to get over the
disaster at Bull Run at the opening of
Tic CIVIL Wal. HOW lIlduy years IL
would have required to recover from
defeat at Manila in the opening of the
Spanish war 1 cannot say. God avert
ed the calamity by giving triumph to
our navy under Admiral Dewey, whose
coming up through the NarroWs of
New York harbOr day before yesterday
was greeted by the nation whose well
coming cheers will not cease to re-
sound until tomorrow, and next day
in the capital Of the nation the jewel
ed sword voted by congress shall be
presented amid booming cannonade
and embannered hosts, and our au-
tumnaI nights shall become a conf1a-
grafton Of splendor, but the tramp Of
these professions and the flash of that
sword and the huzza of that greeting
and the roar of those guns and the IL
Elimination of those nights will be seen
and heard as long as page Of Ameri-
can history remains inviolate.
Especially let the country boys Of
America join in these greetings to the
returned heroes of Manila. 1t is their
work The chief character in all the
scene is the once country lad, George
Dewey. Let the Vermonters come
down and find him older, but the same
modest, unassuming, almost bashful
person that they went to school with
and with whom they sported on the
playground. The honors of all the
world cannot spoil him. A few weeks
ago at a banquet in England some Of
the titled noblemen were affronted be-
cause our American minister plenipo-
Tertiary associated the name of Dewey
with that Of Lord Nelson. AS well
might we be affronted because the
name of Nelson is associated with that
of our most renowned admiral. The
one name in all the coming ages will
stand as high as the other. So this