The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-25

ana which Is now to besSeen in the Cor
coran Gallery, he recalled that the au
thor of the song was Buried thousand
of miles away from his native land
He was inspired then and there wit
the desire to bring the body of the poe
to his own country,i 1t, is to be remem
bered, however, that Hon. Horace A
Taylor, Assistant Secretary of tn
Treasury. was instrumental in bringin,
to the attention of the people of thu
United States the far-off tomb of JohI
Howard Payne.
During a trip through northern AT
RIGA in the winter of 1881 Mr.. Taylor
went to Tunis. After visiting the grave
of Payne ne wrote an article describing
it, and giving some incidents connected
with the poets life, writings, and of
fetal career. This article was widely
published throughout this country. II
is quite probable that it attracted the
notice of Mr.. Corcoran, and that it was
thus that the latter became imbued
with the determination of rescuing the
ashes OF Payne from their distant and
unhonored resting place.
on October IA, 1882. Mr.. Corcoran APP
piled to the Secretary of State for per-
mission Ito disinter the remains of our
| countryman, John Howard Payne,
which now rest in grave near Tunis,
| in Africa, that they may receive more
| appropriate sepulture in the bosom of
| his native land
| 1T has seemed to me- wrote Mr..
| Corcoran. that the precious dust of an
| Anne rican citizen, who sang so sweetly
in praise of Home, Sweet Home should
not lie left to mingle with any soil less
dear to him than that of the land which
| gave him birth. and which, by the
beauty of it's home life, gave TO him
! his best poetical inspiration.
The Secretary of State replied that
the proposal met with his warm APP
prob IN. and expressed his readiness
to d. what he could in rendering fitting
tribute Ito the memory of one whose
touching verses have so endeared him
to his countrymen.' James Russell
Lowell was then Minister to England,
| and in the absence of any consular
representative of the United States at
Tunis Mr.. Lowell was requested to Sc
cure the assistance of the British Gov
eminent in obtaining from the Regent
of Tunis permission to exhume the re-
mains Thomas F. Reade, British
agent and consul general at Tunis, was
accordingly instructed by his Govern
ment to carry out the wishes of the
United States.
The exhumation took place at IL
o'clock, noon, January 5, 1888. few
persons only being present. Two of
these had been at the funeral more
than thirty years before-a Mr.. Pisani,
a friend. and an old and faithful native
servitor. twas with difficulty that the
workmen kept the coffin from falling in
pieces. An eyewitness says there was
little else than the blackened skeleton
left. Traces of the coIoners uniform
in which Payne was buried were dis
tinguishable-some gold lace and a few
buttons" A newspaper correspondent,
who was present, wrote:
When the body was carried into the
church an English gentleman at the
little American-made organ played the
air and a sweet-voiced American lady
sang the immortal song of the dead
poet and as the tender words tremu-
lousy floated through and filed the
holy place hearts swelled. eyes were
suffused. and a charm from the skies
seemed to haliow us there Tongue
cannot tell nor pen describe the effect
of that song, sung under the circum-
stances stated. The cleaning of the
evening had crept into the chapel. and
ha toto oh ha g
poetic temperament could have under
stood and absorb, bathed all. both liv-
ing and dead, in its mellow radiance.
The twilight came on apace. and we
left the poor remains to lie there until
the morrow. guarded by the faithful
dragoman who, in life, as In death, was
stanch and faithful to the last
On March %, 1888. the steamer Bur- |
gundia arrived in New York Harbor. |
having on board the remains of John |
Howard Payne. Not far off. on Long |
Island, was the lowly cottage" at East |
Hampton. and, close at hand, the street |
where he was born. Covered with the |
American flag the casket lay in state |
at the City Hall. New York, and, in |
the afternoon, Gilmore's famous band |
came and played Home. Sweet Home"
From New York the remains were |
brought to this city, and were, without |
ceremony, according TO Mr.. Corcoran's |
wish, conveyed to the cemetery and |
placed in the chapel. on June s, 1883. |
they were removed to the Corcoran
Gallery of Art, there to lie in state.
The following day, June 9, the ninety
second anniversary of the poets birth.
was the occasion of the final interment |
at Oak Hill. Ceremonies were simple
but impressive. AS the start was made |
for the cemetery the Marine Band,
under the leadership of Sousa, played |
Home Sweet Home" which was also |
sung over the grave. The President /
and members of his Cabinet were pres
ent. together with nHny distinguished
persons There was an Grafton, and |
the venerable Bishop Pinkney con-
Quoted the religious services. 1t was
beautiful evening and, as the plaintive
melody vibrated on the still air it SEEM
ed as though the spirit of the dead
were there as well as his poor, crum-
bling remains.
CHARACTER IN SMOKING.