Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-08-23
A Tribute to a Friend.

Mr. EDITOR A bolt of light
ing and peal Of thunder in p
lear sky, is a familiar illustration {
# the unexpected. But when the "
,olt strikes and destroys something i
lear US, then we stand awe stricken c
nto silence by the appalling catas- h
rophe. Il
Thus your correspondent was i'm {
pressed when the telephone repor-
ted "Grier Ratcliff is drowned
TO believe it, seemed impossible
yet the details, upon inquiry being
made, confirmed it, if not beyond
all, they did beyond reasonable
hope.
While his is "the common fate
of all, the suddenness and manner
Of his going hence, not in the zenith,
nor yet III the setting, but i'll the
very morning Of LIES usefulness, Is /
so impressively sad, that tears and I.
silence seem more expressive than
speech. But in the very manner
Of his taking off we find comfort !;
for the moral heroism of his nature
would not let him desert others i'll
their peril, hence he sacrificed him
self in the vain attempt all belt, to
save life.
The details of his heroic conduct
are too well known, and all too vivid
/ to need reproduction here, but they
should not be forgotten even by the
stranger for there is none too
much of that higher quality ofchar-
acter called moral courage, which
ofttimes requires a sacrifice Of self
that others may win thereby.
"Speak no i'll Of the dead Is a
So, ing sometimes as much honored
in breach as i'll the Observance
thereof. But there are times when
we should not keep silent for the
sake of the living. If there be
any consolation for the loving and
living ones left behind in the name
of Him who wept' at the grave
of Lazarus, not for the dead, but
for the sorrowing sisters, let it be
spoken IF there be any inspira
ton i'll a heroe's death, as we'll as
in a heroic life, let it be known for
the aid Of those young men and
women who i'll the coming conflicts
of life will doubtless see all too
much of its selfish and sOrdid as
poets, and possibly form hasty
, conclusion that there is no good in
: humanity.
!, While Grier Ratcliffnever sought
! praise for the sake Of praise he wa.
: not indifferent to the good opin
: ions of others, but it depended
much upon who those others were
He cared nothing for the lewC
:, fellows of the baser sort, or thei
!, opinions; nor would he sacrifc,
i his individual convictions for tn
esteem of even those whose judg
= ment he highly valued. His indie
! pendence Of thought led him to i'll
: dependence Of action, if eXigencie
! required it; but he was not abtru
= sive i'll forcing his opinions on 9th
Q ers, not offensive in his actions I'M
= less duty or self-defense demande
: it; then he was neither slow nor III
= decided as to what he should sa
= or do, and showed no fear Of tn
% consequences Of his speech or az
!, ton. 1t might be also said ths
+, his chief fault was the resultant c
:, the noblest virtues. That is, hi
a. high moral courage combined wit
= a refined and delicate sense Of hone
= produced in him highly sensitiv
= if not super-sensitive spirit, as del
i cate as a woman S, but with ali I'll
~ virility of true manhood. The
~ was no gushing familiarity nor am
10 able negativeness i'll his make-u
= He did not 'wear his heart upc
- his sleeve" yet there was no COZ
=, cealment. duplicity, or insincerit,
~ either in his character or conduc
~ He was simply an open, homes
manly man to all who knew hin
- Probably he was better known
70 the people of his adopted tow
80 than to those of his native town
he Milford, as he spent the matur
he years of his manhood in Salisbur
.r+ Md, and left us just at the tin
- when he had become known to Il
,ta people. Hence my desire to p
80 this tribute ofrespect.
he He came to the Office Of your &C
~ respondent more than five yea
~, ago to take up the study Of the la
" After his graduation in Law Soho
- Of the University of Maryland a
he admission to the Bar, it was yo
III correspondents pleasure to ha
~, him as an associate i'll the practi,
81 He became more than an associa
H. he became a Comrade, a frieNd, a
~, between us a relation, a mutual
ovl Of feeling sprung up, which Y
cemented by an abiding conhder
,ra each i'll the other In cOnclusiC
-, let me say, few, if any, outside
80 his own kindred will miss him III,
49, than the writer
80 JAS. +. ELLEGOoD
nes Salisbury, Md, Aug. IS, 1901.