The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-06-14

withered and dead. And. as we stanc
here among the graves of Our departed
! friends we may query what man is he
that liveth and shall not see death?''. But
as we contemplate the future in the
hopeful realization that Our friends, hav-
ing been faithful to their obligations
have been called higher to the reward Of
the just, we may be cheered in the hap
py belief and assurance, drawn from
the spiritual inspiration at Our mother
knee, that from their celestial abode, on
this Sabbath afternoon, when the fra
GRANGE of the rose and the smiles of the
lily ascend to heaven; when nature, in
her loneliness rejoices with the birds
singing their sweetest melodies in the
lglorifcation of Our God. our companions
and our friends, would voice their ap-
proval, of they could be heard? What
tribute more beautiful than the express
sion of the tender regard of the living
for the revered dead, than through the
enblematic significance of flowers and
evergreen? Sentiment, poetry, all that
| which is beautiful is conferred in these
floral gems. | may say in the words of
Bob Taylor that beyond this beautiful
and ripping stream, just over the grassy
knoll, there is richly tinted flower.
Tbn., +aI1 ,,c that - :. 60
that it may have blushed to life at the
touch of an angels kiss. and caught its
rosy flush from burning star Beyond
| the painless mountains that lift their
blue peaks in the fading distance, they
tell us there is a charming valley that
drinks the diamond deWs of morning and
bathes in the liquid sunbeams, that is
clad in the everlasting green and dotted
all over with flowers of every hue and
shade. Beyond the blue waves Of the
painless ocean they tell us there is a
cline from which the mellow sunlight of
spring never departs, that it is laden
with the songs of birds of note and
plumage, peace and ease and plenty Be
yond the curtain of darkness that hangs
over the gloomy night, there dwells a
picture of the morning, of new, fresh
life, that seems to wake and move and
break away the mists, and they tell us its
foreground is hope and its background is
pleasure. Beyond the aches and struggles,
the fears, the disappointnents, the bit
ter trials and wearying labors of time
we are taught there is an eternity whose
higher possibilities give promise Of
calnaer hours and sweeter rest
But our mission, ladies and gentlemen,
is not limited to the sphere of memorial
In the activities of life. we are guided
by duty. 1t has been truly said that "a
handful of good life is worth bushel
of learning" As we journey along we
|endeavor to cast seeds on good ground
from which will be produced good fruit.
We draw Our inspiration from our For
est and IFS beautiful traditions We real
lie that it is incumbent on us. as Wood
men, to make the wilderness of life smile
and bloom as the rose. Woodmen who
follow the precepts of their craft can not
be idlers. They must toll increasingly.
They must earn their bread by the
sweat of their brow an injunction most
wise and significant Indeed, if we were
idlers we could anticipate no reward of
appreciation.
The Order of Woodmen, my friends,
is indigenous to our soil Il originated in
the great Northwest. It sprung from the
brains of Sovereign commander J. C.
Root of Omaha, Nebraska, the founder
of Woodcraft. From the day Of its crea-
ton, when few were gathered at its
iIlltlatory stage, it has grown and spread
its influence like a mighty giant of the
forest until it shelters membership the
equal of the greatest of fraternities 1t is
growing steadily and spreading its good
deeds and is in the lead of all benevolent
associations. 1t is expanding its benef-
cent influences because it has been estab-
lished and is being maintained on cor
rect business principles, blended with
fraternal obligations which are as sim
pie as they are truthful and generous in
all their rami6cations. The duty of |
Woodmen is to relieve the distressed. No |
worthy sovereign in need has ever APP
Piled in vain for help or relief It IS the
duty OF Wood,nen to throw the shelter
ing arm OF protection about the weak |
and de1enseless to encourage a broad /
humanity, which shall lead men to be-
come better citizens and truer in all |
their relations Of life, especially in those
obligations which must strengthen the