Gilpin observer., 1905-12-07
B. P. 0. {. MEMORIAL
II praise not them

Who in their petty dealings pilfer not,
But him whose conscience spurns secret fraud
When he might plunder and defy surprise"
"There are but few organized bodies Of
men, whether social, charitable or re.
ligious, who, at stated intervals meet in
loving comemoration OF their dead.
The Benevolent::and Protective Order Of
Elks is one OF them. While we enjoy
healthful pleasures, we pause to remem-
Der those who enjoyed them with US.
We pause to remember those whose
hands were ever outstretched to uphold
the virtues wei inculcate. We meet TO
shed tears Of love over their memories,
and to recall to our minds once again
the lessons Of life and death.
"These dead brothers, whose names
are read today, lived to exemplify the
principles OF this order. They were never
found wanting in obedience to the pre-
cepts OF justice and fidelity. And did
they not tendery care for the sick broth
er! And with compassion and love did
they pot smooth the pillow OF the dying
tant state, equally with him who was
their daily associate? And did they not
lovingly assist at the last sad rites? And
did they not keep from the left hand the
knowledge Of the kindness and goodness
and charity bestowed by the right? Were
not their characters strengthened and
beautified by the practice OF noble vir.
tuess above all, they believed in God,
and loved their country.
I'VE mourn their loss. We meet mer
CHESS death, face TO face, and we de.
pounce him for the wanton act. But
death is foe who must conquer us all.
Who has not sometime been close to
deathY Who has not felt the pang and
the sorrow and the very heart bleed as
he saw the dreaded monster come across
his Threshold? Perhaps for some dear
friend, whose friendship was tried and
. true; perhaps helpmate, whose love en-
couraged you in the battle for existence;
perhaps brother whose affection was
undying; perhaps some delicate flower
emerging from childhood, reared in sun
shine and love, the perfume Of whose
presence goes out with hat dark shadow
What an example Of brotherly love.
Such utter..want of seltishness; such ab-
eolute joyousness. They laugh tha live
long day, whether meeting or parting
and all because of the consciousness, /
thought, Of meeting again somewhere
down the ages where time blends with
eternity.
The rose will seen to perish. only to
rise again in greater glory and beauty in
the springtime. With night, the sun
shine fades away, but comes again on
some refulgent day. Neither weeps for
the sister who goes down to the sea, and
begins new life Of greater power and
force. And SO wit the soul. After sun
shine and happiness, mingled with tears
and tribulations, it goes down to the sea
Of eternity, and there become part and
living factor in a new life Of power and
force and energy, life whose compan-
ionship is with the author of nature,
whose destiny is the mastery Of all
knowledge and goodness.
There is no power in nature that
equals the power Of the mind OF man.
The intelligence which has sought out
the secrets Of nature, and put them TO
beneficial uses, which has mastered the
laws Of the universe, which has discov-
4
produced the world OF art, philosophy
literature, music. and which, believe,
before time runs its course, will domi-
nate all but the infinite, does not perish
with the earthly mould which contains It,
"'rhe intelligence, the mind, the soul
Of man, that inborn thing that gives the
powers OF thought and reason and
memory and will and life, is not simply
IA passive receptacle Of knowledge. 1t is
capable Of expansion and development,
and OF attaining all movable things,
and when crowned with Immortality,
conquers even the unknowable, or what
seems to our finite view to be unknow.
able,
"1n the economy which buided this
earth, and the universe which surrounds
It, and made the immutable laws which
govern them, the soul Of man stands pre-.
eminent as an object Of creation. We
are puny indeed in the physical sense,
when we compare ourselves with the
immensity Of space and matter, but
there is something in that puny physical
body that has builded up system Of
government and civilization for the
planet on which we live, and which has
reached out and grasped the knowledge
OF far distant worlds. These things are