Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-05-18

tality. Despite all of our precautions
death comes into our midst, and
breaks up our unions. and our mu
tual defense becomes as nothing. Oul
land is land Of graveyards. Every
town and postoiiice has its metropolis
and when We go and scatter our flow
ers over the graves OF our departed
today, We should pause and think
and the thought in our mind SHOULD
be this: Here is the end OF our pow
er. Our pride, protection and free
dom lie shut up here in these wooden
cases, and that which has come TO US
is destined to befall the strongest
brains and the truest hearts and the
mightiest armies the eagle tiutters
over in his swift flight of liberty.
"Glories of birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things
There is no armor against fate.
Death lays his icy hand on kings"
may Illustrate the truth in tnis
way: Abraham was called to be the
father of great nation. God bade
him arise and betake himself to an
unknown country, and told him that
his seed should be as the stars OF the
neavens. and should rule over the
peoples around them. but. when ne
arrived at his destination. lol the en-
trance lay through the valley OF the
shadow of death. The frst actual
possession whicn passed into nis
hands in the promised land was a
burying ground. Doubtless his expe-
rience was to teach him that grave
was to be the only permanent abiding
place that he was to have on the
earth. That was al least his lnterpre.
tation of the event. His words to
those around him at the time were as
follows:
Il am stranger and soJourrer
with you"
Then let our memorial day service
impress the same truth on our minds.
We are going our way this morning
We may live to n ripe old age, and
renew our childhood in old age WITH
impaired faculties. but all OF us must
pass away sooner or later. and, wnen
we shall have departed, the only hold
ing any of us can keep in this world
Is piece of ground large enough TO
contain our remains Our life is a
race, and the grave is our goal. We
have brought nothing into this world,
and we can take nothing out OF 1t;
and since the incident referred to is
the first historical account of bur.
lal with the details of arrangement,
we may stop here for moment to
learn a few lessons In regard to the
attitude we should assume toward the
dead These are as follows:
l. A grave is natural cause for
grief Abraham mourned for his
dead; and his conduct is an all-sufi-
cient refutation of the talk in the air
in this age to the effect that tears are
a sign OF weakness. and the too fire.
quent custom of people In absentlng
themselves from the scenes of death.
There is such a thing as a time TO
weep. Curiosity is despicable I'M
pertlnence at a funeral but when
friends die, friends should sorrow
over them. That is the disposition
of flesh and blood. and its disposition
should be cultivated. Man is an emo
tional as well as an intellectual be.
ing, and the sad scenes of life are
as essential as the joyous for his ed
ucation. Nothing less can develop
an all-round character.
2, The dead should be buried out
of sight. The grave is the receptacle
appointed for the body. Every ra.
tional consideration suggests as
much Mans frame Is dust, and,
when his spirit is gone. the earth is
the natural and securest repository
for his remains. Modern science it.
self is beginning to teach that bury
ing is even safer than burning, and
the clearer the laws of sanitation be
come, the more these coincide with
the first burial with details OF ar.
3. The dead should have a paid.
for burying ground.
Much of the scripture read was
taken up with the details of a bar
gain for sepulchre. The narrative
was a charming verisimilitude, which
to one familiar with oriental customs
is more or less amusing. The appar-
ent graciousness of those people In
offering burial place free of cost.
free of any sort of a mercantile con.
sideration. wa3 just Il part OF the
formal politeness of the East. Moth
Ing was meant more than the senti-
ment In the saying Of the Chinese:
Your honorable sell. and my un-
worthy self" Shakespeare put the
same thought as follows; II attack
your honorable kings pawn with my
own contemplate kings knight"
And the guile was well understood.
Abraham knew that II he took the
present, the acceptation implied It's
return, and, lest the obligation should
embarrass MIN in respect to his dead
in the future, weighing the compli
ment for its exact worth, he weighed
out the price OF the grave in current
money and reserved the spot as a
resting place for his children free
from the entanglements Incident to a
gift.
We'll tho supvaltinn Ia vond apnupn