Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1907-04-19
A Tribute to the Late Mrs. Annie
&. GRAY.

acter that there is no language rio
enough to describe her rare attain
ments, she was a wonderful wOma
pct Men of learning and culture delightt
Nv to converse with her So modest an
br retiring was this gentle little woms
en- who lived all her days with nature tht
a. few, even in this community had th
,er rare treat of even conversation wit
" her. She was woman of such beau
n tiful Christian character that she ado
,a ed beauty and ornament to the religiO
nd of the great Prince of Peace. And i
n all had lived the pure and beautiful
Ia life she did, there never would hav
q been found single human being in al
st the land who would have uttered sin
is gle word against religion. She hel(
, firmly to the religion of Jesus Christ
r. she stood by the Sermon on the Mount
. She believed of all human characters al
q an example for all men General Rob-
ert X. Lee was the grandest. She did
not believe IN purely military charac
q tiers: She believed that Humboldt the
great naturalist and geologist did more
for the human race, added more to the
, man of human JOY than all the military
, heroes who ever lived since Caesar
fought and Cataline cons pired. Her
knowledge was SO varied it had scarce
ly any limits, it reached out to all of
the islands and continents Of thought.
She was as familiar with the orations
of the great orators. Mirabau, Cicero,
the Pitts. of Webster and Clay as any
statesman of the land. She never went
ly and as interestingly about foreign
lands as those who had traversed them
and beheld their beauties with their
own eyes. She knew the character
and customs of the Hollanders-she
lived in Switzerland and was familiar |
| with the people. of that wonderful lit |
tie Republic. She was familiar with |
| the plants, the trees, the vegetation of !
the tropics. She read and studied !
scientific works. She lifted her eyes |
often from the beauties of this earth |
to the beauties of the skies. She studied !
the orbits OF the planets and with the
beauty and vision of her Imagination
she was familiar with the strange lit
tie people of Mars. She was philan-
thrOpist and optilnist. She looked
upon this world not as a vale of tears
but as beautiful world. and she bless .
ed "God for her creation and all the
inestimable blessings of this life." She
believed in progress, in education, In
advancement. She held in her loving
hands the sacred torch of reason and
justice. The most beautiful thing in
the life of this noble woman was her
gentleness and love for her blind hus-
band, JOuette Gray. He too was very
talented, a mathematician, a poet and
he sang with great beauty and power.
She was always kind and just to her
slaves, and if they and all to whom she
gave kind word or rendered some
loving service could bring flowers to her
grave she would sleep now beneath a
mountain, of flowers. Her heart went
out 10 all the wretcbed in this weary
world-and vet she seemed as Joyous as
though grief and death were naught
but words. Up until she was seventy
five years of age she was as joyous and
as youthful as q girl in her teens-the
love OF nature kept her young. She
never engaged in idle gossip nor in
frivolous speech, her conversations
were like a lecture of some learned pro-
fessor, always interesting and instruc
tive ever dwelling upon some learned
treatise or scientific works. When a
workman WAS seen removing loose
stone from field she stopped him and
told him what some learned German
professor of agriculture said about
stone retaining the moisture of the
soil. She wanted to enlighten and cd
ucate, but the one thing uppermost in
the life of this grand little woman was
her intense love and worship of nature,
she would labor all day long among her
frnits aud vegetables, trees and flow
ers with hoe in hand, to many this
would be labOrouS labor but to her it
was play, unspeakable joy. She had a
theory. visionary perhaps, but beauti-
full, that governments should plant
fruit trees along the public highways
On ho ho l,o |
ers of the earth in tattered garments,
foot-sore and sad might rest and refresh
themselves with the golden fruits and I
learn to love nature and thus become {
useful citizens She would have those Il
in crowded jails and penitentaries,
those who have been condemned, those
who have been stained with verdlcts |
of guilty, those with and hearts, with {
heavy burdens to carry she would have
them taken out to the broad fields
among the waving grain, by the ruL-
g ushed forth from the earth beneath a
rock like little poem, where through b
d rent In some mighty cavern one could
sac the eternal stars, she would take 4
t taem way out there close to natures
heart and reform them through the
love of nature. She would have those
III crowded tenemenEs, Where mOdesty .
Is Impossible, she would take them also L
out TO the pleasant fields, to the cool !,
and lovely valleys-yes all of them and :.
their little ones That they all might +,
look up through nature to natures God :.
She would have no crowded cities but 8,
all of them rlcn and poor she sung the =
great song of peace and love all the day =
long live with nature. And to the