The Adair County news., 1909-06-02
IN COMMUNICATION
OF THE DEAD
Last Sunday Afternoon the People
of Columbia Met in the City
: Cemetery
And Bedecked The Graves of Loved
Ones With Beautiful Flowers.
TWO VERY APPROPRIATE ADDRESSES.

Under the supervision of the City
Cemetery Association, conducted alto
gether by ladies, the graves of our dead
were decorated with flowers and ever
greens last Sunday afternoon. The
hour for the services was o'clock, but
half hour before that time the ceme-
terry Was well-filled with people who
had come loaded with beautiful flowers,
which were soon strewn upon the
graves throughout the cemetery. At
a o'clock the services were opened by
Rev. A. R. Kasey. who delivered a
most beautiful prayer, which he would
have followed with a well worded ad
dress, but before he had spoken six
minutes, rain began to fall. and he was
compelled to cut his speech before he
had half finished. 1t was generally re-
GREETED that he was not permitted to
conclude.
The Columbia Brass Band then played
''God Be with you till we meet again,
the congregation joining in singing the
words.
At the close of the music the rain
had checked and Judge H. G. Baker,
who was on the program for an ad-
Dress spoke as follows: ~
Our meeting together here this after
noon is under the promptings of a SEN
timent which is as old as man and as
universal as the race. Love was i'm
planted in the human heart in the be-
ginning, and is the one divine emana-
ton which has never been wholly lost.
1t came with us into our earthly ex-
istence-it will go with us into that ex-
istence which awaits us in the beyond.
If perfection is ever attained in this
life it will be when we, in spirit and in
letter, live up TO that command to love
God with all our heart and our neigh
Dor as ourselves
1t is pathetic and touching story
which has been given to us of the death
of Sarah and of the purchase by Abra-
ham of Ephron of burying place for her
and his family. The record tells us that
''The field of Ephron, which was in
Machpelah, which was before Mamre,
the field and the cave which was there.
in, and all the trees that were in the
field, that were in all the borders round
about were made sure unto Abraham
for possession, in the presence of the
children of Heth, before all that went
in at the gate of the city, and after
that Abraham buried Sarah, his wife.
Years afterwards, Abraham '.died in
a good old age, an old man, and full of
years, and was gathered to his people, %
and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried
him by the side of Sarah his wife.
There they buried Isaac and Rebecca,
his wifi :. There was buried Leah, the
wife of Jacob To the same spot came
Joseph with the elders of his house,
and all the elders of Egypt to bury
Jacob in fulfllment of an oath required
of him. ''Lo, / die: in my grave which
have digged for me in the land OF
Canaan, there shalt thou bury me-"
The pomp and glory and power which
came to Joseph in Egypt did not cause
him to forget the land in which his
fathers had been strangers and so.
journers.
When he came to die he took an oath
of the children of Israel, saying: Goo
will surly visit you and We shall carry
I'D my bones from hence"
Moses took the bones of Joseph with
him when he lead the people out from
bondage on the pilgrimage journey tt
the promised land In all their wander
ing his body was carried with them, il
all their battles it was protected, and
years afterwards when Moses was dead
and Joshua his successor, was dead, hiI
bones which were brought up out 81
Egypt, were buried in Shechem in a
parcel Of ground which Jacob, his faith
er, bought of Hamor.
We hold sacred the soil in which sleel
those whom we love, and who have
loved us in the years gone by and such
an occasion as this can not fail to arouse
the tenderest emotions in our hearts as
well as the highest and best sentiments
1t draws us together with the bonds
of common sympathy, for no one lives
who has not known and felt the powe
of human love, and very few who hav,
not experienced the sorrow of separa
ton which death brings.
"There is no flock. however watched
and tended,
But one dead lamb is there.
There is no freside howsoe'er defended
But has one vacant chair"
And it can almost as truly be said