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The Grave-Yard Everywhere.A few years ago, a stranger put up at a hotel, in one of our cities, (I believe it was Boston,) and in the dusk of the evening, walked out to see the town. He had not proceeded far, before he come to a wall, and looking over, saw he had come a burying ground. Turning in another street, he soon came to a wall again and found that it was the same graveyard. He went on and again, to his great surprise winding and crossing of the streets, brought him up the third tiifle against the same dead wall. Go where hej | would he could not get away from the grave-i y rd. It was a very solemn ay rd. It was a very solemn and profitable lesson to him. His object in walking out, was to see some of the fine public buildings and to look at some of the costly mansions of the merchant princes ; but nothing arrested his attention, like that old cemetery.It seemed to him, as it were to fence up every street. He could not get the impression off from his mind that whatever else he might meet with, he was sure to find the the graveyard everywhere.And so it was with us all. Most of the events of our lives are uncertain. Such of them as we can anticipate, may or may not happen. But death is sure to come. Go where we will in the city or country ; travel East, West, North or South by day or night; we can’t get far from the graveyard. We are liable to come suddenly up to the wall • and to open the gate, when we least expect it There is no turning into some cross street, or by-way so as to avoid it. There it is I right before us. It may take a little longer j or shorter time to reach the wall and when ! we seem to leave it by taking another street,| like the stranger in Boston, we are sure of I being brought dead against it and may be more to our surprise than it was to his.Tile merchant takes the cars for the city, to lay in his summer stock of goods, but never returns. He is suddenly and fatally dashed against the wall of some graveyard.The physician, whose profession is to keep us clear as long as possible from the graveyard, goes abroad to increase his skill for prolonging our lives, and is himself in alike manner dashed against die wall, without a momeni’s warning.The gay and thoughtless youth goes abroad whither lie will,'with leisuie and money to take his till of pleasure. The last thing he thinks of is the graveyard, except, perchance, with companions as thoughtless as himself, to visit Auburn, or Grccnv ood or some other beautiful rural cemetery. He is too young and too happy to think of flying ; hut the next we hear of him he is laid there in his long, last sleep.The happy father e.nbarks with his wife and family lor an excursion of health and j j pleasure, on one of the floating palaces of\ the river or lake. The water smooth, the! heavens are serene. Surely there is no dan- ! ger on that short trip of coming near any | graveyard. But ah ! the uncertainly of human life-. A fire breaks out. shrieks rend the air. and they suddenly reach the place they last thought of ; the walled home of the sdead. _ . . Id'The long train of cars filled with intelli- i ^ gence, reputation, age, joy and joyous heart leapings for happy homes ; leaving the city, j ‘ pnji beautiful spring morning, never dream- j _ ing of any danger. All! that awful plunge! Where are the fifty fathers, mothers, children, who but a moment before, were apparently as far from the graveyard as any of us ; but how many of these burying places have been opened to receive their mutilated remains. I saw the douting widowed mother, and the beautiful accomplished daughter, laid together in the grave. “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided.”And so i7 is, whether we go abroad or stay7 at home, we are neve , any of us, far from the grave-yard. There may, when we feel most secure, be but a step between us and death. Some disease may attack us tomorrow. And if lie should recover and try ever s much to shun it in time to come, by the flowery path which seems to lead quite in the opposite direction, it may imperceptibly sweep round and the first be knows bring him back for the last time.What remains, then, but that we prepare for death, while we are in lif and in health that we ‘stand with our loins girded about and our lamps always trimmed and burning, so,that whether the Son of man shall come at evening, at midnight, at the cock crowing, or in the morning, we may be ready.- ‘Go to now. ye that say, to-day or to morrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buyand sell and get gain ; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.— For what is your life ? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time and then vanishes away.’—JV”. Y. Evangelist.Couldn’t be Choked Off.—The Clinton Courant tells a story of a rural philosopher,
Newspaper Details
Fort Wayne Times and Peoples Press
Fort Wayne, Indiana, US
Wed, Aug 31, 1853
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 22 Mar 2025
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