Hide Article Text (OCR)
WHAT THE END SHALL BE. , Death, in all ita various forma, ta calculated to I ' impress the mind with awe; to remind mortals of i 11 the fruil tenure of their earthly pilgrimage; and » i to teach the mou thoughtleaa that Man's days.lt; ' are few and full of troubles.'* In the varied rou- I | tine of worldly existence, the most prudent aroj I subject to occasional altercations with thetr fel- I . Iowa. Such schisms are, in all cases, crrtainl v 11 lamentable, and, if possible, should be avoided, j t ; But the bivath of slander—the voice of dctrac-1 c tion—the whisper of pollution—or the hint of lt;suspicion, arouses our animosities, and causes us t to meet our traducers with marked coldness, if! ( not with absolute hatred. In such cases, carried c uway by our passions or our prejudices, we arej incompetent of forming a correct estimate of the , chnruciers of the offenders. Their vices oroar-l . rayed before oureycs in characters of living light,! and from these we make up our decision; but their virtues—those adorning emblems of a con- {, trite spirit—those mementoes of a chastened in- , tellect—those speaking evidences of a well dis- , cipliucd mind—those undying tostimonials of an j' unseared conscience—always, to a greater or less!' extent, found in every character, are entirely lost sight of. Their characters may be tainted—their pursuits may be questionable—their hands may bo polluicd by crime—or their very existence forfeited; hut they aru not devoid of every virtue. A lutein spark of what they might havo been, had nut temptation been too great for their yielding natures, or hud not the heartless world met their first anxious aspirations after fame with a chilling indiffenmcc, still remains. Like the nosis in the desert it is cbscured from our view by the mural wnstu with which it is surrounded, and for a time wo ore unable to discover one redeeming trait—one retrieving principle—in what, to us, seems a compound of abominations.But the time fur these feelings is limited; like other earthly things, it is fleeting. The object of our haired is laid low by death; he is tuken from hence; the “winding sheet is nil that remains; a solitary mound in the grave yard alone evidences his existence! We hear of Itis depurture with nwe. mid a feeling of regret, faint it may be, lakes the place of our tonner prejudices. His vi-i cc-s are at nnce forgotten; and his virtues truss-5 j tired as pearls of great price. The most harden-11 ed speak of the deceased in terms of respect.—I None are so abandoned as to carry their enmity -1 beyond the portals of the grave. None willing to war against the duad.These reflections were forced upon our mind by tho reception of a letter announcing the do-■ | cense of William R. Lindsay, at the Hospital J in Cincinnati. In years gone by, when our days | were fewer and our heart lighter, we were inti-,' maiely acquainted with tho deceased. At the » some stand, for months, wo performed our daily ’ task; and, whenourlubor was completed, we sat , and listened to his converse, laughed at his well | told jests, or sympathised with his misfortunes. Even then the spell of the tampter wits upon him. He was not altogether abandoned to virtue; nor yet the hopeless di-bauchec; but the blandishments of tho toper—the jovial carousiags of the inebriate—the enticements of the bachinalian— and, above all, the rhilling reception—the cold reserve—the marked distrust—thu whispered imputation—and the averted looks, received front the moral portion of community, were fast leading (or pt-rhnps tve should say driving) him from the path of virtue. Ha was at that critical period of life when surrounding circumstances seem to combine for the purpose of exalting man, or causing his final overthrow. Had religion spoken her words of consolation—had piety whispered the promptings of hope—bad virtue plead with the erring—had meekness pointed out the path of righteousunsa; all might have boen well.A man endowed with natural talents of a very high order might have been rescued from threatened danger, and made a shining star in the firmament. Those were withheld; nay, tho door of the sanctuary was closed against him, and all inducements m reform placed beyond bis reach. Under such circumstances he finally yielded.—It would be strange if he had not. Wo cannot iraceltisdownwurdcareer. Thepursuitofworldly affairs separated us. Our paths since that time have been different. We huve met but twice, sad beard from each other butseldom. But theclo-sing scene unfolds thotule. A death in tht Hospital, and a burial place in the potter’s field!— lie died far from his kindred, friends and tho acquaintances of his palmy days! Ho died amid rangers, and surrouudcd by filth and crime! Ho
Newspaper Details
Carroll Free Press
Carrollton, Ohio, US
Fri, Oct 29, 1847
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Cincinnati A.
OH, USA 20 Nov 2024
Other Publications Near Carrollton, Ohio
Carroll Free Press
