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Show 1 1 "Funeral Orations. I ' 'The old tlmo funeral oration was -a classic of Its own unlquo typo. You could hoar some very big elo- ' tjuenco over somo very little men. ' Tarsons who had tho gift of gab on a ouch occasions woro In domand for , -miles around. In tho main those (1 -addresses vero not lnslncoro. Tho Instinct of saying nothing but good about tho dead has Its valid roa- nons. Still ono would occasionally hear tho moat fulsomo oulogles pronoun-od pronoun-od about men whoso lives woro -notoriously ovll. Thoy might havo lived lives of dishonesty aud vlco, HHHhBHHHHHHHHJ yct.thoy woro pictured as already arrayed ar-rayed In shining garments, consorting consort-ing with angels and enjoying hoav-only hoav-only company In which they would have been most unhappy when on earth. Tho old tlmo funeral oration wan overdono. It was woll meant, but cvon tho mourners havo boen heard to protest under tholr breath at exaggerations. ex-aggerations. There Is a tendency today to-day among many common sense people peo-ple to omit tho custom altogether. Tho funeral of Admiral Dewey Illustrates Il-lustrates this. Hero was a great character, Illustrious In our history, and if warm eloquent oulogy would ever havo beeu moro appropriate It was hero. Yot no doubt, by the Admiral's own wish, thoro was no funeral oration. Tho occasion seemed seem-ed perhaps moro Impressive by Its absonce. In tho presence of tho mystery of death, human eloquonco Is futile. Tho nverage funeral would seem far moro dignified If tho customory remarks re-marks woro omitted. Tho words of Scripture, and the burial services of tho various churches express tho sentiment of the hour in words that have stood tho test of tlmo and which touch tho heart strings. After Af-ter thoso classic lithurglcs the ordinary ordin-ary funeral sermon Is nn nntl-cllmax. It is a matter for Individual taste, but tho simplicity which marked tho burial of George Dowoy might bo copied to ndvantago In many humblor circles. |