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Show I1,: ;j Memorial Day. if' ,' Again, on Wednesday next, will come the day ijjjj on which tho nation once a year puts business aside, goes to the silent cities to dress the couches (.( ,iC of its heroes with flowers, to recall the memory i.j , of their sacrifices, and to wave to them farewells. J. I The old story is over new, how in the Hush of If; Jj young manhood, when life was filled with sweet- " l ness and when their hearts were jubilant with ; hope, the call came and they responded and !' proved their devotion to native land in the high- ' est possible form, for if it is true that all that a . tj. man hath will he give for his life, when he offers . his life it is the sacrifice supreme. ,; !?; They did more than offer theirs; they exalted : ! j American manhood before a watching world; they J vindicated free institutions as they were never jiffi vindicated before, and when the days of trial J jjj ceased they who were left merged back into the kj ranks of peace, and instead of carrying back the ;f ,U" usual demoralizations of camp life, they returned , ' bringing refined their nobler selves, and the peo- 1 pie saw that out of the fearful school they had i, graduated vastly improved by the terrible disci ,;j They came back exultant because the land had been saved; they returned bearing no malice f toward the men they had fought; they returned showing that their greatest triumph, after all, had been in keeping untainted the high manhood that the war had called up in their souls. They have in thought been the wards of the nation ever since, and thoughtful men have watched the effects of the fruition of the years upon them. The exultant feeling of their return slowly passed away as the memories of the war began to grow dim,) and as one after another fell from the thinning ranks. Then came years of calm, and then as they answered roll call, and it began to be as with a heart diseased that loses a beat in, every three or four, the spectacle began to grow pathetic, for it was easy to see that it would not be long until the last one of that magnificent host would cease to answer. Then the duty of Memorial day was doubled. Not only were there increasing mounds to be dressed annually, but the steps of the survivors had to be steadied. The sacred day comes again on Wednesday next. Its ceremonies should be more than usually impressive this year. It is a pleasant thought on Memorial day to Imagine that there is a double service, one on earth, one In the ether; that were our senses sublimated we should see long lines of uniformed spirits; standards of celestial whiteness waving above them, and that to our ears would come the call of golden bugles and the long roll of phantom phan-tom drums; for if spirits never cease to live, how natural would be the instinct of the silent host that has passed on, to return on Decoration Day to satisfy the yearning to know if they are yet remembered and if their countrymen are still grateful to them. We advise all old soldiers to strain their eyes upward to see If there are not flashings of celestial celes-tial banners above and something in the air like the reflection of divine smiles, for it will comfort them and give them a new assurance that on the eternal camping ground the comrades are waiting for them, and preparing for them a welcome so warm that it will melt the chill of death. |