Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. Yet e'en these bones from insult to protect, With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture deck'd, Their name, their years, spelt by th' unletter'd Muse, And many a holy text around she strews, For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd, On some fond breast the parting soul relies, For thee, who, mindful of th' unhonor'd dead, If chance, by lonely contemplation led, Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate, Haply some hoary-headed swain may say, "Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn Brushing with hasty steps the dews away, To meet the sun upon the upland lawn: "There at the foot of yonder nodding beech, That wreathes its old fantastic roots. so high, His listless length at noontide would he stretch, And pore upon the brook that babbles by. "Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn, Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove; Now drooping, woeful-wan, like one forlorn, Or craz'd with care, or cross'd in hopeless love. "One morn I miss'd him on the accustom'd hill, Along the heath, and near his fav'rite tree; Another came; nor yet beside the rill, Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he: "The next, with dirges due in sad array Slow through the church-way path we saw him borne: Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn." THE EPITAPH. Here rests his head upon the lap of earth, Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, He gain'd from heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend. No farther seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their dread abode, (There they alike in trembling hope repose,) The bosom of his Father and his God. cir cum scrib'd', inclosed within a certain limit; bounded. el' e gy, a mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song. fret' ted, ornamented with fretwork. glebe, land; soil; turf. her' ald ry, the science of honorary distinctions, especially of armorial bearings. in ev' i ta ble, unavoidable. in gen' u ous, frank; open; candid. joc' und, merry; cheerful. se ques' tered, secluded; private. THE END OF THE WAR. WILLIAM MCKINLEY. (From a Speech delivered at Omaha, October 12, 1898.) It has been said that the normal condition of nations is war. That is not true of the United States. We never enter upon war until every effort for peace without it has been exhausted. Ours has never been a military government. Peace, with whose blessings we have been so singularly favored, is the national desire and the goal of every American aspiration. On the 25th of April, for the first time in more than a generation, the United States sounded the call to arms. The banners of war were unfurled; the best and bravest from every section responded; a mighty army was enrolled; the North and the South vied with each other in patriotic devotion; the youth and the veteran joined in freely offering their services to their country; there was no break in the line, no halt in the march, no fear in the heart. What a wonderful experience it has been from the standpoint of patriotism and achievement! The storm broke so suddenly that it was here almost before we realized it. Our navy was too small, though forceful with its modern equipment, and most fortunate in its trained officers and sailors. Our army had years ago been reduced to a peace footing. We had only twenty-eight thousand available troops when the war was declared, but the account which officers and men gave of themselves on the battlefield has never been surpassed. The manhood was there and everywhere. American pa triotism was there, and its resources were limitless. The courageous and invincible spirit of the people proved glorious, and those who a little more than a third of a century ago were divided and at war with each other were again united under the holy standard of liberty. Patriotism banished party feeling; fifty millions of dollars for the national defense were appropriated without debate or division, as a matter of course. But if this is true of the beginning of the war, what shall we say of it now, with hostilities suspended, and peace near at hand? Matchless in its results! Unequaled in its completeness and the quick succession with which victory followed victory! Attained earlier than it was believed to be possible; so comprehensive in its sweep that every thoughtful man feels the weight of responsibility which has been so suddenly thrust upon us. above all and beyond all, the valor of the American And army and the bravery of the American navy and the majesty of the American name stand forth in unsullied glory, while the humanity of our purposes and the magnanimity of our conduct have given to war, always horrible, touches of noble generosity, Christian sympathy and charity, and examples of human grandeur which can never be lost to mankind. Passion and bitterness formed no part of our impelling motive, and it is gratifying to feel that humanity triumphed at every step of the war's progress. The heroes of Manila, and Santiago, and Porto Rico have made immortal history. They are worthy successors and descendants of Washington and Greene; of Paul Jones, Decatur, and Hull, and of Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, and Logan; of Farragut, Porter, and Cushing; - of Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet. New names stand out on the honor-roll of the nation's great men, and with them, unnamed, stand the heroes of the trenches and the forecastle, invincible in battle and uncomplaining in death. The intelligent, loyal, indomitable soldier and sailor and marine, regular and volunteer, are entitled to equal praise as having done their whole duty, whether at home or under the baptism of foreign fire. com' pre hen' sive, extensive; embracing much. ex haust' ed (egz), expended; called forth. gran' deur, greatness. mag' na nim'i ty, high-mindedness; generosity. un sul' lied, unstained; not tarnished. |