life itself was but a great bridge, one end of which lay in life’s
beginning, and the other stretched into the great unknown. It spans a
chasm full of fire, of death and doom. There are flaws in it which were
put there six thousand years ago, and although many have gone over it
in safety, it is at any moment liable to fall with some precious soul
into the abyss. God had provided a means of escape, and happy was he
who would avail himself of it.
A second service was also held at St. Peter’s church, at which Rev. Dr.
James Moore officiated, assisted by Rev. Geo. Carter, of Cleveland.
The procession then formed, which was arranged in the following order:
Marshal Fassett and Coroner Richards; Clergy, in sleighs; Bearers, in
sleighs; Assistant Marshal; Masonic Association; Friends of deceased,
in sleighs; Assistant Marshal; St. Joseph’s Society; Ashtabula Light
Guard; Ashtabula Light Artillery; Citizens generally.
Arranged in a long line in front of the churches and along the main
street, with the different badges and insignia of office, this
procession formed one of the most impressive pageants ever witnessed in
the place. It was more than a mile long, and as it moved at the toll
of the bell and with the impressive sound of the funeral dirge from
the bands present, every one was affected with the solemnity of the
occasion.
Contrasted with the white snow which covered the landscape, this array
of mourning and sympathizing friends and citizens moved slowly to the
last resting place of the dead. As the head of the column entered
the cemetery where were gathered the sacred remains which were to be
deposited in the graves, the members of the Masonic societies divided,
and, acting as pall bearers, silently took up the coffins which had
been arranged in a line for them, and bore the precious freight to the
open graves, amid the tears of the spectators, who were touched by so
unusual a sight. “It was, indeed, a scene which appealed to the heart
with sombre power and deep sympathy.” The nineteen coffins--containing
the secrets of death which will be given up only at the
resurrection--carried between the slow-moving ranks of uncovered men;
the sad faces and intent gaze of the silent witnesses; a few mourning
women, in black, standing apart, made sacred by their sorrow--one
gray-haired man, whose wife and child had been swallowed up in the
gulf, among them; a dull, gray sky overhead; the fitful wind sweeping
through the bare branches of the trees; the shroud of snow, broken only
by those yawning graves; the sad strains of the funeral dirge, in time
with the sobbing of the women; the solemn hush which men feel always in
the presence of death. The exercises at the grave were opened by the
Rev. Mr. Moore, who read the burial service of his church. A selection
of Scripture was read by the Rev. Mr. McGiffert, after which the Masons
proceeded with their ritual, and at its close the assembled thousands,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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