He fought as best he could, and that he failed was not his fault.
He was honest, generous and courageous. These three great virtues were his. He was a true and steadfast friend, seeing only the goodness of the ones he loved. Only a great and noble heart is capable of this.
But he has passed beyond the reach of praise or blame—passed to the realm of rest—to the waveless calm of perfect peace.
The storm is spent—the winds are hushed—the waves have died along the shore—the tides are still—the aching heart has ceased to beat, and within the brain all thoughts, all hopes and fears—ambitions, memories, rejoicings and regrets—all images and pictures of the world, of life, are now as though they had not been. And yet Hope, the child of Love—the deathless, beyond the darkness sees the dawn. And we who knew and loved him, we, who now perform the last sad rites—the last that friendship can suggest—"will keep his memory green."
Dear Friend, farewell! "If we do meet again we shall smile indeed—if not, this parting is well made." Farewell!
A TRIBUTE TO THOMAS CORWIN.
Lebanon, Ohio, March 5, 1899.
* An Impromptu preface to Colonel Ingersoll's lecture at
Lebanon, Ohio.