Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.
"EARTH TO EARTH, ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST.--"In noticing the decease of Col. Francis M. Wynkoop, a gentleman who occupied so prominent a position in this community, one who did good service on the fields of Mexico under the shadow of the flag of his country, one who held for some years an important position under Government, and one who shone resplendent in all those duties that mark the beloved husband, filial son, affectionate brother and true friend, we desire to offer no fulsome adulation, but to speak of him in the subdued accents that distinguish the utterance of the bereaved, and in the earnest manner that marked the imposing cortege of Wednesday. From youth, Francis M. Wynkoop was familiar to every resident of Schuylkill County. His manly form was known even to childhood; his voice was no stranger's; his grasp had nothing of hypocrisy in it. If his public career was striking, how shall we speak of him in connection with that circle which now mourns poignantly, his early death? There are scenes it were sacrilege to touch upon; feelings so sensitive in their intense misery and loneliness, that to breathe on them were to elicit the plaintive tones of the aeolian. Yet in alluding to the death of Col. Wynkoop, and paying a tribute to his worth as a citizen now removed from the busy scenes of life, we cannot refrain from mingling our regrets with the tears shed by one who knew him best, and appreciated all his excellence. That widowed heart could speak eloquently when pen and voice utterly fail to do justice:
Watcher! 'tis dark, and the dwelling is lonely--
Wanderer! 'tis dark, and the tempest is roaring--
Weeper! 'tis dark, for the angel of sorrow
Oh ye who are suffering and toiling and sighing;
Source: Unknown, "Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust," The Miners' Journal and Pottsville General Advertiser, Pottsville, Pa., Saturday, 19 December 1857, page 2, col. 2.
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Created May 7, 2004; Revised May 7, 2004
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