The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891, May 01, 1880, Image 1

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    The West Shoke.
VOTj fl TsTn t l i Samuel, Publisher,
r uii. u nv, o. j 3MonlseuSt,
Portland, Oregon, May, 1880.
I'i i Annum, 1 Slusl nmUn
THE SILENT CITY.
BY L. I'.
There's a city vast yet voioeloss, growiug ever
street on street,
Whither friends with friends o'or mooting, ever
meeting never greet ;
And where rivals fierce and vongeful, calm and
silent mutely moot ;
Never greeting, ever meet.
Thoro are traders without traffto, merchants with
out books or gains ;
Tonder brides in new made chambers, whore the
triokling water stains ;
Where the guests forget to come, aud strange, lis
tening silence reigns ;
Listening silence ever reigns.
. Ships sail past this silent city, but their owners
quiet lie,
And do signals fly from top-troo 'gainst the
glowing, crimson sky,
Telling the neglectful owner that his well-built
Argosy
For the Fleece is sailing by.
Horn the belle forgot the fashions, mindloss
of her snow white-dross ;
All unhoeded now hor toilet, free, ungathorod
lock and tross ;
Nono here flatter face or figure, none come fondly
to caress ;
Tressos flow and none caross.
Hushed are all these many mansions, barrod and
bolted door and gato ;
Nurrow all the walls and earthy, and the roof
trots steep and straight ;
Itoom for all ! the high aud lowly. Hich and
poor here equal mate.
Equal dwell and equal mato.
Flowers are blooming uoar these mansions, kissed
by loving dews at night ;
Uroathiug softly round their porches, flowing
through tin' cooling light;
1'esliug from their In IU sweet mtniu, pealing
odors purn and white ;
IValing only to the night.
Here each keeps his wtll-ceilad dwollmg, (eating
naught of quarter day ;
Here no landlord duns the teuaiit, and no tensut
moves away ;
Dwelling ever unevicUd, dwulliug on from May
to May;
faying nover quarter-day.
Ueckons ever this mute oity to its comrade liviug
To its oomrade laughing loudly, sitting on tl o
pulsing bay ;
Drawing from its maaqueraders pale, while spec
tra day by day ;
Spectres now, men yesterday
Thus two cities grow forever, parted by a narrow
tide,
This the shadow, that the substance, growing by
each other's side ;
Ullding one into the other, and for evermore shall
glide;
drawing tvtr sido by side
LONE FIR CEMETERY.
Perhaps otic of the surest indications
of advanced civilization in this section
of the great Northwest is the care and
attention bestowed by the living on the
homes of the unnumbered dead in the
silent cities adjacent to the bustling
towns and villages of our fast-growing
and prosperous State. Portland, in this
respect, as in nearly all others, leads the
van, and its people are entitled to re
spect for the reverence with which
they tend, beautify and adorn that pic
turesque spot entitled " Lone Fir
Cemetery," situated on the east side of
the Willamette river and distant just
one mile from the Stark street ferry.
This quiet home of many hundreds
who now sleep the sleep thai knows no
waking, fell into the hands of the pres
cnt stock company in iKfS, aud the
association has spared no pains in orna
menting and improving the ground
The Hoard of Directors of this incorpo
ration arc : Mr. A. II. Morgan (Presi
dent), Mr. It. P. Cardwell, Mr. Levi
P. Anderson (Secretary and Treasurer),
till thrte gentlemen well known and
highly respected. The cemetery, a
handsome engraving of which is pre
Mntod on the opposite page, is United
on high, dry ground, the most eligible
obtainable for the purpose, and consists
of thirty acres of nice, gently uudula
ting I. mil. It is divided and subdivided
into lots and plats. The lots are 10x20
feet end 10x25 and the plats are 42x461
The grounds ere handsomely enclosed
and well kept under the special super
intendence of Mr. L. Kiel 11,111, the
Sexton and a full corps of assistants.
The cemetery is a favorite resort in
pleasant weather for quiet cople as
well as those whose affection for tic
parted friends has outlived the sordid
struggle for money, and still bears on
memory's page the lust fond look and
yielding grasp of the mother, father,
wife, husband, brother, sitter, 1011, or
friend, who hnvc gone before to " 1 hut
bourne whence no traveler returns."
Handsome shrubbery and rare plants
adorn many graven, and floral tributes
in abundance arc not wattling to attest
man's lasting affection. There arc
many beautiful and expensive monu
ments to be seen on every hand, ns one
meanders through the serpentine walks,
several of which cost not less than
$2,000 each, and all show skill and deli
cacy in design and execution. The
most prominent of all these monuments
is the magnificent and costly mnuso
leum erected to the memory of his de
ceased wife by Donald Maclcuy, Esq.,
at an expense of $11,000. This struc
ture is chaste and decidedly ornamental
to the grounds and will be doubtless
followed in the future by monuments
equally as attractive.
The epitaphs are nearly as numer
ous as the tombstones, some indicating
originality, and humor. A queer place
one would think for the exhibition of
wit. Bill to illustrate we mention tho
following : n 1S62 11 well known
character named M. Mitchell, who
made his livelihood by jig dancing,
was frozen to death during the extraor
dinarily cold night of January 1 ith.
His body was consigned to its narrow
cell in I. one Fir and his IricniU placed
a monument to his memory, on which
is engraved the following couplet :
Hers lies one whu has taken stops
That won the applause of man 1
Hut grim death nam and took . step
Which he I not withstand.
MAY DAY IN ENGLAND,
A correspondent at Liverpool, Eng
land, in a letter to us dated May ml,
writes; "This is our Muy-dny, and
annually all the great railway Coinpg.
nies, manufacturers, corpotations ami
employees of horse -power, vie with
each other in making a grand turnout
of their best horses, said to be the finest
in the world. The N. W. Rnil Co. had
160 In to-day's proccasion, this being
all the m could spare without suspend
ing business. The procession consist
ed of over 5,000 horacs w ith their har
ness mid brass work, chains, etc., etc.,
in the hight of perfection, anil the
carta, lurics, etc., nil newly painted and
decked with riblions and garlands of
(lowers. The money value of the
horses alone was oomi or $1,500,.
000 in American money."
"Tea-table topic" of the Syracuse
Herald faintly complaint liccausc there
is no cluuac in the game law to prevent
house hunting.