io6 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
On fame’s eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 
But glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead.” 
The hedge which partly encircles the monument 
is composed of globe arbor-vitae inside, with a belt 
of shrubs on the outside. 
The monument itself is such afine work of art 
that a separate illustration of it is given. It stands 
upon the spot where Lincoln delivered hisnowfam- 
aus “Address at Gettysburg.” There are fourlife- 
sizc figures surrounding it, which are to represent 
War, Peace, History and Plenty. From the vicin- 
ity of this monument an excellent view can be had of 
Seminary Ridge and the valley over which the at- 
tacking troops advanced to the battle. 
The trees and shrubs on the grounds are not 
among the newest of the day, as the planting was 
faiily completed at the formation. 
Near the entrance gate is a nice group o r Jap- 
anese maples, the largest about eight feet high, 
'l here are very nice Japanese cedars, two of them, 
Retinospora obtusa, being nearly fifty feet high, 
and well proportioned. And of other species, such 
as squarrosa, filifera and aurea, specimens of about 
eight feet were observed. Other trees and shrubs 
noticed were Pavia flora and Ik rubra, Salisburia, 
topped at twelve feet, and making a spreading 
growth, blood beech, Nordman Fir, Sweet Gum 
and some Pinus cembra of good size. Globe arbor- 
vitre were much used as single specimens, as well 
as some of the golden varieties. 
The trees and shrubs and grounds in general 
showed that Mr. Hamilton, the superintendenu, was 
master of the situation. I had not the pleasure of 
meeting him, but the people of Gettysburg I found 
speaking very highly of him. Joseph Meehan. 
OLD KING SOLOMON. 
A stone has recently been placed in the Lexing- 
ton, Ky. , cemetery to mark the grave of a unique 
local character made famous by the genius of James 
Lane Allen — “Old King Solomon.” 
This strange man is spoken of as having wan- 
dered about the streets of the town “a worthless 
fellow, unkempt, unwashed, lazy, smoking, drink- 
ing, and in rags.” Yet he was a hero, and well 
deserved this often spoken of but long neglected 
tribute. For, when in 1833 Lexington was scourged 
by cholera, and every one who could getaway from 
the stricken city fled, this man remained and volun- 
tarily buried the rapidly accumulating dead. He 
seems to have been a singular combination of un- 
selfish devotion and hopeless vagabondism. 
Born in the same county of Virginia as Henry 
Clay it was his proudest boast that “him and Llenry 
were boys together.” 
It seems fitting that his grave lies humbly near 
that of his life-time hero and friend, for he never 
swerved from his stanch devotion and it is said that 
“through all his degradation and poverty he could 
never be politically bought.” 
An anecdote related in this connection is as fol- 
lows: “One afternoon near the close of a hotly 
contested election, when deep in his cups, Old 
King Solomon was speculatively approached by a 
democratic acquaintance and asked if he had voted. 
Giving an answer in the negative he was gently 
asked to take a drink and then go to the polls. On 
the way a five dollar bill was slipped into the hand 
of the intoxicated captive. They voted — Old Solo- 
mon the straight-out whig ticket. Walking away 
together the democrat remarked: “You did not vote 
as I expected you to.” “No,” replied King Solomon, 
“I pocketed the insult and voted for Henry Clay.” 
The old man was well-known to Mr. Bell, the 
superintendent of Lexington Cemetery, who lies 
himself erected the stone to King Solomon’s mem- 
ory. 
Mr. Bell speaks of him as being quaint and 
kindly and notwithstanding his eccentricities and 
shortcomings, honest and upright. 
These words and this act but further justify Mr. 
Bell’s friends in their fixed opinion regarding his 
high sense of justice and his manly kindness of 
heart. 
Allen has immortalized the poor but noble 
hearted vagabond, and Mr. Bell has set up a stone 
that will remind all passers by that the honor of high 
deeds is a rich heritage that even the poor and 
humble may bequeath to posterity. 
F. C. S. 
The Chinese have a flower that is white at night or 
in the shade and red in the sunlight. 
The “glorious uncertainty of law” sometimes pro- 
duces good results. A few years ago, an owner < f side- 
walk trees in Chester County, Pa., brought an action 
against a telegraph company for trimming his trees 10 
make room for telegraph wires. The court decided 
that damages should be paid to the amount of the value 
of the material cut away, at cord wood prices. Recent- 
ly, a telegraph company cut away completely a number 
of trees which interfered with the wires, on the property 
of a gentleman at Douglasville, Penn ylvania. He 
brought suit, and the men who cut the trees were sen- 
tenced to pay a fine of fifty dollars each, or imprison- 
ment for fifty days. This decision was appealed to the 
Supreme Court, on the ground that they were only lia- 
ble for the actual cord-wood value of the trees. But 
the Supreme Court has confirmed the lower court’s ver- 
dict. This is a case where the uncertainty of the law 
has been an advantage in reversing an original absurd- 
ity. — Meehan's Monthly for June. 
