Page:Memorial-addresses-on-the-life-and-character-of-michael-hahn-of-louisiana-1886.djvu/39

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ADDRESS OF MR. GAY, OF LOUISIANA
31

He was not permitted to retire from public life, but was compelled to accept positions of trust, and when he consented to be a candidate there was seldom opposition.

Mr. Hahn was a bachelor; was accustomed to living alone. In his solitary apartments, alone, he was called upon in the silent hour of night to surrender his existence. That he was ready and that he met his fate with dignity was plainly manifest from the calm and genial glow which wreathed his countenance when his prostrate form was discovered.

When I gazed for the last time upon the placid, peaceful countenance of the deceased, I was deeply impressed that the light which seemed to shine upon his forehead was but the reflex of the gentle spirit of the still small voice instilled by a mother and the heavenly spirit of all grace vouchsafed to man through the sacrifice of the Son of God, which stands ready to enter the hearts of all men who serve God with a willing mind and with a perfect heart.

The nation has done honor to itself in bearing the mortal remains of Michael Hahn, in the guardian charge of his peers of both Houses of Congress, to their last resting-place amid the cypress and myrtle of his cherished home in Louisiana. They have laid him to rest in peace in the midst of relatives, friends, and neighbors, who to him were most dear and with whom the energies of his life had been identified.

As one of the colleagues of Mr. Hahn I bear testimony to the urbanity of his manners, to his firmness of purpose, and to his unswerving devotion to the interests of his constituents. His presence here gave promise of great usefulness, and I sincerely mourn his loss.

Mr. St. Martin. Mr. Speaker, I now move the adoption of the resolutions.

The resolutions were adopted unanimously; and the House thereupon adjourned.