REV. TALBOTT'S UNDELIVERED EULOGY FOR COLONEL CURRAN POPE, NOVEMBER 7, 1862

COL. CURRAN POPE --  The Rev. J. J. Talbott was prevented from preaching the sermon at the funeral of Colonel Pope this morning, as he was suffering from the effects of a dental operation.  At the request of the deceased's friends, the Reverend gentleman has given us the following extract from his prepared address, which is a just tribute to the departed Christian gentleman:

In justice to such a man as he who lies here in his coffin, there is but one standpoint from which his character can be viewed.  It is that of an exalted Christianity.  There is one verse in the scriptures which with remarkable aptness describes him.  "He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith."  This is the epitome of his character.  He was a child of God, pure, holy, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith.  It is in the light of this noblest, highest life, that he stands to our memory.  To think of him simply as the titled soldier, now that his warfare is ended, is cruel to our own hearts and untrue to him.  Though he was all that his rank demanded for honor and usefulness; though he was spotless as the snow in integrity; though unsullied was his honor; though the true knightly instinct of a soldier, proud of his cause and fearless of his foes, animated every action of his martial life; though the noble nature of the man elevated and exalted the position he held; though as a soldier he was the "noblest Roman of them all;" though as a citizen he has left a place never again to be filled; though as a friend he was all that Friendship, in the most jealous requirement could desire; he was more than all this -- he was that which combines them all, he was a Christian in the fullest degree!

Therefore let the soldier sleep!  Forgetful that he was a soldier, remember it is the ashes of a Christian we bury today.  All of the martial glory is gone -- it is in the past.  We are proud to remember how nobly he bore himself when the storms of battle swept upon him!  We rejoice to think how calmly the Christian stood when the iron hail covered the ground with the dead -- not in the wild excitement of strife -- not by the fearful impulse which in very madness moves the heart when every passion is strong and in action -- not when the soul is blinded to fury and insensible to the horrors and fear of death -- not by these was his manhood supported, but by the calm but powerful sense of duty, by the opinion to which his whole nature was committed, that the cause which unsheathed his sword was the cause of righteousness and truth, and, above all, by a high calm trust in God, whose assurance was that the Omnipotent arm was over him, and the All-Seeing eye upon him, and that in that holy guidance it was his duty and pleasure to walk though all the artillery of war disputed the way.  This it was which made him calm when all others were excited to frenzy.

This was one peculiarity of his character.  He felt that he was in Jesus Christ a child of God, and he felt that the Father would guide him by a way which the eagles have not known and bring him home at last.  His first inquiry in everything was the will of God -- not the sentence of his own unaided judgment -- not the wish of his own heart, but the indications of Providence.  This was his first search, and when once he discovered what was his duty, he asked no further counsel.  If it was easy and pleasant he thanked God for his goodness, if it were dangerous and onerous he remembered that where the Almighty directed the child must walk, fearless and faithful.  The apparent and real emotion was that he was God's, to be used to his glory -- to live to be useful -- to die to be blessed!  He had given himself to God to do his will, and his faith was that to die was only to be transferred to a more exalted place, to do higher and nobler duty than he could do on earth.

Following this beautiful and peace-giving characteristic was at once its offspring and its cause.  He was "full of faith" in the result of every enterprise which he attempted.  But persuade him that he was in the line of duty, and with a cheerful heart he went on and left the consequence to God; and if in the end his own expectation was disappointed, he could still see the sign of some wise but hidden purpose in the apparent failure.  Like a child in the darkness lured by the father's voice calling through the gloom, so trusting, he entered every avenue where the foot-prints of this providence could be seen before, and, though he could not penetrate the purpose or design, if he could but hear that voice it was enough -- he calmly surrendered all to the Omniscient, and found peace in believing!

In the abundance of his heart his Christian charity found room for every one of the children of God.  I never knew one who more fully knew what was the commission of the Saints of God than he.  He seemed to recognize at once an attracting influence in the breast of other Christians, and as true as the needle to the pole, the life in God within him turned to its kindred in another's breast.

It has been my good fortune to know with some degree of intimacy many noble and exalted children of God, but I never knew one who more fully and entirely came up to the divine standard than he!  There was nothing of vacillation in it, nothing spasmodic about it; it was part of his being, and as regular and reliable as the flow of life, and it stood that test which has shown the sanded foundations of so many beautiful fabrics of character.  In the army as at home it was still the even and unbroken consecration of the entire man to the service of God.  Amid the confusion of life in the camp, with the responsibility of the Commandant resting upon him, he still found time and opportunity for the performance of those unseen, private duties which his high profession made obligatory upon him.  There was one thing which, to him, was indispensable.  It was his Bible.  No matter what, in the shortness of transportation, must be left behind, as certain as the coming of the Colonel was the presence of his New Testament and Psalms; and I do not believe he ever laid down to his sleep, whether in the comparative comfort of his tent or in the open air, without first reading from God's holy Word and committing his soul to His holy care.

Never was the rude table spread, with a feast which, for barrenness, was entirely unlike the custom of his life at home, but before it was tasted the Divine blessing was invoked and a grateful thanksgiving returned.  Often on his knees he would appeal the Throne of Grace on behalf of the sick, the dying, and the desolate, and through the length and breadth of the army he was known as the regimental commander who retained and practiced the religion which he professed at home!  In short, though he was high in the confidence of men at home and high in the office and influence of the Church in peace, he was honored and esteemed for his religion far more, if possible, among the men of the army; and to him was given the high distinction of refusing the idea, fast gaining ground in the army, that the profession of arms is incompatible with the profession of Christ, and the soldier and Christian necessarily apart.  It was his to show how beautiful is the true Christian, wears the garb and bears the sword of war, and how the soldier of the cause is the noblest hero!

But as a soldier he is gone and lives only in the record of his deeds and in our memory.  But as the Christian, gone to his God, we feel that he is but entered into life.  His existence is but began, for this Christian life reaches far beyond the grave and overleaps the dark valley which he has crossed.  The solider is dead and his life is ended.  The Christian has merely entered into life.  We have tears and a wreath for the brown of the one, we have none for the other, but God has a crown for the Christian at home, and it is one his ransomed brow today and it will never wither.  If those pale lips could speak from the silence which enshrouds them, they would utter first these words of God: "Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh."  Amen.

Louisville Journal, November 7, 1862