The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-10-05

II be that peart and pious, that you
needn't be ashamed Of Il in q church 7
"rnodded approvingly, and started
on the home stretch with the comfort
able feeling OF man who has done all
he could to ameliorate an irremediable
suffering, All that day there was a
threatening aspect OF the winds and
waves, that BODIED more mischief on
that mal0volent shore. Massive heavy
clouds hung black as ink over the sharp
Jagged rock, and fierce under.tone in
tho elements, told OF o conspiracy for o
tempestuoua debauch. " 7lI- r4
I" My poor old Jack has been washed
and shayen, his last toilet rendered
with all the care that his old friend and
school. fellow could bestow upon n mel
ancholy labor Of love; few hot tears
burst from my burning eyes, and fell
upon that strange and unfamiliar face !;
and finding it became less and less re.
eognizable as ] gazed upon IL, I lowered
II reverently with my handkerchief, and
sat silent and alone with 1t and the
darkness, waiting for the old man with
the coffin. n .''.
"As the day waned and twilight
gathered, wall broke forth from the
rocks and the waves; o few belated
gulls Topped their wings heavily over
the water that began to lash furiously
the low sandy shore. Presently q few
drops fell, the precursors Of one Of
those furious storms that riot on that
desert coast. tr :.
IAN agony Of impatience seized me.
Igot upon my feet, and paced to and
fro the loose boards Of the hut
"iWas ], then, condemned 10 stay
here, powerless 10 save my poor Jack
from being the puppet Of yonder ma
lignant fiends OF the shore and the sea ?
I knew il the coffin were delayed until
the storm increased in fury, the road to
the old wrecker's home would be i'm
passable, flooded, and without
clew. Ul
"Was II, then, destined that he
should be thrown into the greedy NAV
OF the sea, after all, and his place in the
dear little church.yard at home know
him no more2 There were prayers
even then offered up for him In that
dear littleyillage in the valley, not only
by the thin and withered lips OF his
mother, but sweet and roseate ones
were trembling in his behalf that late
had clung TO his own in rapture, and
gentle young fingers would gather flow
ers for his grave and murmur benisons
there for many year. Oh, was II,
then, impossible TO give this Joy TO my
poor old Jack? ~. .la
81 started up, and with an impulse
OF desperation wrapped myself in tue
old tlrpaulin and yentured forth.
al suppose my nerves we're pretty
well unstrung, for the dead face Of my
lost comrade followed me witha gro.
tesque and horrible persistency. I
struggled against the feeling, but it
seemed to me the murly air was full OF
shapeless fends and bodiless spirits OF
devilish propinquities.
"Stumbling along, the rain beating
mercilessly down, making the rocky
path perilously smooth, I made my way
slowly in the direction OF the old wreck
er's abode. uJl .i.iU,i s iiy .h'r
"Feeling the path step by step in
this wilderness OF darkness and storm,
IL must have taken me many hours to
accomplish o mile, for I had scarcely
gone halfway when I found by my
watch IL was nearly midnight. The
same lurid gleam Of lightning that
showed me the face Of my watch gave
mo also fleet glimpse OF something
lying in the road before me, almost at
my feet 44 a5lF
"I looked, and started back in hor-
ror o peculiar sensation came 10 my
scalp felt my hair, 50 to speak, ris.
ing on an end for there, in o dehle OF
the road, half wedged in the shelter OF
q rock, was n coffin. The peculiar
shape Of IL was only dimly discernible,
and either exaggerated by this dimness
or else tho coffin was Of gigantic size.
How did II get therep Did the fends
about mo contrive this shape to deceive
my hali.delirious sensesa / looked
again, and slowly I saw tho ponderous
lid rise, q skeleton hand come forth
then an arm. At last half the form
emerged from this terrible resting
place, and, wrapped about with
winding.sheet, seemed struggling to
leave tie coffin altogether,
az seized my pistol with o trembling
hand. I cooked II. 's "
"'Don't shoot, young mani cried
the spectre, 'Ye'll spile the polish, ef
yer do. This cussed rain has cen
Almost done for IL already. It was
pious and peart n spell back, but it's
pretty well spilled now, I'm afsard.'
at was my old wrecker, carpenter,
and coflin.maker He explained to me
that he'd started on time with the
coffin, and kept up till the storm had
come upon him, and was forced to rest
awhile under the oyerhanging rock.
He thought, very properly, that no bet
ter shelter could be found than the
coffin itself; and he was right. We
might both have crept inside, and there
would still have been room for more.
'T. Why on earth did you make itiso
bigp' I said. Il don't want my poor
I" Well, where's the odds y said the
accommodating artisan. 'You didn't
seem to sparethe expense so / thought
I'd leave plenty OF elbow.room. We
can find suthin.or other for ballast, I
reckon, down below rt
"Poor Jack lies to this day in the
singular coffin thus provided for him,
and over him the arbutus blooms, and
tender yiolets, and all the dainty
flowers dear 70 young girls fancy or
an old woman's love"
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A Dog Sedatiye.