The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1877-10-20
SELECTED MATTER.
THAT BURIAL LOT.
The Story Mark Twain Heard on a New
Haven Steamer.

All the journyings l had ever done
had been purely in the way of business.
The pleasant May weather suggested
novelty, namely trip for pure recrea-
ton, the bread and-butter element left
out. The Reverend said he would go,
too-a good man, one ofthe best of men,
although clergyman. By II at night
were in New Haven and on board the
New York boat. We bought our tickets,
and then went wandering around, here
and there, in the solid comfort of being
free and idle, and ofputting distance be-
tween ourselves and the mails and tele-
graphs.
After while went to my state room
\ undresSed but the night was too
enticing for bed. We were moving
down the bay now, and it was pleasant
to stand at She window and take the cool
night breeze and watch the gliding light
on shore. Presently two elderly men
sat down under that window and began
a conversation. Their talk was proper
ly no business of mine, yet was feeling
friendly towards the world and willing
to be entertained. l soon gathered that
they were brothers, that they were from
a small Connecticut village, and that
the matter in hand concerned the Ceme-
terry. Said one:
"Now, John, we talked it all over
among ourselves, and this is what we've
done. You see, everybody was NOV
in from the old buryin' ground, and
our folks was most about left to them
selves, as youmay say. Theywas crowd
ed, too, as you know; lot WANT big
enough in the first place and last year,
when Seth's wife died, we couldn'
hardly tuck her in. She sort O. over
land Deacon Shorb's lot, and he soured
on her, so to speak, and on the rest of
us, too. So we talked it over, and l
was for layout in thenew simitery on
the hill. They WANT unwilling, if it
was cheap. Well, the two best and big
gest plots was No. 8 and No. o-both
of size nice comfortable room for
twenty-six-twenty-six full-growns, that
is; but you reckon in children and 9TH
er shorts, and strike an average, and l
should say you might lay in thirty, or
maybe thirty-two or three, pretty gen.
teel-no crowdin' to signify"
"That's plenty, William. Which
one did you buy? p
"Well, I'm a-coming to that, John.
You see, No. 8 was S13, No. 9 SIG
81 see. So's't you took No. g."
''You wait. took No. 9. And I'll
tell you for why. In the first place,
Deacon Shorb wanted it. Well, after
the way he'd gone on about Seth's wife
overlappin' his premises, I'd "a beat
him out of that No. 9 if I'd "a had to
stand two dollars extra, let alone one
That's the way l felt about it. Says l,
what's dollar, any way? Life's on'y a
pilgrimage, says l we amt here for
good, and We can't take it with us, says
l. So just dumped it down KNOWN
the Lord don't suffer good deed to go
for nothin', calkalatin' to take it out O.
somebody in the course O. trade. Then
there was another reason, John. No.
o's long way the handiest lot in the
simitery, and the likeliest for situation.
1t lays right on top of a knoll in the
dead centre of the buryin' ground and
you can see Millport from there and
Tracy's and Hopper Mount, and a raft
O. farms, and SO on. There amt no
better outlook from buryin' plot in the
State. ST Higgins says so, and Ireckon
he ought to know. Well, and that ain t
all, Course Shorb had to take No. s
lines on to No, 9, but it's on the slope
of the hill, and every time it rains it'll
soak right down on the Shorbs. ST Hig
gins says t when the deacon's time
comes, he better take out fire and ma
rine insurance both on his remains"
Here there was the sound of low,
placid duplicate chuckle of appreciation
and satisfaction.
"Now, John, dere's little rough
draft of the ground, that I've made on
piece of paper. Up here in the left
hand corner we've punched the depart
ed, took them from the old graveyard
and slowed them one along side O.
t'other, on frst-come- first served plan,
no partialities, with gran'ther Jones for