Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-09-18
A Hasty Funeral.

ls9 away DdcA III Tue IOrtleS Lhef'
resided in Orange county, N. Y.
a good old Presbyterian minis
ter, who was pastor of rura
congregation, where he hac
preached over thirty years, hay
ing officiated at the marriage ant
burial of his people to the second
and third generation. He was 1
TYPE of the old-fashioned pastor
who, forty years ago, around
which all the social and religious
life of the rural communities re.
yolved, and was the confidential
friend and adviser of nearly eve
|ry man, woman and child in the
district. ~
| Of course, one of the most la
borious duties was preaching fu-
neral sermons, and hardly a week
passed in which he was not call
ed upon to perform the last sad
rite for some member of his flock.
This duty necessitated his keep
ing horse and buggy, and his
congregation always provided
him with as fine a roadster as
could be found; and the country
which produced. Dexter and a
score Of other noted trotters was
always full of splendid horses.
AT the time we, are writing of,
he owned q splendid horse, which
was the pet Of a large family of
boys and girls. l39..ro aaa b5s
One day in the winter Of 1S4
he was called upon to attend the
funeral of one of his parishioners
who lived some miles distant
from the parsonage .In.the ear
ly part OF, the day he drove to
the house of mourning, g,and hitch
ed '.:Nedp to the fence, while, the
ceremonies proceeded within the
house. The day was one Of
those cold, clear days, in which
the blood assent dancing to the
ends of ones fingers, and which,
if a person is comfortably cloth
ed, is like wine o,the spirits; and
while waiting Ned had uneasily
stamped the ground in his ankle
ty to belbounding ovel: the stony
road. 20 tpFm39O JygH 1-3-g.
-IAtl last the sermon was over,
the final look givenlby surviving
relatives and the coffin placed I'M
the hearse. AT the head of the
procession was, of course, the
parson, who was to lead the way
to the cemetery, situated some
ten miles distant. Q By this time
Ned had become thoroughly
chilled, and when he was gently
touched by the whip as the sig-|
nal for starting, he took the bits
in his teeth and started off at a
rateiof speed which nearly took
the minister's breath away. In
vain he pulled and sawed upon
the bits, the high-spirited horse
felt his blood coursing through
his veins at a rapid rate, and
while he was usually a gentle and
mild-mannered horse when at
tending funerals, on that occa-
sion hewas evidently intoxica-
ted with the atmosphere and was
bound to shew hismettle. y
AT first the dFiverof the hearseI
thought that the parson would
soon slacken his speed, and did
not urge bis team out of. their
accustomed funeral rate of speed,
but the distance between the
hearse and the parson constantly
increased, and at last he conclu-
ded that the good minister was
thinking more of the comfort of |
the mourners, than the proprie-1
ties of the occasion and was
driving his horse fast to get out
of the cold. Undertaker-like, he |
resolved that he would have the
corpse at the grave on time, and
whipped up his horse in a vain
effort to oyeltake the parson.
This, in turn, spurred the occu-
pants of the other carriages and
they gave the reins to their hor-
ses so as not to be outrunr by a
corpse.
Looking back our good man
found to his disinay that the ex-I
ample set byNed had been follow
A L. IL 4 r. IL - II