The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-09-19

There could have been no end to John
Brougham's gay and careless lfo 80 utterly ont OF
keeping with IL as his death In penury and distress.
few hours bcOrs llc died his chambers were actii-
ally destitute of tho Iccssaiies Of life. HIS small
quarterly allowance had been used up, ana there was
no money left Ia ly him the few cheap solaces Of his
anguish 10 whlc, lc had almost right When MI
Florence called to see him he found HIN almost nsc,-
sibc, In need, among other things OF night slrt.
The nalady of which he died was very painful one,
and lie had ~ long wrihed and suffered on ms I'M
coortabe bed that his bones nssh ana ms leS was
by the peOus spectacle that he went out and hohEh
him water mattress Oh which to die ~ comparative
ease Those who closed The eyes AMI Strengthened the
starved corpse OF this brilliant VII ana once pros
porous playwright were Laura l'lIills ami Anne
b,land-two ladies who ha'i at various times s,is-
tanned relations Of less delicacy To him-Mr.
Frank &. Bangs, the tragedinn, and James snip,
Brougham's faithful friend and companion. snip
had been associated with Broughan In various capacl-
ties for several years, AMI attended MN III MS last
moments with diSint,rcsted affection that IN these
hard unfceling days II rarely met win. When poor
Brougllam was dead a committee of the Lotos Club,
of which he was the founder, called at his residence
to take charge Of his body. But their well meant
Into the hands of some Of the dead mana sen pro
fessed ''frlcndsn How t"ndefly they discharged
their melancholy functions may ho Inferred from the
fact that poor BrOugham was hustled Into "A coffin IA
cheap aud shabby that ont al sheer shame The under
taker kept n covered with pall during the service.
His most prominent cogT.r,s Kept away, ana me
only Of one who, In his way, wbsa remark
able genius and In all ways generous, warm hearted
and almost prodgal, We're The two women who had
shared his affections and the faithful and devoted
man who, nuinnally his servant, had hccn actually
| his iruest friend.
| There was little ceremony about the funeral Of
John BTougham that the simple Formally OF gloves
and mourning scarfs for the pall-beaIeIs had boe
forgotten. Edwin Tooth and Mr.. Bangs at once seni
out Of the church To purchase them, and Ia iheiI
quick action alone was the ceremonial deoo'u OF me
affair 10 be attributed. When tho coregc got 10 th'
| grave side "A hideuus mistake was discovered. lht
grave digger had made suiiitlcht an excavation
| that the CONN could not bs lowered Into n without
being turned sideways. With audible curses they BEL
to work Ia correct their error and began to dig th'
grave again. Their second effort uncovered lh'
| remains of Mrs. BrUugham. lhc pine box whcl
wears ago had inclosed her colin, was clIipred Il
pieces and the mattocks al the Eiafr-uiescr a h''
penetrated the Secr,sy of her cefe-clolS liy and by
| while the few true and fearful mouIntis oI JON
Broigbam looked on IN shocked SILENCE, the Icnlaki.
Of his last bed finished and tho conn winch con
tanned INN was once more Iail'heh mo MS grave
Surely that would have been last episode slcientl!
horrible to point the moral Of any preacher dat ib
against The gildd and spurious Naiies OF tc Stage
That the who had written - POcahohtas an'
| whose bright intellectual glow had lIradiated tn
most brilliant society Of his age should lie khostlo'
with Indifference Into an unmeahuied and ill-nttnl
| grave, merely hecause lac dled poor, was, HeayCi
Knows, terribly eloquent accusation al ms art Bn
there has haplsnod even worse. 1hb poor on man
whose last breath almost was protest that ms la,
MAY never 10 ho uIsedJ would lbs his eatest ha,
little To bequcaih but his copy rights his love, and AL
scanty personal effects. II was a series of legace
| tb,t nobody Gus would thiuk, would care la dispute
Hut tla women Who, Ia iicir avn mlhiutunch, clnj
WHO hal claim upon ihe remembrance OF JOIN
Broughan has, In Ills simple paihetlc way, given VI
ma lille even 10 the walking cane that his dead ioh'
and master ieft him aud the women At variance 70
II would take hard heart to feheneny feproNe theu
mi worse even than the burial of John Brougham
lie sordid dispute Ia which his slim effects at TN
moment, being disslpaled,-F' J. HOUR