The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-04-24
THE STONE.CUTTER'S STORY.

LIE OLONE'OO LEN - oAOh4s
He was whistling over his work, careless
from long custom, of the solemn signifcanc,
of the letters he was cutting in the Whit
marble. The June's sun was nearly at tn,
end of the days, journey. sinking slowly t.
rest upon the bosom of the broad Atlantic
whose waves washed the shores of the little
seaport town of Monkton. A stranger
handsomely dressed in gray, with large, lus
trous brown eyes, came to the fence that wa!
around the yard where the stone-cuttel
worked, and read the lettering, almost com
pleted, upon the tombstone:
HIRAM GOLDBY,
Aged 35,
LOST AT SEA, JANUARY, 1866.
The last six was nearly completed. "A
strange pallor gathered for a moment upon
the strangers face, and then he drew long
deep breath and said
as not ten years long time to be cutting
letters on tombstone, friend?"
"Eh, sir?"
The stone-cutter looked, shading his eyes
with his brown hand, as he turned his face to
the setting sun as
"This is 1885, was the grave reply, "and
Hiram Colby must have been ten years un-
der the waves"
"Well, sir, that's the questions he
there?"
sis he there?" Yon stone tells us he is
and has been for ten years.
"Yas, sir; it does-so it does. And yet she
had ordered it. She came over a week or 50
back with wearied look upon her sweet
face, that have never seen anything but pa
tient in ten long years, and she said to me-
"You may cut stone, Davy," she says,
sand put it up in the churchyard, and don't
want to see it. I'll pay you whatever you
choose to ask, Davy," she says; "but he's
not dead and don't want a tombstone"
'Lor' num-" says /, "he'd turned up all
these years if he was not Dead" But she
shook her pretty head, the prettiest 1 ever
seen, sir, and she said: my heart never told
me he was dead, Davy, and I'll never be-
lieve it till my heart tells me so.'
"His sweetheart" questioned the stran-
ger.
"His wife, sir,-his loving. faithful wife,
that's had poverty, and lonliness and misery
her full share and might have bettered her.
SELF"
allow was that?'
"Mr Miles. sir, the richest ship owner
hereabouts, he waited patiently for seven
long years, trying to win her. Then he
he said she was free even if Hiram did come
back"
"Enoch Arden" muttered the stranger.
"What did you say, sir2'
Nothing, nothing. What answer did
she make Mr.. Miles?'
eff Hiram's dead, said she, "I'm his faith
full widow while | live. If Hiram's living,
I'm his faithful wife" Maybe you are
from the city, sir, and have not heard the
story of our Pearl?"
aWhat story is that?"
'Well, sir, it's been told many times, more
particularly In the last year, but you're well
come to what know of it. There, that six
is done. and I'll leave the Scripture text till
morning. If you'll come to the gateway and
take seat on some of the stones I'll tell
you, that is if you care to hear it."
al do care" was the grave reply; al want
very much to hear the story"
ssMaybe you are some kin to the Pearl
of Monkton-that's what they call Mrs.
Colby hereabouts It's matter of thirty
three years back, sir, there was wreck OF
Monkton rocks, that you can see from here,
sir, now tides low. Cruel rocks they are,
and many wreck they've seen, the more
the pity You see them, sir2'
81 see them"
"Well, sir, this one wreck, thirty-three
years ago, there was nothing washed ashore
but bit of girl-baby, three or four years
old. with skin like lily leaf, and great
black eyes. Hiram Colby found her on the
rocks. He was boy of twelve years
strong and tall, and he carried the child III
his arms to his mother. You may see the
cottage, sir, the second white one on the
side of the HILL
81 see IT,"
<"Well, Hiram took the baby there, ant
II 81 of orf a
her-a good woman, God bless her soul
the Widow Colby" I'd &
''Is she dead, them"
cave. sir. six wears agone The baby
was telling you Of sir, talked foreign ling
and was dressed in rich clothes, that mus
have cost a power of money. But neve
would Hiram the widow sell them, put
ting them up carefully in case the child wa
ever looked for. She was that pretty, sill
and that dainty, that everybody called he
Pearl. but she was not like our girls, bu
afraid, always deadly afraid of the sea.
have seen her clench her mite of hand an
strike at it, for she had a bit of a temper i
her though nothing to harm. E-
"When Hiram made his first voyage, fo
they were all seafaring men hereabouts an
there was nothing for a lad to do but shil
the Pearl was just little washed out lily
fretting until ne came home again. And
was so whenever lie went, for they wei
sweethearts from Il e first time he nestle
her baby face on his breast, when he pickle
her up from the wreck. She was sixtee
when they were married, as near as "
could guess; Hiram was man of twent.
four. She prayed him to stay home, the
and he staid year, but he frette
for the sea, and he went again, thin
ing, suppose that his wife would get use
to it. as all wives hereabout must do. b
she never did-never. 1t was just pitiab
to see her &c about white as q corpse wh'
Hiram went away, never looking at the 8
without a shudder like death chill. A
through the war it was just awful, for Hira
enlisted on board man-o'-war, and Pea
was Just shadow when he came home t
last time"
"After the war;"
eyes. sir; but he made no money of al
account, and SO he went again, after stayiI
at home long spell. Well, he never car
back. 'Twasn't any manner OF use a teiiil
-. LIT. oha,d inst shake her prpf