Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-11-04

| " LACube me, MISS ne DeghnI stopping III
| front of her, "but / want to apologize for
what said yesterday about-aboutth thecem-
etery. It must have seemed very heartless to
you, but / didn't know that you were in
mourning when l spoke as l did"
II have forgotten what you said" she an
swered. A.
al am glad you have" said Putnam,
rather fatuously. There seemed really moth
ing further to say, but as he fingered for a
moment before turning away perverse rec
Qleetion surprised him, and he laughed out
| loud,
She cast look of strong Indignation at
him, and rose to her feet
"Oh, Iask your pardon thousand times"
he exclaimed reddening violently, "Please
don't think that was laughing at any thing
to do with you. The fact is that last idiOtiC
speech of mine reminded me Of something
that happened day before yesterday. PVe
been sick, and met friend on the street
who said, Pm glad you're better;' and
| answered, Ppm glad that you're glad that
Pm better;' and then he said, I'm glad that
you're glad that Pm glad that you're better
like the House that Jack Built, you know
and 1t came over me all of q sudden that
the only way to continue our conversation
gracefully would be for you to say, sPm glad
that you're glad that I'Ye forgotten WhatyOu
said yesterday"
She had listened impatiently to this naive
and somewhat incOherent explanation, and
she now said, 81 wish you would go away.
You see that am alone here and in trouble.
l can't imagine what motive you can have
for annoying me in this way" her eyes tll-
ing with angry tears.
Putnam was too much panied by the vehe-
mence OF her language to attempt any imme-
diate reply. His first impulse was to bow
and retire without more words. But a per-
tinacity which formed one of his strongest
though perhaps least amiable traits counter
manded his impulse, and he said graVely,
"Certainly, Twill 60 ut once, but in Justice
to myself must first assure you that didn't
mean to intrude upon you or annoy you in
any way"
She sank down into her chair and averted
her face.
You say" he continued, "that. you are
in trouble, and beg you to believe that re-
spect your atilictiOn, and that when l spoke
to you just now it was simply to ask pardon
for having hurt your feelings yesterday,
without meaning to, by my light mention of
the dead. IVe been too near deaths door
myself lately to joke about it." He paused,
but she remained silent. "'m going away
now," he said softly. "'Won't you say that
you excuse me, and that you haven't any
hard feelings toward meW
60 Yes, oh yes" she answered YEARLY: 81
have no feelings. Please go away"
Putnam raised his hat respectfully, and
went off down the pathway. On reaching
the little gatehouse he sat down to rest on
bench before the door. The gatekeeper was
standing On the threshold in his shirt sleeves,
smoking pipe. ga nice day after the rain,
sir," he began.
"Yes, it is"
"Haye you any folks here, sir"
&c no P,1f T hnTn cnIOntiTnnq
for stroll"
g Yes, PVe seen you about. Well, it's
nice, quiet place for walk, but the grounds
amt KEEP up quite the shape they used to
be- there amt so much occasion for it,
Seems as though the buryin' business was
dull, like pretty much every thing else now
a-days." p"
Yes, that's so,'' replied Putnam abb
sently.
The gatekeeper spat rehectiyely upon the
center of the doorstep, and resumed:
"There's some that comes here quite regular,
but they mostly have folks here. There's
old Mrs. Lyon comes very steady, and there's
young Miss Pinckney: she's one OF the most
reg'ar."
as that the young lady in gray, with black
eyes~
"That's she."
"Who is she in mourning for?"
"Well, she amt exactly in mourning. l
guess, from what they say, she hain't got
the money for black bunnets and dresses,
poor gal But it's her brother that's buried
here-ast April. He was in the hospital
learning the doctors business when he was
took down"
"In the hospital? Was he from the South,
do you knOwW
"'Well, that 1 can't say: like enough he
was"
"Did you say that she is poOrp
$50 they was telling me at the funeral. 1t
was mighty poor funeral tOo-not more'n
a couple Of hacks. But you can't tell much
from that, with the fashions nowadays:
some of the richest folks buries private like,
You don't see no such funerals now as they
had ten years back. I'ye seen fifty kerridges
to Onst a. comm in that gate," waving his
pipe impressively toward that piece OF arch
itectrlre, "and that was when kerridge hire
was half again as high as it is now. She must
have spent a goodly sum in greenhouse
flowers, though: fresh boquets most every
day she keeps a-fetchin',"
E'Well, good-day," said Putnam, starting
"Good- day, SIR"
Putnam had himself just completed his
studies at the medical college when attacked
by fever, and he now recalled somewhat
vaguely q student of the name Of PinCkney,
and remembered to have heard that he was
q Southerner. The gatekeeper's story in
creased the interest which he was beginning |
to feel in his new acquaintance, and he re- |
solved to follow up his inauspiciOus begin
nings to better issue. He knew that great |
delicacy would be needed in making further |
approaches, and so decided to keep out Of |
her sight for time In the course Of the |
next few days he ascertained, by visits to the |
cemetery and talks with the keeper, that she |
now seldom visited her brothers grave in |
the forenoon, although during the first
month after his death she had spent all her
days and some Of her nights beside it.
Putnam read the inscription on the tomb"
stone, which ran as follows: "'TO the
Memory OF Henry Pinckney. Born October
29th, 1859. Died April 9th, 1S7-;" and
under this the text, "If thou have borne him
hence, tell me where thou hast laid him."
He noticed with a sudden twinge of pity that
the flowers on the grave, though freshly
picked every day, were wild tiOwers-most-
iy the common field varieties, with now and
then rarer blossom from wood or swamp,
and now and then garden flower. He gath
cred from this that the sisters purse was
running low, and that she spent her morn
ings in collecting flowers outside the city.
He determined that the shrine of her deYO-
tiOn should not want richer offerings. There
was hot house on the way from his home
to the cemetery, and he now stopped there
Of a morning and bought a few
roses to lay upon the mound. This contln-
ued for fortnight. One morning as he ap-
preached the little grave-lOt with his accus-
TONED offerings, he looked up and saw the
IL I. 81 TTovs /