New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-15

| OK the most imposing soiemnlty. lho Wnoio
retinue was at last unfurled upon the
! smooth roadway, along which 1T crawled
with something of the Same serpentine
stealthiness as that of the almost parallel creek
sombre rivalry seemed evident, now, between the
two differing streams. This blank tract of repul
sive lan so strangely dedicated to DEATH had lost
| every hint of Lethcan likeness. The arrival Of the
| funeral had wrought striking change. Here We
| had the modern mode of dealing with death. 1t
seemed to mako paganism wither and vanish. An
! old, haf-rotten barge, mOored in slushy
| cove, might have served for an emblem of
! the decay and contempt now fallen upon antique
| legend. Was this the melancholy boat that once
ferrled the ghosts to Hadesf All F! but IL so, the
oars were lost the planks leaked wofully and the
| grim pilot bad gone permanently away into the
| great shadowland of all the dead gods! Claire
looked toward the coming funeral. and shuddered
in silence. There seemed so unholy contrast be-
| tween her own fresh. vital maidenhood and this
| CHASTITY morbid domain. How had her healthful
young spirit ever courted DEATH that it should thus
force upon her its continual grisly fellowship She
placed both elbows on the rough balustrade of the
| bridge, leaned her fair grlish chin against both
hands. and stared straight before her across the
| bleak heath. Not far off several venturesome swine
| were waddling; they were near enough for their
absurd grunts now and then to reach her, and for
her to see the pink flush Of their cumbrous bodies
between the coarse soled hair. and the earthward
thrust of their long, gray. cylindrical noses But
moment later a sudden flock Of pigeons lighted just
at the foot of the bridge, attle loamy Hat. The
sight gave her thrill of pleasure 1t was so odd to
get any hit of beauty here, and each bird was q
true bit of beauty, with it's flexible rised neck IS
rounded sickness and its rosy feet Presently the
| flock began their rich peculiar coo, aud the sound
fascinated Claire as much their shapes had done.
| She quite forgot the advancing funeral here was
color grace aud sort of music In had fallen to her,
| as zht be said from tho skies. In dumb. I'M
| formulated way sho wished that more OF all
three charms would so fall to her. 1t was
| such wretched doom to dwell in this abominabe
suburb All her youth was being wasted here
| She was already getting rather old. She was
already nearly twenty-tour months OF her TWEEN
tieth year had gone-and she had been accustomed
| to think people quite old when they were twenty.
Would it last years longerf All, to fly as those
lovely birds could Why had they come hither. OF
all places in the worldi II she greenland
purple thing with strong wings like any of them,
she would soar away to tho window Of some rich
ady's house on Fifth avenue. and be taken inside
some handsome chamber. perhaps. and fed and
petted-yes even put into cage. IL the lady chose.
A cage there would be better than ones full free
dom here, where the dead were always going to
their graves.
From reverie which may or may not have re-
sembled this il il had been made into actual Ian
guage the sudden spontaneous flight of the whole
charming flock reused poor, ruminative Claire.
She now perceived that the funeral
train had drawn much nearer. sort
OF metallic resonance sounded from the many
horse-hooyes on the hard surface of the road But
another sound at this point turned her attention
aio vbar.
and its utterances wers delivered only short dis
lance from her side She discovered that old
man had Joined her on the bridge during her alb
sorbed preoccupation with tho pigeons. He was q
very old man he eant on a staf and was clad In
an evident holiday attire OF black whose rusty
broadcloth hung about his shrunken shape with
tetals oossness ID had too evidently been cut for
a far more portly person. He had wrinkled face,
and yet one of ruhicund plumpnessj spot OF red
flushed each check. cenreng In ahttle crimson net
work OF veins there. while the same popularity
cropped ont third time as it were, on the tal-like
lump at the end of his irregular Claire had
feeling as she looked at him, that no was reformed
topper Everything about HIM told of present So
briefly, but no was like colored lantern with
out the iluminative candle you had a latent GER
tainty as you regarded him. that only few glasses
Of sufficiently bad liquor needed to warm up
those three red spots into their old aurora splendor
While speaking. he put forth brown hand that
trembcd a good deal. The tremor came, no doubt
from scnis feebleness and the hand was so gnared
and knotty that it might almost havo been one OF
those rough excrescences which sometimes bulge
from tree trunks, instead of the sad rheumatic me-
Der that Ii really was. The newcomer spoke with
an extremely strong Irish accent. and in hollow,
husky voice that implied on first hearing H. kind
of sfn and subterranoan origin
| haro IA n ami
TO the funeral, maam. Shure | made tn ould
woman dresh me up in NEE besht clothes thish day.
ma,am. 80 | did Fur it's Mshter Bairned Nc
Cafferty that's to be buried thish day, seq, maam.
,ez 10 th ould woman SEE, an SEE |, ever since
baird no wasn't expected, | sez, It's his wake l
vants TO be- gon' 20. An IL wus too ould, l sez.
| TO crossh over an pay NEE respechts when they
walked him In the city, seq l. it'll DO meeself. SEE
thatll shtand hero an watch 'em parade Inn to
Calvary. maam, SEE l."
, | Claire had pity for the old man, at first Bu
before his speech ended he had reused In her re-
pulsion. He appeared quietly hilarious; he mac
produced several distinct chuckes and his watery
peering eyes, which one OF his misshapen hand
: soon shaded. revealed an actually gay twinkle.
~ don't 500 why you wanted to come out ant
, witch the person 20 to his grave" said CLAIRE
"What pleasure can that possibly gave your
pleasure ma'am, is it, ma'amT was tn
startled response. "Why, shure ma'am
it's the foinest funeral that's been seen in these
parts. ma'am, fur many a. day! An It's NEE own
son. Larry, that's drivin' tho hairse. yell under
stand. ma'am an It's proud day for Larry so It Is
Excuse me, ma'am. but do ye take sight o tn
p harse yet n
ooh. yes; very WE'LL" said Claire. " 1t Is mad
Z of white painted wood. and 1t has number o
wooden ornaments along its top that are glded an'
look like large cabbagcs" She gave little burs
of weary laughter as she finished the last
o sentence, whose irony was quite lost on her dim
o 81 .hted companion. "And ITS sides are glass" sh
It o. Ituued land you can see the large CONN w'tn,'
or;to mainly. and there are four horses with whit
| l. II.