Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-10-08
THE CURATE's LOVE.


It was beautiful young American
girl, Lettice Lee by name, who. sojourn
ing among her English friends fol
awhile. crossed their fair garden, brighr
with the tender greens of spring and al
abloom with hawthorn, and, tempted by
the shadows of the lane beyond. strolled
slowly down it, until, coming to an ole
church set about with trees and flanked
by an ancient graveyard, she entered
there and wandered among the mossy
stones, reading their quaint inscriptions
and thinking such thoughts as youth
and beauty do of graves and death
thinking pityingly and with a certain
sad tenderness, but not as of anything
with which she had to do, or ever
would.
The willows were very old. The shade
was very deep. The gray church flung
its own dark shadows on the spot. The
ivy of centuries draped its walls.
1t was so different from anything the
girl-who had come from the land where
all the fine buildings have brand new
look, and even the ivy that is trained
against church walls speaks of geo.
metrically- y-minded gardener-had seen,
that it fascinated her. She was roman
tic and puerIcar; ana II IS very uaru TO
be romantic in America.
She leaned against great tree, and
looked down upon the gray gravestones.
Most of them were so old that no one
lived to deck them any more And yet
the ages written on them were often less
than her own was that day. One at her
very feet bore this inscription:
Here lieth Lucy-Aged Sixteen.
A tear came into the girls eyes as she
read it. Perhaps more would have fol-
lowed, but at that moment voice close
beside her broke the silence.
''You are looking at the graves, my
dear. These are only humble stones. In
side the church there are some very fine
tombs. If you would like to see them
can tell you all that is known of them. |
have been curate of Amberly for thirty
years."
The girl turned toward the speaker.
Thirty yearsl That was nearly twice
her life. A very old man this must be
to speak of thirty years as a mere portion
of his.
She looked up in his face and answered
back the kind smile that shone upon it,
and felt a thrill of wonder at the sweet
ness in the eyes and on the lip; for in
her short experience old men were gen
orally either harsh or testy, or at least
cold or unsympathizing.
She had no father, or grandfather, or
any aged relatives. A little woman,
something Of an heiress, and very beau
tiful, she had always been petted by her
friends, and lad never been unhappy
but of strong home ties that endear even
the old and the ugly, she knew nothing.
An old gentleman was some one who did
not like noise and was rather averse to
music, whom it was not unpleasant to
see 60 out of the room, and who gener-
ally paid the bills for somebody.
She gave the curate another smile,
and said: "Yes, she would like much to
see the church and the tombs. Her
name was Lettice Lee, and she was visit
ing Mrs. Holden, at the mansion yonder,
and she was just from America for the
first time. Perhaps he knew" and the
curate signified that he did know, and
that Mrs. Holden was his dear old
friend, and they went into the church
together.
There are old faces that are more beau
tiful than any young ones can be. Not
many, it is true; for the evil passions Of
our race anger, and greed, and malice
and jealousy-are strong within toe
many breasts, and mark themselves out.
wardly upon the features, through the
long, slow years Of along life, too deep
". Griefs also line themself upon thu
brow, and hollow out the cheek
and dim the eyes, but now and
then some one, alike strong anc
sweet, putting by the sin and bearing thu
sorrow patiently, comes to the autumn
of existence with such countenance as
it seems to me, God meant that an olt
man should have The curate of Am
berly had done this.
The old bachelor curate had no remin
iscences TO znake of youth sweet, n,
memory of young head piIlowed on hi
breast, or fond hands that had claspet
his.
Somehow he thought of this as h
ushered the young girl into the ols
church. she was so fair, and deIicat
md sweet her movements were so gen
tlel A daughter like this nova -