Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1886-05-29
AT ONE SOLDIERS GRAVE.

How warm the day was, and how
silent the way. 1 had ridden miles with
out meeting a human being Yet it was
fertile and popular northern country /
was passing through. Big, roOmy farm
houses sat upon shaded hilltops, fair
fields answered the suns warm chances
with full crops, and cool groves dotted
the landscape here and there, under
whose dropping branches the lazy kline
stood painting.
1 entered a bit of cool, damp wood,
and let my horse move at his LATEST pace.
I enjoyed the shade, but felt a sense Of
loneliness and isolation the moment L
was within it. Some woods are CHEEKY
and refreshing, however thick and i'm
penetrable. This was moist, silent and
gruesOme. The sandy road was so damp
that my horses feet made no sound, and
that added to the queer sense Of sOlem-
nifty ] felt. passed down a. long, gently
shopping hill into a still more gloomy
hollow. Under a rude little bridge a
struggling stream Of surface water slow
" meandered, with a melancholy sound,
seeking the far of sea.
The hill on the other side Of the bridge
was sleeper than the one 1 had Just de
scended. The top stretched out into
broad table land, nearly half a mile in
length toward the north, though it
shelved off west of the road about twenty
yards into a dlminutive valley. To the
right, near the road, stood a disused, d.
lapidated Quaker meeting house. When
saw it I instantly understood the inn
pressive loneliness of the wood. No
places are so full Of nysteriously sad in
Auences as those wherein men and wo-
men have dwelt or met and then aban-
doned. The lonEest mountain side is
not SO lonely as a deserted house, though
it stands in sight of CHEEKY homes. /
am half afraid of ghosts in such places
not weird and chilling shapes exactly,
but ghosts Of the hopes, Joys, sorowE
and sins which were there born and
which there died.
This rude old meeting house, unpaint.
ed, decaying and grim as a primitive law
made the gloomy wood still more desc
late. An unfrequented road crossed
another a few yards north of it; moss
grew upon its rotten roof, and wild grass
and briars clambered about its sunke1
doorstep. 1t told its mournfRl story
without the aid of words. The PLAINLY
habited, honest people who met beneath
its roOt in the past had vanished from
the earth, and their descendants were
scattered or had departed from the faitl
of their fathers and belonged to tn,
worlds people. I stopped and LOOKED
at il. held by sacred inclination.
A shriu whistle interrupted my
reverie, and scattered the ghosts 0
the silent landscape. Turning to m,
left saw a boy climbing q bit Of shak1
fence. The climbing was a sef-impOsel
task, and was evidently INDUCED IN 70
the sole purpose of adding interest t,
the occasion, whatever it was, since al
unsteady gate swung open but a few fee
farther on. He wore an enormous stray
hat, gayly decorated with grasses ant
roses, and carried in one hand a BIZ
basket, heaping full Of flowers, old tim
roses, May pinks, hlacs, blue bells, snow
balls, peonies and hOneysuckles. III
other hand waved a brilliant half-grOWl
flag, and ON the end OF the basket yer.
small flag had been clumisly sewn.
Altogether, this bright-eyed infan
had a festal appearance IN strong con
trast to the gloom and silence of the scene
He whistled a bar from the ''Star
Spangled Banner" emphasizing 1t By
waving the flag energetically. He seat
ed himself on the top rail OF the fenc
and eyed me with some interest, thougI
pretending not to see me. His bare
brown feet beat time to the measure G
the tune. He struck up, In ashill treble
am patriot true, sir;
Yes, i am; yes, ami
a patriot nfm and true alf5
Yes. ans yes i ami
81 don't doubt it in the least, SAID
attempting to be sociable; 'indeed, yo'
look it every inch"
A grimace was his only answer. STU
it was a friendly grimace. His dignit..
would not permit him to make any &C
quaintances too easily. I must make al
the advances.
''Going to picnic, are you notT'
asked, believing that the best way {
open a conversation with him would b
70 take some interest In his affair
though detest that method as apple
70 myself
"No-a strew," he answered
"a What2'
"a strew," hs replied, with a httl
annoyance IN his voice, ''a decoratio
day stroW. Don't you mow that this
the day to decorate soidiarl' graves-th
5Oh Of Maya
~ had fo~nrtf~-s h 50 I .surrrerod hum