Mohave County miner., 1888-11-24
MY FRIEND SPARKLING.
A. Troubled Conscience and
Haunting Presence.

lam manufacturer of and dealer In grave
stones and monuments. There are three men
who habitually associate death with busL
ness-the doetor, the undertaken and the
tombstone maker. have the finer feelings
and sentiments Of the average man, yet my
occupation has led me 10 regard the great
and solemn change chiefly from business
point Of view. That men should die has
seemed to me as matter Of course, and as
q necessary means for the support Of my.
self and family. Still, death may produce
q great shock In me, 3s was the case with
that Of my friend Spariing.
We had been friends from boyhood. He
lived near me; my way 10 and from bust
mess led past his house. i met him almost
daily. Mutual assistance over some OF the
hard places OF life, a similarity Of tastes,
and frequent Interchange OF thought and
opinion had endeared each Of us to the
other.
For week had been busy with prepare
tions for o long business tour IL was 10
last three months. The day before my de-
parture ! had met Sparlipg and had said 20
him: 81 am going on another tour. Lest
we should not meet tomorrow, Let us say
goodbye now" We separated with a
hearty hand-shake and the friendliest Of
farewells
Twas to take the evening train Of the
next day. NV ticket for New Orleans was
In my pocket, my trunk packed, the
parting with those at home was oyer, and
the hack was taking me TO the station. The
afternoon paper was in my hand; 1 opened
1t and the following paragraph caught my
eye:
"BUDDEs DEArH-As we 70 20 press the
painful news reaches US OF the death Of our
esteemed citizen. Ezra Srarlipg. which oe.
cured at his residence about three O'Clock
this afternoon. The occurrence will be as
startling az painful 20 his host OF friends
and acauaintances, as tie deceased has ap-
parently been in the best OF health. The cause
was probably heart disease, Particulars are
necessarily deferred till our next issue"
The paper dropped from my hand; the
shock made me faint for q moment. Spar
ling dead could not comprehend IT, w..
The hack had just turned into the street
on which was his house. looked at my
watch; there was not one moment to spare.
Shall I tell the truth, that this certainly
gave me great relief, just theni /, OF all
men, should be with the afflicted family in
that dark hour; and here was an excellent
excuse for the non-performance OF the sad
duty. shrank, as all do, from the dis
agreeable task.
The hack W ent swiftly TO the house; the
driver knew he had no time 10 lose. saw
In the twilight that the blinds were closed;
two or three neighbors were on the front
steps. had glimpse OF woman doing
something at the door. Putting Grape On
the knob" said TO myss II, and the scene
disappeared like some fie eting picture con.
tured up by the memory. ....
80 my journey was commenced with o
heavy heart. / looked about anxi0usly for
somebody at the station who could tell me
something more aboat my friends death.
Nobody could. The two or three with whom
I was able TO exchange few words shout
Il before the express came and went knew
what did and no more. They had seen the
brief newspaper announcement, and that
was all .. ....-.. ' /
I lay awake two hours that night after my
berth In the sleeper was made up, thinking
Of poor Sparling, Of his bereaved family,
and what ought to do In the premises. II
was an unusual occasion with me; nobody,
not even relative, had ever departed and
left the gap in my life that this man would
leave. Naturally, began TO condemn my.
| self for Fastening away as had done, after
learning of Ezra's death. To be sure, my
plans were all previously made, and tho
three days delay that would be necessary
| In Offering my consultations to the family
and attending the funeral would be incon-
venient. That was all, merely little de-
rangement Of my plans, not even involving
any business loss. ! became angry and
dissatisfied with myself as these reflections
proceeded, and tried TO excuse my conduct
By the plea that the news had come upon
me 80 suddenly that had no time for the
calm reflection necessary TO change OF
plan. Ny conscience was stern monitor,
and would not excuse me 30 easily. He
would never have acted thus toward you, !"
was its comment upon my apologies.
tossed about uneasily; proposed in my
mind that would get of at Cleveland and
return home; resolved the next mo-
ment that ] would do nothing OF the
kind, but would send long tel.
egram to the widow, explaining the
necessity Of my absence and rendering my
sympathy; decided next THAT this would be
an absurd thing TO do-and a: last fell 70
sleep with nothing settled. When awoke
was three hundred miles from home. and
Cleveland was an hour behind me- tried