Democratic messenger., 1889-10-26
AN AsroNlst.Ir. meMonNL.
The D-acon Died frum Eating Too Much
aud iiis widow i'ut the Meal In wax.

Tho Deacon Died fram Eating Tap Much
aud Ills widow Put the Meal In wax.
The story Of the quecreJt tribute 10
the dead on record comes from Lam.
bcrtville in HunteIxlon county. Near
that town lives Mira Elisha Pratt. wild
ow of deacon Pratt, who was famous
us farmer, a genial soul and an ar
dent Methodist. He was particularly
fond Of tickling his appetite. and was
deemed considerable OF an epicure.
Ills wife was an excellent cook. and
her dinners were rare exhibitions Of
culinary skill for a rural ncighborhood
The deacon enjoyed nothing better
than house full Of clergynicm around
table laden with tempting vituals.
And Mrs Pratt. who dotted on tho
deacon. was in her element when pre-
pairing such feast and helping ell.
tertaim tie goodly guests.
About IL year ago number OF min.
listers were on their way 10 the camp
meeting at Ocean Grove. There were
just dozen Of them. Deacon Pratt
had them all stop over night at his
farm house. aud gave them u roisiug
dinner early III theevcning. II was a
dinner modelled on the New England
plan. as Pratt came from Vermont
and SO did his wife. There was every
thing conceivable To cat. and plenty
of reasonably hard cider 10 drink.
The deacon was in the best Of humor,
and partook even moro heartily than
usual of the food. Ills wife, accus-
toned rs she was ~ her husband s
large appetite. was astonished at tho
amount he consumed. and made a
mental inventory Of the various ar.
ticlcs and the amount Of each that he
swallowed.
The next afternoon Deacon Pratt
died Of cholera morbus. The physician
said the dinner knocked him out. The
funeral was the largest the ncighbor
hood ever knew. Eight Of tile twelve
clcrgyinen present ut the dinner acted
us pail bearers and the other four Oil
ciaicd at the church and grave.
The widow was inconsolablo for a
while and talked about the tribute
she proposed having prepared in mem.
ory Of her husband. Everybody sup
posed that she was going I'd erect u
handsome monument and the makers
of tombstones sent in bids. But they
were all mistaken. Mrs. Pratt had in
view the most remarkable aud yet sug
gestivc Of memorials. She had the
work done quietly in Philadelphia.
and IL required some weeks 10 finish il.
When ii arrived ut the farm and
some oi the widows friends were in.
viled To call aud see the tribute. hey
were at first astounded and then
shocked. and finally they felt dispo-
sition 10 laugh that was controlled
with difficulty. On the table in the
parlor stood large glass case. On top
Of the ease was small arch. made of
solid silver. Surmounting the arch
was the figure in silver, Of an angel
blowing trumpet. Inside the arch
and suspended from its center was a
tablet OF white marble, on which wcre
inscribed the following words in deep.
black letters:
This Is What the Deacon Died Of"
But it was underneath the glass case
that the great surprise awaited the spec
tators. There. on plates arranged in
the order they were served. were exact
duplicates in wax. and some in glace
shape. OF the various articles Of food
the deacon had eaten at the dinner tho
evening before he died. and also ex-
act duplicates in quantity and size Of
the amounts lie consumed. There was
u large plate Of soup. big slice Of
meat, hcaping side dishes fun OF vege-
tables. three cucumbcrs, large slices
Of pie. quarter OF II watermelon. two
plates Of ice cream, II small cup Of
coffee and three goblcts Of cider. They
were perfect pieces Of work in wax, as
well rs perfect representations Of what
had passed down the dcacon's throat
at dinner. The whole thing had cost
several hundred dollars =
The ncighbots naturally ridicuT.
the tribute at first. but they all
spcctcd the widow. and when .tbl
found she was really in earncsi
grief and III her regard for t5e "a,
memorial. they restrained their mirtD
and said little about il outside. Many
Of them thought that the sudden loss
had unhingcd Mrs. Prltt's mind some.
what. This is why it is only after the
lapse Of year that the report of the
astonishing tribute has leaked out. -
Trenton Letter 10 Philadelphia TAnes