, 1891-03-13

Uno-nny DsIusion of a Curious ChArac-
ter Who Follows the Hearse.

Unc-nny DsIusIon of a Curious Charae-
ter Who Follows the Hearse.
a funeral procession wound its gloomy
way down Mission street. The car
riaCns rolled heavily over the pave
meHt.
The hearse was a white one, and the
little coffin inside was covered with
flowers.
An old man passing along stopped
and raised his hat as the hearse passed
him. and a grouPof noisy street gamins
stopped their play a moment. As the
last carriage turned the corner a strange
figure shumLled into sighr-a wend
figure that seemed to loom Suddenly
out Of the mist like aspecter-the figure
Of a tall old nan running.
He was running as fast as lie could,
with a sort Of hating limp that brought
him every minute nearer tie last car
r.ase. lie stumbled painfully over a
tone in the street, but he never paused.
lie limped breathleasly On. his wild
eyes glowing with an eager light. He
WIS a thin, gaunt old man with a bag
sd face and jaws hat moved horri-
lly
Just rs the prucc 5iuu stopped at the
cIG-an thu strange figure stumbled for
ward.
N!..l the little coffin vas lifted ten
derry from the white hearsa the figure
pushed crEarIy ~ to The steps. The
~plliso-Fgrs waIs.yI caraa:.y up the
-5tirs 70 tho door
On tie topa4ort step sta,l the tall
Iaan. lie was still. lis lean aru was
STRETCHED ont ia ii stately -eiiIrc. His
Wild eyes we're aligi,t with IA fanatics
enthusiasm.
wilson the coffin pass d him nc waved
Ii- st.,, with q kius!y dignity He
muttprel something to himself. y po-
liccrulu took hiII 10y the arm.
Move on. " he alil
Tho tall man started suddenly. The
light faded from his face. He limped
silently a%ny. \ little child standing
near the steps clutcIed her mother.
oh" sll said, terrified. there is
tho fuleral iaan.
The funeral man - a well known
character. An the nndcrtai.crs know
linn All tho sections know him, but
no one knows where he lives,
Some horrid Intuition seems to tell
him where the unhurisl dead are ly-
ing lie haunts the afflicted neighbor-
hood until the funeral procession for.ns.
Then he burrieS behind the carriages
and always manages to reach the church
in time to meet the coffin as it is borne
to the church. Sometimes IL cortege
starts without his haunting shape, but
he always starts into sight somewhere
and hurries, limping, after the last car.
ringe.
lie is very tall and very thin. His
gaunt figure is incased in n tight fitting
frock coat, which is shiny and thread
bare, but s%crupulously neat. Ills head
is covered by Il gray cap and he carries
in his hand a long stick. He never
speaks to any n nor does he reply
when one addresses him.
No one ever sees him except al a
funeral. He seems to think it his mis-
sion to mutter his mysterious words
v the bodies of the dead. Whether
they be curses or blessings no one can
guess. There is scarcely a church in
LAG IAbg upOA NAOoG bbtDS III HAS NOT
stood and waved his gaunt arm in mys-
terious greeting to a silent figure in the
coffin.
The drivers of the hearses know
him, and look back expectantly at the
sound of his stumbling limp.
The little children Of the poor, who
wander aimlessly in the wake of any
procession, know him, and shrink away
frightened at his approach. Yet he has
never harmed them. He sees nothing
but the nodding of the mourning
plumes. He listens only to the rumble
of the heavy wheels of n hearse.
No n knows his name or how he
lives. He is simply the Funeral Man"
To what strange happening he owes
this ghoulish fancy who can say2-San
Francisco Examiner.