The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-09
A HUMBLE GENTLEMAN.
He Was a Useful Member OF g
Proud Family.

He Was a Useful Member OF q
Proud Family.
One pleasant summer afternoon q
sleek, lazy horse, drawing a covered
carriage. entered a fashionable city
cemetery. Two aged sisters, the
widows of John and James Maupant,
sat upon the back seat The front seat
was occupied by the driver. Thomas
Hanlon, trusted and beloved attend
ant. whose services and society con-
, tributed more to the happiness of the
old ladies than they realized
Happily the widows Maupant and
| the indolent horse were in harmony as
to what should be his rate of travelling
along the short, winding avenue of the
| Enclosure That he should walk was
/ the desire of the three. The widows
| had come to observe the many tomb
stones and stately monuments; to re-
call memories Of the dead; and they did
| not wish to be hurried. Time was of
no value to them, and they were lavish
in its use. They sought to prolorg
| their stay. for to visit the cemetery was
the chief pleasure of their now monot-
onous lives. Every Sunday when the
| weather was favorable they came in
the covered carriage, the faithful Han
lon driving and the slothful horse
walking with an air of contentment
and Indifference During six days the
| widows did little more than to exist.
and their eyes were dull and devoid of
expression, they being like most very
old people who are not strongly intel
lectual But on the seventh day,
when they visited the cemetery, they
banished their customary apathy.
Their eyes were alert and sparkled;
their movements were quick as they
raised their hands to point out inter
esting objects; they INDUCED in much
animated conversation.
All of their intimate friends had
passed away, and their remains lay in
the graves which the widows looked
upon SO often. The city OF the dead,
although silent, by the magic touch of
its memories could awaken an interest
in the minds of the old ladies which
they never felt near by in the busting
city of the living, where they passed
the greater part of their time. The
aged sisters already belonged to the
past, although their souls fingered in
their frail and shrunl1en bodies. Not
paradoxical is it, then, to say that
there was the most of life for them
where there was the most of death.
During the drive the widows Mau-
pant were unusually talkative. There
was scarcely grave lot to which they
did not make some reference as they
passed it. Not few of the monu-
ments recalled interesting histories of
families with whose members they had
been well acquainted in their girlhood
or in their middle life. The sisters
were thorough aristocrats. They took
they belonged to one of the old and Sc
lect families of the city, and that they
had never been intimate with any ex-
cept the leading people of the place.
There were many others to whom they
had spoken graciously whenever they
had met them, but they had never al
lowed themselves to be familiar with
the multitude.
Their aristocratic feelings were con-
stantly betrayed in their conversation
with each other and with Thomas Han
Ion, for he, being the kind and trusted
servant upon whom they in the weak
ness of old age relied for care and adj
vice, was the only humble person who
had ever been their confdant To him
they unbosoned themselves freely, and
he was worthy of their trust. He had
been with them for about ten years,
ever since they had needed some one on
whom to lean.
HanIon was one of those interesting
persons, called common by the lndis-
who, on account of their
common sense, great
kindness of heart, their readiness in
aid to others at the most OPP
perfume times, and their unfailing good
nature, attract us as many people So
cially and intellectually superior to
them cannot. He was uneducated and
unambitious; and not being engrossed
with IDEAS and great schemes had the
time and inclination to do much for the
welfare of his friends. He belonged to
the very valuable and sensible class
whose intellects are fortunately inca.
pable of entertaining theories of any
kind, SO that their lives may abound in
good works resulting simply from the
action of sympathetic hearts and help
full hands.
AS the party drove through the Gem
etery Hanlon acted the part of hum
BILE gentleman to perfection. He lis
tened patiently to the garrulous coSa-
ments of the old ladies, repetitions of |
which he had heard hundred times, and |
at the right times made brief remarks
and answered questions in just the way |
be knew the sisters wished him to. He |
how to please them and |
never failed to do it
II am afraid / am talking TO you too |
MUCH" said Martha, the older sister, as /
she tapped him on the shoulder for the /
tenth time within a few minutes in |
order to draw his attention to tomb
stone.
Not at all" he answered, good
Talk to me all you wish
TO. like to hear you
He was sincere. He was not bored,
because he was bent on giving pleasure
They arrived at the spot that inter
ested them the most. It was where the
remains of the parents and husbands of
the widows Maupant reposed, in an ex-
pensive granite vault built against a
knoll
Hanlon assisted the sisters to alight
from the carriage. Together the wild