The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-07-10
SIMON PETER.

Simon Peter stood by the new made
grave of his wife, Mrs Simon Peter
No. =
She had been Il good wife, and, re-
calling her many virtues, the bereaved,
like his namcsake, "wept bitterly, )"
leaning meanwhile for support on the
marble slab erected in memory of Mrs
Simon Peter No. L.
1t was Il cold chilly day i'll early spring
Snow still lay upon the ground and the
mounded grave and Il dampness seem
ed to eNude from the stones that chill
| ed one to the very marrow
Simon Peters thin gray locks fell de-
jectcdly around his ears; his nose, al
ways long and always ruddy, seemed
to have been heightened by his grief
and to have taken on additional rich
ness in colorng. His meager form,
shivcriny in the raw cast wind, seemed
i'll fitted to breast the storms of life
alone, and the good dominic who had
just pronounced the solemn funeral ser
vice, ''Dust to dust, ashes to ashes" ;"
felt his heart 90 out III sympathy to
this poor, lonely man so broken with
grief and age, and now about to return
solitary to his desolate home.
Come home with me tonight, Broth
er Simon. said the tender-hearted dom
inir. "Iou've hada hard day and you
need Il good. warm supper: come home
with me- Simon Peter weakly assent
ed. The thought of going home alone
was more than he could bear. He clam
bered feebly in the wagon, pulled his
wollen comforter over his ears and re-
signed himself to meditation until the
parsonage was reached. The good Rosi-
| na, faithful friend and servant, who for
twenty years had rcigned supreme as
monarch of the kitchen, had supper all
ready, knowing the dominic would be
chilled through. She looked somewhat
askance at the bcreavcl widower, but.
| being woman of warm svmpathies
| and kind heart, she concealed what
ever annoyance she may have felt at
Z int # ,f
the table for the "bercaved" and saw
that he was abundantly supplied with
hot fritter> and maple syrup.
At the sight of these temporal bless
in9s Simon Peter seemed inclined to
bid ''surcclsc to sorrow," and his cotln-
tenance, heretofore the exponent of an
interior of unniti"atcd Woe hecame an
embodied expression of dutitul resigna-
ton. He cast apprcciativc looks at
the tritterS and at the antiquated yet
nimhlc han,lmaiden rs she proceeded in
her dctt miniStratons and by the time
tea was ended the glow of some lofty
purpose was irradiating his visage
The good dominic and his wife re-
gar,lcd this transformation as Il proof
that the old man was bowiny to the will
of an all wise Providence, and bcamed
approval at this visible sanctitication
through atlliction rs evidenced 10y this
aged saint After tea the dominic re-
nnunccd his usual quiet evening with
his books. and devoted himself to his
afflicted parishinner, liscoursing on the
transitorv nature of things here. the
certainty of a future reunion with our
loved and lost and the duty of resgna-
ton, to all of which propositions Simon
Peter asscntcd, tipped back in his chair
against the wall.
At breakfast the next morning the
.hcreavcd" seemed to have undergone
some wonderful transformation, and
grown Years younger in the process.
The Struggling locks that hung so de-
icctcdIv the day before around his Woe
bcyonc ViSa9r were now brushed brave
Iy upward to cover the bald spot sur
mounting his Uranium. his lank form
had lost its detected droop and the
toothleSs mouth was curved like an in
vrrtcd "how ofpromise.
And still the dominic and his wife
CONGRATULATED themselves, rs never be
fore, on the consolatious afforded hy
religion to the sorely afflicted.
After breakfast and prayers; and
before taking his departure to his
dcsolatc iircsidc. Simon Peter made
his way to the kitchen and gallantly
offered to assist Rosina in some of her
morning duties. In I'll, course of an
hour he reappeared in the parlor to
make his tarewells "Good-by, dom