Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-09-03
Bah ON THE DEAR DEPARTED
Her Peculiar Experience at q
Country Burial.
|IDEALlzlNG ON A RURAL FUNERAL
Where Mans Faults are Never
Smoothed.
James Phinip Gudgin's Death, as Seen
Through the Eyes Of His survivors
somo OF the Psculiarities of Rustic Gus
tom Durinr the Days of Mourning.

s,,.r,,, f,oyrespondence ii Every Evening.
Florida. Orange County, n. u, Aug.
~ -yNa have had considerable excite
u,ant There has been death In the
,i,I.gs The gentleman who died was
~ lnss TO the community, but once it was
,a.llv tnown that he was no longer awe, |
tba neculiar majesty of death SURROUNDED
him and everybody agreed that, after al,
~ had been his own worst enemy, ana
his faults had hurt nobody but himsei.
Tbis is always said about an utterly
worthless man. The announcement OF
fha funeral came TO us in this form. a
hing. lapky, subdued-looking individnai'
wearine a silk hat that had once been
fresh and now was decidedly shabby
lnolxina. wreathed, / may say swathed,
IN crane and having two long weepers az
the hack. appeared at the front door ms
hands. long and nervous, were covered
~ Hitting black cotton gloves. FOLLOW
iinr the easy fushion of the house,
opened the front door. He thrust at me-
without a word, small tray on when
1eposed black-bordered epistie. for
moment 1 thought he was what the child
! rem call .the bad man." and that he mad
come for me, and like the young lady
described by Mr.. Riley, | should be
auatehed through 'the eeilin' before
knowed what 1 was about
AT n second glance saw there was q
ribbon, a black one, about the letter, ana
the pnrport of the whole performance
dawned on me. With solemnity' that
was as sudden as it was real, l took mp
the letter. united the ribbon and found
that, on the blacis-bordered paper, was
written the announcement of the death of
lanes Philip Gudgins, aged 70, might he
rest in peace, and we were invited 10 come
to the funeral. tied up what might be
called the literary remains of james
Philip and told the bearer that we would
be there. He looked at me and inquired,
ANY cardsT' At first l was going to
say that would draw to straight, but
it gradually dawned on me that this was
not a poker game. but some social point
thai / did not understand. Aunt Maria,
hearing the conversation, appeared on the
scene, took up the literary remains of
James Philip Gudgins, united and read
them, rushed into the house and brought
out one of my cards, one 2f Nanny's and
one of Uncle Timothy's, Which had been
written by the hotel clerk when he was
ON his wedding trip. These were laid
upon the tray, and it was supposed, by
me at least, that James Philips ideas of
etiquette were now satisfied.
Aunt Maria seemed surprised that
Z had never heard of this way of announc-
ing a funeral. She said it was aristo-
cratic, and she also said that it was very
praiseworthy in James Philips widow
to take so much trouble about him, be-
cause, when he was living. he had been
so sighting in his ways. l do not know
why funerals in the country always take
place in the heat of the afternoon, but
they do. Long before the time the fences
the piazzas and the horse block were deco
rated with the men and boys from The
village who have come to see the show.
Later on, those who had been honoret
with invitations as well ls all the kin
drive up, the men suffering agony in thei
black clothes, and the women, in a sub
dued way, having a very good time.
refused to enter the house. and Uncl
Timothy told me afterwards that jim
Philip looked quite natural, though HI
had paled some, especially about the nose
From what / had heard of Jim Philip
imagined that this was an Improvement
Going to the funeral, we took Mis- Tom
linson, and i never before knew hoy
agreeable she was. She is great o,
funeral manners, and she had her hand
kerchief at just the right angle while he
little finger, clothed in black, poked gu
as it should, and she wept in ady-lik
fashion, dropping tear about every hal
"A hour and not allowing herself to becom
B excited. She told us of widowers, VIII
had mourned for three weeks and the
gotten married. she told us of widow
who could not bear to look at the deat
...xI H. aI
cons after the funeral. Indeed. Mi
Tomlinson made ME thing that peopl
were very foolish to die, inasmuch a
their going meant entire fOrgetfulncss {
them and their goodness. Uncle Tin
othy, who has decided sense of hume
added his funeral story. He said 1
heard of an Irish funeral where the chill,
rem of the deceased sent a wreath marke
Papa" as the flowers were lifted fro
the hearse to be put on the grave, II
first letter dropped off, and to the horr,
of the family, it was seen that the wreat
\ was marked "apa." This was enoug
The dead man was forgotten and Il
honor and glory of County Roscommt
/. was maintained. There was free figl
& and a collection was taken up for I'll
widow, whose only regret was that b
man was not there to throw back the i
suit with hot iron. But / think mil
was the best funeral story.
My mother had maid named Emm
line, who had lived with her for MAJ
years. She was typical Southern darl
with an admiration for bright colors,
laugh as cheerful as possible, an immen
amount of sympathy for anybody wi
was i'll or in trouble, reverence for Ii
family in which she lived, the Southe
\ ability to cook when it was necessary.
belief that nobody was like her Missy
and an admiration for mourning and
delight in a funeral that nobody con
surpass. For years Emmeline's faith
had been known to the family as "Unt
Cole" This good old colored gentlem,
paid us an occasional visit. and there W
a rumor that his age was some place
= the neighborhood of one hundred al
twenty-five and that he was likely to Ii
forever.
No cavalier ever surpassed Uncle CT
in gallantry: while his knowledge in i
gard to who was who and what was VIII.
was so great that he could have been
wonderful help to the compiler of
American Burke. Late one night t
news was brought by small boy tn
Uncle Cole was dead, and that Emm
line, she had better hurry up to look
the remains, and that Sis said she HI
better bring all the money that she had