The Holly chieftain., 1897-08-13

bara Robb. She brought me hig
bunch of uasturriums from her own
garden. Such uasturtiums as flower
for no other amateur hor,iculturist
whom l know. Maroon, and pale
brown, and bun and blood-red. with
leaves as large as the palm OF my hand.
snatched at them and buried my face
in the houeyed Otter OF their whole
some hearts
OH" in one long inhalation OF spiel
ness and gratitude. Thank you! they
,Gke away the crcpy smell and the
horrors"
While the story, from which the
mourner's name was scrupulously with
held, was in telling, four other women
dropped in. Miss Barbara, as the only
one who had heard IT all, led of IN the
discussion:
The poor soul believes her sorrow
to be sincere, and it is, TO some extent.
Presumably she loved her mother, and
She misses her sadly. NeNcrrheIess, the
emotion which She now nurses and pa
rndes is conventional scutimcntaiity.
At the bottom Of her heart she is afraid
that she will not seem sorry enough to
satisfy the expectations Of her critics.
and may fail short OF The standard shr
has set up for herself rs the proper
thing in the circumstances. She
watches her spirits as a trained nurse
watches patients temperature. Set
tied sadness is normal. \ rise towards
natural chccrfulncss is rcprcSsed rs an
iudiguitv to the dead. In another year.
duh let will be indicated by Mrs. Gruu-
| dy, and lustcrless silks will he the in
diccs Of mitigated grief. In three years
| time the gloom OF bereavement win
shadc OIL through gray and lavender
| into white. and so be dccorously dis
missed with - return TO cOIOrs. The
prupricli.1 win have been fully con-
served and the daughters conscience
. be void Of otfeUsc. She and her TUiid
are unconscious possesses, AS truly the
/ bond SLAVES Of s"usrlcss and cruel
custom as the Hiudoo woman who IS
suffice should have less patience
with the custom if SO many who follow
liz bliudIy we're not good, sensihle
women.
There is comical side TO it some
/ times" Mrs. Fny's jolly little laugh is
peculiarly Infectious think this is
/ because the happiness it expresses is
utterly free from guile. 81 was nj the
. Adirondack hotel some years ago, when
/ three pretty sisters, who were the
bellies of the house, heard Of their
cousins death in New Orleans. The
news reached them by the afternoon
mail. They promptly retired 10 their
/ bedroom. and the places and the bcauN
/ they had frightened for week past,
/ knew them no more for - hours Then
/ they appeared upon the ,craudas, all
/ three OF them in white gowns with
! black sushcs and black neck and wrist
ribbons. They promcnadcd and chat
/ ted gaylv. first with one then with an
other admircr and friend. until ten
/ o'clock. when they discrcctly retired.
/ On the third evening after the blow
/ fell upon their cousinly hearts. the
black ribbons were exchanged for Law
rnder and they sat as wallhuwers in
/ the ballroom. refusing TO take the floor.
/ 'Iou know we have just lost a friend,
answered each invitation to dance,
They did not 90 upstairs. however
until Il o'clock.
| "On the following night assure
you that every word OF this is truc!-,
| the trio were arruycd in virgin white
and further, as Miss Robb would say,
conserved the proprieties by figuring
| in none but SQUARE dances. The fifth
evening beheld them respleudcnt in
| fun dress, and engaged for every walt
within ten minutes after they entered
the ballroom. The gradations were
artistic, and cdlfying TO the un'
initiated. To me the whole proceed,
ing was irristibly funny"
! | had marveleG with secret amuse-
ment. that Mrs. Blunt had held her
peace, even from good, all this while
She made up for lost time now:
Il call it u trayersty of the most sa.
cred feelings OF the human heart! Yet
il is all of piece with the barbarous
unchristian custom of putting our bod
les into mourning for the atiiiction OF
our spirits and souls. At the very bes,
when. according TO Miss Robb's char
liable Judgment, those who shroud
themselves in unwholesome crepe ant
hideous bombaZine are honestly griev
ing, and under the fond delusion that
they are honoring the dead by riskine
health and sacrificing becomingness-
the practice is ridiculous When the
etiquette of woe is prescribed by III,
same arbiters of fashion who regulate
the pitch of our bonnets, the length o
our skirts and the width of our boor
tocs-the thing is degrading The ole
Hebrew laws, which declared one up
clean for given period after he hat
touched dead body, were more tol
erablc, and were based upon sanitar,
principles. There is no sense in thu
tictum that one must not cross he
neighbours threshold for so man,
years after she has closed her hus
bands eyes; so many months after sh,
has mourned n parent; so many week.
liz an aunt has been taken; and. M
with Mrs. Fay's chime of bellies, ma,
tone down-or up-from sorrowful Sc
clusion to social gayety in five day
after a cousins death"
Being mortal, she had got her breatl
back. and Mrs. Fay's contagious laugh
rippled across the compulsory pause
Il met n friend yesterday, dressed il
new and deep black, although not il
crepe, and asked: Are you in mourn
ing, my dear? l had not heard tha
you have lost friend