Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-11-15

Of the day. piled the glowing CRATES;
I drew closer the curtains and shut out
the gloom Of the December afternoon;
l turned on the gas and sat down de-
voutly thankful that had cut all con-
nection with the Witched weather
when an installmento Of it burst in on me
in the shape of Parepa Rosa. She was
Euphrosyne Parepa at that time, and
the operate idol Of the city. Muft1ed
With tippets, fecked with snow, glow
ing with the short encounter she had
had with the elements rushing up the
steps from her carriage, she threw her
self into an easy chair and proclaimed
the horrors Of the outer world to be be-
yond description.
And even as we congratulated our
selves on the prospect Of q delightful
day together there came the summons
for me to go to the humble funeral Of
the poor sewing woman's daughter.
turned the little tear blotted note over
and groaned.
'This is terrible" said I; ''it's just
the one errand that could take me out
to-day; but 1 must CO." And then
told Parepa the circumstances and
specialized on the length Of time
should be gone, and suggested means
of amusement in my absence.
"But 1 shall go with you" said the
great, good-hearted creature.
''Your throat, and old Bateman, and
your concert tonight" pleaded.
eff I get another 'froggy' note in my
voice it won't matter much; I'm hoarse
as O raven now" she returned.
SO she rewound her throat with the
long, white comforter, pulled on her
worsted gloves, and off in the storm
we went together. We climbed fight
after fight Of narrow, dark stairs to
the top floor, where the widow dWelt in
a miserable little room not more than
q dozen feet square. The canvas-back
hearse, peculiar to the $25 funeral,
stood in the street below, and the aw-
full cherry box with its ruft1e
Of glazed white muslin stood on uncov-
cred trestles in the center Of the room
above.
There was the mother, speeches. in
her grief, before that box-a group Of
Woodworking, kindly hearted neigh
bors sitting about. It was useless to
say the poor woman was prepared for
the inevitable end-it was cold comfort
to speak to her Of the daughters re-
lease from pain and suffering. The be-
reft creature, in her utter loneliness,
~ I, ND fY71
fate-of the approaching moment when
that box and it's precious burden would
be taken away and leave her wholly
alone. So, therefore, with sympathiz-
ing grasp Of the poor, worn, bony hand,
we sat silently down to ATTEND the
funeral"
The undertaker's man, with a screw
driver in his hand, jumped about in the
passage to keep warm. The creaky
boots Of the minister belonging to the
$50 funeral were heard on the stairs.
There was a catarrhal conversation
held outside between them as to the
enormity Of the weather, and, probably,
the bad taste Of the deceased in select
ing such a bad time to die was dis
cussed. Then the minister came In with
q pious sniff and stood revealed, reg
ular Stiggins as to get-up-a dry, self
sufficient man, icier than the day and
colder than the storm.
He deposited his hat and black gloves
and wet umbrella on the poor little bed
in the corner; he slapped his hand Wig
orously together; he took himself in
well-merited fashion by the ears and
pulled them into glowing sensation,
and after thawing out for moment
plunged into business.
He ratified merrily through some Sc
lected sentences from the Bible. He
gave us a prayer that sounded like peas
in a dried bladder, and he came to
amen with a jerk that brought me up
like patent snaff1e. He pulled on his
old gloves and grabbed his rusty hat,
and with his umbrella dripping inky
tears over the well-scrubbed floor he
offered a set form Of coincidence to the
broken-hearted mother. He told her
Of her sin in rebelling against the de-
cree of Providence. He assured her
that nothing could bring the dead back.
He inveighed against the folly Of the
world in general, and this poor woman
in particular; and then he made a hor-
rible blunder. and showed he didn't
know even the sex Of the dead, by say
ing3 "He cannot come to you, but you
must go to him."
This was a settler for Parepa and
myself. We looked at the departing
minister in blank establishment.
TIE door swung wide, we saw the
screw-driver waving in the air as the
undertaker's man held converse with
the clergyman. A hush fell on every
body gathered in the little room. Not
one word had been uttered Of consola-
ton, Of solemn import, OF BETTING the
occasion. It was the emptiest, hollow
est, most unsatisfactory moment I
ever remember.
Then Parepa arose, her cloak falling
about her noble figure like mourning