The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-10-20

MS long bcarGcu- fchNIHpit man
spent all the latter yoass q. his lliH IN
Going about lron ccurtcry to ccne'ciy
in rcchrisclin. andr,nakine The mar
bic Slab. that covered tho gtavo, Of
the dead. Not only that but lie
cleaned thcln Of the mould aud stain
and set item NJ sqliarc and lcycl and
did it out of respect for his dead hin
drcd and friends. Nearly fifty years
ago visited Laurel Hill. the bcaut-
ful home Of the dead Of Philadelphia,
and the first thing that erected me at
the entrance was brown stone statue
If Old Mortality working on wealth
cr-bcatcn marble slab. A little dried
up, spcctaclcd old gentleman with
rca-jackct coat On and the big pockets
filled with chisels and mallcts and
brushes and old rags Maybe he is
there yet. don't know, but |
thought of him the other day as |
wandered through the silent city Of
the dead in Myrtle Hill at Rome, Ga.
1t has been about forty years since |
helped to lay off that cemetery, and
people have been moving there ever
since and good motto to place over
the gate would be "For men may come
and men may go, but l go on for
ever
An old-time friend was with me, and
can't help but think of him as "Old
Mortality" for he has been nursing
and chcrishing that graveyard for over
thirty years and has made it place Of
beauty and JOY forever. He has
long since made reputation as an able
lawyer and learned judge, but /
know that he never took as much in-
tercst or real pleasure in anything as
in bcautifying and adorning that love-
ly and romantic place. lie has spent
hundreds Of dollars there out Of his
own pocket. His own lot, with its
Italian marble monument 10 the mem
ory Of his wife. is marvel Of cxquis-
itc beauty. I saw where he had right
cd % and placed new foundation
undcl the monument of the wife of
far distant friend. Within the last
year or two he has been to Macon and
reformed and renewed the monuments
that mark his parents graves. He
has been to EatoHton and worked on
those of his brothers and sisters who
died in the long ago. and has placed
tombstones over the graves of
his grand parents. He talked to me
feelingly about some neglected graves
of our friends who sleep in the old
graveyard at Rome that nobody cares
foT and is we'll nigi, sbandoned.
when get through with them," he
said, 81 shall feel satisfied and take
rest from this business and endeavor
to be ready for my own funeral" If
he is not Old Mortality now he will be
if he lives long enough.
Well, I like that. We all like it;
that is to say, all kind-hearted, reAec-
tive people. Some people are afraid
of graveyard, especially young peo-
pie, who have horror Of death, but it
IS foolish fear and wears OF as We
get older. When I was youth at a
country school there was a braggart
sort Of bog named Baldwin who said
he wssent afraid Of ghosts. Jim Lin
ton bot him dollar that he wouldent
60 down 70 the rocky field that night
and cut sassafras bush that was near
an old grave and bring it to the house.
The money was put up. Just about
dark Jim slipped around and hid be-
hind rockpile that was near the
bushes that had grown around tho
grave. When Baldwin got there and
was about to cut the sassafras Linton
said solemnly in a deep bass voice.
Beware that's my grave" and
Baldwin ran home with Jim after him
and like to have tainted at the door.
When I was the little mill boy and
had to pass country graveyard on the
way and happened to be late in get
ting my grist from the miller it was a
strain on my youthful courage to go
slow by the sacred mysterious place.
But go fast you can't on an old sway
back mare with bag Of meal under
you. For three or four years l was Oh
the lookout for ghost in the twilight,
but never saw one and / reckon it
helped me later on. for my wife lived
near the village graveyard and when
was courting her and kneeling at her
shrine I had to pass near it every
night or two and it was test Of my
love and my devotion, FOR neither rain
nor darkness intimidated me, which
proves that love is stronger than fear.