The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1902-11-13

the door. aud, last but not least, the
quaint little church standing some
hundred yards back from the main
road, and approached from this lych'
gate by an avenue Of lines.
Here" / said to myself. lis 9
place where man might live to be
100. undisturbcd by the rush and
hustle Of the great world"
That was my feeling then, but
since have come TO know II better,
and have been permitted an oppoT-
tunity Of seeing for myself some
thing Of the inner life Of the hamlet,
l have discovered that 1t Is only the
HE ~ - great ,tty, ." - -sSs" -S=.s.
There j. the same keen competition
Ia trade, with the same icalousies
and bickrTura. However, ON this
peaceful sunday morning II struck
me as being delightful. There was
an old.wurId quiet about IL that was
vastly soothing. The rocks cawed
laxily 10 the elms before the church
"a II they knew u were Sunday morn
ing aud a day Of rest. A dog lay *
tended in the middle OF the road.
basking in the sunshine, thing
which be would not have dared 10 do
on weekday. Even the little
stream that runs under the old Atone
bridge, which marks the center of
the village, and then winds its tor
tuous course round the churchyRrd,
through ;hr Squre's park. and then
down the valley on It's way TO the
sea. seemed 20 flow somewhat more
slowly than was its wont.
Feeling just la the humor for lit-
tie moralisiuR, ! opened 4he lych-
gate aud entered the churrhyard.
The congregation were singing the
last hymn, the Old Huudrrdth. II ]
remember rightly and the sound Of
their united voices fitted perfectly
into the whole scheme. giving IL the
one touch that was lacking. As l
strolled along ! glanced at the In
Ecriptiuns on the various tomb
stones, and rndrayoTed to derive
from them some notion Of the lives
anu thAIatlflh VI lAhaF NhhaF HlEAA-
Dries they perprtuated.
sacred To the memory OF Eras-
mus Cunning, 81 years schoolmaster
Of this parish. Born cath Of March.
1906, and rested from his labors ON
September the 10th, 1870" Seating
myself on the low wall that sur
rounded the churchyard. ! looked
down upon the river, and. while so
doing reflected upon Erasmus Gun.
ming, What had he been like. this
knight Of the fcfrule. who for -
years acted as pedagogue 10 this
tiny hamlet? What good had he
done In his worldP Had he realized
his liic's hmbitlon7 Into many of
the congregation now wUrshiping
yonder he must have driven the three
RS, possibly with the assistance of
the faithful fcrruIc aforesaid. yet
how many IT them gave thought TO
his memory In this ease the asser-
ton that he crested from his iahors"
was trife ambiguous. Consigning
poor Erasmus TO oblivion, contin-
"Su my WIN f'cA'"'N my eysA
caught an inscription that made me
halt again. IL was dedicated to the
Loving memory OF william hltwa-
ter, and Susan. his wife" was still
looking ct IL. when | heard step
on the grh'eI'paih behind me and
turning round found myself stand
ing race 10 lace with MISS hitwater.
10 use the conventional phrase
church had come out ana the con
gregntion was even now making Its
way down the broad avenue towards
inc hiRh-r"Ah'
How do You do, Mr.. Fairfax" said
Miss Kitwater, giving me her hand
as she spoke. ut Is kind indeed of
you to come down. | hope you have
good news for us"'
II am incAned TO consider 1t good
news myseli,' l said. 81 hope you
VIII think 80 too
She did not question me further
about 1t then. but asking me to tx
euse her for a moment, stepped over
the little plot OF ground where her
dear ones lay, apd plucked some Of
the dead leaves from the flowers
that grew upon Il. TO my thinking
she was just what an honest English
girl should be; straightforward and
gentle, looking the whole world in
the face with frank and honorable
simplicity. When she had finished
her labor of love, which only occu-
pied her a few moments, she sug.
geated tina, we should stroll ON to
her house.
"My uncle viii be wondering what
has become of me-" she said, land
he viii also be most anxious to see
yon.
HE does not accompany you to
church, them
No, she answered. He is 40
conscious OF his affection that he
cannot bear IL to be remarked. He
usually stays at home and walks up
and down path In the garden,
erooding, J am afraid, over his treat
nent BY Mr.. Hayie. II gaes to my