Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-14

4Nor'h"est tells this story: Among
INC passengers on that steamer was ii
Souiis schoolma'am from Massachu-
'e.'o' VINO was of an inquirng turn OF
iliiiio' eager to Learn all she could OF
.iie country which she was seeing for
ti'e hrSt time. When we We're all sit
'iiis' on The deck one evening. CONVERSE
toh turned to the little village of St.
Anthony's Falls. now Minneapolis,
Wlllch We We're soon to approach. Some
po"y remarked that it was settled al
most entirely by 'Maine-ites.' All
Sald tie informal seeking young
woman are they friendly to the
whites We had been talking of IN
diiill tribes, and her mistake was Il
natural one, but so funny that | nave
remembered it for more than half a
century, Just as | remember the earn
est lhquisitive look with which she
propounded the question"
In quaint records the cemetery of the
Old First Parish in York is rich. 1t IS
close beside the sea and has been used
SINCE l64S. The following lines reclto
good qualities of one highly esteemed
by his toWnsmen who could not. how
ever free their tribute from gloomy
| theology, incarnate in the theory of in
FAINT damnation. They run thus:
In memory of Edward Emerson. Jr.,
W no departed on oct. II, a. ID. lSO3
Capacious was his mind.
benevolent in his heart
SpotlesS was his character
Generous, humane and Just.
But, alas how frail is man.
In an obscure corner some lons( dead
cynlc SAUNDERS, rebuking caustIcallY
the common vice of curiosity. one who
clears away the brambes is rewarded
with two lines.
| was somebody:
Who, is 10 business of yours
i roughly traced cpitaph speaks with
unstudiod eloquence more powerful
than studied eulogy.
Mercy Wainwright,
Il5-11G0
She was good to all.
One Jonathan illustrates colonial abil-
ity to perpetuate meanncSS in terms
intelliSible to posterity. His memorial
is Il model of its kind:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Drew.
' 'ho cheated all he ever knew;
lis Maker he'd have cheated, too,
But that this God he never knew
Within a stately tomb rest the re-
mains of Judge David SeWcll q iurist
we'll known in Massachusetts courts.
Upon its walls is record Of the fact that
in him "a devoted beneyolence was
happily directed by an enlightened in
tellect. Conscientious i'll duty, he Was
ever faithful in its discharge. His
house was the abode of hospitality and
friendship etc.
Curious cpitaphs are common in this
section of Maine. The average Old
family has a private cemetery recalling
Indian wars. If the noble red men
could not scalp 4 few live enemies, they
sought satisfaction, when a newly made
grave was found. in mutiating the
dead. Consequently. pioneers pre-
ferred to keep departed relatives with
in rifle shot.
For unusual expressions of grief and
unique salutations to those who follow,
the First Parish cemetery at neighbor-
ing Kttery is not easily surpassed. 1t
lies on the rock promotory of Kit
terry Point, which reaches out into the
Piscataqua like Il great hand 1t was
old when Pcppercll's barges rode the
river.
IN an obscure corner is the rhymed
effort OF some POLITICALLY inclined
butcher. Tt chronicles the demise of
Margaret Hills.
| lost my life in the raging seas,
A sovereign God may do rs he please.
The kitterY folk they did appear,
And my remains they buried here
Upon a big gray boulder is a truly
Hibernian and rather casual memoran-
Bridget and had two children dear,
one lies in Ireland and the other here.
dunn:
a roughly carved chor~b, closely
pursued by Il harry of foroclous aspect,
accompanies Il mieanthropic obscrVa-
ton.
Behold. all mon, AZ you pass by,
AS You are now. So once was /;
AS | am now, SO You will be-
Prepare for death and follow me.
Eut most outra Of ali is the optaph
for one who may have been an early
Populist.
Here lies the body of Walter Gordon,
Mouth amaHln' ANA teeth accordin;
step lightly Der this wonder.
If he opens his mouth you're gone, by
thunder.