The Alaska prospector., 1904-04-14
A KENTUCKY GRAVE.


 old-fashioned spinet-a scared veteian of long ago, still bearing traces of a,is;ioratic lineage. The small twisted less of ma hogany show beautiful carving. and the keys, though almost entirely innocent of ivory. are not wholly mute from taeir long nnbroken silence and the accumulat ted dust of 30 years.
 Why 1t has remained unmolested all these years is not known. Sooner or later some relic hunter will find and restore it to its original rank.
 Could this old instrument speak, tale 1t would tell of former glory, when 1t was the central figure in the parlors of the once famous Graham Springs-the an;ebellum mecca for the south, and the virtue of whose healing waters was known far and wide.
 It would speak of lone grave, where the moonlight falls softly, throwing a halo over all, where the moeking bird on a nearby bough sings love songs to his nest ing mate all through the night.
 The tall trees cast gaunt shadows across the winding paths, and a weird, uneanny feeling Is over the earth and in the air and takes superstitious possession of one.
 live again in the long gone past. There are handsome buildings before me. lights everywhere, music and mirth ring out on the still night air. no dismal shadows, no sor- rowful superstition finger there; but com pany, comfort, happiness and pleasure reign supreme.
 It is 50 years ago; the south is in its glory; wealth and every luxury belong by right of birth and inheritance to those ar ls- tocratic people.
 They came to this celebrated watering place, seeking health and pleasure. The waters of the then famous Graham Springs gave health and happiness t. many an in valid brought there from the south.
 Three hundred acres of beautiful rolling blue grass land, laid off in parks, with great forest trees to cast long. loving shade, and shelter, winding dIiveways and ro.. an;ic walks, where lovers fingered hand in hand and talked of future plans. building their ''castles in Srain, while Ltar;s kept time and tune to tie mockingbird' love song.
 Taere was the one main Co;el and two long rows of cottages, where cooling tret zes fan tine hours away, and the healing yir- tues of the water that brought color to the cheek, luster to the eye and strength and suppleness to the limbs. An ideal place m which to live and love and perhaps to die flor many came too late to reclaim aealta from the healing water and balmy biee4es, tOp ldlt tO IllG Ntll> Nllu new lllt blood, and came only to be carried away after all was over.
 These people came in carriages, with chil- dren, dogs and saddle horses and retinue of servants, to take up life for stason. For the well there was a round of gayeties; for those not strong enough to share in the ballroom and other pleasures, there was scenery and water, a solace and sure cure for nearly all ills.
 One summer there came to the springs beautiful young woman, alone except for her maid; no chaperone, no friends. She was young. beautiful and alone, three things that appeal strongly to the sympathetic eoutherner.
 She was wealthy, if one could judge by her appearance and the prod igalty with which she spent money. She soon won the heart of everyone in the hotel and cottages; all had something kind and complimentary to say of the beautiful stranger.
 She had her own saddle horse. Being a perfect horsewoman, she made picture in her hunters green riding habit on her thoroughbred, taking the lead always with the riding parties. She was the best whip at the springs, and the admired of all. when she went out in her light road wagon, pulling the ribbons on the handsomest coal black team in Kentucky.
 On the ballroom floor she was queen of all; such grace of movement, suppleness of limb one rarely sees. She was truly the impersonation of beauty. She never sat out dances. The first on the floor, she was always the last to leave.
 One evening late in the summer she ap- rad in the da nee hall mora aiiapt Ina n usual, her dark creole beauty heightened by flush on the cheek that was foreign to her accustomed pallor. All Iresent noted this; but to solicitous inquiry she said she was feeling quite we'll with the exception of a sharp pain, now and again, near the heart. Nothing at all, she would answer in that soft, caressing tone of voice pc culiar to the far south She danced that evening as never before, truly the queen of the ball. When the dance was at its height, there was sudden confusion; the music stopped; dancers stood still; shout for water and doctor rang out on the mid night air. The creole bell had fallen life less on the ballroom floor.
 All was dor. ,n the power of physician and friends: Sa' a no purpose. The heart stood s.%' 4s <, rit was free. They eaI.e el her, with loving hands and sorrowing hearts, the next evening, when the shadows began to lengthen, in the beau ty- and stiffness of the hour between sun- down and twilight, and laid her to rest beneath the friendly sheltering oak tree un- der which she loved well to sit and pass the happy hours away. It was her wish. so said the maid, to be buied there by my oak" as she called it, and there was no one to gainsay or wish it otherwise. A hand come monument was placed with date and name.
 The grave for years was protected, but finally vandals and relic hunters claimed 1t; and now, and for many years past, the grave of the beautiful unknown, as she was termed-for no relative or friend from out the past ever came to put in . claim-s marked only by the four round sandstone pillars or corner stones of the sarcophagus.
 The civil war came on, the south had neither time nor thought for summers at the springs. The hotel was burned, the crumbling walls for many years after mark ing the spot of former glory. The cottages were used during the war for an asylum for wounded soldiers.
 Generations have passed. The name is forgotten, entirely oblitented from the