The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-05-30
.ATAPATRIOT'S
GRAVE
Grandmother's Memorial Day Speech
By DORA oLIPHANr coE.

| ~ GRANDMOTHER ADAMSON had
lM reached into the depths OF her
- rose-sprigged bandbox, but
Just as her fingers touched
| the stiff ruching in the front
Of her best bonnet her attention was
arrested by ring at the front door.
AS though suddenly petrifled in her
STOPPING position. grandmother waited
while Susan Ann, her daughter,
creaked through the passage way lead
| ing from the kitchen.
At the first words of greeting grand.
mother Strengthened with a snap like
a jack.knife, and an angry color famed
on her cheeks.
why, Marthy Ellen, what lovely
roses! Did you ever see the flowers
so handsome as they are this year?
Come right in. It's dreadful hot,
amt Il? Seems like ! never knowed
II to warm up as early as It has this
season, but then, It's been awful flne
for the flowers Pears like the roses
and laylocks and pinies has just tried
itheirselves to see who could do the
most boomin'. Now, that's pretty
ldee, amt it, Mrs. Rayburn, that lay
lock wreath?"
! "Yes; laylocks was Dicks favorite
flower, and he set this bush out his
sci, and / thought I'd make wreath
to hang on the cross on his tombstun."
The expression on Grandmother
Adamson's face would have made
good study. From blaze OF anger
| It passed through all the stages OF
Mortified scorn to stony determina-
tion.
The development of the converse
ton beyond the paper-covered board
walls collected her nebulous chaotic
emotions into a stern resolve.
Susan Ann was stout, and she had
grieved all the morning over the long
walk to the graveyard. AS she sank
ponderously into a chair, she la
mented:
II get heavier on my feet every day
live, and the heat to-day is just
awful on me. II mother hadn't had
her heart 80 set on II, wouldn't try
to go to the cemetery. Just know
I'll be sick"
Couldn't she walk up with us?"
Mrs. Rayburn asked "Well not walk
FAST"
ooh, mothers as spry on her feet
as you be. l hadn't thought of her
goin' with any one else, but l don't
see why she couldn't. It'd be a real
help. She amt got nothin' to carry,
for she took big basket of flowers
| up this morning, before breakfast
She's just that wrapped up in Decora-
tion day ! couldn't disappoint her
about goin'. She's gettin ready now.
III go and see II it'll be all right"
But grandmother, with what was al
! most one movement. had stopped for
ward and slipped off her congress gait
ers, at the same time taking from it's
box her bonnet. She slipped hand
| through the round handle of little
basket and scurried down the passage
way and out through the back door.
On the step she delayed just long
| enough to put on her shoes; then, with
her best bonnet carried more careless.
ly than ever before in it's dozen years
| of use, she hurried out through the
back gate.
/ The cemetery was being made bright
| with flowers when grandmother
passed through the iron gateway, and
her face hardened as she recognized
some of the STOPPING figures and the
graves over which they bent.
At brilliantly.decked mound she
stopped and. kneeling said:
II hate to do It, Jeremiah. but !
know you'd want me to. won't take
them to any one else, though, Jere-
miah, though know you'd say fur me
| to, II you was here. But dearie, I've
keered fur these things ever sence
they was buds, jest as tender as II
they'd a ben babies. and Jest SOS you
| could have them to-day, and I Jest
can't. see any one else have 'em. How
| would you like to look over these
posies and see that laylock wreath
a-hangin' on old Dick Rayburn's tomb
stun! You fought, bled and died al
most fur nothin., jeremiah, when that
old copperhead gifts Jest as many fow-
era as you do"
grandmother had turned up the
skirt Of her black alpaca dress and,
into the receptacle thus formed, had
! put every flower that had lain on
Jeremiah's grave. She carried them
all over to q far corner Of the ceme-
terry and buried them under pile Of
last years leaves. Then she went
back 10 the bare mound,
Boon the faraway notes Of "Cover
Them Over with Beautiful Flowers"
told that the processiou VAS GINNING