The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-24

great remuneration; That if John
Purse had not gone from us, perhaps
we would never have been privileged
to write the story of his widow and
call the tale The Greater Glory.
During the thirty-seven years in
which we have been publishing a
newspaper, it follows that we have
written many, many obituaries. But
no obituary has ever meant to
us exactly what Jack Purses stood
for, fo;;, without wishing to, pose as
heartless or unduly calloused we may
set it down that the hundreds of
others have been the material with
which we did business. But Jack
Purses obituary was the summary
and the heart-story of mans life
bringing death home to us-stark
and sinister and grim and deadly.
Sam would suffer no one else to at
tempt that column story. He also
wrote an article for the editorial
column. And both were masterpieces
because he forgot he was writing for
print, forgot the thing called literary
effect. forgot technique and para
graphing and punctuation and style
and composed from his soul the
simple little record of the passing Of
friend.
The obituary and the editorial
caused much comment in the COM
munity. Everyone knew the Purses
and how Jacks fortunes were about
to change just as he was "taken."
Everyone knew also, the predicament
in which Mary had been left. 1t hap
pened that the evening the sewing
circle of Calvary church met the day
between the death and the funeral
and the comment of its membership
is again of note:
Mrs. Artemus Howard voiced the
universal sentiment. She said:
81 don't mind the passing of Mr..
Purse himself. He's out of his
troubles. But think of Mary-nice
little woman that she is-left with all
those little children! What will she
ever do?"
"And after all the trouble she had
about ten years ago with her own
folks" declared Mrs. Taylor, mot
to mention the struggles she has been
through since in financial way and
havin' so many babies and all. |
wish the Lord would give me the
running of this universe for just five
minutes. I'd change some things! It'd
do your soul good to watch me!'
81 heard he was just going to
work for old man Ezekial at some
fishy-soundin' sum of money" de-
clared Mrs. Dexter Merritt. "He'd
went up with a nerve O. brass that ]
wish my Dexter could muster, and
he'd got Mr.. Ezekial to do somethini
handsome for him. And right away
he's taken! Right when the light was
shinin' through on all the darkness
of his struggles and troubles, he was
taken! What a mystery, what 6
mystery! And q mess! There simply
amt no consistency to the world no
how" -
Mrs. Fred Babcock called attention
to the fact that Jack carried no life
insurance although Fred had been ur
i to see the Purses scores of times anc
Jack was always just going to do il
but never felt he could quite afford
it and now look at the fix his wife is
in And she went on to say that was
! always the way it was: men without
chick or childer and only some
frumpy old woman to look after, al
| ways carried thousands and them as
had helpless wives and little mouths
! depending on 'em thought they coulC
get by somehow and take chances
with death that always bested 'em!
Mrs. Walter Gaylord said the vii
lage ought to take up collection
to help Mary out and Miss Malinds
Sparrow said she doubted if Mary
would accept it if the village should
She was very proud, was Mary. TX
which Judge Farmers wife sale
"beggers shouldn't be choosers,
which she was immediately sorry for
| meaning no unlindness but being
simply unfortunate in her choice O.
a proverb OF an axiom appropriate fol
| the circumstances.
Mrs. Blake Whipple, a lady of part.
and known of old to have an eye TO
business, for once had no comment tx
make in commercial capacity Shs
merely remarked that Blake wa
pretty we'll screwed up to such sit
uations and usually they didn't up
set him. But when he came bacl
from the Purse place with all thos'
little children around playing almos
I'as usual and never knowing thei
loss that was laid out in the chill,
front room, he said damn his business
anyhow and if it wasn't for the deat
folks havin' to be took care of AM
someone simply havin' to do it, he't
| get out of it SO quick you'd neve