Josiah's Alarm, and Abel Perry's Funeral — John Shaqi
Josiah's Alarm, and Abel Perry's FuneralHolley, Marietta
General
Josiah's Alarm, and Abel Perry's Funeral
Holley, Marietta
Married people -- Fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
“Do you know, S. Annie, those dresses of yourn will cost a sight?”
“Cost?” says she, a-bustin’ out a-cryin’. “What do I care about cost? I
will do everything I can to respect his memory. I do it in remembrance
of him.”
Says I, gently, “S. Annie, you wouldn’t forget him if you wuz dressed in
white. And as for respect, such a life as his, from all I hear of it,
don’t need crape to throw respect on it: it commands respect, and gets
it from everybody.”
“But,” says Abel, “it would look dretful odd to the neighbors if she
didn’t dress in black.” Says he, in a skairful tone, and in his intense
way,—
“I would ruther resk my life than to have her fail in duty in this way:
it would make talk!” And says he, “What is life worth when folks talk?”
I turned around the crazed block, and tackled it in a new place (more
luny than ever it seemed to me), and says I, mekanickly,—
“It is pretty hard work to keep folks from talkin’, to keep ’em from
sayin’ sunthin’.”
But I see from their looks it wouldn’t do to say anything more, so I had
to set still and see it go on.
At that time of year flowers wuz dretful high, but S. Annie and Abel had
made up their minds that they must have several flower-pieces from the
city nighest to Loontown.
One wuz goin’ to be a gate ajar, and one wuz to be a gate wide open. And
one wuz to be a big book. Abel asked me what book I thought would be
prefferable to represent. And I mentioned the Bible.
But Abel says, “No, he didn’t think he would have a Bible; he didn’t
think it would be appropriate, seein’ the deceased wuz a lawyer.” He
said “he hadn’t quite made up his mind what book to have. But anyway it
wuz to be in flowers,—beautiful flowers.” Another piece wuz to be his
name in white flowers on a purple background of pansies. His name wuz
William Henry Harrison Rockyfeller. And I says to Abel,—
“To save expense, you will probable have the moneygram W. H. H. R.?”
“Oh, no,” says he.
Says I, “Then the initials of his given names, and the last name in
full.”
“Oh, no,” he said; “it wuz S. Annie’s wish, and hisen, that the hull
name should be put on. They thought it would show more respect.”
I says, “Where Harrison is now, that hain’t a-goin’ to make any
difference;” and, says I, “Abel, flowers are dretful high this time of
year, and it is a long name.”
But Abel said ag’in that he didn’t care for expense, so long as respect
wuz done to the memory of the deceased. He said that he and S. Annie
both felt that it wuz their wish to have the funeral go ahead of any
other that had ever took place in Loontown or Jonesville. He said that
S. Annie felt that it wuz all that wuz left her now in life, the memory
of such a funeral as he deserved.
Says I, “There is his children left for her to live for,” says I,—“three
little bits of his own life, for her to nourish, and cherish, and look
out for.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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