Chippings with a Chisel by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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vague and inexpressive, unless interpreted by her . she makes the epitaph anew, though the self- same words may_have served for a thousand graves .

" and yet," said I afterwards to Mr Wigglesworth, " they_might have_made a better choice than this . while you were discussing the subject, i_was struck by at_least a dozen simple and natural expressions from_the lips of both mother and daughter . one_of_these would_have formed an inscription equally original and appropriate ."

" no, no," replied the sculptor, shaking his head, " there_is a good_deal of comfort to_be gathered from_these little old scraps of poetry; and so I always recommend them in preference to any new-fangled ones . and somehow, they seem to stretch to suit a great grief, and shrink to fit a small one ."

it_was not seldom that ludicrous images were excited by what took place between Mr Wigglesworth and_his customers .a shrewd gentlewoman, who kept a tavern in_the town, was anxious to obtain two_or_three gravestones for_the deceased members of her family, and to_pay for_these solemn commodities by taking the sculptor to board . hereupon a fantasy arose in my mind, of good Mr Wigglesworth sitting down to dinner at a broad, flat tombstone, carving one of_his own plump little marble cherubs, gnawing a pair of cross-bones, and drinking out of a hollow death's- head, or perhaps alachrymatory vase, or sepulchral urn; while his hostess's dead children waited on him at_the ghastly banquet . on communicating this nonsensical picture to_the old man, he laughed heartily, and pronounced my humor to_be of_the right sort .

" I_have lived at such a table all my days," said he, " and eaten no small quantity of slate and marble ."

" hard fare ! " rejoined I, smiling; " but you seemed to_have found it excellent of digestion, too ."

a man of fifty, or thereabouts, with a harsh, unpleasant countenance, ordered a stone for_the grave of_his bitter enemy with_whom he had waged warfare half a lifetime, to_their mutual misery and ruin . the secret of_this phenomenon was, that hatred had become the sustenance and enjoyment of_the poor wretch's soul; it had supplied the place of all kindly affections; it had_been really a bond of sympathy between himself and_the man who shared the passion; and when its object died, the unappeasable foe was_the only mourner for_the dead . he expressed a purpose of being buried side by side with_his enemy .

" I_doubt whether their dust will mingle," remarked the old sculptor to_me; for often there_was an earthliness in_his conceptions .

"O yes," replied I, who had mused long upon_the incident; " and when_they rise again, these bitter foes may find themselves dear friends . methinks what they mistook for hatred was but love under a mask ."

a gentleman of antiquarian propensities provided a memorial for an Indian of Chabbiquidick, one_of_the few of untainted blood remaining in_that region, and said to_be an hereditary chieftain, descended from_the sachem who welcomed governor Mayhew to_the vineyard .Mr Wigglesworth exerted his best skill to carve a broken bow and scattered sheaf of arrows, in memory of_the hunters and warriors whose race was ended here; but he likewise sculptured a cherub, to denote that_the poor Indian had shared the Christian's hope of immortality .

" why," observed I, taking a perverse view of_the winged boy and_the bow and arrows, " it looks more like Cupid's tomb than an Indian chief's ! "

" you talk nonsense," said the sculptor, with_the offended pride of art; he then added, with_his usual goodnature, " how can Cupid die when there_are such pretty maidens in_the vineyard ? "

" very true," answered I; and for_the rest of_the day i_thought of other matters than tombstones .

at our next meeting I_found him chiselling an open book upon a marble headstone, and concluded that_it_was meant to express the erudition of some black- letter clergyman of_the cotton Mather school . it turned out, however, to_be emblematical of_the scriptural knowledge of an old woman who had never read anything but her Bible; and_the monument was a tribute to her piety and good works, from_the orthodox church, of_which she had_been a member . in strange contrast with_this Christian woman's memorial, was_that of an infidel, whose gravestone, by his own direction, bore an avowal of_his belief that_the spirt within him would_be extinguished like a flame, and_that the nothingness whence he sprang would receive him again .Mr Wigglesworth consulted me as_to_the propriety of enabling a dead man's dust to utter this dreadful creed .

" if i_thought," said he, " that a single mortal would read the inscription without a shudder, my chisel should never cut a letter of it . but when_the grave speaks such falsehoods, the soul of man will know the truth by its own horror ."

" so it_will," said I, struck by_the idea; " the poor infidel may strive to preach blasphemies from_his grave; but it_will_be only another method of impressing the soul with a consciousness of immortality ."

there_was an old man by_the name of Norton, noted throughout_the island for_his great wealth, which he had accumulated by_the exercise of strong and shrewd faculties, combined with a most penurious disposition . this wretched miser, conscious that he had_not a friend to_be mindful of him in_his grave, had himself taken the needful precautions for posthumous remembrance, by bespeaking an immense slab of white marble, with a long epitaph in raised letters, the whole to_be as magnificent as Mr Wigglesworth's skill could make it . there_was something very characteristic in_this contrivance to_have his money's worth even from_his own tombstone, which, indeed, afforded him more enjoyment in_the few_months that he lived thereafter, than it probably will in a whole century, now that_it_is laid over his bones . this incident reminds me of a young girl, a pale, slender, feeble creature, most unlike the other rosy and healthful damsels of_the vineyard, amid whose brightness she was fading away . day after day did the poor maiden come to_the sculptor's shop, and pass from one piece of marble to another, till at last she pencilled her name upon a slender slab, which, i_think, was of a more spotless white than all the rest . I_saw her no more, but soon afterwards found Mr Wigglesworth cutting her virgin name into_the stone which she had chosen .

" she_is dead,-- poor girl," said he, interrupting the tune which he_was whistling, " and she chose a good piece of stuff for her headstone . now which of_these slabs would you like best to_see your own name upon ? "

" why, to_tell you the truth, my good Mr Wigglesworth," replied I, after a moment's pause,-- for_the abruptness of_the question had somewhat startled me,--" to_be quite sincere with_you, I care little or nothing about a stone for_my own grave, and am somewhat inclined to scepticism as_to_the propriety of erecting monuments at all, over the dust that once was human . the weight of_these heavy marbles, though unfelt by_the dead corpse of_the enfranchised soul, presses drearily upon_the spirit of_the survivor, and causes him to connect the idea of death with_the dungeon- like imprisonment of_the tomb, instead of with_the freedom of_the skies . every gravestone that you ever made is_the visible symbol of a mistaken system . our thoughts should soar upward with_the butterfly,-- not linger with_the exuviae that confined him . in truth and reason, neither those whom we call the living, and still less the departed, have anything to_do with_the grave ."

"I never heard anything so heathenish ! " said Mr Wigglesworth, perplexed and displeased at sentiments which controverted all his notions and feelings, and implied the utter waste, and worse, of_his whole life's labor; " would you forget your dead friends, the moment they_are under the sod ? "

" they_are_not under the sod," I rejoined; " then why should I mark the spot where there_is no treasure hidden ! forget them ? no ! but to remember them aright, i_would forget what they_have cast off . and, to gain the truer conception of death, i_would forget them grave ! "

but still the good old sculptor murmured, and stumbled, as it were, over the gravestones amid which he had walked through life . whether he were right or wrong, I had grown the wiser from_our companionship and from my observations of nature and character, as displayed by_those who came, with their old griefs or their new ones, to_get them recorded upon his slabs of marble . and yet, with my gain of wisdom, I had likewise gained perplexity; for there_was a strange doubt in my mind, whether the dark shadowing of_this life, the sorrows and regrets, have_not as_much real comfort in_them-- leaving religious influences out_of_the_question-- as what we term life's joys .

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