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William Priest - Travels in the United States of America
us, headed by the parson of the parish in which we were. He was a little man, dressed in black, with a
scarf hanging over his left shoulder. - Upon inquiry, we found they were proceeding to a church about a
league distant, where the corpse they attended was to be deposited.
"And to whom may this body belong?" said the indian physician, addressing the man who
walked in the rear of the procession.
"It is the corpse of the unfortunate Marcia,' replied the other, speaking low; 'she died suddenly, yesterday
morning, and is now carrying to be interred in the vault of her ancestors.' We were much affected at this
intelligence, as we had hoped to hear of her recovery, instead of her decease.
"At the request of my friend, the man in the white linen coat, the Indian agreed to attend the funeral
along with us, and accordingly we all three fell in among the followers, and travelled on with a slow pace
till we came to the scene of interment. The situation was wild and gloomy. Naked rocks, dark cedars, the
head of a small lake, and the venerable tombs of the dead, completed the scenery.
"It was pity,' said I, 'to the singing clerk, who stood near me, 'that Fate has so ordered matters, that this
young creature should depart the world in so very extravagant a condition of mind. Though too many
pass their whole lives in a state of insanity, it were to be wished, that, towards the evening, the clouds of
phrensy might be dissipated, and the sun of reason set clear.'
"The singing clerk looked full in my face, opened his mouth wide, and was about to make some reply,
when silence was ordered, that the clergyman might pronounce a speech over the body; but his reverence
stumbled at the threshold: he had unluckily forgot his pocket Bible, and could not recollect his
text.
"Cannot he say something applicable to the melancholy occasion,' whispered the Indian, 'without the
formality of taking a text?'
"Were you to give him three worlds, each as rich as a dozen of the Indies,' replied the clerk, 'you could
not get a word out of him on any other condition.'
"The sexton of the parish was then ordered to mount one of the horses, and make the best of the way to
the good doctor's house, to bring the Bible.
"After waiting a full and entire hour, he returned with the vexatious intelligence, that the Bible was not to
be found - it was stolen - or, it was hid - or it had been neglected - or, it was mislaid - or they
knew not what had been done with it. - 'More is the pity!' exclaimed the singing clerk.
"The doctor of divinity then mounted the horse himself, apparently with some uneasiness, and set out
personally to bring the Bible at all events.
"By this time, however, the sun was set, and the whole company stood waiting in anxious expectation of
the clergyman's return, till darkness had taken possession of the earth; but there was yet no appearance of
either the divine or his Bible.
"As it is more than probable he cannot find his book,' said the man in the white linen coat, 'I am positive
he will not return at all; and, as it is now almost dark, I am of opinion the sooner the funeral ceremonies
are finished the better. The body of the unfortunate Marcia ought not to be deposited in these silent
retreats of death without some living token of our respect. She was amiable while living, and
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