THE HEAD-STONE
1.THE coffin was let down to the bottom of the grave，the planks were removed from the heaped-up brink，the first rattling clods had struck their knell，the quick shoveling was over，and the long，broad，skillfully cut pieces of turf were aptly joined together，and trimly laid by the beating spade，so that the newest mound in the churchyard was scarcely distinguishable from those that were grown over by the undisturbed grass and daisies of a luxuriant spring.The burial was soon over，and the party，with one consenting motion，having uncovered their heads，in decent reverence of the place and occasion，were beginning to separate，and about to leave the church-yard.
2.Here，some acquaintances，from distant parts of the parish，who had not had opportunity of addressing each other in the house，that had belonged to the deceased，nor in the course of the few hundred yards，that the little procession had to move over，from his bed to his grave，were shaking hands quietly but cheerfully，and inquiring after the welfare of each other‘s families.There，a small knot of neighbors were speaking，without exaggeration，of the respectable character which the deceased had borne，and mentioning to one another little incidents of his life，some of them so-remote as to be known only to the gray-headed persons of the group；while a few yards further removed from the spot，were standing together parties，who discussed ordinary concerns，altogether unconnected with the funeral，such as the state of the markets，the promise of the season，or change of tenants；but still with a sobriety of manner and voice，that was insensibly produced bythe influence of the simple ceremony now closed，by the quiet gravesaround，and the shadow of the spire and gray walls of the house of God.
3.Two men yet stood together at the head of the grave，with countenances of sincere，but unimpassioned grief.They were brothers，the only sons of him who had been buried.And there was something in their situation，that naturally kept the eyes of many directed upon them，for a long time，and more intently than would have been the case，had there been nothing more observable about them than the common symptoms of a common sorrow.But these two brothers，who were now standing at the head of their father’s grave，had for some years been totally estranged from each other，and the only words that had passed between them，during all that time，had been uttered within a few days past，during the necessary preparations for the old man‘s funeral.
4.No deep and deadly quarrel was between these brothers，and neither of them could distinctly tell the cause of this unnatural estrangement.Perhaps dim jealousies of their father’s favor；selfish thoughts that will sometimes force themselves into poor men‘s hearts，respecting temporal expectations，unaccommodating manners on both sides；taunting words，that mean little when uttered，but which rankle and fester in remembrance；imagined opposition of interests，that，duly considered，would have been found one and the same；these，and many other causes，slight when single，but strong when rising up together in one baneful band，had gradually but fatally infected their hearts，till at last they，who in youth had been seldom separate，and truly attached，now met at market，and miserable to say，at church，with dark and averted faces，like different clansmen during a feud.
5.Surely if any thing could have softened their hearts toward each other，it must have been to stand silently，side by side，while the earth，stones，and clods，were falling down upon their father’s coffin.And doubtless their hearts were so softened.But pride，though it can not prevent the holy affections of nature from being felt，may prevent them from being shown；and these two brothers stood there together，determined not to let each other know the mutual tenderness that，in spite of them，was gushing up in their hearts，and teaching them the unconfessed folly and wickedness of their causeless quarrel.
6.A head-stone had been prepared，and a person came forward to plant it.The elder brother directed him how to place it，a plain stone with a sand-glass，skull，and cross-bones，chiseled not rudely，and a few words inscribed.The younger brother regarded the operation with a troubled eye，and said，loudly enough to be heard by several of the bystanders，“William，this was not kind in you；you should have told me of this.I loved my father as well as you could love him.You were the elder，and，it may be，the favorite son；but I had a right in nature to have joined you in ordering this head-stone，had I not？”
7.During these words，the stone was sinking into the earth，and many persons，who were on their way from the grave，returned.For awhile the elder brother said nothing，for he had a consciousness in his heart that he ought to have consulted his father‘s son，in designing this last becoming mark of affection and respect to his memory；so the stone was planted in silence，and now stood erect，decently and simply，among the other unostentatious memorials of the humble dead.
8.The inion merely gave the name and age of the deceased，and told that the stone had been erected “by his affectionate sons.”The sight of these words seemed to soften the displeasure of the angry man，and he said，some what more mildly，“Yes，we were his affectionate sons，and since my name is on the stone，I am satisfied，brother.We have not drawn together kindly of late years，and perhaps never may，but I acknowledge and respect your worth；and here，before our own friends，and before the friends of our father，with my foot above his head，I express my willingness to be on other and better terms with you，and if we can not command love in our hearts，let us，at least，brother，bar out all unkindness.”
