STORY OF THE HORN-BLOWER 239 



and that brother who as a babe had travelled to Win- 

 chester hi his mother's arms in cold weather talked 

 together about him and his life, and of all he had 

 suffered and of his goodness, and in both their minds 

 there was one idea, an anxious wish that his descend- 

 ants should not allow him to go out of memory. And 

 there was no way known to them to keep him in mind 

 except by burying him hi some spot by himself, where 

 his mound would be alone and apart. Finally, brother 

 and sister, plucking up courage, went to the vicar, the 

 well-remembered Mr. Parsons, who built the new vicar- 

 age and the church school, and begged him to let them 

 bury their father by the yew tree near the porch, and 

 he good-naturedly consented. 



That was how Newland came to be buried at that 

 spot ; but before many days the vicar went to them in 

 a great state of mind, and said that he had made a 

 terrible mistake, that he had done wrong in consenting 

 to the grave being made there, and that their father 

 must be taken up and placed at some other spot in the 

 churchyard. They were grieved at this, but could say 

 nothing. But for some reason the removal never took 

 place, and in time the son and daughter themselves 

 began to regret that they had buried their father there 

 where they could never keep the mound green and 

 fresh. People going in or coming out of church on 

 dark evenings stumbled or kicked their boots against 

 it, or when they stood there talking to each other they 

 would rest a foot on it, and romping children sat on it, 



