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349
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
·
W. N. P. Barbellion
244
PART
III--MARRIAGE
September
12.
This
evening
we
walked
thro'
the
Churchyard
reading
tombstone
inscriptions.
What
a
lot
of
men
have
had
wives!
I
can't
make
out
what
has
come
over
folk
recently:
the
wit,
wisdom
and
irony
on
the
old
tombstones
have
given
place
to
maudlin
sentiment
and
pious
Bible
references.
Then
on
the
anniversary
of
the
death
the
custom
among
poorer
classes
is
to
publish
such
pathetic
doggerel
as
the
following--cuttings
I
have
taken
from
time
to
time
from
the
local
newspaper
in
----:
"Her
wish:
"'Farewell
dear
brother,
Mother,
sisters,
My
life
was
passed
in
love
for
thee.
Mourn
not
for
me
nor
sorrow
take
But
love
my
husband
for
my
sake
Until
the
call
comes
home
to
thee,
Live
thou
in
peace
and
harmony.'"
Again:
"A
day
of
remembrance
sad
to
recall
But
still
in
my
heart
he
is
loved
best
of
all
No
matter
how
I
think
of
him--his
name
I
oft
recall;
There
is
nothing
left
to
answer
me
but
his
photo
on
the
wall."
Or:
"One
year
has
passed
since
that
sad
day,
When
one
we
loved
was
called
away.
God
took
her
home;
it
was
His
will,
Forget
her?--No,
we
never
will."
These
piteous
screeds
fill
me
with
loving-kindness
and
with
contempt
alternately
in
a
pendulum-like
rhythm.
What
is
the
truth
about
them?
Is
the
grief
of
these
people
as
mean
and
ridiculous
as
their
rhymes?
Or
is
it
a
pitiful
inarticulateness?
Or
is
it
merely
vulgar
advertisement
of
their
sorrow?
Or
does
it
signify
a
passionate
intention
never
to
forget?--or
a
fear
of
forgetting,
the
rhymes
being
used
as
a
fillip
to
the
memory?
Or--most
miserable
of
all--is
it
just
a
custom,
and
one
followed
in
order
to
appear
respectable
in
others'
eyes?
Are
they
poor
souls?
or
contemptible
fools?
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
