Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1877 — No Cause of Complaint. [ARTICLE]

No Cause of Complaint.

He was a singularly grave man, even for a sexton. For nearly a half century he had been a public functionary—had performed the conspicuous duties of a sexton ; yet no one had ever seen him smile. Occasionally he joked, but he did it in such a funereal manner that no one could accuse him of levity. One day he was standing on the church steps, wiping his melancholy features with a red bandanna. A hearse stood near, and three or four carriages were drawn up behind it. The notes of the organ floated out of the windows with solemn effect. A stranger came along and said : “ Funeral ?” And the old sexton gravely bowed his head—it was. “Who’s dead?” The old man again wiped his brow and gave the name of the deceased. “ What complaint ?” asked the inquisitive stranger. Solemnly placing his bandanna in his hat and covering his bald head, the old sexton made answer : “There is no complaint; everybody is entirely satisfied.”— Worcester Press,