the power to do find such generous recognition as in the obituaries of
country papers. The "prominence" of blacksmiths, general store
keepers, undertakers, notaries public, and other townspeople bright in
local fame has been made a jest by urban persons of a humorous
inclination, who take scorn of merit because it is not vast merit.
Pleasing to contemplate in contrast to this waspish spirit is the noble
nature of the country obituary, inspiration to humanism. Here was a
man, to the seeing eye, of sterling stamp: "He attended public grammar
school where he profited by his opportunities in obtaining as good an
education as possible, etc." Later in life, be became "well and
favourably known for his conservative and sane business methods," and
was esteemed by his associates, it is said, "fraternally and
otherwise." He was "mourned," by those who "survived" him, as people
are not mourned in cities, that is, frankly, in a manner undisguised.
Country obituaries are not afraid to be themselves. In this is their
appeal to the human heart.

They are the same in spirit, identical in turn of phrase, from Maine to
California, from the Gulf to the Upper Provinces. That is one of the
remarkable things about them. You might expect to come across, here or
there, a writer of country paper obituaries out of step, as it were,
with his fellow mutes, so to put it, one raising his voice in a
slightly off, or different key, a trace, in short, of the hand of some
student of the modes of thought of the world beyond his bosky dell or
rolling plain. But it is not so in any paper truly of the countryside.
And, perhaps, that is well.

A type of obituary which very likely is read rather generally in cities
is that of slow growth and released from the newspaper-office "morgue"
as occasion calls. One such timely and capable biographical account is
waiting for each of us that is a Vice-President, King, lord of great
dominions, high commander of armed forces, intellectual immortal of any
kind, recognised superman in this or that. Big Chief anywhere, or
beloved popular idol, nicely proportioned according to our space value.
Of course, if we are a very great Mogul indeed we get a display head on
the first page upon the dramatic occasion of our exit. But, generally
speaking, this type of matter would run somewhere between the seventh
and the thirteenth or fifteenth page, according to the number of pages
of the issue of the paper coinciding with