Unabashed

An excerpt from the Society of S by Susan Hubbard (which has been excellent so far. I’m about halfway through it. Here’s an interview with Susan). This is the inscription on a tombstone in a Savannah, GA cemetery, of a man whose ghost still roams the night:

This humble stone
records the filial piety
fraternal affection and manly virtues
of
James Wilde, Esquire,
late District Paymaster in the army of the U.S.
He fell in a Duel on the 16th of January, 1815,
by the hand of a man
who, a short time ago, would have been
friendless but for him;
and expired instantly in his 22d year:
dying, as he had lived:
with unshaken courage & unblemished reputation.
By his untimely death the prop of a Mother’s
age is broken:
The hope and consolation of Sisters is destroyed,
the pride of Brothers humbled in the dust
and a whole Family, happy until then,
overwhelmed with affliction.

The only thing I haven’t liked about the book so far is the tagline: “If you ever want to hide from the world, live in a small city, where everyone seems anonymous.” In my mind, just the opposite is true. I live in a small town and it’s very difficult to be anonymous here. Even the reclusive people are discussed at length, at times. There’s no escaping gossip in a small city, but in a large city, well, I would imagine that’s where it would really be easy to become anonymous. Just my thoughts.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: bonaventure, cemetery, georgia, ghosts, savannah, susan hubbard, vampires