Wandering In Cemeteries

For reasons that will become evident in following posts, late last night I was wandering around an old British (now Church of North India) Cemetery. I've always loved cemeteries and find them utterly peaceful and I have a strange fascination with reading old tombstones and their epitaphs.

While I was meandering in the dark by the dim glow of my cellphone light* I came across of line of stone crosses. The second grave in line had the saddest epitaph I have ever seen engraved on it:

"In fond and loving memory of

Thomas Hardie

The dearly beloved son of ...

Who departed this life on the ____ (unreadable) March 1901

aged 25 years & 3 months

Mourned, very deeply mourned by his sorrow stricken parents, brothers & sisters

RIP"

(verse)

After reading this I looked down below my feet** and saw three large stone letters across the top of the grave.

T

O

M

Tom.

* this line sounds like it was written by Snoopy.
** I was standing right on the grave so I could see, I was reading by the light of the moon and my cellphone lamp.