inscription · stopped mid-letter · the leaning slab
slate slab · circa 1889 · letterer unknown
it is the most-photographed stone in the grounds and the least understood. the letterer cut here lies what was not said by — T and then stopped. the crossbar of the T is missing; the chisel mark remains. nothing else has been added in a hundred and thirty-seven years.
explanations are abundant. that the letterer was called away. that he died. that the patron refused to pay. that T was the start of the, or of thomas, or of themselves. the apology of unfinishedness insists that any of these is the wrong answer, and that the stone is complete as it stands.
the slab has tilted in soft ground. moss has not taken to the shallow stop where the chisel rested last. it is the only mark on any inscription here that records a moment rather than a date.
field-note · do not try to finish it. it is, already, more than enough.
see also · unfinishedness silence lacuna never garden stone