“I would ruther resk my life than to have her fail in duty in this way; it would make talk. And.” sez he, “what is life worth when folks talk?” I turned around the crazed block and tackled it in a new place (more luny than ever it seemed to me), and sez I, mekanickly-- “It is pretty hard work to keep folks from talkin'; to keep 'em from sayin' somethin'.” But I see from their looks it wouldn't do to say anything more, so I had to set still and see it go on. At that time of year flowers wuz dretful high, but S. Annie and Cephas had made up their minds that they must have several flower-pieces from the city nighest to Loontown. One wuz a-goin' to be a gate ajar, and one wuz to be a gate wide open, and one wuz to be a big book. Cephas asked what book I thought would be preferable to represent. And I mentioned the Bible. But Cephas sez, “No, he didn't think he would have a Bible; he didn't think it would be appropriate, seein' the deceased wuz a lawyer.” He said “he hadn't quite made up his mind what book to have. But anyway it wuz to be in flowers--beautiful flowers.” Another piece wuz to be his name in white flowers on a purple background of pansies. His name wuz Wellington Napoleon Bonaparte Hardiman. And I sez to Cephas--“To save expense, you will probable have the moneygram W.N.B.H.?” “Oh, no,” sez he. Sez I, “hen the initials of his given names, and the last name in full.” “Oh, no,” he said; “it wuz S. Annie's wish, and hisen, that the hull name should be put on. They thought it would show more respect.” I sez, “Where Wellington is now, that hain't a goin' to make any difference, and,” sez I, “Cephas, flowers are dretful high this time of year, and it is a long name.” But Cephas said agin that he didn't care for expense, so long as respect wuz done to the memory of the deceased. He said that he and S. Annie both felt that it wuz their wish to have the funeral go ahead of any other that had ever took place in Loontown or Jonesville. He said that S. Annie felt that it wuz all that wuz left her now in life, the memory of such a funeral as he deserved. Sez I, “There is his children left for her to live for,” sez I--“three little bits of his own life, for her to nourish, and cherish, and look out for.” “Yes,” sez Cephas, “and she will do that nobly, and I will help her. They are all goin' to the funeral, too, in deep-black dresses.” He said “they wuz too little to realize it now, but in later and maturer years it would be a comfort to 'em to know they had took part in such a funeral as that wuz goin' to be, and wuz dressed in black.” “Wall,” sez I (in a quiet, onassumin' way I would gin little hints of my mind on the subject), “I am afraid that will be about all the comforts of life the poor little children will ever have,” sez I. “It will be if you buy many more flower-pieces and crape dresses.” Cephas said “it wouldn't take much crape for the children's dresses, they wuz so little, only the baby's; that would have to be long.”