The sociable ghost : $b Being the adventures of a reporter who was invited by the sociable ghost to a grand banquet, ball, and convention under the ground of old Trinity churchyard. A true tale of the things he saw and did not see while he was not there.Harper, Olive
Science
The sociable ghost : $b Being the adventures of a reporter who was invited by the sociable ghost to a grand banquet, ball, and convention under the ground of old Trinity churchyard. A true tale of the things he saw and did not see while he was not there.
Harper, Olive
American fiction -- 20th century; Ghost stories
"Of course, of course. But wait till I tell you the rest. They sent for
an undertaker, one of the swell ones. Common funerals are out of date
now, or you would have thought so had you heard him talk. Honey from
Hymettus was not sweeter than his sympathy, and oil from the olive groves
of Italy was not so smooth as his tongue. He was so gentle and suggestive
in his consolatory words that before the poor girl understood she had
given him carte blanche to have a funeral such as should show the proper
amount of respect for the dead and her uncontrollable grief. Oh, yes;
everything must be such as would pour balm into that broken heart. She
had never wanted anything during my life, and she knew absolutely nothing
about business, so that glib fellow just turned her around his finger.
The funeral must be in church. That meant the music and preacher to pay
besides all the other things. There must be palms all down the aisle,
and floral pieces. I must be embalmed. Well—I hope he may be obliged to
float helplessly around and see some other fellow embalm him. And I hope
it may be a business rival! My coffin was the finest, copper-lined, with
silver handles and plate-glass top. And she agreed to it all without
asking the price. She did not know enough.
"Well, I suppose I ought to feel flattered about it, but I don't. No,
sir! And then the grave. The highest priced lot was chosen by that wily
undertaker, and the grave dug. An awning was stretched over it, and all
the earth that came out was sifted so that it should fall lightly without
that sickening thud that we hear when the clods strike the coffin.
Folding chairs were there for the mourners, and iced vichy for those who
were thirsty. Carriages were provided for every Tom, Dick and Harry that
wanted to have a free ride. My wife was the only mourner, for we neither
had any relatives. But, my employees were there, and every comfort was
provided for them. I am telling you this to show how women are imposed
upon. Why the crape upon the door was a yard wide and twice as long. The
undertaker made his strong point always saying that nothing less would be
showing the proper respect. And my own dress suit that I hadn't worn but
three times was not good enough, and so he went and put another on and
charged her a hundred dollars extra.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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