"She wanted for me to remember what ’e was like," said the old woman placidly and Mrs. Bate, who had received the night-cap from Mrs. Tom and was absent-mindedly smoothing the strings, smiled to herself a little wistfully. She was old now, but she had been a handsome maid. If only she had been alive when Old Squire was in his prime! "I shouldn’t think," said Mrs. Con, putting down her empty cup and leaning both elbows comfortably on the table, "that S’bina’s coffin would cost so much, now, without laigs? Twill be all that the shorter and ’twont be so ’cavy for the men to carry. I should think one set of bearers ’d do." "Surely," urged Mrs. Brenton, "they’ll make it the right size? Twill look funny to ’av a dumpy coffin." "’Ere, Betsy, you can tack this seam," said Mrs. Tom, who, seeing no reason for any one to be idle, was apportioning the sewing. This done she spoke with authority. "They must make S’bina’s coffin the right length; for when ’er laigs was cut off she wouldn’t ’av them throwed away. ’When I’m buried up,’ she say, ’I’ll ’av me laigs with me. Anybody can’t rise up on the Last Day without laigs!’" The others showed surprise. "Very thoughtful of ’er, I’m sure," said Mrs. Brenton. "No," said Aunt Louisa in her pin-muted voice, "’twouldn’t be decent to go before ’er Maker wi’out laigs. But I didn’t know she ’ad ’em. Wherever’s she kept ’em to?" "Well, she got ’em in a box, salted away. She brought ’em ’ome from the ’orspital and they’m in the li’l parlour in the cupboard. I think we’d better get’n out against Mr. ’Enwood come to measure ’er." "She’ll make a vitty corpse, after all," said Mrs. Con, who had been haunted by the thought of that legless body and who would now be able to think of her cousin as made whole by the restoration of the carefully preserved limbs. Her person, large and soft, the person of a big eater and small doer, heaved in a gusty sigh of satisfaction. "Nights I’ve lied thinkin’ when she die there’d ’av to be something put in the coffin to keep ’er from boompin’ up and down." Mrs. Bate got up. "I’ll just put on ’er cap and then you can all come in and see ’er. She’s the fines’ body I’ve set forth for many a day. Some fat body, too, she be, some ’andsome body, fat as butter." Before the others could take advantage of this invitation which, with the exception of Mrs. Con they were naturally eager to do, Leadville’s step was heard on the linhay flags and he at once became the centre of interest. The corpse could wait but this was their first glimpse of the bereaved. Curiosity was veiled by industry and politeness and like the fates they snipped and stitched. Fresh from his sleep in the sunshine and ready to do his part, he paused, on his way in, to break his fast. As he ate, the whirr of the sewing-machine caught his ear and at once some of his briskness passed.