S. Annie had a hull suit of clear crape made for herself,
with a veil that touched the ground; she also had three other suits
commenced, for more common wear, trimmed heavy with crape, one of which
she ordered for sure the next week, for she said, "she couldn't stir out
of the house in any other color but black."

I knew jest how dear crape wuz, and I tackled her on the subject, and
sez I--

"Do you know, S. Annie, these dresses of your'n will cost a sight?"

"Cost?" sez she, a-bustin' out a-cryin'. "What do I care about cost? I
will do everything I can to respect his memory. I do it in remembrance
of him."

Sez I, gently, "S. Annie, you wouldn't forget him if you wuz dressed in
white. And as for respect, such a life as his, from all I hear of it,
don't need crape to throw respect on it; it commands respect, and gets
it from everybody."

"But," sez Cephas, "it would look dretful odd to the neighbors if she
didn't dress in black." Sez he in a skairful tone, and in his intense
way--

[Illustration: "WHAT IS LIFE WORTH WHEN FOLKS TALK?"]

"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 na