't never the sewin' one," he continued, "besides,
this crazy quiltin' business was most too new fashioned fer my Em'ly. I
kin recollect now bringin' that sofy cushion in from the farm, so it
must 'a' been Peachy's. Funny how I keep puttin' everything on to Em'ly
these days!"

Then seeing that his caller's red-rimmed eyes had been yearning toward
the coffee pot at the back of his stove, the old man put it down before
her with a nicked but brightly flowered cup and saucer, and afterward,
settling himself in his own place, peacefully began smoking, finding a
kind of unholy joy in the old maid's horrified glances about his untidy
but nobly littered kitchen.

"S'pose you go ahead now'n tell me just what ails you?" Uncle Ambrose
suggested after a reasonably sustaining pause.

And straightway Elizabeth returned to the slow and monotonous weeping
that had so disturbed his nerves for the past few hours. However, he let
her alone for a time, and except for moving restlessly about in his
chair and biting hard on his pipe stem made no other signs until at last
he placed a trembling hand on her bowed shoulder. "'Lizabeth Horton,
there is some women that just nachurally runs away to tears, but I
wouldn't waste myself _en_tirely ef I was you. Seems like when a female
has cried 's long as you have, she must need something to fill up the
places that has gone dry on the inside; so you take another cup of
coffee; it may be bitter but it's liquid. I ain't sayin' I ain't used to
women's weepin', but I'm gittin' older an'----"

Elizabeth at this gulped down her second dose. "I hadn't ought to cry so
much, Uncle Ambrose," she apologized, "but you must know I'm havin' to
give up my little home and it most breaks my heart."

Uncle Ambrose looked meditatively about his ancient and patched
fourteen-foot-square kitchen, and his dim eyes shone with the never
failing pride of possession. "These cottages ain't so bad," he said
defensively. "I been living in mine off'n on fer most seventy years, and
I kin remember when yours and old Mrs. Barrows', now deceased, was built
like it. Still I am obleeged to say there may be finer places; more'n
likely now this nephew's house is stylisher where you're bein' took in
to live. Seems like I've done heard it's in a su-burb and sets up on a
hill. Kind er onnecessary Pennyrile's havin' a su-burb, but mebbe
you're thinkin' the young folks won't be good to you when you go up
there to dwell."

Now that her cry