l the exact facts hereafter."

Then he began again:

"In manner Uncle Dave was approachable an' with a kind heart for all
mankind, an' a kind word an' a helpin' han' for the needy. He was
_tollerbul_ truthful"--went on the Bishop--with a look at Uncle Davy
as if he had profited by previous interruptions.

"Tell it as it was, Hillard,"--nodded Uncle Dave, from the front
bench--"jes' as it was--no lies at my fun'ral."

"_Tollerbul_ truthful," went on the Bishop, "on all subjects he
wanted to tell the truth about. An' I'm proud to say, bretherin,
that after fifty odd years of intermate acquantance with our
soon-to-be-deceased brother, you cu'd rely on him tellin' the truth
in all things except"--

"Tell it as it was, Hillard--no--filigree work at my fun'ral--" said
Uncle Dave.

--"Except," went on the Bishop, "returnin' any little change he
happen'd to borry from you, or swoppin' horses, or tellin' the size
of the fish he happened to ketch. On them p'ints, my bretherin, the
lamented corpse was pow'ful weak; an' I'm sorry to have to tell it,
but I've been warned, as you all kno', to speak the exact facts."

"Hillard Watts," said Uncle Dave rising hotly--"that's a lie an' you
know it!"

"Sit down, Dave," said the Bishop calmly, "I've been preachin'
fun'rals fur fifty years an' that is the fus' time I ever was sassed
by a corpse. You know it's so an' besides I left out one thing.
You're always tellin' what kinder weather it's gwinter be to-morrow
an' missin' it. You burnt my socks off forty years ago on the only
hoss-trade I ever had with you. You owe me five dollars you borrowed
ten years ago, an' you never caught a half pound perch in yo' life
that you didn't tell us the nex' day it was a fo' pound trout. So set
down. Oh, I'm tellin' the truth without any filigree, Dave."

Aunt Sally and Tilly pulled Uncle Dave down while they conversed with
him earnestly. Then he arose and said:

"Hillard, I beg yo' pardon. You've spoken the truth--Sally and Tilly
both say so. I tell yo', bretherin," he said turning to the
congregation--"it'd be a good thing if we c'ud all have our fun'ral
sermon now and then correctly told. There would be so many points
brought out as seen by our neighbors that we never saw ourselves."

"The subject of this sermon"--went on the Bishop--"the lamented
corpse-to-be, was never married but once--to his present loving
widow-to-be, and he never had any love affair with any other
woman--she bein' h