r them circumstances. But that's neither here nor anywhere else,
Mrs. Lathrop, 'n' what with your interruptin' Lord knows when we will
get around to Rufus, for I keep forgettin' he 's dead 'n' rememberin'
him alive, 'n' no one as remembers Rufus Timmans alive could ever tell
anything about him, 'n' you know that as well as I do. Gran'ma Mullins
said herself to-day as he was a great problem to her in school, 'n' she
used to study him out of all comparison to the other children. Every one
admitted as he was superior, 'n' yet no one knowed jus' why. She says he
really _was_ superior in lots o' ways, 'n' he whittled her a open-work
ink-stand once for a Christmas as she 's used for toothpicks ever since,
but she says the inside o' his ideas was surely most amazin'. She says
she had him for two years, 'n' all she could say was as in all them two
years she was mostly struck dumb by him. She says she used to go up 'n'
talk to Tabitha, 'n' Tilda Ann used to come down 'n' talk with her, but
nothin' ever seemed to come of it. Tilda Ann declared up 'n' down as he
was a fool through 'n' through, 'n' poor Tabitha was awful nervous for
fear he 'd invent somethin' in bed some night as would surely blow the
house up. Seems he was so ahead at ten years old that he wanted to study
to be a chemist, 'n' so behind that he spelt it 'kemst,' 'n' him all of
ten years old.

"Gran'ma Mullins said she used to be clean beside herself; he was the
show-boy whenever the board came, 'n' never got his lessons between
times. She says she always knowed he 'd turn out _some way_, but Tilda
Ann never had no opinion of him a _tall_. Not as Tilda Ann's opinion
mattered much, 'cause she climbed into the well just about then, 'n'
Rufus looked out a verse for her tombstone in the Bible. It was a very
good motto for her too,--it was, 'Well done, thou good 'n' faithful
servant'; it made a lot o' talk, 'cause she really never was paid
nothin', but the sentiment about the well was very pretty, 'n' every one
thought Tilda Ann herself would have liked it if she 'd stayed up 'n' so
had any say in the matter.

"Gran'ma Mullins went on to say as she got married soon after, so she
run out of talk, an' Mrs. Macy 'n' me was so tired listenin' to her
anyway that we was all more 'n' content jus' to stand aroun' 'n' wait
till the Jilkinses come drivin' up. Then we all had to up 'n' in
somehow, 'n' I will say, Mrs. Lathrop, as wedgin' Mrs. Macy an' Gran'ma
Mullins was certainl