trap-door in certain of the chimneys had been left open by
accident,--either that or by an enemy on purpose,--and undoubtedly
some slight flavour of the pig had been allowed to escape. I had been
there on the spot, knowing that I could trust only my own senses,
and was able to declare that the scent which had escaped was very
slight, and by no means disagreeable. And I was able to show that
the trap-door had been left open either by chance or by design,--the
very trap-door which was intended to prevent any such escape during
the moments of full cremation,--so that there need be no fear of a
repetition of the accident. I ought, indeed, to have supplied four
other hogs, and to have tried the experiment again. But the theme was
disagreeable, and I thought that the trial had been so far successful
as to make it unnecessary that the expense should be again incurred.
"They say that men and women would not have quite the same smell,"
said he.

"How do they know that?" I exclaimed, in my anger. "How do they know
what men and women will smell like? They haven't tried. There won't
be any smell at all--not the least; and the smoke will all consume
itself, so that even you, living just where you are, will not know
when cremation is going on. We might consume all Gladstonopolis, as
I hope we shall some day, and not a living soul would know anything
about it. But the prejudices of the citizens are ever the
stumbling-blocks of civilisation."

"At any rate, Mrs G. tells me that Jemima is going, because none of
the young men will come up and see her."

This was another difficulty, but a small one, and I made up my mind
that it should be overcome. "The shrubs seem to grow very well," I
said, resolved to appear as cheerful as possible.

"They're pretty nearly all alive," said Graybody; "and they do give
the place just an appearance like the cemetery at Old Christchurch."
He meant the capital in the province of Canterbury.

"In the course of a few years you will be quite--cheerful here."

"I don't know much about that, Mr President. I'm not sure that for
myself I want to be cheerful anywhere. If I've only got somebody just
to speak to sometimes, that will be quite enough for me. I suppose
old Crasweller will be the first?"

"I suppose so."

"It will be a gruesome time when I have to go to bed early, so as not
to see the smoke come out of his chimney."

"I tell you there will be nothing of the kind. I don't suppose you
will eve