Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/206

 MARK TWAIN

placidly ignoring my statement, and gave his views at considerable length upon the unwisdom of putting off burials too long. Then he lounged off toward the box, stood a moment, then came back on a sharp trot and visited the broken pane, observing:

&quot; Twould a ben a dum sight better, all around, if they d started him along last summer.&quot;

Thompson sat down and buried his face in his red silk handkerchief, and began to slowly sway and rock his body like one who is doing his best to endure the almost unendurable. By this time the fragrance if you may call it fragrance was just about suffocating, as near as you can come at it. Thompson s face was turning gray; I knew mine hadn t any color left in it. By and by Thompson rested his forehead in his left hand, with his elbow on his knee, and sort of waved his red handkerchief toward the box with his other hand, and said:

&quot;I ve carried a many a one of em some of em considerable overdue, too but, lordy, he just lays over em all! and does it easy. Cap, they was heliotrope to him!&quot;

This recognition of my poor friend gratified me, in spite of the sad circumstances, because it had so much the sound of a compliment.

Pretty soon it was plain that something had got to be done. I suggested cigars. Thompson thought it was a good idea. He said:

&quot; Likely it ll modify him some.&quot;

We puffed gingerly along for a while, and tried hard to imagine that things were improved. But it wasn t any use. Before very long, and without

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