The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-07-09
~ un6eetnker's CID.

aNow. that corpse" said the under
taker, Mating the folded hands Of de-
ceased5spprovingiy, was brick-evcry
Mab you took him he was = brick. He
IVES 80 real accommodating, and 80 mod
est-like and simple in his last moments.
Hiend.s wanted metallic burial case
Nothing else would do. / couldn't get u
, There warn't going to be time-anyDody
! could see that. Corpse said never mind'
shake him up some kind OF . DoA :.
could stretch out in comfortable, =
warnt particular bout the geners' s ~.
of it. Said he went more on room 49,
style, any way, in . last final con'a' :.
Friends wanted a silver door-piate On
the coffin. signifying who ne was ana
-, ~ ros from. Now you know
e,,,o,v couldn't roust out such gayly
thing as that in a little country town
l;La 3h;s What did corpse say? Corpse
..;a rbite.wash his old canoe and dob
h;s address and general destination onto
= with a backing brush and stencil
Mate. long with verse from some like
" HYMN or other, and pint him for the
tomb, and mark him C. o. D., and just
let him flicker. He warn't distressed any
more than you be-on the contrary just
as cam and collected as hearse-horse; ;
said he judged that wher' he was going
to a body would find it consider
able better to attract attention by a
picturesque moral character than natty
burial case with swell door-plate on it.
Splendid man he was. Pdruther do for
corpse like that'n any I've tackled in
seven year. There's some satisfaction in
buryin' man like that You feel that
what you're doing is appreciated. Lord
bless you, SOS he got planted before he
spilled he was perfectly satisfied; said
his relations meant. well, perfectly well,
but all them preparations was bound to
delay the thing more or less, and he
didn't wisffsto be kept layin' around You
never see such clear head as what he
had-and so cam and SO cool. Just a
hunk of brains-that is what he was.
Perfectly awful. 1t was ripping dis
lance from one end of that mans head to
t'other. Often and over again he's had
brain fever araging in one place, and the
rest of the pile didn't know anything
about it-didnt affect it any more than
an lniun instruction in Arizona affects
the Atlantic States. Well, the relations,
they wanted lurid funeral, but corpse
said he was down on fummery-didn't
want any professionally the hearse full
of mourners, and get out stern line and
tow him behind. He wns the most down
on style of any remains ever struck
A beautiful simple minded creature
it was what he was, you can depend on
that. He was just set on having things
the way he wanted them, and he took a
solid comfort in laying his little plans
He had me measure him and take a
whole raft of directions; then he had the
minister stand up behind long box
with table-cloth over it to represent
the coffin. and read his funeral sermon
saying Angcore angcorc' at the good
places, and making him scratch out ev-
cry bit of brag about him, and all the
hifalutin'; and then he made them trot
out the choir SOS he could help them
pick out the tunes for the occasion, and
he got them to sing Pop Goes the
Weasel, because he always liked that
tune when he was down-hearted, and
solemn music made him sad; and when
they sung that with tears in their eyes
because they all loved HIM, and his re.
lations grievcd around, he just laid there
as happy as a bug and trying to beat
time and showing all over how much he
enjoyed it, and presently he got worked
up and excited, and tried to join In, for
mind you, he was pretty proud Of his
abilities in the singing line; but the first
time he opened his mouth and was just
going to spread himself, his breath took
walk. | never see man snuffed out
so sudden. All, it was great loss
1t was powerful loss to this poor, lit.
tie, one.horse town. Well, well, well
| amt got time to be palavering along
here-got to nail on the lid and mosey
along with him; and if you'll just give
me lift we'll skeet him into the hcarse
and meander along Relations bound to
have it so-dont pay no attention to dy.
ing injunctions, minute corpse's gone
but if had my way, if didn't respect
his last wishes and tow him behind the
hearse I'll be cuss'd. | consider that
whatever corpse wants done for his
comfort is little enough matter, and a
man amt got no right to deceive him OF
take advantage of him; and whatever 4
corpse trusts me to do I'm agoing to do
you know, even if it's to stuff him and
paint him yaller, and keep him for a
keepsake-your hear me-"
He cracked his whip and went lumber
ing away with his ancient ruin of a
hearse, and continued my walk with a
valuable lesson learned that a healthy
and wholesome cheerfulness is not nee
essarily impossible to any occupation
The lesson is likely to be lasting, for it
will take many months to obliterate the
memory of the remarks and circum-
stances that impressed them Marx
Teams Unpublished English Notes.