The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1877-03-31


derers-sorter soothin' 'em q kinder
beerless way; slung 'em suthin here
md there, sometimes outer the Book,
sometimes outer himself, ez . man OF
experience az he'd he'd -sorror. He'd,
they gay (very easstiosssly), lost three
wives hissef, and five children by this
yer new disease-dipthery-out in
Wisconsin. I don't know the facts,
but that's what got round.
The Other Man-But how did he loose
his poplarityP
The One Maxwell, that's tho ques-
ton. You see he introduced some
things into undertaking that waz new.
He he'd, for instance, q way, as he
called it. of manipulating the features
of the deceased.
The Other Man Quietly How man.
niperlatingp
The One Man (struck with bright
and aggressive thought)-Look yer, did
ye ever notiss how, generally speakin',
onhandsome corpse isp
The Other Man had noticed this fact.
The One Man (returning to this fact)
Why, there was Mary PEBBLES, ez
was daughter of my wife's bosom friend
"a mighty pooty girl and q perfessing
Christian-died Of scarlet fever. Well,
that gall was one of the mourners,
being my wife's friend-well, that gal,
though l hedn't, perhaps, oughter say
lying in that casket, fetched all the
way from some Al establishment in
Chicago, filed with flowers and furbe-
lows-didn't really seem to be of much
account. Well, although my wife's
friend. end me mourner-well, now,
I was-disappointed and discouraged.
The Other Man Tin pslpably affected
sympathy)-Sho! now!
Yes, sir! Well, you see, this yer
ondertaker-th Wilkins-hed way
of correcting all tibet. And just by
manniperlation. He worked over the
face of the deceased ontil he perduced
what the survivin' relatives called q
look of Resignation-you know, q sort
of smile, like. When he wanted to put
in any extrys, he produced what he
called-hevin' reglar charges for this
kind of work-a Christians Hope"
The Other Mani want to know!
eyes. Well, I admit, at times it
was little startlin'. And I've alters
said "a little confidentially) that he'd
my doubts of its being Scriptooral or
sacred, being, ez you know, worms of
the yearth; and l relieved my mind to
our pastor, but he didn't feel like inter-
ferin', ez long ez it was confined to
church membership. But the other
day, when Cy Durham died-you dis
remember Cy Dunham?'
Along interval of silence. The Other
Man was looking out of the window,
and had apparently forgotten his COM
panion completely. But as 1 stretched
my head out of the curtain l saw four
other heads as eagerly reached out
from other berths to hear the conclu-
sion of the story. One head, a female
one, instantly disappeared on my look
ing around, but q certain tremulous-
ness of her window curtain showed an
undated interest. The only two ut
terly disinterested men were the One
Man and the Other Man.
The One Man (detaching himself Ian
guidly from the window Dun
6amP
Yes, Cy never he'd he'd either con-
victions or Professions. lister get
drunk and 60 round with permiscuOus
women. Sorter like the prodigal son,
only little more so, ez fur ez l kin
judge from the facts ez stated to me.
Well-Cy one day petered out down at
Little Rock, and was sent up yer for
interment. The fammerly, being
proud-like, of course didn't spare any
money on that funeral and it wuz-
now between you and me-about az
shapely and first-class and prine-mess
affair ez I ever saw. Wilkins he'd put
in his extrays. He he'd put onto that
prodigal's face the Al touch-hed him
fixed up with Christians Hope. Well
it waz about the turning point, for
thar waz some of the members and the
pastor hissef thought that the line out
to be drawn somewhere, I'D thar waz
some talk at Deacon Tibbet's about q
reg lar conference meetin' regardin' it.
But it want thet which made him on
poplar"
Another silence-no expression nor
reflection from the face of the Other
Man of the least desire to know what
ultimately settled the unpopularity of
the undertaken. But from the curtains
of the various berths several eager and
one or two even wrathful faces anxious
for the result.
The Other Man (lazily recurring to
the lost topic)-Well, what made him
unpopular?
The One Man Quietly -Extrys, 1
think-that is, l suppose-not KNOWN
Cautiously all the facts. When Mrs.
Widdecombe lost her husband
two months ago-though she'd been
through the valley of the shadder of
death twice this bein' her third mar
rage, hevin' been John Barker's wild
der
The Other Man with an intense ex-
preston of interesD Mo, you're fool
in me.
The One Man (solemnly)-Ef I was
to appear before my Maker tomorrow,
yes! she was the wilder of Barker.
The Other Maxwell, I swow.
The One Maxwell, this widder
Widdecombe, she put up q big funeral
for the deceased. She he'd wilkins,
and tibet undertaken just laid hisself
out. just spread himself. Onfortu-
nately-perhaps fortunately in the ways
of Providence one of Widdecombe's
old friends, doctor up thar in Chica-
90, comes down to the funeral. He
goes up with the friends to look at the
deceased, smiling a peaceful sort of
heavenly smile, and everybody sayin'
he's gone to meet his reward, and this
yer friend turns round, short and sud-
den, on the widder settin' in her pew,
and kinder enjoyin', as wimen will, all
the compliments paid the corpse, and
he says, says he: