The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1890-01-18
Contracting for Collins.

"Come in and / will make a con-
tract with you to bury You when you
die" said an undertaken who has been
tury to {; reporter.
DO Won ever make any such CON
tracts as that" asked the reporter.
Yes, indeed: I have made good
many in my time You see, there are
many peculiar people in this world,
and with some of them it extends even
to the manner in which they shall be
buried. | have made written con-
tracts with many prominent people
who have lived and died in this city,
in which all the details of the matter
were entered into, such as the kind of
wood the coffin should be made of, the
kind and color of the trimmings, etc.
with just as much care and considera
ton as are usual in business transac
tons. [ remember one prominent old
citizen of this city who wanted cot
fin made of cherry, with block of the
same material for his head to rest on.
/ made a contract with him to make it,
but, tell you, l had hard time find
ing the material. But [ succeeded at
last, and made the coffin according to
directions and kept it in my shop for
three or four wears before the owner
needed it.
During the war a great big, lum-
bering four-horse wagon drove up in
front of my place and stopped. The
driver came in and said he wanted to
buy metallic coffin for his own use
when he died. He said that he lived
at Cumberland Gap, Ky, and that he
had fancy to be buried in that kind
of coffin, and. as he knew he could
not get one where he lived, he thought
he would get one while in the city, as
he had such a good chance to take it
home. | took his measure and sold
him coffin, which he placed in his
wagon and drove off with as little con-
Germ as if he had purchased q barrel of
flour . Louisville CO,wier-Journnl.
The Wife OF Lew Wallace.
OF the more prominent writer's who
are singularlv fortunate in their domes
tic relations, the author of "Ben Hur"
is striking example. Herself a writer
of more than average ability, and pos
sessed of an accurate literary iudg-
ment, Mrs. Wallace is an invaluable
assistant to her husband in his work
She is tireless worker, rapid vet very
painstaking. and is an expert at proof
reading General Wallace is himself
his severest critic, and after an incident
or chapter has been written. recast
probably dozen times, and criticised
from every standpoint, it is given to
Mrs. Wallace and runs the gauntlet of
her critical Judgment. There is a
singular harmony of tastes between
the two and in this wise the literary
partnership is productive of the most
satisfactory results. The home of the
Wallaces is in Charlottesville, Ind,
and contains every comfort. They have
already made great deal of money
with their pens, and are destined to
make much more. Almost anything
General Wallace chooses to write Is an
assured success, and he can therefore,
command high prices for his work.
The sales of Ben Hur" alone have
brought him over $4,000, and its sue
cess has also made The Fair Cod a
fast-selling book For his Boy hood of
Christ" and his autobiography of Pres
ident Harrison he received very large
payments while for his new novel he
will be paid what, to many. would be
a snug little fortune. For Mrs. Wal
lace's published works there is also
steady demand, so that this literary
couple manage remarkably well to Sc
cure huge share of the sweets of lit
erature