“‘Doctor,’ I sez, ‘don’t you buy corpses?’

“‘Yes,’ sez he, lookin’ kinder funny.

“‘Well,’ sez I, ‘I want to sell mine.’

“Then I tole him all ‘bout it, an’ ast him if he wouldn’t take my body after I was gone, an’ give the money to the childern.

“‘Will you put it in writin’,’ sez he.

“‘Yes,’ sez I, ‘if you’ll do the same.’

“So he drawed up the papers, an’ we both signed, an’ a man with a spine in his back an’ a lady with the rheumatiz witnessed it.  So you see,” concluded Mrs. Wiggs, “I didn’t die; you mark my words, it ain’t never no use puttin’ up yer umbrell’ till it rains!”

Lucy laughed.  “Well, you certainly practise what you preach.”

“Not always,” said Mrs. Wiggs.  “I’m ‘feared I use’ to worry some over Mr. Wiggs.  T’words the last he uster pretty often—­” Here Mrs. Wiggs tipped an imaginary bottle to her lips, and gave Lucy a significant wink.  Even in the strictest confidence, she could not bear to speak of the weakness of the late lamented.

“But no matter how bad he done, he always tried to do better.  Mr. Dick sorter puts me in mind of him ’bout that.”

“Who is Mr. Dick?”

“He’s Mr. Bob’s friend.  Stays at his rooms sence he was took down.”

“Is Mr. Redding sick?” asked Lucy, the color suddenly leaving her face.

“No, it’s Mr. Dick; he’s consumpted.  I clean up his room ever’ mornin’ He coughs all the time, jes’ like Mr. Wiggs done.  Other day he had a orful spell while I was there.  I wanted to git him some whisky, but he shuck his head.  ‘I’m on the water-cart,’ sez he.  ‘Bob’s drivin’ it.’  He ain’t no fatter ‘n a knittin’-needle, an’ weaker ’n water.  You orter see him watch fer Mr. Bob!  He sets by the winder, all propped up with pillars, an’ never tecks his eyes offen that corner.  An’ when Mr. Bob comes in an’ sets down by him an’ tells him what’s goin’ on, an’ sorter fools with him a spell, looks like he picks up right off.  He ain’t got no folks nor nothin’—­ jes, Mr. Bob.  He shorely does set store by him—­jes’ shows it ever’ way.  That’s right, too.  I hold that it’s wrong to keep ever’thing bottled up inside you.  Yer feelin’s is like ras’berry vineger:  if you ’re skeered to use ’em an’ keep on savin’ ’em, first thing you know they ’ve done ’vaporated!”

Lucy’s experience had proved the contrary, but she smiled bravely back at Mrs. Wiggs, with a new tenderness in her face.

“You have taught me lots of things!” she said impulsively.  “You are one of the best and happiest women I know.”

“Well, I guess I ain’t the best by a long sight, but I may be the happiest.  An’ I got cause to be:  four of the smartest childern that ever lived, a nice house, fair to middlin’ health when I ain’t got the rheumatiz, and folks always goin’ clean out of the way to be good to one!  Ain’t that ’nough to make a person happy?  I’ll be fifty years old on the Fourth of July, but I hold there ain’t