bought a monument of him or not. He said he'd show me all he had 'n'
welcome 'n' it was no trouble but a joy. Then he took me all through
his shop 'n' the shed behind, 'n' really I never had a nicer time. I
see a lamb lyin' down first, 'n' I thought 't that would be nice f'r a
little, but the further back we went the finer they got. The man
wanted me to take a eagle grippin' a pen 'n' writin' father's name on
a book 't he's sittin' on to hold open while he writes. I told him 'f
I bought any such monument I cert'nly would want the name somewhere
else than up where no one but the eagle could read it. He said 't I
could have the name below 'n' let the eagle be writin' 'Repose in
Peace,' but I told him 't father died of paralysis after bein' in bed
for twenty years 'n' that his idea o' Heaven wasn't reposin' in
peace,--he always looked forward to walkin' about 'n.' bein' pretty
lively there. Then the man said 't maybe suthin' simple would be more
to my taste, 'n' he took me to where there was a pillow with a wreath
of roses on it, but--my gracious, I'd never be so mean 's to put a
pillow anywhere near father after all them years in bed, 'n' as to the
roses they'd be jus' 's bad or worse, for you know yourself how they
give him hay-fever so 's we had to dig up all the bushes years ago.

"But I'll tell you, Mrs. Lathrop, what I _did_ see that nobody on the
wide earth c'd help wishin' was on top o' their grave the minute they
laid eyes on it. It's a lion--a weepin' lion--kind o' tryin' to wipe
his eyes with one paw. I tell you I never saw nothin' one quarter so
handsome over no one yet, 'n' if I wasn't thinkin' o' adoptin' a child
I'd never rest until I'd set that lion on top of father. But o'
course, as it is, I can't even think how it might look there; the
livin' has rights over the dead, 'n' my child can't go without the
necessaries of life while my father gets a weepin' lion 't when you
come right square down to it he ain't got no more use for 'n' a cat