oked real happy, but some fagged out from seein' so much.

I'm dretful afraid that the pendulum, havin' swung too fur on one side,
is a-goin' too fur on the other; it is nater.

But mebby they'll settle down and be more megum when the pendulum gits
kinder settled down some, and its vibration ceases to be so vibratin'.

Anyway, I'm glad to see 'em a-steppin' out of their weeds, and I told
'em so.

Sez I, "You wuz in mournin' a awful while, wuzn't you?"

Oren fairly gritted his teeth, and before Lateza Alzina could speak, he
busted out--

"By Vum! I've mourned all I'm a-goin' to! I've staid penned up in the
house all I'm a-goin' to!

"I've quit it, by Vum! First my stepfather passed away. I never liked
him--he always imposed on me; but we all went into deep mournin', staid
out of society--jest shet ourselves up in a black jail for years.

"Then my mother-in-law left me--then three years more of solid black and
solid stayin' to home.

"Then, at the end of the third year, we kinder quit off and begun to
creep out a little and kinder lighten ourselves up a little; but then my
wife's brother that she never see died way out to California and left a
big property, but not a cent to us.

"But the rest of the family wanted to mourn, so my wife had to foller on
and mourn too.

"And there it wuz agin, another time of gloom--another time of stayin'
to home.

"Time after time, jest as we got out a little, we had to plunge back
into gloom agin.

"But now we're out of it, and by Heavens and earth we're a-goin' to stay
out! There hain't a-goin' to be any more mournin' done in this
family--not if I know myself, there hain't."

But I sez, "Oren, don't talk so; folks _have_ to mourn; this is a World
of trials, and grief is nateral to it."

"Wall, I'll mourn in pepper and salt, and I'll mourn out-doors. I hain't
a-goin' to wind myself up in crape, and shet myself up in a black hole
no more, mourn or not mourn.

"And I'm a-goin' to laugh when I want to." And he jest laid his head
back and bust out into a horse-laugh at nothin'.

But they didn't seem to mind it; I guess they wuz ust to it, and the
girls kinder put in and laughed too. Lateza Alzina didn't laugh out
loud, but she kinder snickered some.

It made me feel queer.

I see--I see the truth; the bow had been drawed too tight back, and now
it wuz a-goin' to shoot too fur--way over the mark.

But still I felt that Oren had some truth on his side.

And I sez, "I