' when Mrs. White died. It'll be a proper leadin' up, for if she had
n't died, he 'd never 'a' come to see me this afternoon, an' I 'd never
'a' come to see you to-night. Howsumsever, she did die; an', bein' dead,
I will say for her husband as you don't find chick or child in town to
deny as a nicer, tidier, more biddable little man never lived; 'n' 's
far as my personal feelin's go, I should think 't any woman might
consider it nothin' but a joy to get a man 's is always so long on the
door-mat 'n' so busy with his tie 's the deacon is. He got some wore out
toward the last o' her illness, for she was give' up in September 'n'
died in July; but even then I 've heard Mrs. Allen say 's it was jus'
pretty to see him putterin' aroun' busy 's a bee, tryin' to keep dusted
up for the funeral any minute." Susan paused to sigh.

"Seems like she did n't die but yesterday," she said reminiscently;
"don't seem like it can possibly be over a year. I never can but
remember them last days: they stand out afore me like a needle in a
camel's eye. Nobody could n't say 's everythin' was n't done; they had
two doctors 'n' a bill 't the drug-store, but the end come at last. She
begin to sink 'n' sink, 'n' young Dr. Brown said that way o' sinkin'
away was always, to his mind, one o' the most unfortunate features o'
dyin'. He said he knowed lots o' people 's 'd be alive 'n' well now if
they could just o' been kept from that sinkin' away. Old Dr. Carter told
Mrs. Jilkins his theory was 't while the pulse beats there 's life; but
even he had to admit 's Mrs. White was about beat out. 'N' it was so,
too; for she died while they was talkin', 'n' the deacon just beginnin'
on cleanin' the pantry shelves. He had to put all the dishes back on top
o' the old papers; 'n' any one could see how hard it was for him, for he
'd counted on havin' everythin' spick 'n' span at the end.

"Well, that was a busy time! It 's too bad you have to miss so much,
Mrs. Lathrop; now, that day at Mrs. White's would 'a' done you a world
o' good. There was a great deal o' company, 'n' the newspaper man led
off, comin' to know what she died of. He explained he had to know right
away, 'cause if she did n't die o' nothin' in particular, they needed
the extra line for stars to show up a cod-liver oil advertisement. I
said the deacon was the one to ask, 'n' we hunted high 'n' low for him
until Mrs. Jilkins remembered 's he'd took them keys Mrs. White always
had under her pillow