Wall, I kep her pretty much in the wood-shed, when she wuz in her worst
stages, where there wuzn't much besides the old cook-stove and wash-tubs
that she could graze aginst and fall over.

I dast as well die as to trust her with vittles, for I felt that them
wuz vital pints, and must not be meddled with by loonaticks or idiots,
and with them two ranks I had to stand Mary Ann Spink in her most
love-sick spazzums.

So I sot her to rubbin' onto Josiah's shirts, and I took my bowl of
raisins and English currants and things into the kitchen and sot down
calmly to pickin' 'em over and choppin' 'em.

My fruit cake is good, though I say it that ort not to; it is widely
known and admired.

Wall, I sot there middlin' calm, and a-hummin' over a sam tune loud
enough so's Mary Ann could hear it; and I hummed it, too, in a strictly
moral way, and for a pattern; it was this:

"Put not your trust in mortal man,
Set not your hopes on him," etc., etc., etc.

[Illustration]

And I see I wuz impressin' of her, for I could hear after a while from
the wood-shed that she too had broke forth in song, and she was a-jinin'
in, low and dretful impressive, with--

"Hark from the tombs a mournful sound."