sweet. And, oh, girls, two such dear funny little old mai—I mean
elderly, and they aren't married, you know—Miss Gwynne and Miss
Mollie Gwynne came—what are you all laughing at, what's the joke?
Well, I think you're real mean not to tell me! I thought they were
nice—well, of course, maybe they did seem kind of queer, but—well,
it was a little funny," said Mazie, yielding to the laughter with
apparent reluctance; "we took them all over the house, because we
thought, you know, they'd be pleased to see the way we'd fixed it
up. And they did seem rather tickled; Miss Gwynne said she thought
they had never had any tenants in their house before that
appreciated it as we did. And when we got to the south parlour Miss
Mollie wouldn't go in, and Miss Gwynne took us in and said in an
awful whisper that everybody in the family had been laid out in that
room, but she'd try to get Miss Mollie in to look at the chandelier
which was an exact copy of the one in the State-House—and Mollie
hadn't been in the house for so long, maybe it would refresh her,
and take her mind off the funerals, you know. So Mollie came in,"
went on Mazie, who by this time was openly laughing like everyone
else, "and she took one look and covered her eyes like this, and said
'Oh, Sister Eleanor, I can't—I can't,' and Sister Eleanor said, 'Look
up, Mollie, look up'—just as if it was Heaven, you know—'don't you
remember the chandelier?' And then Miss Mollie said, 'Oh, yes, I
remember—shall I ever forget—boo-hoo!—it cost three hundred and
twenty-five dollars—boo-hoo!—every one of 'em cost three hundred
and twenty-five dollars!' But, honestly, girls, it's all very well to
laugh, but it gives me the creeps to think of that room since I've
known; I can't go into it without seeing a coffin spread out right
where our centre-table is; and you know there's that lovely bisque
monkey climbing up a cord that mamma has hanging from the
chandelier—think of that dangling down over a—B-r-r! I didn't know
about so many Gwynnes dying here. There's enough left to keep the
family going anyway, I should think. Was Mr. Peters' brother one of
'em that died in the house? Eh? What! Mercy! isn't that awful? Why,
I thought somebody said Sam Peters was in Honduras or Alaska or
somewhere—is it the same one? Isn't that awful! Isn't it safe to have
him—— Horrors! Oh, girls, I think that's awful! And Mr. Peters is