THE ART OP IX

393

epidemic don't pay. Well, of course I don't mean that, exactly; but
it don't pay in proportion to the regular thing. Don't it occur to
you, why 1'

< No/

< Think.'

* I can't imagine. What is it I'

* It's just two things.'

« Well, what are they 1'

* One's Enibamming.'
'And what's the

other1f

* Ice.'

* How is that ? *

•Well, in ordi-
nary times, a person
dies, and we lay him
up in ice; one day,
two days, maybe
three, to wait for
friends to come.
Takes a lot of it
— melts fast. We
charge jewellery
rates for that ice,
and war - prices for
attendance. Well,
don't you know,

when there's an epidemic, they rush 'em to the cemetery the minute
the breath's out. No mai'ket for ice in an epidemic. Same with 3£m-
barnming. You take a family that's able to embam, and you've got a
soft thing. ITou can mention, sixteen different ways to do it—though
there ain*t only one or two ways, when you come down to the bottom
facts of it—and they'll take the highest-priced way, erery time- It's
human nature—human nature in grief. It don't reason, you see.
Time being, it don't care a dam. All it wants is physical immor-
tality for deceased, and they're willing to pay for it. All you've got
to do is to just be ca'm and stack it up—they'll stand the racket.

AS EXPLANATION.