"It is plain that the importance of literature is being understood better and better by the country."
The writer was now following his own coffin as if he were an admirer of literature and a friend of the deceased. He addressed the lamplighter.
"Did you know the deceased person?"
"Certainly; I made use of him in a small way."
"I am very pleased to hear it."
"Yes; our work is like that of the sparrow; where something drops we pick it up."
"How am I to understand that?"
"Take it in a very simple manner, sir."
"In a simple manner?"
"Yes, certainly. Of course, it is a sin if one looks at it from a certain point of view. One cannot, however, get on in this world without using ones wits."