"He started to put the inscription on the casket, and got along bravely till he came to 'age of twenty-eight.' Then he realized that he could not make the figures. He puzzled over it a long while, for he did not like to ask and thus show up his ignorance.
"Finally a bright idea struck him. Four sevens make twenty-eight—why not put down four sevens—that was easy!
"The job was finished just in time.
"The relatives and friends were gathered round to pay their last respects. One friend was asked to get up and make a few remarks. He did so and began as follows:
"'I am glad to be able to say a few words on this sad occasion, a few words of praise for our beloved friend; for other words than praise could not be said of him. I am proud to have known him and to have been numbered among his friends. His virtues need hardly be repeated. You knew him well. His generosity, his friendliness, and all the rest he possessed. I knew him from his youth up, and I am well aware of his goodness, as are you. He was a good husband, a good father, and a good friend. It is hard to give him up, but it must be. He died at the age of——'
"Here the speaker glanced at the casket beside which he stood, and read the following:
MICHAEL DOOLEY
DEPARTED THIS LIFE IN HIS PRIME,
AT THE AGE OF
7777.