I'm buildin' a new hot house, you know.
MRS. FIELITZ
Another one, eh? Ain't that a man for you! You're a reg'lar mole,
Rauchhaupt. The way that man keeps diggin' around in the ground.
RAUCHHAUPT
A man feels best when he's doin' that. That's what we're all made
of--earth: an that's what we're all goin' to turn to again. Why shouldn't
we be diggin' around in the earth? [_He helps himself from the snuff-box
which FIELITZ holds out to him._] That's got a earthy smell, too,
Fielitz. That smells like good, fresh earth.
_LEONTINE enters. A pair of scissors hangs by her side; she has a
thimble on her finger._
LEONTINE
Here I am, mama. What's up?
MRS. FIELITZ
He just brought in papa his hephitaph.
_LEONTINE and MRS. FIELITZ regard the cross thoughtfully._
MRS. FIELITZ
Light the candle for me, girl. [_She hands her the tallow-candle with
which she has been experimenting._] We wants to study the writin' a bit.
RAUCHHAUPT
I fooled around with that thing a whole lot. But I got it to please me in
the end. You c'n go an' look through the whole cemetery three times over
and you'll come away knowin' this is the finest inscription you c'n get.
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