Signed, "Henry Bascom." My first thought was, why didn't he have the coffin opened?
He would have seen that the corpse was an imposter, and he could have gone right ahead and dried up the most of those tears, and comforted those sorrowing governments, and sold the remains and sent me the money.
I did nothing about the matter.

I had set the law after living lecture doubles of mine a couple of times in America, and the law had not been able to catch them; others in my trade had tried to catch their impostor-doubles and had failed.

Then where was the use in harrying a ghost?
None--and so I did not disturb it.

I had a curiosity to know about that man's lecture-tour and last moments, but that could wait.
When I should see Mr.Bascom he would tell me all about it.

But he passed from life, and I never saw him again..