It was some twelve years later that Thorpe received a copy of a San Francisco newspaper, in which the following article was heavily marked:-
"What am I offered?"
"Oh, don't sell that!" said one or two bidders.
The auctioneer held up a large walnut case. It contained a funeral wreath of preserved flowers.
"Well, I've sold coffins at auction in my time, so I guess I can stand this," replied the auctioneer. "What am I offered?"
He disposed of it, with three other funeral mementos, very cheap, for the bidding was dispirited. It was at the sale yesterday, in a Montgomery Street auction-room, of the personal effects, jewelry, silverware, and household bric-a-brac of a once very wealthy San Francisco family. The head of the family was a pioneer, a citizen of wealth and high social and commer
