[Anguirel]

A quick Quip Modest ere I sleep-

I think the undertaker is probably quite right, and I am likely quite wrong, considering my past record. However, for the sake of tradition, I intend to do my utmost to get him hanged.

It's a political statement, apart from anything else. A final, desperate outburst of levity. And then there's the fact that the village is guaranteed victory in any case, and it would be so much nicer if we could be saved by the guidance of someone other than the astute but frightfully self-important littlemanpoet...