,,laicus2 ,,or1 ,,the ,,experiences ,,of ,a ,,layman ,,in ,a ,,country ,,parish4 ,,by ,,lyman ,,abbott4 ,,new ,,york3 #ahgb4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,,how ,i ,,happened ,,to ,,go ,,to ,,wheathedge ,,ii4 ,,more ,,diplomacy ,,iii4 ,,we ,,join ,,the ,,church ,,iv4 ,,the ,,real ,,presence ,v4 ,,our ,,church ,,finances ,,vi4 ,,am ,i ,a ,,drone ,,vii4 ,,the ,,field ,,is ,,the ,,world ,,viii4 ,,mr4 ,,gear ,,ix4 ,i ,,get ,,my ,,first ,,bible ,,scholar ,x4 ,,the ,,deacon',s ,,second ,,service ,,xi4 ,,our ,,pastor ,,resigns ,,xii4 ,,the ,,committee ,,on ,,supply ,,hold ,,an ,,informal ,,meeting ,,xiii4 ,,maurice ,,mapleson ,,declines ,,to ,,submit ,,to ,a ,,competitive ,,examination ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,supply ,,committee ,,hold ,,their ,,first ,,formal ,,meeting ,,xv4 ,,our ,,christmas ,,at ,,wheathedge ,,xvi4 ,,mr4 ,,gear ,,again ,,xvii4 ,,wanted--,a ,,pastor ,,xviii4 ,,our ,,prayer-,,meeting ,,xix4 ,,we ,,are ,,jilted ,,xx4 ,,we ,,propose ,,xxi4 ,,ministerial ,,salaries ,,xxii4 ,,ecclesiastical ,,financiering ,,xxiii4 ,,our ,,donation ,,party--,,by ,,jane ,,laicus ,,xxiv4 ,,maurice ,,mapleson ,,xxv4 ,,our ,,church-,,garden ,,xxvi4 ,,our ,,temperance ,,prayer-,,meeting ,,xxvii4 ,,father ,,hyatt',s ,,story ,,xxviii4 ,,our ,,village ,,library ,,xxix4 ,,maurice ,,mapleson ,,tries ,,an ,,experiment ,,xxx4 ,,mr4 ,,hardcap',s ,,family ,,prayers ,,xxxi4 ,,in ,,darkness ,,xxxii4 ,,god ,,said ,,let ,,there ,,be ,,light ,,xxxiii4 ,a ,,retrospect ,,preface4 ,this book was not made2 it has grown4 ,when three years ago ,i left the pulpit to engage in literary work and took my seat among the laity in the pews1 ,i found that many ecclesiastical and religious subjects presented a different aspect from that which they had presented when ,i saw them from the pulpit4 ,i commenced in the ,,christian ,,union1 in a series of ,letters from a ,layman1 to discuss from my new point of view some questions which are generally discussed from the clerical point of view alone4 ,the letters were kindly received by the public4 ,to some of the characters introduced ,i became personally attached4 ,and the series of letters1 commenced with the expectation that they might last through six or eight weeks1 extended over a period of more than a year and a half--might perhaps have extended to the present it other duties had not usurped my time and thoughts4 ,this was the beginning4 ,but after a time thoughts and characters which presented themselves in isolated forms1 and so were photographed for the columns of the newspaper1 began to gather in groups4 ,the single threads that had been spun for the weekly issue1 wove themselves together in my imagination into the pattern of a simple story1 true as to every substantial fact1 yet fictitious in all its dress and form4 ,and so out of ,letters of ,layman grew1 ,i myself hardly know how1 this simple story of a layman's life in a country parish4 ,i cannot dismiss this book from my table without adding that ,i am conscious that the deepest problem it discusses is but barely touched upon4 ,this has obtruded itself upon the pattern in the weaving4 ,it was intended for a single thread2 but it has given color and character to all the rest4 ,how shall ,christian faith meet the current rationalism of the day8 ,not by argument2 this is the thought ,i hope may be taught1 or at least suggested1 by the story of ,mr4 ,gear's experience1--and it is a true not a fictitious story1 except as all here is fictitious1 i4e4 in the external dress in which it is clothed4 ,the very essence of rationalism is that it assumes that the reason is the highest faculty in man and the lord of all the rest4 ,grant this1 as too often our controversial theology does grant it1 and the battle is yielded before it is begun4 ,whether that rationalism leads to orthodox or heterodox conclusions1 whether it issues in a ,westminster ,assembly's ,confession of faith or a ,positivist ,primer is a matter of secondary importance4 ,religion is not a conclusion of the reason4 ,the reason is not the lord of the spiritual domain4 ,there is a world which it never sees and with which it is wholly incompetent to deal4 ,and ,christian faith wins its victories only when by its own--heart life it gives some glimpse of this hidden world and sends the rationalist1 ,columbus-like1 on an unknown sea to search for this unknown continent4 ,i am not sure whether this preface had not better have remained unwritten2 whether the parable had not better be left without an interpretation4 ,but it is written and it shall stand4 ,and so this simple story goes from my hands1 ,i trust to do some little good1 by hinting to clerical readers how some problems concerning ,christian work appear to a layman's mind1 and by quickening lay readers to share more generously in their pastors' labors and to understand more sympathetically their pastor's trials4 ,,lyman ,,abbott4 ,the ,knoll1 ,cornwall on the ,hudson1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,laicus4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,how ,i happened to go to ,wheathedge4 ,,about sixty miles north of ,new ,york city1--not as the crow flies1 for of the course of that bird ,i have no knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief1 but as the ,mary ,powell ploughs her way up the tortuous channel of the ,hudson river1--lies the little village of ,wheathedge4 ,a more beautiful site even this most beautiful of rivers does not possess4 ,as ,i sit now in my library1 ,i raise my eyes from my writing and look east to see the morning sun just rising in the gap and pouring a long golden flood of light upon the awaking village below and about me1 and gilding the spires of the not far distant city of ,newtown1 and making even its smoke ethereal1 as though throngs of angels hung over the city unrecognized by its too busy inhabitants4 ,before me the majestic river broadens out into a bay where now the ice-boats play back and forth1 and day after day is repeated the merry dance of many skaters--about the only kind of dance ,i thoroughly believe in4 ,if ,i stand on the porch upon which one of my library windows opens1 and look to the east1 ,i see the mountain clad with its primeval forest1 crowding down to the water's edge4 ,it looks as though one might naturally expect to come upon a camp of ,indian wigwams there4 ,two years ago a wild-cat was shot in those same woods and stuffed by the hunters1 and it still stands in the ante-room of the public school1 the first1 and last1 and only contribution to an incipient museum of natural history which the sole scientific enthusiast of ,wheathedge has founded--in imagination4 ,last year ,harry stumbled on a whole nest of rattlesnakes1 to his and their infinite alarm--and to ours too when afterwards he told us the story of his adventure4 ,if ,i turn and look to the other side of the river1 ,i see a broad and laughing valley1--grim in the beautiful death of winter now however1--through which the ,newtown railroad1 like the ,star of ,empire1 westward takes its way4 ,for the village of ,wheathedge1 scattered along the mountain side1 looks down from its elevated situation on a wide expanse of country4 ,like ,jerusalem of old1--only1 if ,i can judge anything from the accounts of ,palestinian travelers1 a good deal more so1--it is beautiful for situation1 and deserves to be the joy of the whole earth4 ,a village ,i have called it4 ,it certainly is neither town nor city4 ,there is a little centre where there is a livery stable1 and a country store with the ,post ,office attached1 and a blacksmith shop1 and two churches1 a ,methodist and a ,presbyterian1 with the promise of a ,baptist church in a lecture-room as yet unfinished4 ,this is the old centre2 there is another down under the hill where there is a dock1 and a railroad station1 and a great hotel with a big bar and generally a knot of loungers who evidently do not believe in the water-cure4 ,and between the two there is a constant battle as to which shall be the town4 ,for the rest1 there is a road wandering in an aimless way along the hill-side1 like a child at play who is going nowhere1 and all along this road are scattered every variety of dwelling1 big and little1 sombre and gay1 humble and pretentious1 which the mind of man ever conceived of1--and some of which ,i devoutly trust the mind of man will never again conceive4 ,there are solid substantial ,dutch farm-houses1 built of unhewn stone1 that look as though they were outgrowths of the mountain1 which nothing short of an earthquake could disturb2 and there are fragile little boxes that look as though they would be swept away1 to be seen no more forever1 by the first winter's blast that comes tearing up the gap as though the bag of ,eolus had just been opened at ,west ,point and the imprisoned winds were off with a whoop for a lark4 ,there are houses in sombre grays with trimmings of the same2 and there are houses in every variety of color1 including one that is of a light pea-green1 with pink trimmings and blue blinds4 ,there are old and venerable houses1 that look as though they might have come over with ,peter ,stuyvesant and been living at ,wheathedge ever since2 and there are spruce little sprigs of houses that look as though they had just come up from ,new ,york to spend a holiday1 and did not rightly know what to do with themselves in the country4 ,there are staid and respectable mansions that never move from the even tenor of their ways2 and there are houses that change their fashions every season1 putting on a new coat of paint every spring2 and there is one that dresses itself out in summer with so many flags and streamers that one might imagine ,fourth of ,july lived there4 ,all nations and all eras appear also to be gathered here4 ,there are ,swiss cottages with overhanging chambers1 and ,italian villas with flat roofs1 and ,gothic structures with incipient spires that look as though they had stopped in their childhood and never got their growth1 and ,grecian temples with rows of wooden imitations of marble pillars of ,doric architecture1 and one house in which all nations and eras combine--a ,grecian porch1 a ,gothic roof1 an ,italian ,l1 and a half finished tower of the ,elizabethan era1 capped with a ,moorish dome1 the whole approached through the stiffest of all stiff avenues of evergreens1 trimmed in the latest ,french fashion4 ,that is ,mr4 ,wheaton's residence1 the millionaire of ,wheathedge4 ,i wish ,i could say he was as ,catholic as his dwelling house4 ,i never fancied the country4 ,its numerous attractions were no attractions to me4 ,i cannot harness a horse4 ,i am afraid of a cow4 ,i have no fondness for chickens--unless they are tender and well-cooked4 ,like the man in parable1 ,i cannot dig4 ,i abhor a hoe4 ,i am fond of flowers but not of dirt1 and had rather buy them than cultivate them4 ,of all ambition to get the earliest crop of green peas and half ripe strawberries ,i am innocent4 ,i like to walk in my neighbor's garden better than to work in my own4 ,i do not drink milk1 and ,i do drink coffee2 and ,i had rather run my risk with the average of city milk than with the average of country coffee4 ,fresh air is very desirable2 but the air on the bleak hills of the ,hudson in ,march is at times a trifle too fresh4 ,the pure snow as it lies on field1 and fence1 and tree1 is beautiful1 ,i confess4 ,but when one goes out to walk1 it is convenient to have the sidewalks shoveled4 ,at least that is what ,i used to think five years ago4 ,and if my wife had endeavored to argue me out of my convictions1 she would only have strengthened them4 ,but my wife3-- ,stop a minute4 ,i may as well say here that this book is written in confidence4 ,it is personal4 ,it deals with the interior history of a very respectable church and some most respectable families4 ,it contains a great deal that is not proper to be communicated to the public4 ,the reader will please bear this in mind4 ,whatever ,i say1 particularly what ,i am going to say now1 is confidential4 ,don't mention it4 ,my wife is a diplomate4 ,if ever ,i am president of the ,united ,states--which may ,heaven forbid1--she shall be secretary of ,state4 ,she never argues2 but she always carries her point4 ,she always lets me have my own way without hinting an objection4 ,but it always ends in her having her own4 ,she would have made no objection to letting ,mason and ,slidell go--not the least in the world4 ,but she would have somehow induced ,england to entreat us to take them back--,i am sure of it4 ,she would not have dismissed ,catacazy--not she4 ,but if she did not like ,catacazy1 ,gortschakoff should have recalled him1 and never known why he did it4 ,john1 said my wife1 where shall we spend the summer8 ,it was six years ago this spring4 ,we were sitting in the library in our city house1 ,harry was a baby2 and baby was not4 ,i laid down the ,evening ,post1 and looked up with an incipient groan4 ,the usual way ,i suppose1 said ,i4 ,you'll go home with the baby1 and ,i--,i shall camp out in ,new ,york4 ,home is ,jennie's home in ,michigan1 where she had spent two of the three summers of our married life1 while ,i existed in single misery in my empty house in #chth street4 ,oh1 the desolateness of those summer experiences4 ,oh1 the unutterable loneliness of a house without the smile of the dear wife1 and the laugh and prattle of the baby boy4 ,i even missed his cry at night4 ,it's a long1 long journey1 said ,jennie1 and a long1 long way off2 and ,i did resolve last summer ,i never would put a thousand miles again between me and my true home1 ,john4 ,for that is not my home--you are my home4 ,and a soft hand stole gently up and toyed with my hair4 ,vanity of vanities1 all is vanity1 saith the preacher4 ,to which ,i add1 especially husbands4 ,no man is proof against the flatteries of love4 ,at least ,i am not1 and ,i am glad of it4 ,you can't stay here1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,i am afraid not1 said she4 ,it is ,harry's second summer1 and ,i would not dare4 ,the sea shore8 said ,i1 interrogatively4 ,not one of those great fashionable hotels1 ,john4 ,it would be worse for ,harry than the city4 ,and then think of the cost4 ,true1 said ,i reflectively4 ,i wish we could find a quiet place1 not too far from the city so that ,i could come in and out during term time1 and stay out altogether during the summer vacation4 ,there must be some such1 many such1 said ,jennie4 ,but to look for them1 said ,i1 would be1 to use an entirely new simile1 like looking for a needle in a haystack4 ,there must be some honest lawyers at the ,new ,york bar1 and some impartial judges on the ,new ,york bench1 but ,i should not like to be set to find them4 ,i had been beaten in an important case that afternoon and was out with my profession4 ,suppose you let me try1 said ,jennie--that is to find the quiet summer retreat1 not the honest lawyer4 ,by all means1 my dear1 said ,i4 ,and ,i have great confidence that if you are patient and assiduous1 you will find a place in time for ,harry to settle down in comfortably when he gets ready to be married4 ,jennie laughed a quiet little laugh at my incredulity1 and sat straightway down to write half a dozen letters of inquiry to as many different friends in the environs of ,new ,york4 ,i resumed the ,evening ,post4 ,as to anything coming of her plans ,i no more dreamt of it than your grandfather1 reader1 dreamt of the ,atlantic cable4 ,but though ,i had been married three years ,i did not know ,jennie then as well as ,i know her now4 ,i have since learned that she has a habit of accomplishing what she undertakes4 ,but this again is strictly confidential4 ,that ,june saw us snugly ensconced at ,mr4 ,lines'4 ,glen-,ridge is the euphonious title he has given to his pretty but unpretending place4 ,jennie had written among others to ,sophie ,wheaton1 ne ,sophie ,nichols1 an old school-fellow1 and ,sophie had sent down an invitation to her to come and spend a week and look for herself1 and she had done so2 save that two days had sufficed instead of a week4 ,glen-,ridge had taken her fancy1 ,mr4 ,lines had met her housewifely idea of a good house-keeper1 and she had selected the rooms and agreed on terms1 and left nothing for me to do except to ratify the bargain by a letter1 which ,i did the day after her return4 ,and so in the early summer of #ahff the diplomate had carried her first point1 and committed me to two months' probation in the country2 and two very delightful months they were4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,more ,diplomacy4 ,i now verily believe that ,jennie from the first had made up her mind that we were to settle in ,wheathedge4 ,though ,i never liked the country1 she did4 ,and ,i now think that summer at ,wheathedge was her first step toward a settlement there4 ,but she never hinted it to me4 ,not she4 ,on the contrary1 she often went down to the city with me1 and shortened the car ride by half4 ,we kept the city house open4 ,she exercised a watchful supervision over the cook4 ,the sheets were not damp1 the coffee was not muddy1 the library table was not covered with dust4 ,i blessed her a hundred times a week for the love that found us both this ,wheathedge home1 and made the city home so comfortable and cosy4 ,yet ,i came to my house in the city less and less4 ,the car ride grew shorter every week4 ,when the courts closed and the long vacation1 arrived ,i bade the cook an indefinite good-bye4 ,my clients had to conform to the new office hours1 #aj to #c1 with ,saturdays struck off the office calendar1 and1 in the dog days1 ,mondays too4 ,yet ,i was within call1 and business ran smoothly4 ,the country looked brighter than it used to do4 ,i learned to enjoy the glorious sunrise that ,new ,yorkers never see4 ,i discovered that there were other indications of a moonlight night than the fact that the street lamps were not lighted4 ,harry grew fat and rosy1 and his little chuckle developed into a lusty laugh4 ,jennie's headaches were blown away by the fresh air that came down from the north4 ,i found the fragrance of the new mown hay from the ,glen-,rridge meadow more agreeable than the fragrant odors which the westerly winds waft over to ,murray ,hill from the bone boiling establishments of the ,hudson river4 ,every evening ,jennie met me at the train with ,tom--,mr4 ,lines' best horse1 whom ,i liked so well that ,i hired him for the season2 and we took long drives and renewed the scenes of five years before1 when ,jennie was ,jennie ,malcolm1 and ,i was just graduating from ,harvard law-school4 ,and still the diplomate never hinted at the idea of making a home at ,wheathedge4 ,but one day as we drove by ,mr4 ,sinclair's she remarked casually1 ,what a pretty place6 ,it was a pretty place4 ,a little cottage1 ,french gray with darker trimmings of the same2 the tastiest little porch with a something or other--,i know the vine by sight but not to this day by name--creeping over it1 and converting it into a bower2 another porch fragrant with climbing roses and musical with the twittering of young swallows who had made their nests in little chambers curiously constructed under the eaves and hidden among the sheltering leaves2 a green sward sweeping down to the road1 with a few grand old forest trees scattered carelessly about as though nature had been the landscape gardner2 and prettiest of all1 a little boy and girl playing horse upon the gravel walk1 and filling the air with shouts of merry laughter--all this combined to make as pretty a picture as one would wish to see4 ,the western sun poured a flood of light upon it through crimson clouds1 and a soft glory from the dying day made this little ,eden of earth more radiant by a baptism from heaven4 ,i wonder now if ,jennie had been waiting for a favorable opportunity and then had spoken4 ,i do not know2 and she will never tell me4 ,at all events the beauty so struck me1 like a landscape fresh from the hand of some great artist--as it was indeed1 fresh from the hand of the ,great ,artist--that ,i involuntarily reined in ,tom to look at it4 ,it's for sale1 too1 said ,i1 ,i wonder what such a place costs4 ,the artful diplomate did not answer4 ,the books and newspapers talk about women's curiosity4 ,it's nothing to a man's curiosity when it is aroused4 ,oh1 ,i know the story of ,bluebeard very well4 ,but if ,mrs4 ,bluebeard had been a strong minded woman1 and had killed her seven husbands1 ,i wonder if the eighth would not have taken a peep4 ,he would not have waited for the key but would have broken in the door long before4 ,if men are not curious why do the authorities always appoint them on the detective police force8 ,mr4 ,lines1 said ,i that evening at the tea table1 you know that pretty little cottage on the hill just opposite the church4 ,i see there is a sign up 'for sale4' ,what is the price of it1 do you know8 ,no1 said ,mr4 ,lines4 ,but you can easily find out4 ,it belongs to ,charlie ,sinclair2 he lives there and can tell you4 ,three days after that1 as ,i was driving up from the station1 it struck my fancy ,i should like to see the inside of that pretty house4 ,jennie1 said ,i1 let's go in and look at the inside of that pretty cottage4 ,but ,i had no more idea of purchasing it than ,i have now of purchasing the moon4 ,it would hardly be the thing for me to call1 said the diplomate4 ,mrs4 ,sinclair has never called on me4 ,i don't want you to make any call1 said ,i4 ,the house is for sale4 ,i am a ,new ,yorker4 ,i am looking about ,wheathedge for a place4 ,i see this place is for sale4 ,i should like to look at it4 ,and of course my wife must look at it too4 ,oh6 that indeed1 said my wife1 that's another matter4 ,i have no particular objection to that4 ,besides1 said ,i1 ,i really should like to know the price of such a place in ,wheathedge4 ,very good1 said ,jennie4 ,so we drove up to the gate1 fastened the horse1 and inquired of ,mrs4 ,sinclair1 who came in person to the door1 if we could see the house4 ,certainly4 ,she would be very happy to show it to us4 ,and a very pretty house it was--and is still4 ,there was a cozy little parlor with a bay window looking out on the river1 there was an equally cozy little dining-room1 and there was an ,l for a sitting-room--which ,i instantly converted in my imagination into a library--which looked with one window on the river and with another on the mountains4 ,there was a very convenient kitchen built out in a wing from one end of the dining-room1 and three chambers over the three downstairs rooms1 from the larger one of which1 over the sitting-room1 we could take in at a glance the ,presbyterian church1 the blacksmith's shop1 and the country store1 with the wandering and aimless road1 and a score or two of neighbor's homes which lay along it2 for the cottage was on the hillside1 and elevated considerably above the main roadway4 ,it was charmingly furnished too1 and was full of the fragrance of flowers within1 as it was embowered in them without4 ,besides looking at the house we asked the usual house-hunting questions4 ,mr4 ,sinclair was in the city4 ,he wanted to sell because he was going to ,europe in the spring to educate his children4 ,he would sell his place for #aj1jjj or rent it for #hjj4 ,for the summer8 ,no6 for the year4 ,he did not care to rent it for the summer1 nor to give possession before fall4 ,would he rent the furniture8 ,yes1 if one wanted it4 ,but that would be extra4 ,how much land was there8 ,about two acres4 ,any fruit8 ,pears1 peaches1 and the smaller fruits--strawberries1 raspberries1 and blackberries4 ,whereupon ,jennie and ,i bowed ourselves out and went away4 ,and nothing more was said about it till the next ,february4 ,the diplomate still kept her own counsel4 ,then ,i opened the subject4 ,it was the evening of the first day of ,february4 ,i had been in to pay my rent4 ,jennie1 said ,i1 the landlord raises our rent to #b1ejj4 ,what are you going to do8 said she quietly2 pay it8 ,pay it6 said ,i4 ,no4 ,it's high at #b1jjj4--,we shall have to move4 ,where to8 said ,jennie4 ,i shrugged my shoulders4 ,i had not the least idea4 ,what are you going to do next summer8 said she4 ,glen-,ridge8 said ,i interrogatively4 ,i am afraid ,i shall have to be in my own home next summer1 said ,jennie4 ,the mother cannot leave her nest to find a home among strangers when ,god sends her a little bird to be watched and tended4 ,and ,i hope1 ,john1 ,god is going to send another little bird to our nest this summer4 ,you shall have your own home1 ,jennie dear1 said ,i4 ,i will tell the landlord to-morrow that we will keep it4 ,but it is an imposition4 ,i am so sorry to give up our summer at ,wheathedge1 said she4 ,we did enjoy ourselves so much1 ,john1 and ,harry grew and thrived so4 ,it can't be helped1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,no--said she slowly1 and as if thinking to herself2 no--unless we took the ,sinclair cottage for the summer4 ,i hadn't thought of that1 said ,i4 ,what was the rent8 asked the diplomate4 ,she knew as well as ,i did4 ,eight hundred dollars a year1 said ,i4 ,that is a clear saving of #a1gjj a year1 said ,jennie4 ,that's a fact1 said ,i4 ,if we did not like it we could come back to the city in the fall1 and get a house here2 if we did we could stay later and come in to board for three or four months4 ,i shouldn't mind if we did not come at all4 ,no country in the winter for me1 thank you1 said ,i2 with the wind drawing through the open cracks in your country built house half freezing you1 and when you try to keep warm your air-tight stove half suffocating you2 with the roads outside blocked up with great drifts1 and the trains delayed just on the days when ,i have a critical case in court4 ,very well1 said ,jennie4 ,she is too much of a diplomate to argue4 ,when the snow comes we can easily move back again1 as easily as find a new house now4 ,to tell the truth1 ,john1 ,i have no heart for house-hunting now4 ,well1 said ,i4 ,i will see ,sinclair to-morrow4 ,and if his house is in the market1 ,jennie1 we we will move there as soon as the spring fairly opens4 ,it was in the market4 ,he was anxious to be rid of it4 ,i hired it for the year1 together with the furniture1 at #hjj1--;and he agreed that if ,i bought it in the ,fall the half year rent should go on the purchase money4 ,i did not pay him any rent4 ,i did not move into the city when the snow came4 ,the diplomate had her own way as she always does4 ,we live in the country2 and ,i--,i am very glad of it4 ,i can harness ,katie on a pinch4 ,i am not afraid of the cow4 ,i am not skilful with the hoe1 but ,i am as proud of my flower garden as any of my neighbors4 ,and as to the relative advantages of city and country1 ,i am quite of the opinion of ,harry4 ,harry1 said his grandfather the other day1 don't you want to go back to the city and live8 ,no6 said ,harry1 with the utmost expression of scorn on his face4 ,why not1 ,harry8 ,it smells so4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,we join the ,church4 ,i have bought the house1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,thank you1 said ,jennie4 ,she said it softly1 but her eyes said it more plainly than her voice4 ,i had hesitated a little before ,i finally closed the purchase4 ,but ,jennie's look and her soft ,thank you made me sure ,i had been right4 ,since the baby has come we have converted the chamber over the library into an upstairs sitting-room4 ,i found her there before the open fire1 on my return from ,new ,york4 ,the baby was sleeping in her arms2 and she was gently rocking him1 pressed close to her bosom4 ,i wish you would have a nurse for the baby1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,i don't like to see you tied to her so4 ,you wouldn't take baby from me would you1 ,john8 said she appealingly1 nestling the precious bundle closer to her heart than before1 as if in apprehension4 ,no ,i wouldn't4 ,i was obliged to confess that1 to myself if not to her4 ,john1 said ,jennie1 ,mrs ,goodsole has been here this afternoon4 ,she wants to know if we won't take our letters to this church the next communion4 ,it is the first of ,september4 ,well8 said ,i1 for ,jennie had stopped4 ,she says that if we are going to make ,wheathedge our home she hopes we can find a pleasant home in the church here4 ,i told her ,i could not tell1 we had only hired the house for the summer and might leave in the fall4 ,but if you have bought it1 ,john1 and ,i am1 oh6 so glad you have and thank you so much--one hand left the baby gently1 and was laid on my arm with the softest possible pressure by way of emphasizing the thanks again1--perhaps we ought to consider it4 ,i have no notion of joining this church1 said ,i4 ,it's in debt1 and always behind hand4 ,i am told they owe a hundred dollars to their minister now4 ,that's too bad1 said ,jennie4 ,and we can't do much if we do join it4 ,i have no time for church affairs1 and you--you have all you can do to attend to your infant class at home1 ,jennie4 ,that's true1 said ,jennie4 ,besides it is a ,presbyterian church and we are ,congregationalists4 ,jennie made no reply4 ,and ,i can't bear the idea of leaving the ,broadway ,tabernacle church4 ,i was brought up in it4 ,i have been in its ,sunday-,school ever since ,i can recollect4 ,it was dear to me in its old homely attire as a ,congregationalist meeting-house4 ,it is dear to me in its new aristocratic attire as a ,congregationalist cathedral4 ,and ,harry was baptized there4 ,and there are all our dearest and best friends4 ,it would be like pulling a tooth to uproot from it4 ,it is dear to me too1 ,john1 said ,jennie softly1 for your sake1 if not for my own4 ,and all our friends are there1 ,jennie1 continued ,i4 ,except the ,lines and ,deacon ,goodsole we hardly know anybody here4 ,though ,i suppose time will cure that1 said ,jennie4 ,i do not know that ,i care to cure it1 said ,i4 ,jennie made no response4 ,was it not at ,bunker ,hill that the soldiers were directed to reserve their fire till the attacking party had exhausted theirs8 ,that is the way ,jennie conducts an argument--when she argues at all1 which is very seldom4 ,she accepted every consideration ,i had offered against uniting with the ,wheathedge church1 and yet ,i knew her opinion was not changed2 and somehow my own began to waver4 ,i wonder how that method of arguing would work in the court-room4 ,i mean to try it some time4 ,i had exhausted my fire and ,jennie was still silent4 ,silence they say means consent4 ,but ,i knew that it did not in her case4 ,it depends so much upon the kind of silence4 ,what do you say ,jennie8 said ,i4 ,well1 ,john1 said she slowly and thoughtfully1 perhaps there are two sides to the question4 ,i don't like to leave the ,broadway ,tabernacle4 ,but it seems to me that we have left it4 ,we cannot attend its prayer-meetings1 or go to its ,sabbath-school1 or worship with its members on the ,sabbath1 or even mingle much with its members in social life4 ,we have left it1 and we ought to have thought of that before we left--not after4 ,perhaps ,i am to blame1 ,john1 that ,i did not think of it more4 ,i did not think of what you were giving up for me when you took this beautiful home for my sake4 ,i had not taken it for her sake--that is1 not wholly for her sake4 ,and as to the giving up6 ,why1 bless you1 that little sitting-room1 with the wife and baby it contained1 was worth a thousand ,tabernacles to me2 and ,i managed to tell ,jennie so1 and emphasize the declaration with a--well no matter4 ,but she did not need the information1 she knew it very well before1 ,i am sure4 ,the real question seems to me1 ,john1 to be whether we mean to be church members at all8 said ,jennie4 ,church members at all6 ,i echoed4 ,yes1 said she4 ,we are not members of the ,broadway ,tabernacle any more--except in name4 ,what is a foot or an arm fifty miles away from the body8 ,can they keep loving watch and care over us2 or we over them8 ,it is not a question between one church-home and another1 ,john2 it is a question between this church-home and none at all4 ,but1 ,jennie1 said ,i1 the finances here are in a fearful state4 ,they are always coming down on the church for contributions1 and holding fairs in summer1 and tableaux and what not1 in winter1 and generally waiting for something to turn up4 ,if ,i had the naming of this church ,i would call it ,st4 ,micawber's church4 ,jennie laughed4 ,well1 ,john1 said she1 ,i think you are ready enough with your money4 7,i am not so sure of that4 ,i am inclined to think that is ,jennie's way of making me so47 ,and ,i have nothing to say about the finances4 ,besides1 ,jennie1 said ,i--for ,i really had no faith in the financial argument--this is a ,presbyterian church and we are ,congregationalists4 ,it is a church of ,christ1 ,john1 said ,jennie soberly1 and we1 ,i hope1 are ,christians more than ,congregationalists4 ,that was the last that was said4 ,but the next morning ,i carried down with me1 to ,new ,york1 a letter addressed to the clerk of the ,broadway ,tabernacle1 asking for letters of dismission and recommendation to the ,calvary ,presbyterian church at ,wheathedge4 ,and so commenced our parish life4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,real ,presence4 ,,jennie1 said ,i1 ,i don't believe in ,mr4 ,work's sermon this morning1 do you8 ,i don't think ,i do1 ,john2 but to be candid ,i did not hear a great deal of it4 ,it was ,sunday evening4 ,harry was asleep in his room4 ,the baby1 sung to her sweet slumbers pressed against her mother's heart1 had been lain down at last in her little cradle4 ,jennie1 her evening work finished1 had come down into the library and was sitting on the lounge beside me4 ,i was not so fortunate1 said ,i4 ,blessed are those who having ears hear not--sometimes4 ,i listened1 and took the other side4 ,my church was converted into a court-room1 ,i into an advocate4 ,if ,i believed ,mr4 ,work's doctrine was sound ,protestantism ,i should turn ,roman ,catholic4 ,its teaching is the warmer1 cheerier1 more helpful of the two4 ,then ,i took up the open book that lay on my library table and read from ,father ,hyacinthe's discourses the following paragraph--from an address delivered on the first communion of a converted ,protestant to the ,roman ,catholic ,church3 ,where 7in ,protestantism7 is that real ,presence which flows from the sacrament as from a hidden spring1 like a river of peace1 upon the true ,catholic1 all the day long1 gladdening and fertilizing all his life8 ,this ,immanuel--,god with us--awaited you in our ,church1 and in that sacrament which so powerfully attracted you1 even when you but half believed it4 ,in your own worship1 as in the ancient synagogue1 you found naught but types and shadows2 they spoke to you of reality1 but did not contain it2 they awakened your thirst1 but did not quench it2 weak and empty rudiments which have no longer the right to rest1 since the veil of the temple has been rent asunder and eternal realities been revealed4 ,yes1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,if ,i thought ,father ,hyacinthe were right1 ,i should turn ,roman ,catholic4 ,and ,mr4 ,work this morning confirmed him4 ,he took away the substance4 ,he left us only a type1 a shadow4 ,the sermon was on the words--,do this in remembrance of me4 ,it was a doctrinal sermon4 ,i am not sure that it might not have been a useful one--in the sixteenth century4 ,it was a sermon against ,romanism and ,lutheranism and ,high ,church episcopacy4 ,the minister told us what were the various doctrines of the communion4 ,he analyzed them and dismissed them one after another4 ,he showed very conclusively1 to us ,protestants1 that the ,romanists are wrong1 to us ,presbyterians that the ,episcopalians are wrong1 to us who are open ,communionists that the close ,communionists are wrong4 ,as there does not happen to be either ,romanist1 ,episcopalian1 or close ,communionist in our congregation1 ,i cannot say how efficacious his arguments would have been if addressed to any one who was in previous doubt as to his conclusions4 ,then he proceeded to expound what he termed the rational and ,scriptural doctrine of communion4 ,it is1 he told us1 simply a memorial service4 ,it simply commemorates the past4 ,as1 said he1 every year1 the nation gathers to strew flowers upon the graves of its patriot soldiers1 so this day the ,christian ,church gathers to strew with flowers of love and praise the grave of the ,captain of our salvation4 ,as in the one act all differences are forgotten1 and the nation is one in the sacred presence of death1 so in the other1 creeds and doctrines vanish1 and the ,church of ,christ appears at the foot of ,calvary as one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,mr4 ,wheaton asked me1 as we came out of church1 if the sermon was not a magnificent one4 ,i evaded the question4 ,i was obliged to confess to myself that it was unsatisfactory4 ,if ,i were obliged to choose between the ,protestantism of ,mr4 ,work and the ,romanism of ,father ,hyacinthe1 ,i am afraid ,i should choose the latter4 ,but1 said ,jennie1 ,mr4 ,work's sermon was not true ,protestant doctrine1 ,john4 ,there is a ,real ,presence in the communion4 ,only it is in the heart1 not in the head1 in us1 not in the symbols that we eat4 ,did you not feel the ,real ,presence when ,father ,hyatt in the afternoon broke and blessed the bread8 ,did you not see the living ,christ in his radiant face and hear the living ,christ in his touching words1 and his more touching silence8 ,yes6 ,i did4 ,father ,hyatt had disproved the morning's sermon1 though he said never a word about it4 ,father ,hyatt is an old1 old man4 ,he has long since retired from active service1 having worn out his best days here at ,wheathedge1 in years now long gone by4 ,a little money left him by a parishioner1 and a few annual gifts from old friends among his former people1 are his means of support4 ,his hair is white as snow4 ,his hands are thin1 his body bent1 his voice weak1 his eyesight dim1 his ears but half fulfil their office2 his mind even shows signs of the weakness and wanderings of old age2 but his heart is young1 and ,i verily believe he looks forward to the hour of his release with hopes as high and expectations as ardent as those with which1 in college1 he anticipated the hour of his graduation4 ,this was the man1 patriarch of the ,church1 who has lived to see the children he baptized grow up1 go forth into the world1 many die and be buried2 who has baptized the second and even the third generation1 and has seen ,wheathedge grow from a cross-road to a flourishing village2 who this afternoon1 perhaps for the last time--,i could not help thinking so as ,i sat in church--interpreted to us the love of ,christ as it is uttered to our hearts in this most sacred and hallowed of all services4 ,very simply1 very gently1 quite unconsciously1 he refuted the cheerless doctrine of the morning sermon1 and pointed us to the ,protestant doctrine of the ,real ,presence4 ,do you ask me what he said8 ,nothing4 ,it was by his silence that he spoke4 ,a few tender1 loving1 reverential words as he broke the bread4 ,three minutes of silver speech1 the rest of his part of the service a golden silence4 ,but those few words were radiant with the presence and the love of a risen1 a living ,saviour4 ,it was not of the ,christ that died1 but of the ,christ that now lives1 and intercedes1 and guides1 and preserves1 and saves1 he spoke1 with voice feeble with old age1 but strong with love4 ,and as he spoke1 it seemed to me1 ,i think it seemed to all of us1 that the ,christ he loved so much and served so faithfully was close at hand1 near and ready to bless us all1 not with a sacred memory only1 but with a ,real ,presence1 the more real because unseen4 ,yes1 ,jennie1 said ,i after we had sat for a few minutes in silence recalling that sacred hour1 ,yes1 ,jennie1 there was a ,real ,presence in ,father ,hyatt's breaking and blessing of the bread4 ,but what do you say of the disquisition of ,mr4 ,work on transubstantiation which followed it8 ,i didn't hear it1 ,john4 ,was it really about transubstantiation8 ,perhaps ,i ought to have listened--but ,i could not1 ,i did not want to4 ,a higher1 holier voice was speaking to me4 ,i was absorbed in that4 ,i was thinking how of old time ,christ appeared in the breaking of bread to the disciples whose eyes were holden4 ,and to-night1 ,john1 as ,i have been rocking baby to sleep ,i have been reading ,tennyson's ,holy ,grail1 and thinking how often1 in our modern life1 ,calabad and ,percivale kneel at the same shrine1 and how often what is but a memorial service to the one affords a beatific vision of a living and life-giving ,lord to the other4 ,and ,jennie repeated in a low soft voice a verse from that strange poem1 whose meaning1 ,i sometimes think1 is but half understood even by its admirers3 ,and at the sacring of the ,mass1 ,i saw ,the holy elements alone3 but he ',saw ye no more8 ,i1 ,galahad1 saw the ,grail1 ,the ,holy ,grail1 descend upon the shrine3 ,i saw the fiery face as of a child ,that smote itself into the bread1 and went1 ,and hither am ,i come2 and never yet ,hath what thy sister taught me first to see ,this holy thing1 failed from my side8' ,ah6 yes1 ,john1 ,father ,hyacinthe is mistaken1 and ,mr4 ,work is mistaken too4 ,there is more in our communion than can be explained4 ,the reason is a great deal1 a great deal1 but it is not everything4 ,and there are experiences which it can neither understand nor interpret4 ,baby is not only up-stairs1 ,john2 he is in my heart of hearts4 ,and you are never away from home1 husband mine1 though often in the city1 but are always with me4 ,and my ,saviour he is not far away1 he is not in the heaven that we must bring him down1 nor in the past that we must summon him from centuries long gone by4 ,he is in our hearts1 ,john4 ,do ,i believe in the ,real ,presence8 ,do ,i not know that there is a ,real ,presence8 ,and neither priest nor pastor can take it from me4 ,i wish you could have administered the communion this afternoon1 ,jennie1 said ,i1 instead of ,mr4 ,work4 ,i wish some good friend of ,mr4 ,work would advise him not to talk at the communion1 said ,jennie4 ,write him a note1 said ,i4 ,jennie shook her head4 ,no1 said she4 ,it would only do harm4 ,but ,i wish ministers knew and felt that at the communion table there is a ,real ,presence that makes many words unfitting4 ,when we are on the mount of ,transfiguration1 we do not care much for ,peter1 ,james or ,john4 ,and so1 dear1 ,i recommend you to do as ,i do--if the minister must give us a doctrinal disquisition1 or a learned argument1 or an elaborate arabesque of fancy work1 or an impassioned appeal1 let him go his way and do not heed him4 ,i want silence that ,i may commune with the ,real ,presence4 ,if the minister does not give it me1 ,i take it4 ,jennie is right1 ,i am sure4 ,what we laymen want at the communion service1 from our pastors1 is chiefly silence4 ,only a few and simple words2 the fewer and simpler the better4 ,oh6 you who are privileged to distribute to us the emblems of ,christ's love1 believe me that the communion never reaches its highest end1 save when you interpret it to us1 not merely as a flower-strewn grave of a dead past1 but as a ,mount of ,transfiguration whereon we talk with a living1 an ascended ,saviour4 ,believe me too1 we want at that table no other message than that which a voice from on high whispers in our hearts3 ,this is my beloved ,son1 hear ye him6 ,,chapter ,v4 ,our ,church ,finances4 ,i ,,found one evening last week1 in coming home1 a business-like- looking letter lying on my library table4 ,i rarely receive letters at ,wheathedge2 nearly all my correspondence comes to my ,new ,york office4 ,i tore it open in some surprise and read the note as follows3 ,,wheathedge1 ,oct4 #ith4 ,dear ,sir1--,a meeting of the male members of the congregation of the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,church will be held on ,thursday evening1 at #h ,p4 ,m41 at the house of ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,you are respectfully invited to be present4 ,yours1 ,respectfully1 ,,james ,,wheaton1 ,ch'n4 ,b'd4 ,trustees4 ,well1 said ,i to myself1 ,i wonder what this means4 ,it can't be a male sewing society1 ,i suppose4 ,it can hardly be a prayer-meeting at ,jim ,wheaton's house4 ,male members6 eh8 ,i thought the female members carried on this church4 ,in my perplexity1 ,i handed the note to my wife4 ,she read it with care4 ,well1 said she1 ,i am glad the people are waking up at last4 ,what does it mean8 said ,i4 ,it means money1 said she4 ,or rather it means the want of money4 ,mrs4 ,work told me last week she believed her husband would have to resign4 ,all last quarter's salary is overdue1 and something beside4 ,it seems that ,mr4 ,wheaton has begun to act1 at last4 ,i don't see what they want to make such men church officers for4 ,my wife has not very clear ideas about the legal relations which exist between the ,church and the ,society4 ,mr4 ,wheaton is an officer1 not of the church but of the society2 but ,i did not think it worth while to correct the mistake4 ,i do want to think kindly of every body1 said ,jennie2 but it makes me indignant to see a minister defrauded of his dues4 ,defrauded is a pretty strong word1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,it is a true word1 said she4 ,the people promise the minister #abjj a year1 and then pay him grudgingly #ijj1 and don't finally make up the other #cjj till he threatens to resign2 if that is not defrauding1 ,i don't know what is4 ,if ,mr4 ,wheaton can't make the ,board of ,trustees keep their promises any better than that1 he had better resign4 ,i wish he would4 ,mr4 ,wheaton is not a member of the church2 and1 to tell the truth1 his reputation for success is greater than his reputation for integrity4 ,but he is president of the ,koniwasset branch railroad1 and a leading director of the ,koniwasset coal mines1 and a large operator in stocks1 and lives in one of the finest houses in ,wheathedge1 and keeps the handsomest carriage1 and hires the most expensive pew1 and it was considered quite a card1 ,i believe1 to get him to take the presidency of the ,board of ,trustees4 ,of course you'll go1 ,john1 said ,jennie4 ,i don't know about that1 ,jennie1 said ,i4 ,i don't want to get mixed up with our church finances in their present condition4 ,i don't know how they are ever to get in a better condition1 ,john1 said she1 unless some men like you do get mixed up with them4 ,jennie1 as usual1 knew me better than ,i knew myself4 ,i went4 ,i was delayed just as ,i was starting away1 and so1 contrary to my custom--for ,i rather pride myself on being a very punctual man--,i was a little late4 ,the male members of the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,congregation were already assembled in ,mr4 ,james ,wheaton's library when ,i arrived4 ,i was a little surprised to see how few male members we had4 ,to look round the congregation on ,sunday morning1 one would certainly suppose there were more4 ,it even seems to me there were at least twice as many at the sewing society when it met at ,james ,wheaton's last winter4 ,i entered just as ,mr4 ,wheaton was explaining the object of the meeting4 ,gentlemen1 said he1 suavely1 the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,church1 like most of its neighbors1 has rather hard work to get along1 financially4 ,its income is not at all equal to its expenditures4 ,the consequence is we generally stand on the debtor side of the ledger4 ,as probably you know1 there is a mortgage on the church of four thousand dollars4 ,the semi-annual interest is due on the first of next month4 ,there is1 ,i think1 no money in the treasury to meet it4 ,here he looked at the treasurer as if for confirmation1 and that gentleman1 a bald-headed1 weak-face man1 smiled a mournful smile1 and shook his head feebly4 ,the ,board of ,trustees1 continued the ,president1 have directed me to call this meeting and lay the matter before you4 ,there was a slight pause--a sort of expectant silence4 ,it isn't a large sum1 gently insinuated the ,president1 if divided among us all4 ,but1 in some way1 gentlemen1 it must be raised4 ,it won't do for us to be insolvent1 you know4 ,a church can't take the benefit of the bankrupt act1 ,i believe1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,being thus appealed to1 ,i responded with a question4 ,was this mortgage interest all that the church owed8 ,no6 the ,president thought not4 ,he believed there was a small floating debt beside4 ,and to whom1 said ,i1 ,mr4 ,treasurer1 is this floating debt due8 ,the ,treasurer looked to the ,president for an answer1 and the ,president accepted his pantomimic hint4 ,most of it1 said he1 ,i believe1 to the minister4 ,but ,i understand that he is in no special hurry for his money4 ,in fact1 continued he1 blandly1 a debt that is due to the minister need never be a very serious burden to a church4 ,nominally it is due to him1 but really it is distributed around among the members of the church4 ,part is due to the grocer1 part to the tailor1 part to the butcher1 part to the dressmaker1 and part is borrowed from personal friends4 ,i lent the parson twenty-five dollars myself last week4 ,but mortgage interest is another matter4 ,that1 you know1 must be provided for4 ,and pray1 said ,i1 for ,i happened to know the parson did need the money1 how much is the pastor's salary8 ,and how much of it is overdue8 ,well1 said the ,president1 ,i suppose his salary is about--two thousand dollars4 ,yes1 continued he1 thoughtfully1 somewhat affectionately playing with his gold watch-chain1 it must net him fully that amount4 ,i was wondering what this about meant1 and whether the minister did not have a fixed salary1 when ,deacon ,goodsole broke in abruptly with1 ,it's twelve hundred dollars a year6 ,yes1 responded the ,president1 it is nominally fixed by the ,board at twelve hundred dollars4 ,but then1 gentlemen1 the perquisites are something4 ,in the course of a year they net up to a pretty large amount4 ,last winter1 the ladies clubbed together and made the parson a present of carpets for his parlors2 the year before we gave him a donation party2 almost every year1 ,deacon ,goodsole sends him a barrel of flour from his store2 in one way or another he gets a good many similar little presents4 ,i always send him a free pass over the road4 ,and then there are the wedding fees which must amount to a handsome item in the course of the year4 ,it can't be less than two thousand or twenty-five hundred dollars all told4 ,a very snug little income1 gentlemen4 ,double what ,i get1 murmured ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,a very exemplary gentleman is ,mr4 ,hardcap1 the carpenter1 but more known for the virtue of economy than for any other4 ,he lives in three rooms over his carpenter shop down in ,willow lane4 ,if our pastor lived there he would be dismissed very soon4 ,i wondered1 as the ,president was speaking1 whether he included the profit he made in selling ,koniwasset coal to the ,newtown railroad among his perquisitis1 and as part of his salary4 ,but ,i did not ask4 ,week before last1 said ,deacon ,goodsole1 the parson was called to attend a wedding at ,compton ,mills4 ,he drove down ,monday1 through that furious storm1 was gone nearly all day1 paid six dollars for his horse and buggy1 and received five dollars wedding fee4 ,i wonder how long it would take at that rate to bring his salary up to twenty-five hundred dollars4 ,there was a general laugh at the parson's mercantile venture1 but no other response4 ,well1 gentlemen1 said the ,president1 a little gruffly1 ,i fancied1 let us get back to business4 ,how shall we raise this mortgage interest8 ,i will be one of ten to pay it off4 ,excuse me1 said ,i1 gently1 but before we begin to pay our debts1 we must find out how much they are4 ,can the ,treasurer tell us how much we owe ,mr4 ,work8 ,the ,treasurer looked inquiringly at the ,president1 but getting no response1 found his voice1 and replied1 ,three hundred dollars4 ,the whole of last quarter8 said ,i4 ,the ,treasurer nodded4 ,i think there is a little due on last year1 said ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,a hundred and seventy-five dollars1 said the ,treasurer4 ,the fact is1 gentlemen1 said the ,president1 resuming his blandest manner1 you know the ,methodists have just got into their new stone church4 ,the trustees thought it necessary not to be behind their neighbors1 and so we have completely upholstered our church anew1 at a cost of five hundred dollars4 7,and made the parson pay the bill1 said ,deacon ,goodsole1 soto voce47 ,we should have frescoed it1 too1 if we had had the money4 7,why didn't you take his wedding fees8 said the ,deacon1 soto voce47 ,well1 for my part1 said ,i1 ,i am willing to do my share toward paying off this debt4 ,but ,i will not pay a cent unless the whole is paid4 ,the minister must be provided for4 ,i say so1 too1 murmured ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,i was surprised at this sudden and unexpected reinforcement4 ,the ,deacon told me afterwards1 that ,mr4 ,hardcap had been repairing the parson's roof and had not got his pay4 ,perhaps1 continued ,i1 we can fund this floating debt1 make the mortgage four thousand five hundred1 raise the difference among ourselves1 and so clear it all up4 ,who holds the mortgage8 ,this question produced a sensation like that of opening the seventh seal in heaven4 ,there was silence for the space of--well1 something less than half an hour4 ,the ,treasurer looked at the ,president4 ,the ,president looked at the ,treasurer4 ,the male members of the congregation looked at each other4 ,the ,deacon looked at me with a very significant laugh lurking in the corners of his mouth4 ,at length the ,president spoke4 ,well1 gentlemen1 said he1 ,i suppose most of you know ,i hold this mortgage4 ,i have not called you together because ,i want to press the church for the money4 ,but a debt1 gentlemen1 is a debt1 and the church1 above all institutions1 ought to remember the divine injunction of our blessed ,master 7the ,president is not very familiar with ,scripture1 and may be excused the blunder73 ',owe no man anything4' 7,except the minister1 said ,deacon ,goodsole1 soto voce47 ,the proposition of our friend here1 however1 looks like business to me4 ,i think the matter can be arranged in that way4 ,arranged it was4 ,the ,president got his additional security1 and the parson got his salary1 which was the main thing ,jennie cared for4 ,and to be perfectly frank with the reader1 ,i should not have gone near ,jim ,wheaton's that night if it had not been that ,i knew it would please ,jennie4 ,i wait with some curiosity to see what will become of a church whose expenditures are regularly a quarter more than its income4 ,meanwhile1 ,i wonder whether the personal presents which friends make for affection's sake to their pastor ought to be included by the ,board of ,trustees in their estimate of his salary8 and also whether it is quite the thing to expect that the pastor will advance1 out of his own pocket1 whatever money is necessary to keep his church from falling behind its neighbors in showy attractions8 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,am ,i a ,drone8 ,,deacon ,goodsole wants me to take a class in the ,sabbath-school4 ,so does ,mr4 ,work4 ,so ,i think does ,jennie1 though she does not say much4 ,she only says that if ,i did she thinks ,i could do a great deal of good4 ,i wonder if ,i could4 ,i have stoutly resisted them so far4 ,but ,i confess last ,sunday's sermon has shaken me a little4 ,i was kept in the city ,saturday night by a legal appointment1 and went the next day to hear my old friend ,thomas ,lane preach4 ,his text was ,why stand ye here all the day idle8 ,he depicted very graphically the condition of the poor in ,new ,york4 ,he is a man of warm sympathies1 of a large and generous heart4 ,he mingles a great deal with the poor of his own congregation4 ,to his credit and that of his wife be it said1 there are a good many poor in his congregation4 ,but he does not confine his sympathies to his own people4 ,he told us of that immense class who live in ,new ,york without a church-home1 of the heathen that are growing up among us4 ,you need not go to ,africa1 said he1 to find them4 ,they come to your door every morning for cold victuals4 ,god will hold you responsible for their souls4 ,are you in the ,sabbath-school8 ,are you in the ,mission-school8 ,are you in the neighborhood prayer-meeting8 ,are you a visitor8 ,are you distributing tracts8 ,are you doing anything to seek and to save that which is lost8 ,then he went on to say what should be done2 and to maintain the right and duty of laymen to preach1 to teach1 to visit1 to do all things which belong to fishers of men4 ,there are a great many church members1 said he1 who seem to suppose that their whole duty consists in paying pew rent and listening to preaching4 ,that is not ,christianity4 ,if you are doing nothing you are drones4 ,there is no room in the hive for you4 ,the ,church has too many idle ,christians already4 ,we don't want you4 ,he did not argue4 ,he simply asserted4 ,but he evidently felt the truth of all that he said4 ,i believe ,i should have decided at once to go into the ,sabbath-school as soon as ,i came home1 but for a little incident4 ,after church ,i walked home with ,mr4 ,lane to dine with him4 ,mr4 ,sower joined and walked along with us4 ,he is at the head of a large manufacturing establishment4 ,he is one of ,mr4 ,lane's warmest friends4 ,mr4 ,lane believes him to be a devoted ,christian4 ,well1 parson1 said he1 ,i suppose after to-night's sermon there is nothing left for me to do but to take a letter from the ,church--if you don't excommunicate me before ,i get it4 ,what's the matter now8 said the parson4 ,i am neither visiting1 said ,mr4 ,sower1 nor distributing tracts1 nor attending a tenement-house prayer-meeting1 nor preaching1 nor working in a mission1 nor doing anything in the ,church1 but going to its service and paying my pew rent1 and sometimes a little something over to make up a deficiency4 ,the fact is every day in the week ,i have my breakfast an hour before you do1 and am off to the factory4 ,i never get home till six o'clock1 sometimes not then4 ,my day's work uses up my day's energies4 ,i can't go out to a tenement-house prayer-meeting1 or to tract distribution in the evening4 ,i can hardly keep awake in our own church prayer-meeting4 ,if it were not for ,sunday's rest my work would kill me in a year4 ,i sometimes think that perhaps ,i am devoting too much of my time to money-making4 ,but what shall ,i do8 ,there are four hundred workmen in the factory4 ,most of them have families4 ,all of those families are really dependent on me for their daily bread4 ,it takes all my life's energies to keep them employed4 ,shall ,i leave that work to take hold of tenement- house visitation and tract distribution8 ,mr4 ,lane replied promptly that ,mr4 ,sower was to do no such thing4 ,your factory1 said he1 is your field4 ,that is the work ,god has given you to do4 ,it is your parish4 ,do not leave it for another--only do not forget that you have to give an account of your parochial charge4 ,you are to study1 not how to get the most money out of your four hundred workmen1 but how to do them the most good4 ,that is ,christian duty for you4 ,but your case is very peculiar4 ,there is not one man in a thousand situated as you are4 ,then ,i began to think that perhaps my law office was my field4 ,it gives me enough to do ,i am sure4 ,we are not all drones who are not working for the ,church4 ,there is a work for ,christ outside4 ,and ,i do not want to take a ,sabbath-school class4 ,i want ,sunday mornings to myself4 ,every other morning ,i have to be an early riser4 ,i do enjoy being lazy ,sunday morning4 ,but then there is that class of young men from the mill4 ,deacon ,goodsole says they don't know anything4 ,he has no one who can manage them4 ,and ,mr4 ,work thinks it's a dreadful sin1 ,i do not doubt1 that ,i do not take it at once4 ,i do not care much for that4 ,but ,jennie says ,i am just the one to manage these boys if ,i feel like undertaking it4 ,and ,i would like to prove her good opinion of me true4 ,i was just in that perplexity when night before last a meeting on behalf of the ,city ,mission ,society was held here4 ,mr4 ,mingins1 the ,superintendent of city missions1 was one of the speakers4 ,he made an earnest and at times a really eloquent speech4 ,he would have made a splendid jury lawyer4 ,he depicted in the most lively colors the wretched condition of the outcast population of ,new ,york4 ,with all the eloquence of a warm heart1 made more attractive by his broad ,scotch1 he pled with us to take an active part in their amelioration4 ,pure religion and undefiled1 before ,god and the ,father1 is this1 cried he1 to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction1 and to keep himself unspotted from the world4 ,i resolved to take up that class of ,mission boys straightways4 ,but as ,i came out ,i met ,hattie ,bridgeman4 ,she is an old friend of ,jennie's and has had a hard1 hard life4 ,her husband is an invalid4 ,her children are thrown on her for support4 ,as ,i met her at the door she pressed my hand without speaking4 ,i could see by the trembling lip and the tearful eye1 that her heart was full4 ,i wish ,i had not come to-night1 she said1 as we walked along together4 ,such stories make my heart bleed4 ,it seems as though ,i ought to go right out to visit the sick1 comfort the afflicted1 care for the neglected4 ,but what can ,i do8 ,my children are dependent on me4 ,these six weeks at ,wheathedge are my only vacation4 ,the rest of the time ,i am teaching music from ,monday morning till ,saturday night4 ,sunday1 when ,i ought to rest1 is my most exhausting day4 ,for then ,i sing in church4 ,if ,i were to leave my scholars my children would starve4 ,how can ,i do anything for my ,savior8 ,it was very plain that she was to serve her ,savior in the music lesson as indeed she does4 ,for she goes into every house as a missionary4 ,she carries the spirit of ,christ in her heart4 ,his joy is radiant in her face4 ,she preaches the ,gospel in houses where neighborhood prayer-meetings cannot be held1 in households which tract-distributors never enter4 ,the street that needs ,gospel visitation most is ,fifth avenue4 ,that is in her district4 ,and1 nobly1 though unconsciously1 she fulfils her mission4 ,more than one person ,i have heard say1 ,if to be a ,christian is to be like ,mrs4 ,bridgeman1 ,i wish ,i were one4 ,our pastor preaches no such effective sermons as does she by her gentleness1 her geniality1 her patience1 her long suffering with joyfulness4 ,and when the ,sabbath comes1 her voice1 though it leads the service of song in a fashionable city church1 expresses the ardor of her ,christian heart1 and is fraught with quite as true devotion as the prayers of her pastor4 ,something like this ,jennie told her as we walked along from church2 and she left us comforted4 ,and ,i was a little comforted too4 ,it is very clear1 is it not1 that we are not all drones who are not at work in the church4 ,there are other fields than the ,sabbath-school4 ,do ,i carry ,christ into my law office1 and into the court-room1 as ,mrs4 ,bridgeman does into the parlor and the chair8 ,that is the first point to be settled4 ,the other comes up afterward4 ,but it does persist in coming up4 ,it is not settled yet4 ,will it hurt my ,sunday to take that class for an hour8 ,i doubt it4 ,i must talk it over with ,jennie and see what she really thinks about it4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,the ,field is the ,world4 ,,last evening before ,i had found an opportunity to talk it over with ,jennie1 ,dr4 ,argure and ,deacon ,goodsole called4 ,i suspect the deacon's conscience had been quickened even more than mine respecting my duty to that mission class by ,mr4 ,minging's address4 ,for ,i have noticed that our consciences are apt to be quickened by sermons and addresses more respecting our neighbors' duties even than respecting our own4 ,dr4 ,argure had come down the day before from ,newtown to attend the city mission meeting4 ,he is a very learned man4 ,at least ,i suppose he is1 for everybody says so4 ,he is at all events a very sonorous man4 ,he has a large vocabulary of large words1 and there are a great many people who cannot distinguish between great words and great thoughts4 ,i do not mean to impugn his intellectual capital when ,i say that he does a very large credit business4 ,in sailing on lake ,superior you can sometimes see the rocky bottom #cj or #dj feet below the surface--the water is so clear4 ,you never can see the bottom of ,dr4 ,argure's sermons4 ,perhaps it is because they are so deep2 ,i sometimes think it is because they are so muddy4 ,still he really is an able man1 and knows the books1 and knows how to turn his knowledge to a good account4 ,last summer he preached a sermon at ,wheathedge1 on female education4 ,he told us about female education among the ,greeks1 and the ,romans1 and the ,hebrews1 and the ,persians1 and the ,egyptians--though not much about it in ,america of to-day4 ,but it was a learned discourse--at least ,i suppose so4 ,three weeks after1 ,i met the ,president of the ,board of ,trustees of the ,polltown ,female ,seminary1 ,i mentioned incidentally that ,i was spending the summer at ,wheathedge4 ,you have got a strong man up there somewhere1 said he1 that ,dr4 ,argure1 of ,newtown4 ,he delivered an address before our seminary last week on female education2 full of learning sir1 full of learning4 ,we put him right on our ,board of ,trustees4 ,next year ,i think we shall make him ,president4 ,a month or so after ,i found in the weekly ,watch ,tower an editorial1--indeed ,i think there were three in successive numbers--on female education4 ,they had a familiar sound1 and happening to meet the editor1 ,i spoke of them4 ,yes1 said he they are by ,dr4 ,argure4 ,a very learned man that sir4 ,does an immense amount of work too4 ,he is one of our editorial contributors as perhaps you see1 and an able man1 very learned sir4 ,those are very original and able articles sir4 ,this fall ,i took up the ,adriatic ,magazine1 and there what should my eye fall on but an article on female education4 ,i did not read it2 but the papers assured their readers that it was a learned and exhaustive discussion on the whole subject by that scholarly and erudite writer1 ,dr4 ,argure4 ,and having heard this asserted so often1 ,i began to think that it certainly must be true4 ,and then in ,january ,i received a pamphlet on female education by ,dr4 ,argure4 ,it was addressed to the ,board of ,education1 and demanded a higher course of training for woman1 and was a learned and exhaustive discussion of the whole subject from the days of ,moses down4 ,an able man that ,dr4 ,argure1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton to me the other day referring to that same pamphlet4 ,yes1 ,i think he is1 ,i could not help saying4 ,i think he can stir more puddings with one pudding stick than any other man ,i know4 ,still he stirs them pretty well4 ,and if he can do it ,i do not know that there is any objection4 ,but if ,i do not believe in ,dr4 ,argure quite as fully as some less sceptical members of his congregation do1 ,deacon ,goodsole believes in him most implicitly4 ,deacon ,goodsole is a believer--not ,i mean in anything in particular1 but generally4 ,he likes to believe2 he enjoys it2 he does it1 not on evidence1 but on general principles4 ,the deacons of the stories are all crabbed1 gnarled1 and cross-grained4 ,they are the terrors of the little boys1 and the thorn in the flesh to the minister4 ,but ,deacon ,goodsole is the most cheery1 bright1 and genial of men4 ,he is like a streak of sunshine4 ,he sensibly radiates the prayer-meeting1 which would be rather cold except for him4 ,the little boys always greet him with a ,how do you do ,deacon1 and always get a smile1 and a nod1 and sometimes a stick of candy or a little book in return4 ,his over-coat pockets are always full of some little books or tracts1 and always of the bright and cheery description4 ,always full1 ,i said2 but that is a mistake2 when he gets home at night they are generally empty4 ,for he goes out literally as a sower went out to sow1 ,i do not believe there is a child within five miles of ,wheathedge that has not had one of the ,deacon's little books4 ,i suspected that the ,deacon had come partly to talk with me about that ,bible class1 and ,i resolved to give him an opportunity4 ,so ,i opened the way at once4 ,laicus43 --,well ,deacon1 how are church affairs coining on2 pretty smoothly2 salary paid up at last8 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,yes1 ,mr4 ,laicus2 and we're obliged to you for it too4 ,i don't think the parson would have got his money but for you4 ,laicus43 --,not at all1 ,deacon4 ,thank my wife1 not me4 ,she was righteously indignant at the church for leaving its minister unpaid so long4 ,if ,i were the parson ,i would clear out that ,board of ,trustees and put in a new one1 made up wholly of women4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,that's not a bad idea4 ,i believe the women would make a deal better ,board than the present one4 ,dr4 ,argure3 7with great solemnity74 --,mr4 ,laicus1 have you considered the ,scriptural teachings concerning the true relations and sphere of women in the church of ,christ4 ,the apostle says very distinctly that he does not suffer a woman to teach or to usurp authority over the man1 and it is very clear that to permit the female members of the church to occupy such offices as those you have indicated would be to suffer her to usurp that authority which the ,scripture reposes alone in the head--that is in man4 ,laicus3 7naively74 --,does the ,scripture really say that women must not teach8 ,dr4 ,argure43 --,most certainly it does1 sir4 ,the apostle is very explicit on that point1 very explicit4 ,and ,i hold1 sir1 that for women to preach1 or to speak in public1 or in the prayer-meeting of the church1 is a direct violation of the plain precepts of the inspired word4 ,laicus43 --,i wonder you have any women teach in your ,sabbath ,school8 ,or have you turned them all out8 ,mrs4 ,laicus13 7who evidently wishes to change the conversation74 --,how do affairs go on in the work of your church4 ,dr4 ,argure13 7who is not unwilling that it should be changed74 --,but slowly1 madam4 ,there is not that readiness and zeal in the work of the church1 which ,i would wish to see4 ,there are many fruitless branches on the tree1 ,mrs4 ,laicus1 many members of my church who do nothing really to promote its interests4 ,they are not to be found in the ,sabbath ,school2 they cannot be induced to participate actively in tract distribution2 and they are even not to be depended on in the devotional week-day meetings of the church4 ,deacon ,goodsole13 7who always goes straight to the point74 --,mr4 ,laicus here needs a little touching up on that point1 ,doctor2 and ,i am glad you are here to do it4 ,how as to that ,bible class1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 that ,i spoke to you about week before last8 ,there are four or five young men from the barrow factory in the ,sabbath ,school now4 ,but they have no teacher4 ,i am sure if you could see your way clear to take that class you would very soon have as many more4 ,there are some thirty of them that rarely or never come to church4 ,and as for me1 ,i can't get at them4 ,they are mostly unbelievers4 ,mr4 ,gear himself1 the superintendent1 is a regular out and out infidel4 ,and ,i never could do anything with unbelievers4 ,laicus43 --,deacon1 ,i wish ,i could4 ,but ,i am very busy all through the week1 and ,i really don't see how ,i can take this work up on ,sunday4 ,beside it would require some week-day work in addition4 ,dr4 ,argure43 --,no man can be too busy to serve the ,lord1 ,mr4 ,laicus2 certainly no professed disciple of the ,lord4 ,the work of the church1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 is before every other work in its transcendant importance4 ,laicus43 --,i don't know about that4 ,seems to me1 ,i have seen somewhere that if a man does not provide for his own family he is worse than an infidel4 ,dr4 ,argure13 7putting this response away from him majestically74 --,it is unfortunately too common an excuse even with professors of religion that they are too busy to serve in the work of the ,lord4 ,there is for example the instance of ,dr4 ,curall4 ,he was elected at my suggestion last summer as an elder in our church4 ,but he declined the office1 which the apostle declares to be honorable1 and of such a character that if it be well used they who employ it purchase to themselves a good degree4 ,alas6 that it should be so frequently so-- ourselves first and ,christ afterwards4 ,laicus43 --,is that quite fair ,dr8 ,must ,dr4 ,curall be put down as refusing to follow the ,master because he refuses to leave the duties of his profession which he is doing well1 to take on those of a church office which he might do but poorly8 ,may not he who goes about healing the sick be following ,christ as truly as he who preaches the ,gospel to the poor8 ,is the one to be accused of serving the world any more because of his fees than the other because of his salary8 ,can an elder do any more to carry the ,gospel of ,christ to the sick bed and the house of mourning than a ,christian physician1 if he is faithful as a ,christian8 ,dr4 ,argure shook his head but made no response4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,that may do very well in the case of a doctor1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,but ,i don't see how it applies in your case1 or in that of farmer ,faragon1 or in that of ,typsel the printer or in that of ,sole the boot-maker1 or in that of half a score of people ,i could name1 who are doing nothing in the church except pay their pew rent4 ,laicus43 --,suppose you pass my case for the moment1 and take the others4 ,take farmer ,faragon for example4 ,he has a farm of three hundred acres4 ,it keeps him busy all the week4 ,he works hard1 out of doors1 all day4 ,when evening comes he gets his newspaper1 sits down by the fire and pretends to read4 ,but ,i have noticed that he rarely reads ten minutes before he drops asleep4 ,when he comes to church the same phenomenon occurs4 ,he cannot resist the soporific tendencies of the furnaces4 ,by the time ,mr4 ,work gets fairly into secondly1 ,farmer ,faragon is sound asleep4 ,so he does not even listen to the preaching4 ,is he then a drone8 ,suppose you make a calculation how many mouths he feeds indirectly by the products of his farm4 ,i cannot even guess4 ,but ,i know nothing ever goes from it that is not good4 ,the child is happy that drinks his milk1 the butcher fortunate who buys his beef1 the housewife well off who has his apples and potatoes in her cellar4 ,he never sends a doubtful article to market2 never a short weight or a poor measure4 ,i think that almost every one who deals with him recognizes in him a ,christian man4 ,he does not work in ,sunday ,school1 it is true1 but he has brought more than one farm hand into it4 ,christ fed five thousand by the sea of ,galilee with five loaves and two small fishes4 ,was that ,christian8 ,farmer ,faragon1 feeds1 in his small way1 by his industry1 a few scores of hungry mortals4 ,is he a drone8 ,or take ,mr4 ,typsel the printer4 ,he publishes the ,newtown ,chronicle4 ,he sends a weekly message to #aj1jjj readers1 at least twenty times as many as ,dr4 ,argure's congregation4 ,i do not know how good a ,christian he is2 ,i do not know much about the ,newtown ,chronicle4 ,but ,i know that the press is exerting an incalculable influence over the people1 for good or for ill and the man who devotes his energies to it1 and really uses it to educate and elevate the community1 is doing as much in his sphere for ,christ as the minister in his4 ,he has no right to neglect the greater work ,god has given him to do for the lesser work of teaching a ,sabbath ,school class4 ,jennie43 --,that is if he cannot well do both4 ,laicus43 --,yes--of course4 ,if he can do both1 that is very well4 ,dr4 ,argure43 --,that's a very dangerous doctrine ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,laicus13 7warmly74 --,if it is true it is not dangerous4 ,the truth is never dangerous4 ,dr4 ,argure43 --,the truth is not to be spoken at all times4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,that's a very unnecessary doctrine1 ,dr41 to teach to a lawyer4 ,dr4 ,argure13 7indifferent alike to the sally and to the laugh which follows it74 --,consider1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 what would be the effect on the church of preaching that doctrine4 ,it is our duty to build up the church4 ,it is the church which is the pillar and ground of the truth4 ,it is the church which is ,christ's great instrumentality for the conversion of the world4 ,when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our ,lord and of his ,christ1 then the church will have universal dominion4 ,here in ,wheathedge1 for example1 ,mr4 ,work is laboring to build up and strengthen the church of ,christ4 ,and you tell his people and the people of hundreds of similar parishes all over the land1 that it is no matter whether they do any work in the church or not4 ,consider the effect of it4 ,laicus43 --,it seems to me1 ,dr41 that you entertain a low1 though a very common1 conception of your office4 ,the ministers are not mere builders of churches4 ,they are set to build men4 ,the church which will have universal dominion is not this or that particular organization1 but the whole body of those who love the truth as it is in ,christ ,jesus4 ,churches1 creeds1 covenants1 synods1 assemblies1 associations1 will all fade2 the soul alone is immortal4 ,if you are really building for eternity you cannot merely build churches4 ,dr4 ,argure43 --,consider then1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 the effect of your doctrine on the hearts and souls of men4 ,consider how many idle and indifferent professors of religion there are1 who are doing nothing in the church1 and nothing for the church4 ,and you tell them that it is just as well they should not2 that they are just as worthy of honor as if they were active in the ,lords vineyard8 ,laicus43 --,it is just as well if they are really serving ,christ4 ,it does not make any difference whether they are doing it in the church or out of the church4 ,christ himself served chiefly out of the church1 and had it arrayed against him4 ,so did ,paul2 so did ,luther4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,do you mean that it makes no difference1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 whether a man is a member of the church or not8 ,laicus43 --,not at all4 ,that is quite another matter4 ,i am speaking of church work1 not of church membership2 and ,i insist that church work and ,christian work are not necessarily synonymous4 ,i insist that whatever tends to make mankind better1 nobler1 wiser1 permanently happier1 if it is work carried on in the spirit of ,christ is work for ,christ1 whether it is done in the church or out of the church4 ,i insist that every layman is bound to do ten-fold more for ,christ out of the church than in its appointed ways and under its supervision4 ,i have read1 ,dr41 with a great deal of interest your learned and exhaustive treatise on the higher education of women1 7,i am afraid ,i told a little lie there2 but had not the ,dr4 just told me that the truth was not to be told at all times71 but ,i declare to you1 that so far as the elevation of woman is concerned1 ,i would rather have invented the sewing machine than have been the author of all the sermons1 addresses1 magazine articles1 editorials and pamphlets on the woman question that have been composed since ,paul wrote his second ,epistle to the ,christians4 ,dr4 ,argure13 7shaking his head74 --,it is a dangerous doctrine1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 a dangerous doctrine4 ,you do not consider its effect on the minds of the common people4 ,laicus13 7thoroughly aroused and thoroughly in earnest74 --,do you consider the influence of the opposite teaching1 both on the church and on the individual8 ,we are building churches1 you tell us4 ,the outsiders1 as we call them1 very soon understand that4 ,they see that we are on the look-out for men who can build us up1 not for men whom we can build up4 ,if a wealthy man comes into the neighborhood1 we angle for him4 ,if a devout1 active1 praying ,christian moves into the neighborhood1 we angle for him4 ,if a drunken loafer drops down upon us1 does anybody ever angle for him8 ,if a poor1 forlorn widow1 who has to work from ,monday morning till ,saturday night1 comes to dwell under the shadow of our church1 do we angle for her8 ,yes6 ,i am glad to believe we do4 ,but the shrewdness1 the energy1 the tact1 is displayed in the other kind of fishing4 ,don't you suppose the world understand this8 ,don't you suppose our ,mr4 ,wheaton understands what we want him in the board of trustees for8 ,such men interpret our invitation--and they are not very wrong--as1 come with us and do us good2 not1 come with us and we will do you good4 ,consider1 too1 its effect on the individual4 ,i attended a morning prayer meeting last winter in the city4 ,a young man told his experience4 ,he started in the morning1 he said1 to go to the store4 ,but it seemed as though the ,lord bid him retrace his steps4 ,a voice within seemed to say to him1 ,your duty is at the prayer meeting4 ,the battle between ,christ and the world was long and bitter4 ,christ at length prevailed4 ,he had come to the prayer meeting4 ,he wanted to tell the brethren what ,christ had done for his soul4 ,the experience may have been genuine4 ,it may have been his duty to leave the store for the church that particular morning4 ,but what is the effect of a training which teaches a young man to consider all the time he gives to the store as time appropriated to the world8 ,it is that he can serve both ,god and mammon2 that he actually does4 ,it draws a sharp line between the sacred and secular4 ,and most of his life is necessarily the secular4 ,i forgot to mention that ,mrs4 ,goodsole had come over with her husband4 ,she and ,jennie sat side by side4 ,but she had not opened her mouth since the salutations of the evening had been interchanged4 ,she is the meekest and mildest of women4 ,she is also the most timed4 ,in public she rarely speaks4 ,but it is currently reported that she avenges herself for her silence by the curtain lectures1 she delivers to her good husband at home4 ,of that1 however1 ,i cannot be sure4 ,i speak only of rumor4 ,now she took advantage of a pause to say3 ,mrs4 ,goodsole43 --,i like ,mr4 ,laicus's doctrine4 ,it's very comforting to a woman like me who am so busy at home that ,i can hardly get out to church on ,sundays4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,i don't believe it's true4 ,yes ,i do too4 ,but ,i don't believe it's applicable4 ,that is--well what ,i mean to say--,i can't express myself exactly1 but my idea is this1 that the people that won't work in the church are the very ones that do nothing out of it4 ,the busy ones are busy everywhere4 ,there is ,mr4 ,line1 for example4 ,he has a large farm4 ,he keeps a summer hotel1 two houses always full2 and they are capitally kept houses4 ,that1 of itself1 is enough to keep any man busy4 ,the whole burden of both hotel and farm rests on his shoulders4 ,and yet he is elder and member of the board of trustees1 and on hand1 in every kind of exigency1 in the church4 ,he is one of the public school commissioners1 is active in getting new roads laid out1 and public improvements introduced1 is the real founder of our new academy1 and1 in short1 has a hand in every good work that is ever undertaken in ,wheathedge4 ,and there is ,dr4 ,curall1 whose case ,mr4 ,laicus has advocated so eloquently and who is too busy to be an elder2 and ,i verily believe ,i could count all his patients on the fingers of my two hands4 ,mrs4 ,goodsole13 7inclined to agree with everybody1 and so to live at peace and amity with all mankind74 --,there is something in that4 ,there is ,mrs4 ,wheaton who has only one child1 a grown up boy1 and who keeps three or four servants to take care of herself and her husband and her solitary son1 and she is always too busy to do anything in the church4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,on the other hand there is not a busier person in the church than ,miss ,moore4 ,she supports herself and her widowed mother by teaching4 ,she is in school from nine till three1 and gives private lessons three evenings in the week1 and yet she finds time to visit all the sick in the neighborhood4 ,and when last year we held a fair to raise money for an organ for the ,sabbath school1 she was the most active and indefatigable worker among them all4 ,mrs4 ,bisket was the only one who compared with her4 ,and ,mrs4 ,bisket keeps a summer boarding-house1 and it was the height of the season1 and she only had one girl part of the time4 ,dr4 ,argure rose to go1 ,deacon ,goodsole followed his example4 ,there were a few minutes of miscellaneous conversation as the gentlemen put on their coats4 ,as we followed them to the library door ,deacon ,goodsole turned to me3-- ,but you have not given me your answer yet1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he4 ,before ,i could give it1 ,jennie had drawn her arm through mine1 and looking up into my face for assent had answered for me4 ,he will think of it1 ,mr4 ,goodsole1 said she4 ,he never decides any question of importance without sleeping on it4 ,i have been thinking of it4 ,i am sure that ,i am right in my belief that there are many ways of working for ,christ beside working for the church4 ,i am sure the first thing is for us to work for ,christ in our daily1 secular affairs4 ,i am sure that all are not drones who are not buzzing in the ecclesiastical hive4 ,but ,i am not so sure that ,i have not time to take that ,bible-class4 ,i am not so sure that the busy ones in the church are not also the busy ones out of the church4 ,i remember that when ,mr4 ,james ,harper was hard at work establishing the business of ,harper ,brothers1 which has grown to such immense proportions since1 at the very time he was working night as well as day to expedite publications1 he was a trustee and class-leader in ,john ,street ,methodist ,church1 and rarely missed the sessions of the board or the meetings of the class4 ,i remember that ,mr4 ,hatch1 the famous banker1 was almost the founder of the ,jersey ,city ,tabernacle ,church1 and his now ,president of the ,howard ,mission4 ,yet ,i suppose there is not a busier man in ,wall street4 ,i remember that ,wm4 ,e4 ,dodge1 jr41 and ,morris ,k4 ,jessup1 than whom there are few men more industrious1 commercially1 are yet both active in ,city ,missions and in the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association2 the former is an elder in an up-town church1 and very active in ,sabbath ,school work4 ,i remember ,ralph ,wells1 bishop of all the ,presbyterian ,sabbath ,schools for miles around ,new ,york1 who was1 until lately1 active in daily business in the city4 ,yes ,i am sure that hard work in the week is not always a good reason for refusing to work in the church on the ,sabbath4 ,jennie1 ,i am going to try that ,bible class1 as an experiment1 for the winter4 ,i am glad of it1 ,john4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,mr4 ,gear4 ,,jennie1 said ,i1 ,harry and ,i are going out for our walk4 ,it was ,sunday afternoon4 ,i had enjoyed my usual ,sunday afternoon nap1 and now ,i was going out for my usual ,sunday afternoon walk4 ,only this afternoon ,i had a purpose beside that of an hour's exercise in the fresh air4 ,i wish ,i could go with you ,john1 said ,jennie1 but it's ,fanny's afternoon out1 and ,i can't leave the baby4 ,where are you going8 ,up to the mill village1 to see ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i4 ,i am going to ask him to join the ,bible class4 ,why ,john he's an infidel ,i thought4 ,so they say1 ,i replied4 ,but it can't do an infidel any harm to study the ,bible4 ,i may not succeed2 ,i probably shan't2 but ,i certainly shan't if ,i don't try4 ,i wish ,i could do something to help you ,john4 ,and ,i think ,i can4 ,i can pray for you4 ,perhaps that will help you8 ,help me4 ,with the assurance of those prayers ,i walked along the road with a new confidence of hope4 ,before ,i had dreaded my errand1 now ,i was in haste for the interview4 ,i believe in the intercession of the saints2 and ,jennie is a--but ,i forget4 ,the public are rarely interested in a man's opinion about his own wife4 ,the mill village1 as we call it1 is a little collection of cottages with one or two houses of a somewhat more pretentious character1 which gather round the wheel-barrow factory down the river1 a good mile's walk from the church4 ,it was a bright afternoon in ,october4 ,the woods were in the glory of their radiant death1 the air was crisp and keen4 ,harry who now ran before1 now loitered behind1 and now walked sedately by my side1 was full of spirits1 and there was everything to make the soul feel hope and courage4 ,and yet ,i had my misgivings4 ,when ,i had told ,deacon ,goodsole that ,i was going to call on ,mr4 ,gear he exclaimed at my proposition4 ,why he's a regular out and outer4 ,he does not believe in anything--,church1 ,bible1 ,sunday1 ,christ1 ,god or even his own immortality4 ,what do you know of him8 ,i asked4 ,he was born in ,new ,england1 replied the ,deacon1 brought up in an orthodox family1 taught to say the ,westminster ,assembly's ,catechism 7he can say it better than ,i can today71 and listened twice every ,sunday till he was eighteen to good sound orthodox preaching4 ,then he left home and the church together2 and he has never been to either1 to remain1 since4 ,does he ever go to church8 ,i asked4 ,the ,deacon shrugged his shoulders4 ,i asked him that question myself the other day1 said he4 ,you never go to church1 ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i believe8 said ,i4 ,oh6 yes ,i do1 he replied4 ,i go home every ,christmas to spend a week4 ,and at home ,i always go to church for the sake of the old folks4 ,at ,wheathedge ,i always stay away for my own sake4 ,and what do you know of his theology8 said ,i4 ,theology1 said the ,deacon2 he hasn't any4 ,his creed is the shortest and simplest one ,i know of4 ,i tried to have a religious conversation with him once but ,i had to give it up4 ,i could make nothing out of him4 ,he said he believed in the existence of a ,god4 ,but he scouted the idea that we could know anything about ,him4 ,he was rather inclined to think there was a future life2 but nobody knew anything about it4 ,all that we could know was that if we are virtuous in this life we shall be happy in the next--if there is a next4 ,he does not believe that the gates are wide open there1 said ,i4 ,no1 said the ,deacon2 nor ajar either4 ,and what does he say of ,christ and ,christianity1 said ,i4 ,of ,jesus ,christ1 said the ,deacon1 that--well--probably such a man lived1 and was a very pure and holy man1 and a very remarkable teacher1 certainly for his age a very remarkable teacher4 ,but he ridicules the idea of the miracles2 says he does not believe them any more than he believes in the mythical legends of ,greek and ,roman literature4 ,and as to ,christianity he believes its a very good sort of thing1 better for ,america than any other religion2 but he rather thinks ,buddhism is very likely better for ,india4 ,but ,i wish you would go and see him1 continued the ,deacon4 ,perhaps you can make something out of him4 ,i can't4 ,i have tried again and again1 and ,i always get the worst of it4 ,he is well read1 ,i assure you1 and keen as--as1 the ,deacon failed in his search for a simile and closed his sentence with--a great deal keener than ,i am4 ,he's a real good fellow1 but he doesn't believe in anything4 ,there is no use in quoting ,scripture1 because he thinks it's nothing but a collection of old legends4 ,i once tried to argue the question of inspiration with him4 ',deacon1' said he to me1 'suppose a father should start off one fine morning to carry his son up to the top of ,huricane ,hill and put him to death there1 and should pretend he had a revelation from ,god to do it1 what would you do to him8' ',put him in the insane asylum1' said ,i4 ',exactly1' said he4 ',my boys came home from your ,sabbath ,school the other ,sunday full of the sacrifice of ,isaac1 and ,will1 who takes after his father1 asked me if ,i didn't think it was cruel for ,god to tell a father to kill his own son4 ,what could ,i say8 ,i don't often interfere1 because it troubles my wife so4 ,but ,i couldn't stand that1 and ,i told him very frankly that ,i didn't believe the story1 and if it was true ,i thought ,abraham was crazy4' ,he had me there1 you know1 continued the ,deacon1 good- naturedly1 but then ,i never was good for anything in discussion4 ,i wish you would go to see him1 may be you would bring him to terms4 ,and so ,i was going now1 not without misgivings1 and with no great faith in any capacity on my part to bring him to terms1 as the ,deacon phrased it1 but buoyed up a good deal1 notwithstanding1 by the remembrance of those promised prayers4 ,and yet though ,mr4 ,gear is an infidel he is not a bad man4 ,even ,dr4 ,argure1 and he is fearfully sound on the doctrine of total depravity1 admits that there are some good traits about him1 natural virtues he is careful to explain1 not saving graces4 ,of his thorough1 incorruptible honesty1 no man ever intimated a doubt4 ,in every business transaction he is the soul of honor4 ,his word is a great deal better than ,jim ,wheaton's bond4 ,in every good work he is a leader4 ,when the new school-house was to be built1 ,mr4 ,gear was put1 by an almost unanimous consent1 upon the ,board1 and made its treasurer4 ,when1 last ,fall1 rumors were rife of the mismanagement of the ,poor-house1 ,mr4 ,gear was the one to demand an investigation1 and1 being put upon the ,committee1 to push through against a good deal of opposition1 till he secured the reform that was needed4 ,in his shop there is not a man whose personal history he does not know1 not one who does not count him a personal friend4 ,that there has not been a strike for ten years is due to the workmen's personal faith in him4 ,when ,robert ,dale was caught in the shafting and killed last winter1 it was ,mr4 ,gear who paid the widow's rent out of his own pocket1 got the eldest son a place on a farm1 and carried around personally a subscription to provide for the family1 after starting it handsomely himself4 ,he is appointed to arbitrate in half the incipient quarrels of the neighborhood1 and settles more controversies1 ,i am confident1 than his neighbor1 ,squire ,hodgson1 though the latter is a ,justice of the ,peace4 ,there is always difficulty in collecting our pew rents4 ,half the church members are from one week to one quarter behind-hand4 ,mr4 ,gear has a pew for his family1 and his pew-rent is always paid before it becomes due4 ,the ,deacon tells me confidentially1 that ,mr4 ,work does not think it prudent to preach against intemperance because ,jim ,wheaton always has wine on his table ,new ,year's day4 ,mr4 ,gear is the head of the ,good ,templars1 and has done more to circulate the pledge among the workmen of the town than all the rest of us put together4 ,he is naturally an intensely passionate man1 and ,i am told rips out an oath now and then4 ,but that he is vigorously laboring with himself to control his temper is very evident1 and it is equally evident1 so at least the ,deacon says1 that he is gaining a victory in this life-campaign4 ,it is very clear1 said ,i to myself1 as ,i walked along1 that there are some good points in ,mr4 ,gear's character4 ,he must have a side where ,christian truth could get in1 if one could only find it2 where indeed it does get in1 though he thinks1 and every one else thinks1 it does not4 ,be it my task to find the place4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,i get my first ,bible ,scholar4 ,a pretty little cottage-white1 with green blinds2 the neatest of neat fences2 a little platform in front of the sidewalk with three steps leading up to it1--a convenient method of access to our high country carriages2 two posts before the gate neatly turned1 a trellis over the front door with a climbing rose which has mounted half way to the top and stopped to rest for the season2 another trellis fan-shaped behind which a path disappears that leads round to the kitchen door2 the tastiest of little bird houses1 now tenantless and desolate1--this is the picture that meets my eye and assures me that ,mr4 ,gear is a man both of taste and thrift1 as indeed he is4 ,mrs4 ,gear who comes to the door in answer to my knock and who is a cheerful little body with yet a tinge of sadness in her countenance1 as one who knows some secret sorrow which her blithe heart cannot wholly sing away1 is very glad to see me4 ,she calls me by my name and introduces herself with a grace that is as much more graceful as it is more natural than the polished and stately manners which ,mrs4 ,wheaton has brought with her from fashionable society to ,wheathedge4 ,mr4 ,gear is out1 he has gone down to the shop1--will ,i walk in1--he will be back directly4 ,i am very happy to walk in1 and ,mrs4 ,gear introducing me to a cozy little sitting-room with a library table in the centre1 and a book-case on one side1 well filled too1 takes ,harry by the hand1 and leads him out to introduce him to the great ,newfoundland dog whom we saw basking in the sunshine on the steps of the side door1 as we came up the road4 ,i am accustomed to judge of men by their companions1 and books are companions4 ,so whenever ,i am in a parlor alone ,i always examine the book-case1 or the centre table--if there is one4 ,in ,mrs4 ,wheaton's parlor ,i find no book-case1 but a large centre table on which there are several annuals with a great deal of gilt binding and very little reading1 and a volume or two of plates1 sometimes handsome1 more often showy4 ,in the library1 which opens out of the parlor1 ,i find sets of the classic authors in library bindings1 but when ,i take one down it betrays the fact that no other hand has touched it to open it before4 ,and ,i know that ,jim ,wheaton buys books to furnish his house1 just as he buys wall paper and carpets4 ,at ,mr4 ,hardcap's ,i find a big family ,bible1 and half a dozen of those made up volumes fat with thick paper and large type1 and showy with poor pictures1 which constitute the common literature of two thirds of our country homes4 ,and ,i know that poor ,mr4 ,hardcap is the unfortunate victim of book agents4 ,at ,deacon ,goodsole's ,i always see some school books lying in admirable confusion on the sitting-room table4 ,and ,i know that ,deacon ,goodsole has children1 and that they bring their books home at night to do some real studying1 and that they do it in the family sitting-room and get help now and then from father and from mother4 ,and so while ,i am waiting for ,mr4 ,gear ,i take a furtive glance at his well filled shelves4 ,i am rather surprized to find in his little library so large a religious element1 though nearly all of it heterodox4 ,there is a complete edition of ,theodore ,parker's works1 ,channing's works1 a volume or two of ,robertson1 one of ,furness1 the ,english translation of ,strauss' ,life of ,christ1 ,renan's ,jesus1 and half a dozen more similar books1 intermingled with volumes of history1 biography1 science1 travels1 and the ,new ,american ,cyclopedia4 ,the ,radical and the ,atlantic ,monthly are on the table4 ,the only orthodox book is ,beecher's ,sermons1--and ,i believe ,dr4 ,argure says they are not orthodox2 the only approach to fiction is one of ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes' books1 ,i do not now remember which one4 ,well1 said ,i to myself1 whatever this man is1 he is not irreligious4 ,i had just arrived at this conclusion when ,mr4 ,gear entered4 ,a tall1 thin1 nervous man1 with a high forehead1 piercing black eyes1 and a restless uneasiness that forbids him from ever being for a moment still4 ,now he runs his hand through his hair pushing it still further back from his dome of a head1 now he drums the table with his uneasy fingers1 now he crosses and uncrosses his long legs1 and once1 as our conversation grows animated1 he rises from his seat in the vehemence of his earnestness1 and leans against the mantel piece4 ,a clear-eyed1 frank faced1 fine looking man1 who would compel your heed if you met him anywhere1 unknown1 by chance1 on the public street4 ,an infidel you may be1 ,i say to myself1 but not a bad man2 on the contrary a man with much that is true and noble1 or ,i am no physiognomist or phrenologist either4 ,and ,i rather pride myself on being both4 ,we lawyers learn to study the faces of our witnesses1 to form quick judgments1 and to act upon them4 ,if ,i did not mistake my man the directest method was the best1 and ,i employed it4 ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i1 ,i have come to ask you to join my ,bible class4 ,me6 said ,mr4 ,gear unmistakeably surprised4 ,i don't believe in the ,bible4 ,so ,i have heard1 ,i said quietly4 ,and that's the reason ,i came to you first4 ,in fact ,i do not want you to join my ,bible class4 ,i have not got any ,bible class as yet1 ,i want you to join me in getting one up4 ,mr4 ,gear smiled incredulously4 ,you had better get ,deacon ,goodsole1 said he1--or1 and the smile changed from a goodnatured to a sarcastic one1 or ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,i have no doubt they would either of them join me1 said ,i4 ,but they believe substantially as ,i have been taught to believe about the ,bible4 ,they have learned to look at it through creeds1 and catechisms1 and orthodox preaching4 ,i want to get a fresh look at it4 ,i want to come to it as ,i would come to any other book1 and to find out what it means1 not what it seems to mean to a man who has been bred to believe that it is only the flesh and blood of which the dry bones are the ,westminster ,assembly's ,catechism4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i thank you for the honor you do me4 ,but ,i don't believe in the ,bible4 ,i don't believe it's the word of ,god any more than ,homer or ,tacitus4 ,i don't believe those old ,hebrews knew any more than we do--nor half so much4 ,it says the world was made in six days4 ,i think it more likely it was six millions of years in making4 ,so do ,i1 said ,i4 ,it says ,god rested on the ,sabbath day4 ,i believe ,he always works1 day and night1 summer and winter1 in every blazing fire1 in every gathering storm1 in every rushing river1 in every growing flower1 in every falling leaf4 ,he rose as he spoke and stood1 now leaning against the mantel piece1 now standing erect1 his dark eyes flashing1 his great forehead seeming to expand with great thoughts1 his soul all enkindled with his own eloquence3 for eloquent he really was1 and all unconscious of it4 ,your ,bible1 said he shuts ,god up in a ,temple1 and in an ark in that1 and hides him behind curtains where the ,high priest can find him but once a year4 ,my ,god is every where4 ,there is no church that can hold him4 ,the heavens are his home2 the earth is his footstool4 ,all this bright and beautiful world is his temple4 ,he is in every mountain1 in every cloud1 in every winter wind and every summer breeze4 ,he looked so handsome in his earnest eloquence that ,i had no heart to interrupt him4 ,and yet ,i waited and watched for any opening he might give me1 and thought of ,jennie1 and her prayers at home1 and declared to myself by ,god's help ,i would not let this man go till ,i had caught him and brought him to know the love that now he knew not4 ,your ,bible1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 sets apart one day for the ,lord and gives all the rest to the world1 the flesh1 and the devil4 ,i believe all days are divine1 all days are the ,lord's1 all hours are sacred hours and all ground is holy ground4 ,i wanted to tell him that my ,bible did no such thing4 ,but ,i had fully considered what ,i would do before ,i had sought this interview4 ,i had resolved that nothing should tempt me into a contradiction or an argument4 ,i had studied ,jennie's method1 and ,i reserved my fire4 ,your ,bible tells me1 said he1 that ,god wrote his laws with his finger on two tables of stone2 that he tried to preserve them from destruction by bidding them be kept in a sacred ark2 and that despite his care they were broken in pieces before ,moses got down from the mountain top4 ,i believe he writes them impartially in nature and in our hearts1 that science interprets them1 and that no ,moses astonished out of his presence of mind can harm them or break the tablets on which they are engraven4 ,so true1 yet oh so false4 ,oh ,god6 help me to teach him what my ,bible really is and what its glorious teachings are4 ,i don't believe the ,bible is the ,word of ,god4 ,i can't believe it4 ,i don't believe the laws of ,moses are any more inspired than the laws of ,solon1 or the books of ,samuel and ,kings than the history of ,tacitus1 or the ,psalms of ,david than the ,paradise ,lost of ,milton1 or--you'll think me bold indeed to say so ,mr4 ,laicus1 7he was cooler now and spoke more slowly71 the words of ,jesus1 than the precepts of ,confucius or the dialogues of ,plato4 ,in that sentence he gave to me my clue4 ,i seized it instantly1 and never lost it from that moment4 ,never case in court so thrilled me with excitement as ,i too arose and leaned against the mantel-piece4 ,and never was ,i1 in tone and manner1 calmer4 ,as much so8 ,i asked carelessly4 ,yes44444 said he1 hesitatingly1 yes44444 as much so ,i suppose4 ,the ten commandments have been before the world for over three thousand years1 said ,i4 ,the number that have learned them and accepted them as a guide1 and found in them a practical help is to be counted by millions4 ,there is hardly a child in ,wheathedge that does not know something of them1 and has not been made better for them2 and hardly a man who knows ,solon even by name4 ,we can hardly doubt that the one is as well worth studying as the other1 ,mr4 ,gear4 ,no1 said ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i don't deny that they are worth studying4 ,but ,i do deny that they are inspired4 ,the ,psalms of ,david have supplied the ,christian church with its best psalmody for nearly three thousand years1 continued ,i4 ,they constitute the reservoir from which ,luther1 and ,watts1 and ,wesley1 and ,doddridge1 and a host of other singers have drawn their inspiration1 and in which myriads untold have found the expression of their highest and holiest experiences1 myriads who never heard of ,homer4 ,they are surely as well worth studying as his noble epics4 ,i don't deny1 they are worth studying1 said ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i only assert that they ought to be studied as any other books of noble thoughts1 intermingled with grossest errors1 should be studied4 ,the words of ,jesus1 ,i continued more slowly than before have changed the life and character of more than half the world1 that half which alone possesses modern civilization1 that half with which you and ,i1 ,mr4 ,gear1 are most concerned4 ,there was wonderful power in the doctrines of ,buddha4 ,but ,buddhism has relapsed everywhere into the grossest of idolatries4 ,there is a wonderful wealth of moral truth in the ethics of ,confucius4 ,but the ethics of ,confucius have not saved the ,chinese nation from stagnation and death4 ,there is wonderful life-awaking power in the writings of ,plato4 ,but they are hid from the common people in a dead language1 and when a ,prof4 ,jowett gives them glorious resurrection in our vernacular1 they are still hid from the common people by their subtlety4 ,every philosopher ought to study ,plato4 ,every scholar may profitably study ,buddha and ,confucius4 ,but every intelligent ,american ought to study the life and words of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,i do1 said ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i do not disesteem ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,i honor him as first among men4 ,i revere his noble life1 his sublime death1 and his incomparable teachings4 ,i have read his life in the ,gospels2 ,i have read it as ,strauss gives it2 and as ,renan gives it2 and now ,i am devoting my ,sunday afternoons to reading it as ,pressense gives it4 ,you see ,i am an impartial student4 ,i read all sides4 ,you think ,christ's life and teaching worth your study then8 ,i said inquiringly4 ,worth my study8 ,of course ,i do1 said he4 ,i am an infidel1 ,mr4 ,laicus2 at least people commonly call me so1 and think it very dreadful4 ,but ,i do not mean to be ignorant of the ,bible or of ,christianity as ,jesus ,christ gave it to us4 ,it needs winnowing4 ,we have grown wiser and know better about many things since then4 ,but it is well worth the studying and will be for many years to come4 ,all ,i ask of you1 said ,i1 is to let me to study it with you4 ,he made no answer2 but looked me steadily in the eye as if to try and fathom some occult design4 ,no1 said ,i1 that is not all4 ,as ,i came by ,joe ,poole's ,i saw half a dozen of the men from your shop lounging about the door4 ,they could spend the afternoon to better purpose1 ,mr4 ,gear1 in studying the life and words of ,jesus4 ,i know they could1 he said4 ,no man can say that any word or influence of mine helped carry them to ,joe ,poole's bar4 ,will you lend your word and influence with mine to summon them away8 said ,i4 ,he made no answer4 ,i saw a dozen others engaged at a game of ball upon the green as ,i passed by4 ,a harmless sport1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 and as well done on ,sunday as on any other holiday4 ,perhaps1 said ,i4 ,but an hour and a half from their ,sunday in studying the life and words of ,jesus would do them no harm1 and detract nothing from their holiday4 ,they do not study so hard throughout the week that the brain labor would be injurious4 ,mr4 ,gear smiled4 ,there is not a man in your shop1 ,mr4 ,gear1 that would not be made a better workman1 husband1 father1 citizen1 for studying that life and those teachings one hour a week4 ,it is true1 said he4 ,you organized a ,shakspeare club last winter to keep them from ,joe ,poole's1 said ,i4 ,was it a good thing8 ,worked capitally1 said ,mr4 ,gear4 ,won't you join me in organizing a ,bible club for ,sunday afternoons this winter for the same purpose8 ,there is so little in common between us1 said he2 and he looked me through and through with his sharp black eyes4 ,what a lawyer he would have made2 what a cross examination he could conduct4 ,you believe in the literal inspiration of the ,new ,testament ,scripture4 ,i believe it is a book half legend half history4 ,you believe in the miracles4 ,i believe they are mythical addition of a later date4 ,you believe that ,jesus ,christ was conceived of the ,holy ,ghost and born of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,i believe his birth was as natural as his death was cruel and untimely4 ,you believe that--he was divine4 ,i believe he was a man of like passions as we ourselves are1--a ,son of ,god only as every noble spirit is a spark struck off from the heavenly ,original4 ,you believe that he bears our sins upon a tree4 ,i believe that every soul must bear its own burdens4 ,what is there in common between us8 ,what good could it do to you or to me to take ,sunday afternoon for a weekly tournament1 with the young men from the shop for arbitrators8 ,none1 said ,i calmly4 ,what would you have then8 said he4 ,when you organized that ,shakspeare club last winter1 said ,i1 did you occupy your time in discussions of the text8 ,did you compare manuscripts8 ,did you investigate the canonicity of ,shakspeare's various plays8 ,did you ransack the past to know the value of the latest theory that there never was a ,will4 ,shakspeare save as a nom de plume for ,lord ,bacon8 ,did you inquire into the origin of his several plots1 and study to know how much of his work was really his own and how much was borrowed from foreign sources4 ,or did you leave that all to the critics1 and take the ,shakspeare of today1 and gather what instruction you might therefrom8 ,mr4 ,gear nodded his head slowly1 and thoughtfully1 as if he partially perceived the meaning of my answer4 ,but he made no other response4 ,there is much in common between us1 ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i continued earnestly1 though much1 very much that is not4 ,we can find plenty of subject for fruitless debate no doubt4 ,can we find none for agreement and mutual helpfulness8 ,jesus of ,nazareth you honor as first among men4 ,you revere ,his noble life1 ,his sublime death1 ,his incomparable teachings4 ,so do ,i4 ,that noble life we can read together1 ,mr4 ,gear1 and together we may emulate ,his example without a fruitless debate whether it be divine or no4 ,those incomparable teachings we can study together1 that together we may catch the spirit that dictated them1 without a theological controversy as to their authority4 ,and even that sublime death ,i should hope we might contemplate together1 without contention1 though in the suffering ,christ you see only a martyr1 and ,i behold my ,saviour and my ,god4 ,he made no answer1 still stood silent4 ,but he no longer looked at me with his sharp eyes4 ,they had retired beneath his shaggy eyebrows as though he would search his own soul through and through1 and read its verdict4 ,he told me afterwards the story of his battle2 ,i guessed it even then4 ,we may not agree on the ,gospel of ,john1 ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i1 but we shall not quarrel about the ,golden ,rule and the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said ,mr4 ,gear at length1 very slowly4 ,i thank you for coming to me1 ,i thank you for speaking plainly and frankly as you have2 ,i thank you for the respect which you have shown to my convictions4 ,they are honest1 and were not arrived at without a struggle and some self sacrifice4 ,you are the first ,christian1 he added bitterly that ever paid them the regard of a respectful hearing4 ,i will join you in that ,bible ,class for this winter1 and ,i will prove to you1 infidel that ,i am1 that ,i as well as a ,christian1 can respect convictions widely different from my own4 ,if we quarrel it shall not be my fault4 ,i believe you1 ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i4 ,god helping me it shall not be mine1 and there's my hand upon it4 ,he grasped it warmly4 ,when shall we begin8 said ,i4 ,next ,sunday4 ,where8 said ,i4 ,as you please8 said he4 ,here1 or in my house1 or at the church parlors1 or wherever we can gather the young men1 said ,i4 ,the mill school-house is better than either1 said he4 ,the boys will come there4 ,they are used to it4 ,the mill school-house be it1 said ,i4 ,next ,sunday afternoon at #c o'clock4 ,i will bring the ,bibles2 you will bring the boys4 ,as many as ,i can1 said he4 ,jennie1 said ,i that evening4 ,mr4 ,gear and ,i are going to take the ,bible ,class together4 ,tears stood in her eyes as she looked up at me with that smile ,i love so much4 ,but she only said4 ,i knew you would succeed ,john4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,the ,deacon's ,second ,service4 ,,it has been made the subject of some comment lately that ,deacon ,goodsole habitually absents himself from our ,sabbath evening service4 ,the pastor called the other day to confer with me on the subject2 for he has somehow come to regard me as a convenient adviser1 perhaps because ,i hold no office and take no very active part in the management of the ,church1 and so am quite free from what may be called its politics4 ,he said he thought it quite unfortunate2 not that the ,deacon needed the second service himself1 but that1 by absenting himself from the house of ,god1 he set a very bad example to the young people of the flock4 ,we cannot expect1 said he1 somewhat mournfully1 that the young people will come to ,church1 when the elders themselves stay away4 ,at the same time he said he felt some delicacy about talking with the ,deacon himself on the subject4 ,of course1 said he1 if he does not derive profit from my discourses ,i do not want to dragoon him into hearing them4 ,i readily promised to seek an occasion to talk with the ,deacon1 the more so because ,i really feel for our pastor4 ,when ,i first came to ,wheathedge he was full of enthusiasm4 ,he has various plans for adding attractiveness and interest to our ,sabbath-evening service1 which has always flagged4 ,he tried a course of sermons to young men4 ,he announced sermons on special topics4 ,occasionally a political discourse would draw a pretty full house1 but generally it was quite evident that the second sermon was almost as much of a burden to the congregation as it was to the minister4 ,latterly he seems to have given up these attempts1 and to follow the example of his brethren hereabout4 ,he exchanges pretty often4 ,quite frequently we get an agent4 ,occasionally ,i fancy1 the more from the pastor's manner than from my recollection1 that he is preaching an old sermon4 ,at other times we get a sort of expository lecture1 the substance of which ,i find in my copy of ,lange when ,i get home4 ,under this treatment the congregation1 never very large1 has dwindled away to quite diminutive proportions2 and our poor pastor is quite discouraged4 ,until about six weeks ago ,deacon ,goodsole was always in his pew4 ,i think his falling off was the last straw4 ,last ,sabbath evening1 on my way to church1 ,i stopped1 according to promise1 to see the ,deacon4 ,as ,i went up the steps ,i heard the sound of music1 and waited a moment lest ,i should disturb the family's evening devotions4 ,but as the music continued1 and presently the tune changed1 ,i concluded to knock4 ,nettie1 the ,deacon's youngest daughter1 who by the way is a great favorite with me1 answered the knock almost instantly4 ,the open hymn-book was in her hand1 and before ,i could get time to ask for the ,deacon1 she had1 in her charmingly impulsive way1 dragged me in1 snatched my hat from my hand1 deposited it on the table1 and pushed me into the parlor4 ,in fact1 before ,i well knew what ,i was about1 ,i found myself in the big arm-chair with ,nettie in my lap1 taking part in the ,deacon's second service4 ,his family were all about him1 including the stable boy1 whose hair looked as sleek as the ,deacon's horse4 ,for the ,deacon has some queer notions about the duties of employers to their servants1 and1 though the very kindest of men1 is generally thought by the neighbors to be a queer stick4 ,the ,deacon's wife1 who has a very sweet soprano voice1 which1 however1 she never could be persuaded to use in our choir1 was presiding at the piano4 ,the children all had their hymn and tune-books1 and they were singing round--each member of the family selecting a hymn in turn4 ,as they were limited to two verses each--except where two clubbed together to secure an entire hymn--the exercise was not prolonged1 and certainly did not become tedious4 ,after the singing1 the ,deacon asked the children if they were ready with their verses4 ,they all raised their hands4 ,the ,deacon then repeated a short piece of poetry1 his wife followed1 and then all the children one after another1 even down to ,bob--a little three-year-old1 who just managed to lisp out1 with a charming mixture of pride and bashfulness1 ,jesus1 tender ,seperd1 ,has' thou died faw me1 ,make me vewy fwankful ,in my heart to thee4 ,then the ,deacon took down the family bible and opened it to the story of ,joseph4 ,he asked the children how far he had got4 ,they answered him very sagely1 and their responses to a few questions which he put to them showed that they understood what had gone before4 ,then he read part of one chapter1 that which describes the beginning of the famine1 and1 asking ,joe to bring him the full volume of ,stanley's ,jewish ,church1 he read the admirable description of an ,egyptian famine which it contains4 ,by this time ,bob was fast asleep in his mother's arms4 ,but all the rest of us kneeled down and repeated the ,lord's prayer with the ,deacon--another of his queer notions4 ,the neighbors think he is inclined to be an ,episcopalian1 because he wants it introduced into the church service1 but he says he does not really think that the ,lord was an ,episcopalian1 and if he was it would not be any good reason for not using his prayer4 ,then the children kissed good-night1 all round1 and went to bed4 ,mrs4 ,goodsole took ,bob off to his crib1 and the ,deacon and ,i were left alone4 ,it was long past time for church service to begin1 so ,i abandoned all idea of going to church1 and opened to the ,deacon at once the object of my errand4 ,i told him very frankly that we not only missed him from the church1 but that the pastor felt that his example was an unfortunate one1 and that the church generally were afraid he was growing luke-warm in the ,master's service1 and ,i gently reminded him of the apostle's direction not to forget the assembling of ourselves together4 ,well1 said he--though in trying to give his answer in his own language1 ,i am obliged to condense the conversation of half-an-hour into a single paragraph--,well1 ,i will tell you how it is4 ,you know ,i used to be pretty regular in attendance on church1 and in fact a pretty busy man on ,sundays4 ,we had breakfast early4 ,right after breakfast ,i sat down to look over my ,sunday-school lesson for the last time4 ,at nine o'clock ,i went to ,sunday-school1 where ,i had a ,bible-class4 ,at half-past ten came church4 ,after service ,i had barely time to get a lunch1 and then had to hurry away to our ,mission4 ,we almost always had some sort of a teachers' meeting after the regular session1 so that it was generally tea-time before ,i got home4 ,after tea ,i was off to church again4 ,i almost always woke up ,monday morning tired1 and a little cross4 ,my children are pretty good ones1 ,i think1 but they had a queer distaste for ,sunday1 which ,i put down to total depravity4 ,and1 strangest of all1 my wife1 who only went to church ,sunday morning1 and would not even sing in the choir1 seemed to be as tired ,monday morning as ,i was1 only as it was washing-day she could not sleep as late4 ,about two months ago ,i was laid up with a boil1 and could not go to church4 ,of course ,i did not have my ,sunday-school lesson to learn1 and ,i was surprised to notice1 for the first time1 how hard my wife had to work to get the children off to ,sunday-school4 ,they stayed at church--as they always do--and for an hour after dinner they got along very well1 reading their library books1 but then began the labors of the day4 ,first ,i heard ,joe out in the yard frolicking with the dog1 and rousing all the neighborhood with his racket4 ,of course ,i called him in4 ,next ,i heard my wife calling ,lucy and ,nettie to come down out of the swing4 ,the next thing ,bob was playing horse with the chairs in the parlor4 ,so it went all the afternoon4 ,the children had nothing to do4 ,they could not read ,sunday-school books all day4 ,i am heterodox enough to wonder how they can read them at all--and of course they got into all sorts of mischief4 ,and when at last poor ,bobby came to me in utter despair1 and lisped out1 ,papa1 what did ,god make ,sunday for8 ,i broke down4 ,i gathered the children about me1 and proposed to them this evening service4 ,i told them that if they would learn a hymn every ,sunday ,i would stay at home in the evening with them4 ,they caught at the idea enthusiastically4 ,there is no law about it4 ,they need not learn if they do not want to4 ,but even ,bobby has caught the enthusiasm1 and gets a book and goes to his mamma every ,sunday afternoon to teach him a verse4 ,i have given up my class in the ,mission1 and made one of my ,sunday-school ,bible-class take it4 ,i lie down and take a little nap after dinner4 ,then ,i learn my own hymn1 and make my preparation for our evening service4 ,about an hour before tea the children gather about me in the arbor and ,i read to them4 ,i have just got ,dr4 ,newton's ,bible ,wonders1 and am reading it chapter by chapter4 ,my wife takes that opportunity to rest4 ,the consequence is that we both really get refreshed1 instead of jaded out by our ,sunday1 and ,i think the children really look forward with anticipations of delight to its coming4 ,my ,bible1 continued the ,deacon good naturedly1 says something about resting on ,sunday4 ,i wish our pastor would tell us what that means sometime4 ,i told the ,deacon ,i thought he ought to tell his brethren1 at some prayer-meeting1 the reason why he stayed away from church2 that it was due both to himself and to them4 ,he agreed to do so4 ,as for myself ,i am somewhat puzzled4 ,i do not want our pastor left to preach to empty pews4 ,but ,i am greatly enamored of the ,deacon's second service4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,our ,pastor ,resigns4 ,,all ,wheathedge is in a fever of excitement4 ,blessings brighten as they take their flight4 ,we have just learned that we have enjoyed for these several years the ministry of one of the most energetic1 faithful1 assiduous1 eloquent1 and devoted sons of thunder1 in the ,state4 ,we never appreciated our dominie aright till now4 ,but now no one can praise him too highly4 ,the cause of this his sudden rise in public estimation is a very simple one4 ,he has been called to a ,new ,york ,city parish4 ,and he has accepted the call4 ,this is a curious world1 and the most curious part of it is the ,church4 ,while he stayed we grumbled at him4 ,now he leaves we grumble because he is going4 ,i first heard of this matter a couple of weeks ago4 ,no4 ,some rumors of what was threatened were in the air last summer4 ,one ,sabbath1 in our congregation1 were three gentlemen1 in one of whom ,i recognised my friend1 ,mr4 ,eccles1 of the--street ,presbyterian ,church of ,new ,york ,city4 ,he was there again the second ,sabbath4 ,it was rumored then that he was on a tour of inspection4 ,but ,i paid little attention to the rumor4 ,in ,october1 our pastor takes his vacation4 ,i thought it a little strange that he should spend half of it in ,new ,york1 and seek rest from preaching in his own pulpit by repeating his sermons in a metropolitan church4 ,but ,i knew the state of his purse4 ,i therefore gave very little heed to the gossip which my wife repeated to me1 and which she had picked up in the open market4 ,for ,sunday is market day1 and the church is the market for village gossip in ,wheathedge4 ,and ,jennie1 who is constitutionally averse to change1 was afraid we were going to lose our pastor1 and said as much4 ,but ,i laughed at her fears4 ,however1 the result proved that the gossips were1 for once1 right4 ,about two weeks ago1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,work came into my house in a high state of subdued excitement4 ,mr4 ,work handed me a letter4 ,it was a call to the--street ,presbyterian ,church in ,new ,york--salary #djjj a year4 ,it was accompanied by a glowing portraiture of the present and prospective usefulness which this field opened4 ,the church was situated in a part of the city where there were few or no churches4 ,the ward had a population of over fifty thousand1 a large majority of whom attended no church4 ,more than half were ,protestants4 ,there was a grand field for ,sabbath-school labor4 ,the church was thoroughly united4 ,its financial condition was satisfactory1 and its prospects encouraging4 ,and the hearts of the people had been led to unite as one man upon ,mr4 ,work4 ,i cannot but think1 said ,mr4 ,work1 that it is ,providential4 ,the position is entirely unsought4 ,yet ,i do not really feel equal to a place of such importance4 ,i am sensible how much wider is the sphere of usefulness4 ,but am ,i able to fill it8 ,that is the question4 ,well1 for my part1 said ,mrs4 ,work1 ,i confess that ,i am mercenary4 ,there is a great deal of difference between #a1bjj and #d1jjj a year4 ,it will put us at our ease at once4 ,and just think what advantages for the children4 ,they wanted my advice4 ,at least they said so4 ,it is my private opinion that they wanted me to advise them to go4 ,i told them ,i would think about it and tell them the result the next week4 ,they agreed meanwhile to wait4 ,there were two considerations which operated on their minds1 one usefulness1 the other salary4 ,i undertook to measure those two considerations4 ,the very next day gave me an opportunity to investigate the former4 ,i met my friend ,mr4 ,eccles at ,delmonico's4 ,we talked over the affairs of his church at the table4 ,you are trying to get our minister away from us1 said ,i4 ,yes1 said he4 ,and ,i think we shall get him4 ,he is a sound man--just the man to build us up4 ,and how are you prospering8 said ,i4 ,capitally1 said he4 ,and then he proceeded1 in answer to a cross-examination1 to interpret his reply4 ,the ,church had almost a monopoly of the ward4 ,its debt was but #aj1jjj1 which was in a mortgage on the property4 ,there was also a small floating debt which would be easily provided for4 ,it paid its former pastor #d1jjj1 just what it offered ,mr4 ,work4 ,its pew rents were about #c1ejj4 ,the deficiency was considerable1 and had to be made up every year by subscription4 ,but our minister1 said ,m4 ,eccles1 confidentially1 was a dull preacher4 ,i liked him--my wife liked him4 ,all the church folks liked him4 ,but he did not draw4 ,and it is not enough in ,new ,york city1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 for a minister to be a good man1 or even a good preacher4 ,he must draw4 ,that's it2 he must draw4 ,i expect the first year1 that we shall have a deficit to make up1 but if next spring we don't let all our pews1 why ,i am mistaken in my man1 that's all4 ,besides they say he is a capital man to get money out of people1 and we must pay off our debt or we will never succeed1 and that's a fact4 ,i got some figures from ,mr4 ,eccles1 and put them down4 ,they give the following result3 ,income4 #bjj pews at present average-#cj a pew #f1jjj ,expenses4 ,salary #d1jjj ,interest #gjj ,music #a1bjj ,sexton1 fuel1 light1 c4 #a1bjj ,total #g1ajj ,when ,i showed the footing to ,mr4 ,eccles he shrugged his shoulders4 ,we shall have to raise our pew rents1 said he4 ,they are unconscionably low1 and we must pay off our debt4 ,then we are all right4 ,and if we get the right man1 one that can draw1 he will put our heads above water4 ,with that we separated4 ,not1 however1 till ,i got some further information from him4 ,he remarked casually that he had a notion of moving out of town1 and asked me about prices at ,wheathedge4 ,it costs a fortune to live here1 said he4 ,my wife has an allowance of #cjj a month for household and personal expenses4 ,my clothing and extras cost me another #ejj4 ,and the sundries are awful4 ,you can't go out of your house for less than a dollar4 ,i have no doubt my incidentals are another #ejj4 ,it is awful--awful4 ,i advised him to move up to ,wheathedge1 the more cordially because ,i have a lot ,i would like to sell him for about a thousand dollars4 ,i really believe he is thinking seriously of it4 ,the next day ,i went into the office of my friend ,mr4 ,rental1 the broker4 ,i told him ,i was looking for a house for a friend1 and asked the prices4 ,he showed me a list-rents #b1jjj1 #b1ejj1 #c1jjj4 ,they were too high4 ,would property in ,brooklyn or ,jersey ,city do8 ,no4 ,it must be in ,new ,york4 ,it must be in the -- ward4 ,it must be a good1 comfortable1 plain house1 without any show or pretension4 ,there are none such to let in the city1 said ,mr4 ,rental4 ,land costs too much4 ,the few plain houses are all occupied by their owners4 ,the very best he could do was one house1 half a mile from the church1 for #a1hjj4 ,he had one other for #a1ejj1 but it was opposite an immense stable1 and had neither cellar nor furnace1 and croton only on the first floor4 ,i thanked him and said ,i would look in again if either of them suited4 ,last week1 according to appointment1 our pastor and his wife came in for a second consultation4 ,there are1 said ,i1 two considerations which might lead you to accept this call-increased usefulness and increased salary4 ,i do not deny the importance of a ,new ,york city parish1 nor fail to recognize the good work the city ministers are doing4 ,but you must not fail to recognize the difficulties of the situation4 ,new ,york is sensation-mad4 ,the competition in churches is as great as in business4 ,there are perhaps half a dozen men of genius who fill their churches with ease1 or whose churches are filled because they are the resort of good society4 ,the rest of the ministers are compelled to devote three-quarters of their energies to keeping a congregation together1 the other quarter to doing them good4 ,they accomplish the first1 sometimes by patient1 persistent1 assiduous1 unwearying pastoral labor1 sometimes by achieving a public reputation1 sometimes by the doubtful expedient of sensational advertisements of paradoxical topics4 ,but in whatever way they do it the hardest part of their work1 a part1 country parsons know next to nothing of1 is to get and keep a congregation4 ,what you are wanted for at the--street ,presbyterian ,church is to 'build it up4' ,the one quality for which you are commended is the capacity to 'draw4' ,doubtless there are devout praying men and women who will measure your work by its spiritual results1 by the conversion of sinners and the growth in grace of ,christians4 ,but what the financial managers want is one who will fill up their empty pews1 enable them to add fifty per cent4 to the rentals1 and in some way pay off their debt4 ,that will be their measure of your usefulness4 ,it was quite evident that my good pastor and his wife thought me uncharitable4 ,was ,i8 ,as to salary1 said ,i1 you country clergymen are greatly mistaken in supposing that city salaries are prizes to be coveted4 ,six thousand dollars is only a moderately fair support for a ,new ,york clergyman1 and there are comparatively few who get it4 ,you must pay at least #a1hjj rent4 ,you must dress as well as the average of your best families4 ,you must neither be ashamed for yourselves nor for your children in the best society4 ,you must keep open house4 ,you must set a good table4 ,you must be given to hospitality4 ,you must take a lead in organizing the missionary and charitable movements of your ,church1 which you cannot do without some money4 ,you must be ready to co-operate in great public1 church1 and philanthropic movements4 ,you must take a vacation of six weeks every summer1 which of itself1 at the lowest estimate1 will cost you #aej or #bjj a year4 ,i have made some inquiries of three or four economical friends in ,new ,york4 ,here is the result of my inquiries4 ,you may reduce the figures a little4 ,but it will require quite as much economy to live in ,new ,york on #d1jjj a year as in ,wheathedge on #a1bjj4 ,with that ,i showed them the following memorandum3 ,rent #a1hjj ,household expenses 7a low estimate7 #a1hjj ,dress for ,mrs4 ,work and the two children #fjj ,dress and personal expenses of ,mr4 ,work #ejj ,summer vacation #aej ,incidentals #ejj #e1cej ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,work thanked me for my advice1 and took my memorandum home with them4 ,but it was quite evident that ,mrs4 ,work was not satisfied that #d1jjj was not a great advance on #a1bjj4 ,and ,i was not at all surprised when ,mr4 ,work read his resignation from the pulpit last ,sabbath4 ,next ,sabbath he preaches his farewell sermon4 ,i hope ,i may prove a false prophet4 ,but ,i think ,mrs4 ,work will find her arithmetical powers taxed in ,new ,york as they never were in ,wheathedge1 and ,i shall be more pleased than ,i can tell if in five years ,mr4 ,work does not retire from his post a disappointed man1 or find that he has purchased success at the price of his health1 if not his life4 ,meanwhile we are beginning already to look about for his successor4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,the ,committee on ,supply hold an informal ,meeting4 ,,mr4 ,work has preached his last sermon4 ,a committee has been appointed to supply the pulpit1 and secure a candidate for the pastorate4 ,i believe this sort of business is generally left to the session2 but on ,deacon ,goodsole's motion a special committee was appointed partly out of respect to the congregational element which is considerable in this church1 and partly1 ,i suspect1 as a compliment to ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,it consists of ,mr4 ,wheaton and ,mr4 ,gear1 on behalf of the society1 and ,deacon ,goodsole1 ,mr4 ,hardcap and myself on behalf of the church4 ,i forgot to mention that since our ,bible-class was commenced1 ,mr4 ,gear has begun to attend church1 though not very regularly4 ,mr4 ,goodsole nominated ,mr4 ,gear on the committee1 and of course he was elected4 ,i was rather sorry for ,i would have preferred that he did not know about the internal workings of this church4 ,i do not think it will enhance his respect for religious institutions4 ,still ,i could make no objection4 ,i did make objections to taking a place on the committee myself1 but ,jennie persuaded me to relinquish them4 ,she has often heard me arguing that politics is a duty1 that citizens are bound to take and administer public office for the benefit of the ,state4 ,by a neat little turn she set all these arguments against me1 and as ,i could not answer them ,i was obliged to yield4 ,our wives' memories are sometimes dreadfully inconvenient4 ,our committee held a sort of informal meeting last night1 at the ,post-,office1 where we all met by chance1 the usual way4 ,in the ,post-,office is the news exchange of ,wheathedge1 where we are very apt to meet about the time of the arrival of the evening mail4 ,deacon ,goodsole had been delegated to get a supply for the next two ,sabbaths till we could discuss the merits of candidates4 ,he reported that he had engaged the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,elder1 of ,wheatensville4 ,he has the merest pittance of a salary1 said the ,deacon1 and ,i knew the twenty dollars would be acceptable to him4 ,besides which he is not only an excellent man but a sound preacher4 ,why wouldn't he be the man for us8 said ,i4 ,mr4 ,wheaton exclaimed against me1 ,too old1 said he4 ,besides he's got five children1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,what's that got to do with it8 said ,i4 ,so has ,deacon ,goodsole2 but he's none the worse for that4 ,we can't afford to support a man with a large family1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,we must get a young man4 ,we can't possibly afford to pay over #a1bjj a year1 and we ought not to pay over #a1jjj4 ,oh6 said ,i2 do we grade the ministers' salaries by the number of the minister's children8 ,well we have to consider that1 of course1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,solomon wasn't so wise as he is generally thought to be1 said ,mr4 ,gear sarcastically1 or he never would have written that sentence about blessed is he whose quiver is full of them6 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 all ,i've got to say is1 if you get a man here with five children you can pay his salary1 that's all4 ,when you take a job ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said ,i1 do you expect to be paid according to the value of the work or according to the size of your family8 ,oh6 that's a very different thing1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 very different4 ,any way1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 ,mr4 ,elder is entirely out of the question--entirely so4 ,mr4 ,laicus can hardly have proposed him seriously4 ,why out of the question1 gentlemen8 said ,i4 ,he is a good preacher4 ,our congregation know him4 ,he is a faithful1 devoted pastor4 ,we shall do ,wheatensville no injustice1 for it cannot give him a support4 ,as to age1 he is certainly not infirm4 ,i do not believe he is a year over forty-five4 ,no6 no6 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 decidedly4 ,it is utterly out of the question4 ,we must have a young man1 one who is fresh1 up with the spirit of the age2 one who can draw in the young men4 ,the ,methodists are getting them all4 ,and the young girls too1 said ,mr4 ,gear dryly4 ,i wish ,mr4 ,gear were not on this committee4 ,the ,deacon meant well4 ,but he made a blunder4 ,very well1 then1 gentlemen1 said ,i2 if we want a fresh man let us go right to the theological seminary and get the best man we can find there4 ,the seminary6 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,he received this suggestion even more disdainfully than the previous one4 ,we must have a man of experience1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,a theological student would never do4 ,experience without age6 said ,i2 that's a hard problem to solve4 ,for the life of me ,i do not see how we are going to do it4 ,well you must consider1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 adding force to his words by a gentle and impressive gesture with his forefinger1 that this is a very important and a very peculiar field-a very peculiar field indeed1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,and it requires a man of very peculiar qualifications4 ,it is really a city field1 he continued4 ,to all intents and purposes ,wheathedge is a suburb of ,new ,york ,city4 ,in the summer our congregation is very largely composed of city people4 ,they are used to good preaching4 ,they won't come to hear a commonplace preacher4 ,and at the same time we have a very peculiar native population4 ,and then1 apart from our own people1 there is the ,mill village which really belongs to our parish1 and which our pastor ought to cultivate4 ,all these various elements combine to make up a diverse and conflicting population4 ,and it will require a man of great energy1 and great prudence1 and no little knowledge of human nature1 and practical skill in managing men1 to get along here at all4 ,i know more about ,wheathedge than you do1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 and ,i assure you that it is a very peculiar field4 ,i believe that in the estimation of supply committees all fields are very peculiar fields4 ,but ,i did not say anything4 ,and we need a very peculiar man8 said ,mr4 ,gear inquiringly4 ,yes1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 decidedly2 a man of peculiar abilities and qualifications4 ,well then1 said ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i hope you are prepared to pay a peculiar salary4 ,i don't know much about church matters gentlemen4 ,i don't know what you put me on the committee for4 ,but in my shop if ,i want a peculiar man ,i have to pay a peculiar salary4 ,there was a little laugh at this sally1 but ,mr4 ,gear evidently meant no joke1 and as evidently ,mr4 ,wheaton did not take any4 ,well1 said ,i1 so far as salary goes ,i am prepared to vote for an increase to #a1ejj and a parsonage4 ,i don't live on less than twice that4 ,mr4 ,hardcap struck his hands down resolutely into his pockets and groaned audibly4 ,i am afraid we can't get it1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,i believe a minister ought to have it1 but ,i don't see where its coming from4 ,we musn't burden the parish4 ,and ,i believe1 ,i retorted1 that the laborer is worthy of his hire2 and we must not burden the pastor4 ,for my part1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 ,i won't give my consent to a dollar over #a1bjj a year4 ,i ain't goin' to encourage ministerial luxury nohow4 ,well1 for my part1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 ,i don't care so much about that4 ,but we must have a first rate man4 ,he has to preach here in the summer time to city congregations4 ,they are critical sir1 critical4 ,and we have got to have just as good a man as the ,broadway ,tabernacle4 ,but as to paying a city salary1 that you know is absurd1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,we can't be expected to do that4 ,bricks without straw1 murmured ,mr4 ,gear4 ,just then the ,post-,office window opened1 and we made a rush for our mail4 ,but before we separated we agreed to hold a formal meeting at my house a week from the following ,thursday evening for a further canvass of the whole matter4 ,meanwhile ,i am perplexed by the double problem that our informal meeting has suggested4 ,i have been sitting for half an hour pondering it4 ,the children have long since gone to bed4 ,i have finished my evening paper1 and written my evening letters4 ,the fire has burned low1 and been replenished4 ,jennie sits by my side engaged in that modern imitation of ,penelope's task1 the darning of stockings4 ,and for half an hour1 only the ticking of the clock and the sighing of the wind outside have disturbed the silence of the room4 ,jennie1 said ,i1 at length1 when ,i told you to-night of our talk at the ,post-,office you said you hoped we would get a young man4 ,why8 ,why8 said ,jennie4 ,yes1 said ,i4 ,i can understand why ,mr4 ,hardcap wants a young man4 ,it is for the same reason that he employs half taught apprentices in his shop4 ,they are cheap4 ,of course our good friend ,maurice ,mapleson1 with neither wife nor children1 can more easily lay up money on #a1jjj a year than ,mr4 ,elder1 with his five children can on #a1ejj or #b1jjj4 ,but ,i don't think you and ,i1 ,jennie1 want to economize on our minister4 ,i am sure we don't ,john1 said ,jennie4 ,and ,i can understand why ,mr4 ,wheaton wants a young minister4 ,young ministers do draw better1 at least at first4 ,there is a certain freshness and attractiveness in youth4 ,curiosity is set agog in watching the young minister1 and still more in watching his young bride4 ,a ministerial honey-moon is a godsend to a parish4 ,whether we ought to hire our pastors to set curiosity agog and serve the parish as a nine-day's wonder may be a question4 ,but ,i suspect that we very often do4 ,but1 ,jennie1 ,i hope you and ,i don't want a minister to serve us as food for gossip4 ,i am sure not1 ,john1' said ,jennie earnestly4 ,why is it then1 ,jennie1 said ,i1 that you and ,i want youth in our minister8 ,young lawyers and young doctors are not in requisition4 ,age generally brings confidence even when it does not endow with wisdom4 ,i believe that ,judge ,ball's principal qualification for his office was his bald head and grey beard4 ,when you discovered a couple of grey hairs on my head a little while ago1 ,i was delighted4 ,i should like to multiply them4 ,every grey hair is worth a dollar4 ,dr4 ,curall has hard work to get on in his profession because he is so young and looks still younger than he is4 ,if there was such a thing as grey dye it would pay him to employ it4 ,lawyers and doctors must be old-ministers must be young4 ,why1 ,jennie8 ,perhaps1 said ,jennie1 we want in our ministers enthusiasm more than wisdom4 ,enthusiasm1 said ,i4 ,that might do for the ,methodists4 ,but it does not apply to the ,congregationalists1 and the ,episcopalians1 and the staid and sober ,presbyterians4 ,i don't know about that1 said ,jennie4 ,what we want of our preachers is not so much instruction as inspiration4 ,we want some body not to think for us but to set us to thinking4 ,our souls get sluggish1 and they want to be stirred up4 ,i do not want some one to prove the authority of the ten commandments1 ,john1 but some one to make me more earnest to obey them4 ,i do not care much about ,dr4 ,argure's learned expositions of the doctrine of atonement4 ,but ,i do want some one who shall make me realize more and more that ,jesus died for me4 ,and what has that to do with youth1 ,jennie8 said ,i4 ,i don't know1 said ,jennie1 thoughtfully2 unless it is that the truth seems somehow new and fresh to the young minister4 ,besides it is not youth1 ,john1 altogether4 ,it is freshness1 and warmth1 and enthusiasm1 and spiritual life4 ,mr4 ,beecher is not young nor is ,spurgeon1 nor ,dr4 ,hall1 nor ,dr4 ,tyng1 nor ,john ,b4 ,gough4 ,but they are all popular4 ,father ,hyatt isn't young1 ,john1 but ,i had rather hear him than ,dr4 ,argure any day4 ,i rather think ,jennie is right4 ,it is not youth we want at ,wheathedge1 but spiritual life and earnestness4 ,at least it is to be thought of4 ,but as to salary-how we are to get a first class man at a third class salary puzzles me4 ,i shall have to refer that to ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,he is the financier of our church ,i believe4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,maurice ,mapleson declines to submit to a competitive examination4 ,i have a letter from ,maurice ,mapleson1 said ,i to ,jennie4 ,what does he say8 ,will he come8 said she eagerly4 ,no6 said ,i4 ,he won't come4 ,i am sorry1 said she4 ,it's too bad of him4 ,you won't think so1 my dear1 said ,i1 when you hear his letter4 ,you'll be more sorry2 but you'll think better of him than you did before4 ,we were at the tea-table4 ,it is the rule of our meal hour to have the conversation one in which the children can engage-in which at all events they can take an interest4 ,so the topic was suffered to drop till they were in bed1 and we were alone in the library4 ,maurice ,mapleson was a young minister that ,i thought a good deal of4 ,so when two ,sundays before1 ,mr4 ,wheaton suggested him to me as a successor to our retiring pastor1 ,i welcomed the suggestion4 ,you know that young ,mapleson1 don't you ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 who preached for us two ,sundays last summer4 ,i think he stopped at your house4 ,i assented4 ,i wish you would write him1 quite informally you know1 to come down and preach for us a ,sunday or two4 ,the folks at our house were quite taken with him1 and ,i think the people were generally4 ,i shouldn't wonder if he were the 'coming man1' ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,so that evening ,i stayed at home from church and wrote to him4 ,i remembered what ,mr4 ,wheaton had said about this being a peculiar parish1 and our people a peculiar people1 and ,i waxed eloquent as ,i wrote4 ,i reminded ,mr4 ,mapleson of our glorious scenery4 ,i told him we were but a suburb of ,new ,york and he would have a city congregation1 and ,i did not tell him that he would have to pay very nearly city prices for everything1 and would not have anything that would approximate a city salary4 ,i told him of the ,mill village and the opportunities of ,christian labor it opened before him4 ,i assured him that he would find the people remembering him kindly1 and ready to welcome him warmly4 ,in short ,i considered myself retained as advocate ,in re the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,church1 and ,i rather laid myself out to produce an impression4 ,and ,i rather flatter myself that ,i did produce an impression4 ,but ,i did not get a verdict4 ,here is his answer as ,i read it to ,jennie that evening4 ,,koniwasset ,,corners1 ,tuesday4 ,,john ,,laicus1 ,,esq41 ,dear ,sir1--,i thank you very warmly for your kind letter of the #fth instant4 ,kind it certainly is1 and though ,i must decline the invitation it presents so cordially to me1 ,i am none the less grateful for it1 notwithstanding the fact that it has been a strong and not easily resisted temptation to violate my settled convictions of duty4 ,if ,i were writing formally to the committee it would be enough to decline your invitation without entering into any explanation4 ,but the remembrance of the pleasant week ,i spent at your house last summer1 and the tone of your letter1 makes me feel as though ,i were writing to a personal friend4 ,this is my excuse 7if one is needed7 for giving you more fully than ,i otherwise should1 my reasons for declining4 ,those reasons are not in any way connected with the parish at ,wheathedge4 ,i am not insensible to the attractions which the place possesses as a residence1 nor to that which the parish possesses as a field of labor4 ,but ,i resolved when ,i first entered the ministry that ,i would never preach as a candidate4 ,i never have1 and ,i never will4 ,i began my work in a mission school in ,new ,york ,city1 while ,i was yet in the ,seminary4 ,when ,i left the ,seminary1 ,mr4 ,marcus who is one of the trustees of the mission asked me to come up to this church4 ,it is a sort of mission among the miners1 being half supported by ,mr4 ,marcus who is one of the directors of the ,koniwasset ,coal ,co4 ,i came for six months4 ,the congregation asked me to remain1 and ,i remained4 ,and here ,i purpose to remain till ,god shall call me to another field4 ,another field ,i will not seek1 though ,i should live and die here4 ,i pretend to believe that ,christ is my ,bishop2 and ,i shall not move without orders from him4 ,so long as ,i am pastor here ,i cannot preach with honor as a candidate in other parishes4 ,i know other ministers do it-and ,i do not judge them4 ,but ,i cannot4 ,suppose my people were to take advantage of my absence for a week to try a candidate4 ,i wonder what ,i should say to that4 ,and ,i cannot see that settled ministers have any more right to try other parishes with reference to a change of place1 than parishes with settled ministers have to try other ministers with reference to a change of pastors4 ,in a word ,i do not believe in free-love as applied to churches4 ,but apart from that ,i cannot preach as a candidate4 ,the minister is ordained to preach to convert impenitent sinners and to build up and strengthen ,christians4 ,do you suppose ,i should do either if ,i came to ,wheathedge on your invitation to preach as a candidate8 ,not at all4 ,the people would come to criticise1 and ,i should go to be criticised4 ,they would be judges and would expect to put me through my ministerial faces to try me4 ,come1 the congregation says in effect to me in such an invitation1 let us see how you can preach1 exhibit your proficiency in the doctrines1 try your skill in arousing sinners1 see what you can do in interesting the saints1 read us a hymn or two1 as a test of your elocution1 and display to us your gifts in prayer2 and then when the service is over1 spend a week and take tea with two or three of our principal families and show us what your social qualifications are1 and give our children an opportunity to quiz you4 ,that it is in effect ,mr4 ,laicus1 though it may seem somewhat presumptuous in me to say it4 ,and to such a quizzing ,i am not at all inclined to submit4 ,i never preached but one trial sermon-that was when ,i was licensed and ,i never mean to preach another4 ,imagine ,paul preaching as a candidate to the people of ,athens or ,corinth1 and submitting his claims as an apostle to the popular verdict6 ,or imagine1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 a client coming to you and saying ,i have an important case to be tried sir1 and ,i think of placing it in your hands4 ,will you oblige me by making a neat little speech for me4 ,i want to see what kind of a speech you can make4 ,since ,i wrote that last sentence ,i have read this letter over1 and have been on the point1 two or three times1 of tearing it up and sending in its place a simple declination4 ,but ,i feel as though ,i were writing to a friend1 and it shall go4 ,i am sorry it must be so4 ,i should like to go to ,wheathedge4 ,that it is a beautiful place1 and has pleasant people1 and is a far more important field of labor than this ,i recognize fully2 and then1 what possibly influences me quite as much1 ,helen1 whom your wife knows very well1 is waiting patiently for me1 and ,i am waiting impatiently for her1 and ,i never can marry on the little pittance ,i receive here4 ,but she is of one mind with me in this matter1 ,i know1 for we have often talked it over together1 and she holds me nobly to my resolution4 ,she1 ,i am sure1 would not have me write other than ,i do4 ,my kind regards to ,mrs4 ,laicus and my sincere thanks to yourself4 ,a kiss to ,harry too1 if you please1 if he is not too old to take one4 ,the baby ,i have never seen4 ,yours sincerely1 ,,maurice ,,mapleson4 ,well1 said ,jennie after ,i had finished reading the letter1 ,i believe he is right2 but ,i am sorry ,john2 sorrier than ,i was before4 ,sorry that he won't come1 ,jennie8 ,sorry that he is right1 said ,jennie4 ,that is1 if he is right4 ,do you doubt it1 ,jennie8 said ,i4 ,well ,i don't know1 ,john4 ,i go with him4 ,i like him better for his letter4 ,i cannot gainsay it4 ,and yet it seems to me that it puts the ministers in a rather hard position4 ,yes8 said ,i interrogatively4 ,yes1 said ,jennie4 ,you know perfectly well ,john that our church here wouldn't call a man that isn't settled somewhere4 ,the very fact that he was out of a parish11 would be almost conclusive against him4 ,and they won't call a man without trying him4 ,must ,maurice ,mapleson live and die in that little out of the way corner8 ,and if he is ever going to get out of it1 how is it to come about8 ,how does a minister have any chance for a change if he takes such a ground as that8 ,it's high and noble ,john1 and ,i honor him for it2 but ,i am afraid it isn't practicable4 ,little woman1 said ,i1 whatever is truly high and noble is practicable1 and you would be the first to tell me so another time4 ,don't let our wanting ,maurice ,mapleson here blind us to that4 ,jennie smiled her assent4 ,well ,john1 said she1 what you are going to do about it8 ,do8 said ,i4 ,nothing4 ,there is nothing to be done1 except to read ,mr4 ,mapleson's letter to the committee1 to-morrow night at our first meeting4 ,and ,i am curious to see what they'll say to it4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,the ,supply ,committee hold their first formal ,meeting4 ,,place3 ,james ,wheaton's library4--,hour3 seven and a half o'clock in the evening4--,present3 ,james ,wheaton1 ,thomas ,gear1 ,james ,goodsole1 ,solomon ,hardcap1 and ,john ,laicus4--,john ,laicus in the chair4 ,laicus43 --,gentlemen the first business in order is to appoint a secretary4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,oh1 you can keep the minutes4 ,we don't want much of a record4 ,laicus43 --,very good1 if that is agreed to4 ,my minutes will be very simple4 ,james ,wheaton43 --,that's all right4 ,what do you hear from ,mr4 ,mapleson8 ,anything8 ,laicus43 --,yes ,i have his letter in my pocket4 ,james ,wheaton43 --,when will he come8 ,laicus43 --,he declines to come4 ,james ,wheaton13 7astonished74 --,declines to come4 ,why a church mouse would starve on the pittance they pay him at ,koniwasset ,corners4 ,what's his reason8 ,laicus43 --,his letter is a rather singular and striking one1 gentlemen4 ,perhaps ,i had better read it4 ,which he thereupon proceeds to do1 slowly and distinctly1 till he reaches the closing paragraphs1 which he omits as being of a purely personal character4 ,james ,wheaton43 --,that fellow's got stuff in him and no mistake4 ,by ,jove ,i believe if ,i was running this church ,i would take him on trust4 ,solomon ,hardcap43 --,i think it a very presumptuous letter4 ,the idea4 ,what does he expect8 ,does he think we're goin' to take a preacher without ever havin' heard him preach8 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,we have heard him preach1 ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,he preached here two ,sundays last summer4 ,don't you recollect8 ,solomon ,hardcap43 --,yes4 ,i remember4 ,but ,i didn't take no notice of his sermons2 he wan't preachin' as a candidate4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,gentlemen ,i am not very much acquainted with church affairs and ,i don't think ,i understand this business very well4 ,what do you mean by preaching as a candidate8 ,i thought a candidate was a man who applied for an office4 ,am ,i to understand that whenever a pulpit is vacant the church expects different ministers to apply for it1 and puts them on trial1 and picks out the one it likes the best8 ,mr4 ,hardcap43 --,that's it exactly4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,you don't really mean to say that any decent ministers apply for the place on those terms4 ,deacon ,goodsole13 7warmly74 --,indeed they do ,mr4 ,gear4 ,there is never any lack of candidates for a favorable parish4 ,i have got half a dozen letters in my pocket now4 ,one man writes and sends me copies of two or three letters of recommendation4 ,another gives me a glowing account of the revival that has followed his labors in other fields4 ,then there's a letter from a daughter that really moved me a good deal4 ,she pleads hard for her father who is poor and is getting old1 and needs the salary sadly-poor man4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,well1 all ,i have got to say1 is that when any of those candidates come to preach ,i hope you'll notify me1 and ,i'll stay away4 ,mr4 ,hardcap43 --,i have no patience with these new fangled notions of these young up-start preachers4 ,i reckon the ways our fathers got their preachers are good enough for us4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,and what do you say as to that point he makes about ,paul's preaching as a candidate1 ,mr4 ,hardcap8 ,mr4 ,hardcap43 --,oh6 that's different1 altogether-very different4 ,the apostle was inspired1 ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i notice that this is a very popular style of argument with ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,whenever he is posed in argument his never failing rejoinder is ,oh6 that's different1 altogether different4 ,and ,i think ,i have observed that the ,hardcap logic is not confined to ,mr4 ,hardcap1 but is in high regard in other quarters1 where ,i should least look for it4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,well ,i don't think much of apostolic authority myself4 ,but ,i supposed the rest of you thought you were bound by any precedents ,paul had set4 ,mr4 ,hardcap43 --,it's mighty high seems to me for a young man to be making of himself out as good as the apostle ,paul4 ,mr4 ,wheaton43 --,i like that young ,mapleson1 and ,i like his letter4 ,i wish we could get him4 ,is there any chance of persuading him to come1 ,mr4 ,laicus8 not as a candidate you know1 but just to preach1 in good faith like any other man4 ,mr4 ,gear shrugs his shoulders4 ,laicus13 7decidedly74 --,no6 and ,i should not want to be the one to try4 ,mr4 ,wheaton43 --,well then who stands next on our list8 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,excuse me gentlemen1 but if he can't come to us why shouldn't we go to him4 ,why not try him as we would try any other man4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,how do you mean ,mr4 ,gear8 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,if ,i want a workman at my factory ,i don't invite one to come from my neighbor and try his hand for a day while ,i stand over and watch him4 ,we try our apprentices that way1 but never a good workman4 ,i go to his shop1 inquire as to his character1 and examine the work that he has done4 ,if he has done good work in another man's shop he will do it well in mine4 ,at least that's the way we reason in our factory4 ,mr4 ,hardcap43 --,that's a very different case ,mr4 ,gear1 altogether different4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,suppose this ,mr4 ,whats-his-name comes1 what more will you know about him than you know now8 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,we shall hear him preach and can judge for ourselves4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,one good sermon does not make a good preacher4 ,mr4 ,wheaton43 --,no6 ,but you don't need to drive a horse more than five miles to know what are his paces4 ,mr4 ,gear43 --,i don't know much about church management but ,i like the tone of that man's letter1 and ,i should like to know more about him4 ,i believe if we were to appoint a committee to go out to ,koniwasset ,corners1 hear him preach1 look in on his ,sabbath-school1 find out what kind of a pastor he is1 and in a word see what sort of work he's doing where he is now1 we would get his measure a great deal better than we should get it by having him come here1 and give us one of his crack sermons-even if he would do it1 ,i honor him because he won't4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,i am afraid it wouldn't do ,mr4 ,gear-not with our people4 ,i wouldn't mind it myself4 ,mr4 ,wheaton13 7blandly74 --,you see ,mr4 ,gear you don't understand church matters altogether4 ,it would not be ecclesiastical-not at all4 ,mr4 ,gear13 7sarcastically and sotto voce74 --,i hope ,i may never learn4 ,laicus13 7desiring to prevent controversy74 --,gentlemen1 ,i for one agree with ,mr4 ,gear4 ,but we are evidently in the minority2 so there is nothing more to be said about it4 ,we both believe in government by the majority1 and shall submit4 ,what next1 ,deacon8 ,are there any of your letters you want to read to us8 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,oh no6 ,it isn't worth while to read any of them4 ,though ,i am sorry for that poor old man and his pleading daughter4 ,mr4 ,wheaton43 --,the ,deacon's list are all too anxious4 ,deacon ,goodsole43 --,i suppose there is nothing to do but to pursue the usual course4 ,i move that ,mr4 ,laicus and ,mr4 ,wheaton be appointed to open a correspondence with candidates4 ,laicus13 7decidedly74 ,you must excuse me gentlemen4 ,i don't believe in candidating1 and ,i can't be accessory to it4 ,i will substitute ,deacon ,goodsole's name for my own4 ,and as so amended will put the motion4 ,as so amended the motion was put1 and carried1 and the committee on supply adjourned to meet at the call of ,deacon ,goodsole and ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,but as we walked along toward my home1 ,m4 ,gear remarked to me that he wished ,i would let him know when we got a parson so that he could come to church again2 for said he1 ,i have no inclination to serve as a parson tester4 ,and ,i confess ,i am quite of mind with him4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,our ,christmas at ,wheathedge4 ,,is there any reason why ,episcopalians1 ,lutherans and ,roman ,catholics should have a monopoly of ,christmas8 ,is its glorious old patron ,saint partial8 ,has the ,christ-child no gifts for us as well as for other folk8 ,have the ,december heavens no brightness-the angel host no song for blue ,presbyterians8 ,may we not come to the sacred manger too8 ,are our ,church festivals so many that we need dread to add another8 ,is our religion so inclined to gayety and money-making that we need curb its joyous tendencies8 ,the very air of ,christmas is marvellous4 ,the heavens are never so blue1 the sun never shines with a profuser generosity4 ,the very earth clothes itself in the spotless white of the heavenly robe1 as if to prepare for the coming of its ,lord4 ,alas for him who does not believe in ,christmas6 ,may the ghost of ,scrooge haunt him into a better mind4 ,this was what ,i mentally ejaculated to myself last ,saturday afternoon after ,mr4 ,hardcap's protest against our ,christmas celebration4 ,the ,sabbath morning previous1 ,miss ,moore came to me mysteriously after church4 ,i want to walk home with you1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said she4 ,i have a wife and children1 and ,i felt safe4 ,i shall be delighted with the honor1 ,i replied4 ,but ,miss ,moore's honors are never empty ones4 ,i knew that she wanted something2 ,i wondered what4 ,i had not long to wonder2 for we had not crossed the road before she opened the subject4 ,we are going to trim the ,church for ,christmas1 said she1 and we want you to superintend getting the evergreens4 ,what8 said ,i1 aghast4 ,confidentially1 please not mention it1 ,i have been in the habit for a good many years of taking my wife and my prayer-book to the ,episcopal ,church on ,christmas-day4 ,dickens converted me to its observance ten years or more ago4 ,but none are so sound as those who are tinged with heresy4 ,and am ,i not a blue ,presbyterian8 ,it would not do to lend my countenance too readily to indecorous invasions of the sanctuary with festivals borrowed from the ,roman ,catholics4 ,besides1 what would the elders say8 ,i asked ,miss ,moore as much4 ,deacon ,goodsole will lend us his pung1 was the reply4 ,and the trustees8 said ,i4 ,but ,miss ,moore never leaves a point unguarded4 ,young ,wheaton is home from school1 said she1 and he will go with you to the woods4 ,he will call to-morrow1 right after breakfast4 ,for a difficult piece of generalship give me a woman4 ,not fitted for politics6 ,why1 they are born to it4 ,here was ,miss ,moore bent on trimming the church4 ,and lawyer ,laicus was to go in ,deacon ,goodsole's sleigh with the son of the ,president of the ,board of ,trustees to get the trimmings4 ,he who dares to complain after that enlists two dignitaries and one very respectable layman against him at the outset4 ,very well1 said ,i1 ,i will go4 ,go6 said ,miss ,moore1 of course you'll go4 ,nobody doubted that4 ,but ,i want to tell you where to go and what to get4 ,the next morning ,i was just finishing my second cup of coffee when ,i heard the jingle of bells1 and1 looking up1 saw ,jim ,wheaton and the ,deacon's sleek horse at my door4 ,so1 bidding ,harry1 who was to go too1 be quick1 an exhortation that needed no repeating1 we were very soon in the pung1 armed ,i with a hatchet1 ,harry with a pruning knife4 ,that ride was one to be remembered4 ,the air was crisp and clear4 ,just snow enough had fallen in the night to cover every black and noisome thing1 as though all nature's sins were washed away by her ,sabbath repentance1 and she had commenced her life afresh4 ,there was luxury in every inhalation of the pure air4 ,the horse1 more impatient than we1 could scarcely wait for leave to go1 and needed no word thereafter to quicken his flying feet4 ,down the hill1 with merry ringing bells1 ever and anon showered with flying snow from the horse's hoof2 through the village street with a nod of recognition to ,deacon ,goodsole1 who stood at his door to wave us a cheery recognition2 round the corner with a whirl that threatens to deposit us in the soft snow and leave the horse with an empty sleigh2 across the bridge1 which spans the creek2 up1 with unabated speed1 the little hill on the other side2 across the railroad track1 with real commiseration for the travelers who are trotting up and down the platform waiting for the train1 and must exchange the joyous freedom of this day for the treadmill of the city1 this air for that smoke and gas1 this clean pure mantle of snow for that fresh accumulation of sooty sloshy filth2 pass the school-house1 where the gathering scholars stand1 snowballs in hand1 to see us run merily by1 one urchin1 more mischievous than the rest1 sending a ball whizzing after us2 up1 up1 up the mountain road1 for half a mile1 past farm-houses whose curling smoke tell of great blazing fires within2 past ricks of hay all robed in white1 and one ghost of a last summer's scare-crow watching still1 though the corn is long since in-gathered and the crows have long since flown to warmer climes2 turning off1 at last1 from the highway into ,squire ,wheaton's wood road1 where1 since the last fall of snow1 nothing has been before us1 save a solitary rabbit whose track our dog ,jip follows excitedly1 till he is quite out of sight or even call4 ,here we are at last4 ,and here the evergeens are about us in a profusion which would make the eyes water of my honest friend the ,dutch grocer who supplied me with my family trees so many years in ,new ,york4 ,our smoking nag is over his impatience now1 and1 being well blanketed1 understands what is wanted of him quite as well as if he were tied1 and stands as still as if he were ,squire ,slowgoes' fat and lazy family horse4 ,with pants tied snugly over our topboots to keep out the intruding snow1 we plunge into the woods4 ,the ringing blows of our hatchets on the cedar-trees bring down a mimic shower on our heads and backs4 ,young ,wheaton understands his business1 and shows me how the fairest evergreens are hid beneath the snow1 and what rare forms of crystalline beauty conceal themselves altogether beneath this white counterpane4 ,so1 sometimes cutting from above and sometimes grubbing from below1 we work an hour or more1 till our pung is filled to its brim4 ,long before we have finished ,jip has returned from his useless search1 and the neighing horse indicates his impatience to be off again4 ,when we got back to the ,church we found it warm with a blazing fire in the great stove1 and bright with a bevy of laughing girls1 who emptied our sleigh of its contents almost before we were aware what had happened1 and were impatiently demanding more4 ,miss ,moore had proposed just to trim the pulpit-oh6 but she is a shrewd manager-and we had brought evergreens enough to make two or three4 ,but the plans had grown faster by far than we could work4 ,one young lady had remarked how beautiful the chandelier would look with an evergreen wreath2 a second had pointed out that there ought to be large festoons draping the windows2 a third1 the soprano1 had declared that the choir had as good a right to trimming as the pulpit2 a fourth1 a graduate of ,mount ,holyoke1 had proposed some mottoes1 and had agreed to cut the letters1 and ,mr4 ,leacock1 the store keeper1 had been foraged on for pasteboard1 and an extemporized table contrived on which to cut and trim them4 ,so off we were driven again1 with barely time to thaw out our half-frozen toes2 and1 in short1 my half morning's job lengthened out to a long days hard but joyous work1 before the pile of evergreens in the hall was large enough to supply the energies of the ,christmas workers4 ,of course1 we must trim the ,sunday school-room as well as the ,church1 for the children must have their ,christmas2 and trimmed it was1 so luxuriantly that it seemed as though the woods had laid siege to and taken possession of the sanctuary1 and that nature was preparing to join on this glad day her voice with that of man in singing praise to ,him who brings life to a winter-wrapped earth1 and whose fittest symbol1 therefore1 is the tree whose greenness not even the frosts of the coldest winter have power to diminish4 ,of course ,christmas itself passed without recognition4 ,i went1 as is my wont1 with my wife and my prayer-book1 to the ,episcopal ,church4 ,our ,christmas waited till ,sunday4 ,a glorious day it was4 ,the sun never shone more brightly4 ,the crisp keenness was gone from the air4 ,the balmy breath of spring was in it4 ,the ,church never was so full before and never has been since4 ,the story of its decorations had been spread far and wide1 and all ,wheathedge flocked to see what the ,presbyterians would make of ,christmas4 ,the pulpit1 the walls1 the gallery1 the chandelier were festooned with wreaths of living green4 ,a cross-,o tempora6 ,o mores6-of cedar and immortelles1 stood on the communion table4 ,over the pulpit were those sublime words of the sublimest of all books1 ,he shall save ,his people from their sins4 ,opposite it1 emblazoned on the gallery1 was heaven and earth's fitting response to this sublime revelation1 ,glory be to ,god on high4 ,miss ,moore was better than her word4 ,she managed both choir and minister4 ,both were in the spirit of the occasion4 ,the parson never preached a better sermon than his ,christmas meditation4 ,the choir never sung a more joyous song of praise than their ,christmas anthem4 ,and before the influence of that morning's service ,i think the last objection to observing ,christmas faded out4 ,for there had been some objections4 ,i heard of two4 ,one came from ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,monday afternoon1 going by the ,church1 he saw the door open1 went in1 found it full of busy workers2 ceiling1 aisles1 pulpit1 and gallery1 strewed with evergreens1 and the clatter of merry voices keeping pace with the busy fingers4 ,it was his first intimation of what was going on4 ,heyday6 said he4 ,what is all this8 ,who authorized it1 ,i should like to know8 ,the chatter of merry voices ceased4 ,the young ladies were in awe4 ,miss ,moore was not there to answer for them4 ,no one dared act as spoksman4 ,young ,jim ,wheaton was on a step-ladder rather dangerously resting on the backs of two pews4 ,he was tacking the letter ,g to the gallery4 ,he noticed the silence and discerned the cause4 ,father1 said he1 ,i wish you would hold this ladder for me a minute4 ,it is rather ticklish4 ,ah1 ,jim1 is that you8 said the old man4 ,pride in ,jim is the father's weak point4 ,the ladder was held4 ,then his advice was asked about the placing of the mottoes2 and it was given1 and that was the last of ,mr4 ,wheaton's objection4 ,the other objection came from ,mr4 ,hardcap1 the carpenter4 ,i met him at the door of the church ,saturday afternoon1 just as the last rubbish had been swept out and we were closing the door4 ,looks beautiful1 doesn't it ,mr4 ,hardcap8 said ,i4 ,they'd better have spent their time on their knees than with these fixins1 growled ,mr4 ,hardcap2 'twould ha' done the ,church more good1 a deal sight4 ,did you spend your time on your knees8 ,i could not refrain from asking4 ,but ,mr4 ,hardcap did not answer4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,mr4 ,gear ,again4 ,,our ,bible class at the ,mill has prospered greatly4 ,mr4 ,gear was better than his word4 ,the first ,sabbath he brought in over a dozen of his young men2 the half dozen who were already in the ,sabbath ,school joined us of course4 ,others have followed4 ,some of the children of the ,mill village gathered curiously about the school-house door from ,sunday to ,sunday4 ,it occurred to me that we might do something with them4 ,i proposed it to ,mr4 ,gear4 ,he assented4 ,so we invited them in1 got a few discarded singing books from the ,wheathedge ,sabbath-school1 and used music as an invitation to more4 ,mrs4 ,gear has come in to teach them4 ,there are not over a dozen or twenty all told as yet4 ,if the skating or the sliding is good they are reduced to five or six4 ,still the number is gradually increasing1 and there are enough to constitute the germ of a possible ,mission-school4 ,i wish we had a ,pastor4 ,he might make something out of it4 ,mr4 ,gear adheres to his pledge1 and ,i to mine4 ,we have no theological discussions in the class4 ,occasionally1 indeed pretty frequently1 we get on themes on which we are not agreed4 ,but we never debate4 ,mr4 ,gear has made several attempts at a theological discussion out of the class1 but ,i have avoided them4 ,i hope he does not think ,i am afraid of discussion4 ,i am not4 ,but ,i am convinced that no mere intellectual opinion is a sin4 ,if ,mr4 ,gear is in darkness it is because he neglects some known if not some recognized duty4 ,my work is not to convince him of the error of his opinions4 ,i probably never could do that4 ,and his opinions are not of much consequence4 ,my work is to find out what known duty he is neglecting1 and press it home upon his conscience4 ,and so far ,i have not discovered what it is4 ,he is one of the most conscientious men ,i ever knew4 ,yet something is wanting in ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i believe he half thinks so himself4 ,he is mentally restless and uneasy4 ,he seems to doubt his own doubts1 and to want discussion that he may strengthen himself in his own unbelief4 ,but still ,i make no progress4 ,since that first night ,i have got no farther into his heart4 ,john1 said ,jennie1 ,i wish you would call and see ,mr4 ,gear4 ,he has not been in church for six or eight weeks4 ,it is no use1 said ,i1 ,i have asked him once or twice1 and he always says that he is not coming till we get a ,pastor4 ,he says he does not care to hear candidates2 he does not consider himself a good judge of the article4 ',hardcap1' says he is a ministerial expert1 but ,i am not4 ,how is he getting on8 said ,jennie4 ,to tell the truth1 ,jennie1 ,i don't know1 ,i replied4 ,i don't see that he gets on at all4 ,he seems to be just where he was4 ,jennie drew a long sigh4 ,patience1 ,jennie1 patience1 said ,i1 time works wonders4 ,no1 ,john1 said ,jennie1 time never works4 ,it eats1 and undermines1 and rots1 and rusts1 and destroys4 ,but it never works4 ,it only gives us an opportunity to work4 ,perhaps ,jennie is right4 ,perhaps we expect time to work for us1 when time is only given us that we may work4 ,besides1 said ,jennie1 there is that volume of ,theodore ,parker's sermons which you borrowed of him the other day1 you have never returned it4 ,no6 ,and ,i had never read it4 ,our theme in ,bible class had touched on prayer4 ,after the class ,mr4 ,gear had tried to get me into a theological discussion about prayer4 ,i had been silent as to my own views1 but had asked him for his4 ,and he had handed me this volume in reply4 ,it contained a sermon by ,theodore ,parker on the subject which ,mr4 ,gear said expressed his own views exactly4 ,jennie's remark brought this volume to mind1 ,i took it down from the shelf1 opened to the sermon1 and read it aloud to ,jennie4 ,we both agreed that it was a good sermon1 or rather1 to speak more accurately1 a sermon in which there was good4 ,it is true that in it ,mr4 ,parker inveighed against the orthodox philosophy of prayer2 he denied that ,god could really be influenced or his plans changed4 ,but on the duty of prayer he vehemently insisted4 ,mere philanthropy and humanity1 he said1 are not religion4 ,there must also be piety4 ,the soul must live in the divine presence2 must inhale the ,spirit of ,god2 must utter its contrition1 its weaknesses1 its wants1 and its thanks-givings to its ,heavenly ,father4 ,that evening's reading suggested a thought to me4 ,the next evening ,i started for ,mr4 ,gear's to try if it were time1 and to try the practicability of the plan it had developed in my mind4 ,mr4 ,gear welcomed me cordially4 ,mrs4 ,gear went off almost immediately on pretence of putting the children to bed1 and left us two alone together4 ,i opened the conversation by handing her husband the volume of sermons and thanking him for it4 ,what do you think of the sermon8 said he4 ,i liked a great deal of it very much indeed1 said ,i4 ,i believe you told me that you liked it4 ,very much1 said he4 ,i think its one of ,theodore ,parker's ablest sermons4 ,and you believe in it8 said ,i interrogatively4 ,with all my heart1 said he4 ,who can believe that the ,great ,infinite ,first ,cause can be influenced1 and his plans changed by the teasing of every one of his insignificant little creatures8 ,but the rest of the sermon1 said ,i4 ,do you believe that8 ,last ,sunday ,professor ,strait preached for us4 ,he preached against what he called humanitarianism4 ,he said it was living without ,god2 that there was very little difference between ignoring ,god and denying his existence1 and that the humanitarians practically ignored him2 that they believe only in men4 ,it is not true1 said ,mr4 ,gear1 somewhat bitterly4 ,you can see for yourself that it is not true4 ,theodore ,parker believes in prayer as much as ,professor ,strait4 ,i don't believe but that he prayed as much4 ,and you agree with him8 said ,i1 with a little affectation of surprise4 ,agree with him1 ,mr4 ,laicus6 said he1 of course ,i do4 ,there can be no true religion without prayer1 without piety1 without gratitude to ,god1 without faith in ,him4 ,your ,church has not the monopoly of faith in ,god1 by any means1 that it assumes to have4 ,and you really believe in prayer8 said ,i4 ,believe in prayer8 ,why1 of course ,i do4 ,do you take me for a heathen8 replied he1 with some irritation4 ,and every night1 said ,i1 you kneel down and commend yourself to our ,heavenly ,father's protection8 and every morning you thank him for ,his watchfulness1 and beseech divine strength from ,him to meet the temptations of the day2 and every day you gather your family about ,his throne1 that you may teach your children to love and reverence the ,father you delight to worship8 ,there was a long pause4 ,mr4 ,gear was evidently taken by surprise4 ,he made no answer2 ,i pressed my advantage4 ,how is it1 my friend8 said ,i4 ,well1 n--no6 said he1 ,i can't honestly say that ,i do4 ,you believe in prayer1 and yet never pray1 said ,i1 is that it8 ,it is so much a matter of mere habit1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 excusingly2 and ,i never was trained to pray4 ,all your lifelong1 said ,i1 taking no heed of the excuse1 you have been receiving the goodness of ,god1 and you never have had the courtesy to say so much as 'thank you4' ,all your lifelong you have been trespassing against ,him1 and never have begged his pardon1 never asked his forgiveness4 ,is it so8 ,there was a moment's pause4 ,then he turned on me almost fiercely4 ,how can ,i thank him ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he when you say that ,i do not love him1 and cannot love him4 ,did ,i ever say that you do not love ,god8 said ,i gently4 ,well then1 said ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i say it4 ,there is no use in beating about the bush4 ,i say it4 ,i honor him1 and revere him1 and try to obey him1 but ,i do not particularly love him4 ,i do not know much about him4 ,i do not feel toward him as ,i want my children to feel toward me4 ,what would you have me do ,mr4 ,laicus8 ,would you have me play the hypocrite8 ,god has got flatterers enough4 ,i do not care to swell their number4 ,i would have you honest with him as you are with me1 ,i replied4 ,i would have you kneel down1 and tell him what you have told me2 tell him that you do not know him1 and ask him that you may2 tell him that you do not love him and ask him that you may4 ,you orthodox people1 said he1 say that no man can come to ,god with an unregenerate heart2 and mine is an unregenerate heart4 ,at least ,i suppose so4 ,i have been told so often enough4 ,you tell us that no man can come that has not been convicted and converted4 ,i have never suffered conviction or experienced conversion4 ,i cannot cry out to ,god1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner4 ,for ,i don't believe ,i am a sinner4 ,i don't pretend to be perfect4 ,i get out of temper now and then4 ,i am hard on my children sometimes1 was on ,willie to-night1 poorly fellow4 ,i even rip out an oath occasionally4 ,i am sorry for that habit and mean to get the better of it yet4 ,but ,i can't make a great pretence of sorrow that ,i do not experience4 ,you have lived1 said ,i1 for over thirty years the constant recipient of ,god's mercies and loving kindnesses1 and never paid him the poor courtesy of a thank you4 ,you have trespassed on his patience and his love in ways innumerable through all these thirty years1 and never said so much as ,i beg pardon4 ,and now you can look back upon it all and feel no sorrow4 ,i am sorry if it is so1 ,mr4 ,gear4 ,but if it is1 it need not keep you from your ,god4 ,you can be at least as frank with him as you have been with me4 ,you can tell him of your indifference if you can not tell him of your penitence or your love4 ,there was a pause4 ,you believe in prayer1 ,i continued4 ,you are indignant that ,i suspected you of disbelief2 and yet you never pray4 ,are you not living without ,god2 is it not true of you that ',god is not in all your thoughts8' ,he was silent4 ,will you turn over a new leaf in your lifebook8 said ,i4 ,will you commence this night a life of prayer8 ,he shook his head very slightly1 almost imperceptibly4 ,i will make no promises1 said he4 ,but still he spoke more to himself than to me4 ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i1 is it not evident that it is no use for you and me to discuss theology8 ,it is not a difference of doctrine that separates us4 ,here is a fundamental duty2 you acknowledge it1 you assert its importance1 but you have never performed it2 and now that your attention is called to it you will not even promise to fulfil it in the future4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 ,i will think of it4 ,perhaps you are right4 ,i have always meant to do my duty1 if my duty was made clear4 ,perhaps ,i have failed1 failed possibly in a point of prime importance4 ,i do not know4 ,i am in a maze4 ,i believe there is a knowledge of ,god that ,i do not possess1 a love of ,god that ,i do not experience4 ,i believe in it because ,i believe in you ,m4 ,laicus1 and yet more because ,i believe in my wife4 ,but may be it will come in time4 ,time works wonders4 ,my very words to ,jennie4 ,and ,jennie's answer was mine to him4 ,time never works ,mr4 ,gear4 ,it eats1 and undermines1 and rots1 and rusts1 and destroys4 ,but it never works4 ,it only gives us an opportunity to work4 ,and so ,i came away4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,wanted--,a ,pastor4 ,,we are in a sorry condition here at ,wheathedge4 ,the prospects are1 that it will be worse before it is better4 ,for weeks now 7it seems like a year or two7 we have been without the ,gospel4 ,i do not mean that literally the preaching of the ,gospel has been dispensed with4 ,on the contrary1 ,i have heard more sermons on the text1 ,i am determined to know nothing among you save ,jesus ,christ1 and ,him crucified1 than ,i ever heard before in my life4 ,we are hearing candidates1 and every candidate seems to feel it necessary to declare himself1 to propound a sort of religious platform4 ,the sermons seem to me to have about as much relation1 as a general thing1 to the spiritual condition of the hearers as ,gov4 ,hoffman's last message to the real interests of the people of the ,state4 ,in fact1 if the truth were told1 it is not a sermon we want1 but a platform4 ,we invite the candidate to preach1 not that we may profit by the ,gospel1 but that he may show us his face4 ,it has become a psychological curiosity to see how many different sermons can be evolved from that one text4 ,i wonder sometimes if ,st4 ,paul would know himself in his modern attire4 ,i am very glad that ,maurice ,mapleson did not accept my invitation to come to ,wheathedge1 to preach as a candidate4 ,for listening to a candidate and listening to the ,gospel are two very different things4 ,the candidate preaches to show us how he can do it4 ,we listen to hear how he can do it4 ,from the moment he enters the pulpit all eyes are fixed upon him4 ,his congregation is all attention4 ,let him not flatter himself4 ,it is as critics1 not as sinners1 that we listen4 ,we turn round to see how he walks up the aisle4 ,is his wife so unfortunate as to accompany him8 ,we analyze her bonnet1 her dress1 her features1 her figure4 ,if not1 he monopolizes all attention4 ,in five minutes we can1 any of us-there are a few rare exceptions-tell you the cut of his coat1 the character of his cravat1 the shape of his collar1 the way he wears his hair4 ,if he has any peculiar pulpit habit1 woe betide him2 he is odd4 ,if he has not1 woe betide him2 he is commonplace and conventional4 ,he rises to invoke the blessing of ,god4 ,if he goes to the throne of ,god he goes alone4 ,we go no farther than the pulpit4 ,we tell one another afterwards that he is eloquent in prayer1 or that his prayers are very common4 ,if his style is solemn1 we condemn him as stilted4 ,if it is conversational1 we condemn him as too colloquial and familiar4 ,he reads a hymn4 ,we compare his elocution with that of our own favorites1 or with some imaginary ideal1 if we have no favorites4 ,he preaches4 ,we can1 any of us1 tell you how he does it4 ,but what he says1 there are not half a dozen who can tell4 ,does he tell us of our sins8 ,we do not look at our own hearts1 but at his picture1 to see if it is painted well4 ,does he hold before us the cross8 ,we do not bow before it4 ,we ask1 is it well carved and draped8 ,the ,judgment is only a dramatic poem2 the ,crucifixion only a tableau4 ,so1 though we have preaching1 we have no ,gospel at ,wheathedge4 ,perhaps the lack of the parish is quite as painfully felt in other departments as in the pulpit4 ,the ,church is without a head4 ,it flounders about like a headless chicken2 excuse the homely simile1 which has nothing but truth to commend it4 ,when ,mrs4 ,beale died last week1 we had to send to ,wheatensville to get a minister to attend the funeral4 ,when ,sallie ,d4 was married she sent there1 too1 for a minister4 ,he was out of town1 and the ceremony came near being delayed a week for want of him4 ,the prayer-meeting lags4 ,little coldnesses between church members break out into open quarrels4 ,there is no one to weld the dissevered members4 ,poor old ,mother ,lang1 who has not left her bed for five years1 laments bitterly her loss1 and asks me every time ,i call to see her1 ,when will you get a pastor8 ,the ,young ,people's ,association begins to droop4 ,even the ,sunday-school shows signs of friction1 though ,deacon ,goodsole succeeds in keeping it in tolerably good running order by his imperturbable good humor4 ,one advantage we have gained by this interregnum-only one4 ,even ,mr4 ,hardcap is convinced that pastoral labors are not so unimportant as he had imagined4 ,for myself1 ,i am in despair4 ,i made no very serious objection to being put on the supply committee4 ,i fancied the task a comparatively easy one4 ,i had understood that there was no lack of ministers wanting places4 ,there is none4 ,we have applications three or four deep1 of all sorts and kinds1 from parishless clergymen4 ,but such a jury as the ,wheathedge congregation affords1 ,i never saw and hope never to see again4 ,i only wish there was some law to treat them as other juries are treated3 shut them up in the jury-room till they agree on a verdict4 ,the first minister was too old2 he would not suit the young folks4 ,the second1 just out of the seminary1 was too young2 the old folks said he had not experience4 ,the third had experience4 ,he had been in a parish three years4 ,he was still young1 with the elastic hopes and strong enthusiasm of youth4 ,but he was a bachelor4 ,the people pretty universally declared that the minister should have a wife and a house4 ,the women all said there must be somebody to organize the sewing circles1 and to lead the female prayer-meetings4 ,the fourth was married1 but he had three or four children4 ,we could not support him4 ,the fifth was a most learned man1 who told us the original ,greek or ,hebrew of his texts1 and1 morning or evening1 never came nearer to ,america than ,rome under ,augustus ,c#8sar4 ,he was dull4 ,the sixth afforded us a most brilliant pyrotechnic display4 ,he spluttered1 and fizzed1 and banged1 as though ,fourth of ,july himself had taken orders and gone to preaching4 ,the young people were carried away4 ,but the old folks all said he was sensational4 ,then1 besides those we have heard1 there are several we have talked about4 ,there is the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,c-- who has the reputation of being a most excellent pastor4 ,he is indefatigable in visiting the sick1 in comforting the afflicted1 in dealing with the recreant and the unconverted4 ,but ,mr4 ,wheaton says emphatically he will never do for our people4 ,he is no preacher1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 says he2 and our people demand first-rate preaching4 ,we must have a man that can draw4 ,we talked over ,mr4 ,k--4 ,he is a rare preacher1 by all accounts4 ,i understand that his health has suffered somewhat by excessive study1 and he would like another parish1 a quieter one1 where he can have more time to his study1 and can use his old sermons4 ,he preached once or twice in exchange with our old pastor before he left4 ,but ,solomon ,hardcap would not hear of him1 and even ,deacon ,goodsole shook his head at his suggestion1 ,he is not social1 said the ,deacon4 ,he does not know half the people in ,highkrik1 where he has been settled for over five years4 ,he often passes his best friend without noticing him1 on the street4 ,never would do1 says ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,he only visits his people once a year4 ,i want to know my minister4 ,we want a man who will run in and out as though he cared for us4 ,preaching is all very well1 but we don't want a minister who is all talk4 ,i am in despair4 ,and despite the breach of ecclesiastical etiquette1 ,i have resolved to resort to advertising4 ,i have not submitted my advertisement to the other members of the committee1 but ,i am sure that it is in accord with the general feelings of the ,church4 ,jennie1 what do you think of my sending this advertisement to the ,christian ,union8 ,,wanted4-,a pastor4 ,he must be irreproachable in his dress1 without being an exquisite2 married1 but without children1 young1 but with great experience2 learned1 but not dull2 eloquent in prayer1 without being colloquial or stilted2 reverential1 but not conventional2 neither old nor commonplace2 a brilliant preacher1 but not sensational2 know every one1 but have no favorites2 settle all disputes1 engage in none2 be familiar with the children1 but always dignified2 be a careful writer1 a good extempore speaker1 and an assiduous and diligent pastor4 ,such a person1 to whom salary is less an object than a field of usefulness1 may hear of an advantageous opening by addressing ,wheathedge1 care of ,the ,christian ,union1 #bg1 ,park ,place4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,our ,prayer-,meeting4 ,,one thing we have gained by losing our pastor-the promise of better prayer-meetings4 ,not that he was recreant in his duty4 ,he performed it only too well4 ,we learned to depend on him4 ,he suffered us to do so4 ,it was only by a delicate irony that the prayer-meeting could be termed one of the social meetings of the ,church4 ,a solemn stillness pervaded the room4 ,no one ever spoke after he entered the awful presence1 unless he rose1 formally addressed the chair1 and delivered himself of a set address4 ,occasionally one bolder than the rest spoke in a sepulchral whisper to his neighbor-that was all4 ,in other social meetings the ladies1 according to my observation1 bear their full burden of conversation4 ,in our prayer-meetings no woman ever ventured to open her mouth4 ,in fact1 ,i hardly know why they were called prayer-meetings4 ,we rarely had any greater number of prayers than in our usual ,sabbath service4 ,yes1 ,i think we usually had one more4 ,the minister entered solemnly at the appointed hour1 walked straight to his desk1 without a word1 a bow1 a smile of recognition2 read a long hymn1 offered a very respectable imitation of the long prayer1 gave out a second hymn1 and called on an elder to pray1 who always imitated the imitation1 and included in his broad sympathies all that his pastor had just prayed for-the ,church1 the ,sabbath-school1 the unconverted1 backsliders1 those in affliction1 the ,president and all those in authority1 the 7,presbyterian7 bishops and other clergy1 not forgetting the heathen and the ,jews4 ,then followed a passage of ,scripture for a text from the pastor1 with a short sermon thereafter4 ,nor was it always short4 ,i fancied he felt the necessity of occupying the time4 ,it was not unfrequently long enough for a very respectable discourse1 if length gives the discourse its respectability4 ,then we had another prayer from another layman1 and then the invariable announcement1 the meeting is now open1 and the invariable result1 a long1 dead pause4 ,in fact1 the meeting would not open4 ,like an oyster1 it remained pertinaciously shut4 ,occasionally some good elder would rise to break the painful silence1 by repeating some thought from the previous ,sunday's sermon1 or by telling some incident or some idea which he had seen in a previous number of ,the ,christian ,union4 ,but as we had all been to church1 and as most of us take ,the ,christian ,union1 this did not add much to the interest of the meeting4 ,generally another prayer and hymn1 sometimes two1 sufficed to fill the hour4 ,the pastor kept his eye on the clock4 ,when the hand pointed to nine he rose for the benediction4 ,and never did a crowd of imprisoned schoolboys show more glad exultation at their release than was generally indicated by these brethren and sisters when the words of benediction dismissed them from their period of irksome restraint4 ,every man1 and every woman1 too1 found a tongue4 ,we broke up into little knots4 ,a busy hum of many voices replaced the dead silence4 ,the social meeting commenced when the prayer-meeting ended4 ,this1 ,i think1 is a fair portraiture of our prayer-meetings at ,wheathedge as they were during our late pastor's presence with us4 ,the fault was not his-at least it was only proximately his4 ,he felt the burden1 groaned under it1 tried hard1 poor man6 to remedy the evil4 ,he often came to consult me about it4 ,he tried various plans4 ,he gave a course of weekly lectures4 ,the prayer-meeting was less a meeting of prayer than before4 ,no man was willing to follow his elaborate lecture with a fragmentary talk4 ,he announced from the pulpit1 the preceding ,sabbath1 the topic for the next meeting4 ,worse and worse6 ,a few members conscientiously studied up the passage in ,barnes's ,notes and the ,comprehensive ,commentary1 and brought us the result of their investigations in discourse powerfully prosy1 and recondite with second hand learning4 ,the ,minister at last gave up the matter in despair4 ,i think the condition of our prayer-meetings was one consideration which greatly influenced him in deciding to leave4 ,i thought that there was nothing left in them to be lost1 that no change could be other than for the better2 but after he went what little meeting we had fell away4 ,the few who had been attracted by his personal presence ceased to come4 ,in vain we endeavored to revive our flagging spirits by continually reminding one another that the promise was to two or three gathered together4 ,that was our standard text4 ,every leader referred to it in his prayers1 and generally in his opening remarks4 ,we had need of it4 ,for the last two weeks there were not members enough present to serve as pall-bearers for the dead prayer-meeting4 ,this brought about a crisis4 ,two weeks ago1 ,deacon ,goodsole came to me to talk over the spiritual condition of our church4 ,i agreed with him that the prayer-meeting was a fatal symptom if not a fatal disease4 ,we agreed to do what we could to remedy it4 ,we asked the session to put it into our hands4 ,they were only too glad to do so4 ,we spoke quietly to two other of the brethren to co-operate with us4 ,we divided the parish among ourselves1 and undertook to visit all the praying and waking members-not a very onerous task4 ,we talked with one by one1 concerning the spiritual condition of the church1 asked them to come next week to the prayer-meeting1 and to bring with them warm hearts4 ,come1 we said1 from your closets4 ,come in the spirit of prayer4 ,fifteen minutes before the hour of meeting we four met in the ,bible-class room4 ,one agreed to act that night as leader4 ,it was ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,he told the rest of us his subject4 ,then we all knelt together and asked ,god's blessing on our prayer-meeting4 ,from that brief and simple conference we went together to the conference-room4 ,each one agreed to carry some offering with him-a word1 a prayer1 a hymn4 ,each one agreed also to bring in speech but a single thought1 and in prayer but a single petition4 ,the leader himself should occupy but five minutes4 ,our hearts were aglow4 ,we never had such a prayer-meeting in ,wheathedge4 ,deacon ,goodsole did not have to announce that the prayer-meeting was open4 ,it opened itself4 ,we had hard work to close it4 ,the meeting last week was preceded in the same manner by fifteen minutes of prayer4 ,it was characterized by the same warmth and freshness4 ,we are astonished to find how short our hour is when we come to the meeting from our knees1 when we bring to it1 in our hearts1 the spirit of ,god4 ,we have no long speeches4 ,so far we have had few exhortations and much true experience4 ,shall we fall back again into the old ruts8 ,perhaps4 ,it is something that we are not in them now4 ,meanwhile1 from this brief experience ,i cull five proverbs for my own reflection4 ,the minister cannot make a good meeting4 ,warm hearts are better than great thoughts4 ,solemn faces do not make sacred hours4 ,little leading makes much following4 ,brevity is the soul of the prayer-meeting4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,we are ,jilted4 ,,wheathedge is in a fever of excitement-not very agreeable excitement4 ,disappointment and anger are curiously commingled4 ,little knots of men and women gathered after church on ,sunday in excited discussion4 ,a by-stander might overhear in these conferences such phrases dropped as ,shameful4 ,it's too bad4 ,if he is that sort of man it's very fortunate we did not get him4 ,i have no faith in ministers1 and the like4 ,do you ask what is the matter8 ,we have been jilted4 ,i will not give names1 at least not the true ones4 ,for ,i have no inclination to involve myself in a newspaper controversy1 and none to injure the prospects of a young man who possesses qualities which fit him for abundant usefulness if vanity and thoughtlessness do not make shipwreck of him4 ,for six months now we have been without a pastor4 ,we are hard to suit4 ,mr4 ,wheaton was right4 ,wheathedge is a peculiar place1 and requires a very peculiar man4 ,but about six weeks ago there came along a very peculiar man4 ,he seemed to be just adapted to the place4 ,he was fresh from the seminary4 ,he had a wife but no children4 ,he was full of enthusiasm4 ,as a preacher he was free from conventionalism1 bright1 sparkling1 brilliant2 more brilliant than warm4 ,in private life he was social1 genial1 unministerial4 ,old ,aunt ,sue did indeed complain that when he called there he did not offer to pray with her4 ,and good old ,father ,haines said he wished that there was less poetry and more ,christ in his sermons4 ,but neither old ,aunt ,sue nor old ,father ,haines contribute much to the support of the ,church1 and their criticisms did nothing to abate the general enthusiasm4 ,jim ,wheaton said he was just the man1 and promised to double his subscription1 if necessary1 to get him4 ,deacon ,goodsole was scarcely less enthusiastic4 ,i do not think there was a dissenting voice among the ladies2 and the young folks were absolutely unanimous4 ,if we can only get ,mr4 ,uncannon1 said ,jim ,wheaton to me one morning1 as we rode to the city in the cars together1 in three weeks we will drain the ,methodist church dry of its young folks4 ,personally1 ,i have no taste for foraging in other men's fields4 ,but ,i knew that ,jim ,wheaton would not appreciate my sentiments1 and so ,i kept silence4 ,mr4 ,uncannon preached for us two ,sabbaths4 ,he spent the intervening week in ,wheathedge4 ,he visited with ,deacon ,goodsole most of the leading families4 ,he stopped at ,mr4 ,wheaton's4 ,if the people had been charmed with him in pulpit they were delighted with him in the parlor4 ,the second ,sabbath ,i do not think there would have been a dissenting voice to the call4 ,there was only one difficulty4 ,it was considered very doubtful if we could get him4 ,that doubt ,i undertook to solve4 ,monday he returned to the city4 ,i went down in the same train1 and took occasion to fall into conversation with him4 ,i told him frankly the state of feeling4 ,i represented that it was very desirable that the matter should go no further unless there was a prospect that he would consider favorably a call if it were given him4 ,he replied with equal frankness4 ,he said that he was delighted with the place and with the people4 ,he wanted to come4 ,there was only one obstacle4 ,he understood that we paid our former pastor only #a1bjj a year4 ,he could not undertake to live on that4 ,in fact1 said he1 they want me very much at ,north ,bizzy1 in ,connecticut4 ,they pay there #a1ejj a year4 ,it is a manufacturing town4 ,i do not think either the society or the work would be as congenial as in ,wheathedge4 ,i like the quiet of your rural parish4 ,i appreciate the advantages it would afford me for study4 ,but #cjj is a good deal of money4 ,i do not want to be mercenary1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 but ,i do not want to be pinched4 ,i assured him that no such difficulty should stand in his way4 ,when ,i returned1 ,i found he had expressed the same sentiments to ,deacon ,goodsole and ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,we were all agreed that we would do as well as ,north ,bizzy4 ,so we gave him a call at #a1ejj4 ,possibly we presumed too much2 but we generally considered it as good as settled4 ,the ,sabbath after the call he came to ,wheathedge4 ,this time he brought his young wife with him4 ,the ladies were more charmed than ever4 ,all ,wheathedge turned out to see and hear our new minister4 ,he remained over to our weekly prayer-meeting4 ,it was astonishing what a spirit of devotion was awakened in our church4 ,i have never seen the prayer-meeting so fully attended4 ,he seemed fully to reciprocate our enthusiasm4 ,he and his wife were tireless in the praises of the beauties of ,wheathedge4 ,it is just the place1 said ,mrs4 ,uncannon1 in which ,i should choose to spend my days4 ,of course this saying was repeated all over the parish1 and this evidence of her appreciative taste increased very measurably her own and her husband's popularity4 ,he went away ,thursday morning without giving a final and definite answer4 ,deacon ,goodsole indeed asked him point blank for one4 ,he replied that though his mind was about made up1 still he felt that so solemn a connection ought not to be made without a prayerful consideration4 ,this was all very proper4 ,we waited1 with patience1 till this decorous delay should be over4 ,but we already considered him our pastor4 ,it was the next week that ,deacon ,goodsole came into my house one evening1 in a state of great excitement4 ,he had an open letter in his hand4 ,look there1 said he4 ,the ,church at ,north ,bizzy is trying to get our minister away from us4 ,the letter was from ,mr4 ,uncannon4 ,it was to the effect that the ,church at ,north ,bizzy were taking measures to secure a parsonage4 ,he preferred to come to ,wheathedge1 but he did not know what he should do for a house4 ,there had been1 he believed1 some talk of building a parsonage at ,wheathedge4 ,he felt very desirous to take his bride to her home--not to depend on boarding-houses or landlords4 ,if this could be provided he thought it would settle the question2 for both he and his wife infinitely preferred the clear air and sunny skies1 and grand old mountains1 and glorious river basking in the golden sunlight1 c41 c41 to the dust and soot and noise of man's busy but dirty industry4 ,very well1 said ,i4 ,i do not care to bid against the ,church at ,north ,bizzy4 ,but ,i have always wanted a parsonage at ,wheathedge4 ,i will be one of five to pay the rent for this year1 and one of ten to build one next year4 ,deacon ,goodsole started a subscription paper on the spot4 ,in a few days we had secured a house for the year1 and money enough to make our building operation certain4 ,the ,deacon wrote ,mr4 ,uncannon accordingly4 ,we expected his answer forthwith1 and his arrival soon after4 ,wheathedge was at last satisfied4 ,imagine1 then1 if you can1 the chagrin and disappointment which was caused when1 last ,sunday morning1 a letter was read from ,mr4 ,uncannon to ,mr4 ,james ,wheaton1 ,chairman of the ,board of ,trustees1 declining the call4 ,mr4 ,uncannon had given it his most prayerful consideration4 ,he was deeply moved by the warm welcome which had been accorded to him4 ,he had hoped that the ,lord would make it plain that it was to be his privilege to cast in his lot with us4 ,but the ,lord had ordered it otherwise4 ,the ,providential indications seemed to him clear that it was his duty to labor in another field4 ,but he united his prayers with ours that the ,great ,bishop would soon send us a pastor who should feed us with the bread of life4 ,deacon ,goodsole says that the ,providential indications are a salary of #a1hjj and a parsonage2 and ,mr4 ,wheaton says if any other young man succeeds in playing us off against a rival parish he is mistaken2 that's all4 ,even gentle ,jennie is indignant4 ,of all flirtation1 ministerial flirtation seems to me to be the worse1 she says2 and truth to tell1 she never had much patience with any other4 ,i do not want to judge ,mr4 ,uncannon too harshly4 ,in fact ,i am not in a very judicial frame of mind4 ,but1 whatever his intent1 his ministerial coquetry has injured the cause of ,christ in ,wheathedge more than a year of preaching can benefit it in ,north ,bizzy4 ,meanwhile1 the parsonage1 which we hired1 lies vacant on our hands1 and waits for an occupant4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,we propose4 ,,we are in the valley of humiliation4 ,since the church has been rejected1 it has an opportunity to understand how a candidate feels when he is rejected4 ,i am inclined on consideration to recall the last paragraph of the last chapter4 ,i am inclined to think ,mr4 ,uncannon may prove a means of grace to us yet4 ,he has certainly been a thorn in the side4 ,on further consideration1 ,i do retract it4 ,i here emphatically record that first thoughts are not always best thoughts1 and that it is my sober second judgment that ,mr4 ,uncannon has done us more good than he has the parish at ,north ,bizzy4 ,we gave him to them grudgingly4 ,but it has been a case in which the proverb applies3 ,it is more blessed to give than to receive4 ,for ,mr4 ,uncannon's flirtation has probably given us ,maurice ,mapleson for a pastor4 ,two weeks ago ,i was coming up from ,new ,york on the train4 ,deacon ,goodsole was in the seat in front of me4 ,my satchel was my only traveling companion4 ,and ,i1 according to custom1 was enjoying a train nap1 when ,i was aroused by a hand on my shoulder coupled with a hearty ,hallo6 you could not be sounder asleep if you were in church and ,dr4 ,argure was in the pulpit4 ,it was ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,good afternoon1 said ,i4 ,sit down4 ,and my satchel exchanged its seat for a place in my lap in order to make room for ,mr4 ,wheaton on the seat beside me4 ,look here1 gentlemen1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 taking the proffered seat1 we've been fooling about this minister business long enough4 ,been fooled you mean1 said ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,i tell you1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 slapping his knee by way of emphasis1 that young ,maurice ,mapleson is the man for us4 ,the more ,i think of it the more ,i am sure of it4 ,he is a right earnest man1 said the ,deacon4 ,i think he was the first spark we have seen in the ashes of our prayer meeting for many a day4 ,can't you get him to come down1 ,mr4 ,laicus8 asked ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,i shook my head resolutely4 ,not as a candidate you know1 but on some dodge or other4 ,invite him to spend a week with you1 and book on to him for the pulpit when ,sunday comes4 ,he isn't the man for dodges1 said the ,deacon1 doubtfully4 ,i shook my head as decidedly to the second proposition as to the first4 ,well then1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 if he won't come here we will have to go there4 ,it isn't far4 ,the ,deacon doubted whether the church would agree to deviate from the old paths4 ,they wouldn't have done it1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,but they'll agree to anything now ,i think4 ,mr4 ,gear recommended that plan when we first met1 said ,i4 ,he will approve of it4 ,but how as to ,mr4 ,hardcap8 ,oh6 no matter about ,hardcap1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 he's no account4 ,excuse me1 said ,i1 he is one of our committee and is of account4 ,so after some consultation it was finally agreed that we should get off at the ,mill ,village ,station to see ,mr4 ,gear1 and then walk up to ,wheathedge4 ,deacon ,goodsole also proposed to put ,mr4 ,hardcap on the special committee to go to ,koniwasset ,corners1 and ,mr4 ,wheaton said he would furnish a free pass over the road to all who would go4 ,no man is impervious to compliments if they are delicately administered4 ,at all events ,mr4 ,gear was sensibly pleased by having us call on him in a body4 ,and ,mr4 ,hardcap1 when he found that the new plan involved a free ride on the railroad and a ,sunday excursion for himself1 withdrew all objections4 ,my wife says1 ,for shame1 ,john1 and wants me to strike that last sentence out4 ,but it is true1 and ,i do not know why it should not stand4 ,it is in confidence you know4 ,the next ,saturday ,mr4 ,wheaton1 ,mr4 ,hardcap and ,deacon ,goodsole started for ,koniwasset ,corners4 ,they reached it1 or rather they reached ,koniwasset1 the nearest point1 ,saturday evening1 and ,sunday morning rode over1 a drive of five miles4 ,it was a beautiful day2 the congregation turned out well2 the little church was full1 and ,maurice1 unconscious of the presence of a committee1 and preaching1 not to fish for a place1 but to fish for men1 was free1 unconstrained and1 as ,providence willed it1 or as good fortune would have it 7the reader may have his choice of expressions1 according as he is ,christian or heathen71 was in a good mood4 ,deacon ,goodsole was delighted4 ,jim ,wheaton was scarcely less so1 and even ,mr4 ,hardcap was pleased to say that it was a real plain ,gospel sermon4 ,deacon ,goodsole found an old friend in one of the congregation and went home with him to dinner1 while ,mr4 ,wheaton and ,mr4 ,hardcap went back to the hotel4 ,deacon ,goodsole joined them in the evening and brought a good report of the ,sunday-school1 where he had watched the unconscious parson 7who superintends his own school71 and had even1 to avoid suspicion1 taken the place of an absent teacher for the afternoon4 ,mr4 ,wheaton had to return the next day1 but the ,deacon found no great difficulty in persuading ,mr4 ,hardcap to stay over1 and ,tuesday evening they went to the weekly prayer-meeting4 ,meanwhile they inquired quietly in the neighborhood about the preacher at the ,corners1 giving however no one a hint of their object1 except the parson at ,koniwasset who commended ,maurice very highly for his piety and his efficiency4 ,as to his preaching1 he said he should not call him eloquent1 but he added1 there is one thing2 ,maurice ,mapleson never speaks without having something to say2 and he is very much in earnest4 ,both the ,deacon and ,mr4 ,hardcap were very much pleased with the spirit of the prayer-meeting--the ,deacon said ,mr4 ,mapleson could make more of a fire with less fuel than any man he knew--and when the committee made their report1 which they did at the close of our ,wednesday evening meeting1 it was unanimous in favor of giving ,maurice a call4 ,to call a man without hearing him was not the orthodox way1 and the objections which ,mr4 ,hardcap had originally proposed in the committee meeting were renewed by others4 ,in reply it was said1 very truly1 that the church really knew more about ,mr4 ,mapleson than they could possibly learn from a trial sermon1 or even from half a dozen of them1 that a careful investigation by a committee into his actual working power was a far better test than any pulpit exhibition1 however brillant4 ,i added that ,mapleson's letter was positive1 and his convictions settled1 and that ,i felt reasonably certain he would not preach as a candidate4 ,on the whole this increased the desire to get him2 and finally a second committee was appointed to go and hear him4 ,a couple of ladies were put1 informally1 on this committee1 and the church paid the expenses of the four4 ,i say informally4 ,deacon ,goodsole nominated ,miss ,moore and ,mrs4 ,biskit1 and quoted the case of ,phoebe from the sixteenth chapter of ,romans to prove that it was apostolic4 ,but the ladies shook their heads1 as did some of the elders of the church and ,mr4 ,hardcap entered a vigorous protest4 ,the ,deacon was a born and bred ,congregationalist1 and is radical1 ,i am afraid1 in church matters4 ,a compromise was finally effected by appointing two of the elders1 who agreed to take their wives4 ,they came back as well pleased as the first committee had been1 and the result was1 to make a long story short1 that last week a unanimous call was sent to ,maurice1 and as ,i write this letter ,i have before me a private note from him1 saying that he has received it1 and that1 if agreeable to us1 he will come down and spend a week with me4 ,he says he wants to see our prayer-meeting1 our ,sabbath-school teachers' meeting1 and our ,sabbath-school4 ,he adds that he will preach for us on ,sunday if we desire1 but that he does not want it known that he will be here at the prayer-meeting1 as he wants to take a back seat and see how it goes4 ,in short he gives me to understand that it is the church which is on trial1 not the minister1 and that whether he comes or not depends on what kind of a church he finds it to be4 ,this reversal of the ordinary course of things is a little queer2 but ,i guess it is all right4 ,at all events it will not do the church at ,wheathedge any harm4 ,meanwhile until we get a final answer from ,maurice ,mapleson our pulpit is no longer in the market4 ,for after our experience of ministerial coquetry ,i do not think there will be any inclination on our part for a flirtation4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,ministerial ,salaries4 ,,mr4 ,wheaton1 said ,i1 we made a queer blunder the other night2 we did not settle on any salary when we made out our call to ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,no blunder1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 ,i left it out on purpose4 ,i thought may be we could get him for less than fifteen hundred dollars4 ,what do you think8 ,wouldn't he come on twelve hundred1 and the parsonage8 ,and ,mr4 ,wheaton smiled on me with an air of self-satisfaction which seemed to say1 ',jim ,wheaton is the man to manage church business4' ,i confess ,i was indignant at the idea of driving a sharp bargain with a minister1 but ,i rather suspect ,jim ,wheaton never makes any other than a sharp bargain4 ,not with my advice1 said ,i4 ,i told him the church ought to pay fifteen hundred a year and a parsonage1 and ,i presumed it would4 ,but ,i recommend him not to come till he knows4 ,we were in the ,post ,office1 waiting for the distribution of the evening mail4 ,mr4 ,hardcap was one of our group4 ,so was ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,it was indeed a sort of extemporized and unintentional meeting of our supply committee1 only ,mr4 ,gear being absent4 ,the church won't give mor'n #a1bjj with my advice1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap decidedly4 ,and that's mor'n ,i make4 ,i would just like to contract my time for the year at four dollars a day4 ,and ,i have to get up at six and work till sunset1 ten hours1 hard work4 ,i don't see why the parson should have half as much again for five or six hours' work4 ,i have heard our old pastor say myself that he never allowed himself to study mor'n six hours a day4 ,but the pastoral work1 ,mr4 ,hardcap8 said ,i4 ,you make no account of that4 ,the calls1 do you mean8 said he4 ,well1 ,i should like to be paid four dollars a day for just dressin' up in my best and visitin'1 that's all4 ,not only the calls1 said ,i1 though you would find calling anything but recreation1 if it was your business4 ,but there are the prayer-meetings1 and the ,sabbath-school1 and the whole management and direction of the church4 ,prayer-meetin' and ,sabbath-school6 replied ,mr4 ,hardcap2 don't we all work in them8 ,and we don't ask any salary for it4 ,i guess it ain't no harder for the parson to go to prayer-meetin' than for me4 ,i shrugged my shoulders4 ,the deacon interposed4 ,i agree with you1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he4 ,we have got to pay a good salary4 ,i wish we could make it two thousand a year instead of fifteen hundred4 ,mr4 ,hardcap opened his eyes and pursed his mouth firmly together1 as though he would say ',do my ears deceive me8' ,but1 continued the deacon1 there is something in what ,mr4 ,hardcap says4 ,there are half-a-dozen farmers in our ,wheathedge congregation who don't handle fifteen hundred dollars in money from one year's end to the other4 ,mr4 ,hardcap isn't the only man to whom it seems a big sum to pay4 ,mr4 ,lapstone the shoemaker1 ,mrs4 ,croily the seamstress1 ,joe ,hodgkins the blacksmith1 and half-a-dozen others ,i could name1 have to live on less4 ,and you must remember their incomes1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 as well as yours1 and mine1 and ,mr4 ,wheaton's here4 ,well1 gentlemen1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 we've got to pay a good salary1 but ,i think we ought to keep expenses down all we can4 ,i don't believe in makin' preachin' a money makin' business no-how1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,parsons hain't got no business to be a layin' up of earthly riches1 and fifteen hundred dollars is a good deal of money to spend on bread and butter1 now ,i tell you4 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said ,i1 what do your tools cost you8 ,my tools8 said he4 ,yes1 said ,i1 your tools4 ,what do they cost you8 ,well1 said he1 they range all the way from ten cents up to five dollars1 accordin' to the article and its quality4 ,did you ever consider1 said ,i1 what a minister's tools cost8 ,minister's tools6 said he1 ,i didn't know he had any1 except his pen4 ,my dear sir1 said ,i1 his tools alone cost him between one and two hundred dollars a year4 ,mr4 ,hardcap expressed his incredulity by a long whistle2 and even ,deacon ,goodsole expressed a quiet doubt4 ,but my father was a minister and ,i know something about it4 ,look here1 said ,i4 ,he must have at least two religious weeklies1 one of his own denomination1 and one of a more general character1 and ,i took out a pencil and paper and noted down my list as ,i made it1 that's six dollars4 ,he ought to have at least two of the popular magazines1 that's eight dollars4 ,he ought to have a good scientific magazine of some kind1 four dollars more2 and his theological quarterly is indispensable1 four dollars more2 and at least one of the daily newspapers1 he ought really to read on both sides1 but we will allow only one1 that's ten dollars1 and here is the footing of his periodical literature3 ,two religious weeklies #f ,popular ,magazines #h ,scientific ,magazine #d ,theological ,quarterly #d ,daily ,paper #aj #cb ,that's what it will cost him1 said ,i1 simply to keep up with the times4 ,the other gentlemen looked at my figures a moment in silence4 ,deacon ,goodsole was the first to speak4 ,that is a pretty liberal estimate1 said he4 ,a great many ministers get along on less than that4 ,oh yes1 said ,i1 and grow dry and dull in consequence4 ,little food makes lean men4 ,mr4 ,hardcap shook his head resolutely1 ,i don't believe in preachin' to the times1 said he4 ,it's scripter interpretation and the doctrines we want4 ,very well1 said ,i1 the tools for that work cost more yet4 ,yours cost you from ten cents to five dollars1 his from five dollars to a hundred4 ,a single volume of ,lange1 or ,alford1 or the ,speaker's ,commentary cost five dollars2 a good ,bible ,dictionary1 from twenty to thirty2 a good ,encyclopedia1 from fifty to a hundred4 ,and theological treaties have a small market and therefore a high price-very high for their value4 ,and his tools grow old too1 and have to be replaced oftener than yours do1 ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,i don't see that1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he4 ,a book1 if you keep it careful1 will last a great many years4 ,i am reading out of a ,bible that belonged to my grandfather4 ,and ,i expect 'll belong to my grandson yet4 ,my dear ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said ,i1 the leaves and covers and printed works do not make the book4 ,ideas make the book4 ,you can use your tools over and over again4 ,if your plane gets dull out comes the hones and the dulled edge is quickly sharpened again4 ,but ideas are gone when they are used4 ,i don't see it1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,and ,i do not suppose he does4 ,i wonder if he knows what an idea is4 ,it is so1 continued ,i1 with all student-tools4 ,there are a few which the minister uses over and over again2 his dictionaries1 commentaries1 and cyclopedia1 if he has one4 ,there are a few treaties that are worth reading and re-reading2 but they are exceptional4 ,generally the student gets the gist of a book in one reading1 as a squirrel the kernel of a nut at one crack4 ,what remains on his shelves thereafter is only a shell4 ,a book that has been dulled can rarely be sharpened and put to use again4 ,there is no ministerial hone4 ,the parson must replenish his bench every year4 ,at least he ought to4 ,i haven't no great opinion of larned ministers no-how1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,it isn't larnin' we want1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,it is the ,gospel1 the pure1 unadulterated ,gospel4 ,mr4 ,hardcap was incorrigible4 ,i might as well try to explain to a ,north ,american ,indian the cost and the value of a modern cotton mill as the cost and the value of student tools to ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,but ,i believe ,i produced some impression on the others4 ,deacon ,goodsole still pondered my figures4 ,i never thought of the cost of minister's tool before1 said he4 ,it's quite an item4 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 for my part ,i don't see why the parson can't live on a thousand dollars a year as well as ,i can4 ,i had failed to produce conviction on the subject of tools4 ,i resolved to try another tack4 ,what do you pay for help8 said ,i4 ,help8 said he interrogatively4 ,yes1 said ,i4 ,what do you pay your cook and chambermaid8 ,hoh6 said he contemptuously4 ,i don't keep no help4 ,my ,bible tells me that ,god made the wife to be a help-meet for man1 and my wife is all the help ,i want4 ,i wouldn't have a servant round my house at no price4 ,do you suppose our pastor and his wife can get along the same way8 ,i asked4 ,don't see why not1 said he sententiously4 ,what6 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,would you have your pastor's wife do her own work1 ,mr4 ,hardcap8 ,i hope we haven't got so poor as that4 ,she must be a lady1 ,mr4 ,hardcap2 a lady1 sir4 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 and can't a lady do her own work8 ,high and mighty notions these that a woman must eat the bread of idleness to be a lady4 ,oh6 it's all very well1 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton2 but our pastor's wife has a position to maintain4 ,she owes a duty to the parish1 sir4 ,she can't be maid of all work at home4 ,i should be ashamed of the church to suffer it4 ,there certainly is a difference1 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said the ,deacon4 ,mrs4 ,hardcap may do her own washing4 ,and if anybody finds her over the washtub ,monday morning no one thinks the worse of her for it4 ,but it really wouldn't do for our pastor's wife4 ,mr4 ,hardcap shook his head resolutely4 ,i don't see it1 said he4 ,i don't believe a minister's wife is too good to work4 ,she isn't1 said the ,deacon4 ,but if she washes ,monday1 and irons ,tuesday1 and sweeps ,wednesday1 and bakes ,thursday1 and sews ,friday and ,saturday1 what time has she left to make calls or receive them8 ,mr4 ,hardcap only shrugged his shoulders4 ,how many calls does your wife make in a year8 ,i asked4 ,oh6 we don't make no calls1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,we've got other work to do4 ,and yet you expect your minister and his wife to call on you8 said ,i interrogatively4 ,i s'pose so1 said he4 ,i remember hearing you say that you thought it rather hard of ,mrs4 ,work1 just before they left1 that she hadn't been inside of your house for six months4 ,how many calls do you suppose ,mrs4 ,mapleson would have to make in a year in order to call on every family once in six months8 ,don't know1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 shortly4 ,well1 said the ,deacon1 we've got over a hundred families in our parish4 ,it would take nearly one call every day4 ,beside extra calls on the sick1 ,i continued4 ,you will either have to give ,mrs4 ,mapleson a servant or relinquish your expectation of receiving any calls from her2 that is very evident4 ,mr4 ,hardcap made no reply4 ,there are one or two other items that ought to be considered in deciding what the pastor's salary should be1 said a gentle but tremulous voice at my side4 ,i turned about to see the speaker4 ,it was old ,father ,hyatt1 who had joined our group1 unperceived4 ,i suppose ,mr4 ,hardcap's best broadcloth coat and ,mrs4 ,hardcap's black silk gown last them a good many years4 ,isn't it so1 ,mr4 ,hardcap8 ,mr4 ,hardcap confessed that it was4 ,the minister has to wear broadcloth1 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 all the week4 ,he must be always in society dress4 ,so must his wife4 ,with the utmost economy their bill for clothes mounts up to a frightful sum4 ,i know1 for ,i have tried it4 ,there is something in that1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,old ,father ,hyatt is a great favorite with ,mr4 ,hardcap1 as indeed he is with all of us4 ,and no one ever accused ,father ,hyatt of extravagance4 ,i know a city clergyman1 continued the old man1 who always preaches in a silk gown1 though he is a ,congregationalist4 ',it saves my coat'1 said he to me once in explanation4 ',i can wear a seedy coat in the pulpit and no one is the wiser4' ',but1' said ,i1 'how about the silk gown8' ',oh6' said he1 'the ladies furnish the gown4' ,we laughed at the parson's shrewdness4 ,even ,mr4 ,hardcap smiled4 ,and there are some other items1 too1 gentlemen1 added ,father ,hyatt1 which ,i hope you will consider4 ,the churches don't ordinarily know about them4 ,at least they do not consider them4 ,the company item alone is an enormous one4 ,not once in six months now do ,i have a friend to pass the night with me4 ,but when ,i was settled here my spare room always had a guest1 and half the time my stable an extra horse4 ,every benevolent agent1 every traveling minister1 every canvasser makes straight for the minister's house4 ,he has to keep an inn for the benefit of the parish1 and gets no pay for it4 ,cut them off1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,but he said it good naturedly4 ',given to hospitality1' says the ,apostle1 replied ,father ,hyatt4 ,well1 said ,deacon ,goodsole1 with a sigh1 we ought to pay the fifteen hundred a year4 ,it's none too much4 ,but ,i don't see where it's coming from4 ,oh6 never you fear1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,mr4 ,mapleson is worth fifteen hundred1 and we'll have to pay it4 ,we'll get it somehow4 ,write him it's fifteen hundred1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,you'll be safe enough4 ,with which our informal conference came to an end4 ,but ,i have not written4 ,i wonder if ,jim ,wheaton runs the ,koniwasset ,coal ,company1 and the ,newtown railroad1 and the ,wheathedge bank on the somehow principle4 ,i wish had asked him4 ,i am glad ,i have no stock in them4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,ecclesiastical ,financiering4 ,,but though ,i have no stock in the ,koniwasset ,coal ,company or the ,newtown railroad or the ,wheathedge ,bank1 ,i have some in the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,church1 and ,i decidedly object on consideration to carry on that institution on the somehow principle4 ,so ,i intimated as much to ,mr4 ,wheaton the other day1 after thinking the whole matter over1 and taking counsel with ,jennie about it4 ,oh6 go ahead1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton4 ,tell him we'll pay him #a1ejj and a parsonage4 ,the church will back you1 ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,and if the church don't1 said ,i1 will you pay the deficit8 ,mr4 ,wheaton shook his head1 very decidedly4 ,i was equally decided that without a responsible backer ,i would not go ahead4 ,so on my demand a meeting of the ,board of ,trustees was called4 ,the ,supply ,committee met with them4 ,james ,wheaton1 ,esq41 ,chairman of the ,board of ,trustees1 was in the chair4 ,on behalf of the ,supply ,committee ,i stated the object for which the ,board was convened4 ,the church had hitherto paid #a1bjj salary4 ,it was quite inadequate4 ,no one doubted that4 ,it was unreasonable to expect that ,maurice ,mapleson would come for less than we had offered ,mr4 ,uncannon-#a1ejj a year and a parsonage4 ,but in the call1 by a strange omission1 the church had neglected to mention any salary4 ,the ,committee wished to write ,mr4 ,mapleson on the subject4 ,would the ,board sustain us in pledging the church to #a1ejj and the parsonage8 ,upon this there was an informal expression of opinion all round the ,board4 ,mr4 ,wheaton led the way4 ,he had no doubt on the subject4 ,we must have a minister1 a good minister1 a live1 wide-awake1 practical man4 ,such men were in demand4 ,if one could not be got for #a1bjj1 we must pay #a1ejj4 ,that was the way in which he managed railroads2 and business was business1 whether in church or railroad4 ,not pretending to be a saint1 he naturally took a worldly view of the matter2 but he at least tried to conduct worldly matters on equitable principles4 ,it was certainly true that the laborer was worthy of his hire4 ,so1 in substance1 said ,james ,wheaton1 ,esq41 ,chairman ,board of ,trustees1 etc41 etc42 and so1 in substance1 said they all4 ,even ,mr4 ,hardcap acquiesced1 though with a mild protest against modern extravagance4 ,well1 gentlemen1 said ,mr4 ,wheaton1 this is just what ,i expected2 yes1 let me say1 just what ,i was sure of4 ,in fact1 ,i told ,mr4 ,laicus he might depend on having #a1ejj a year2 but he was not satisfied with my assurance-he wanted yours4 ,i hope he is satisfied4 ,excuse me1 said ,i1 if ,i seem unreasonable1 but ,i am not satisfied2 and ,i should certainly have been so with ,mr4 ,wheaton's assurance4 ,i never doubted that he was good for #a1ejj a year4 ,but1 in dealing with a church board1 to be frank1 ,i want to know where the money is coming from4 ,pray1 ,mr4 ,treasurer1 what was our income last year8 ,the ,treasurer murmured something about not having his accounts4 ,in round numbers1 said ,i4 ,between fourteen and fifteen hundred dollars4 ,and our expenses8 ,not far from eighteen hundred dollars4 ,and1 pray1 how1 continued ,i1 was the deficit made up8 ,a part1 it appears1 was made up by a special subscription1 and a part is still due as floating debt1 and part went in to increase the mortgage4 ,perhaps ,i would remember the meeting in the fall at ,mr4 ,wheaton's house4 ,i did remember it very well4 ,but ,i was anxious that the other gentlemen should not forget it4 ,and now1 gentlemen1 said ,i1 you propose to add three hundred dollars to that annual deficit4 ,where is the money to come from8 ,there was a momentary silence4 ,the question was evidently a new one4 ,apparently not a member of the ,board had considered it4 ,at length one gentleman suggested that we must raise the pew rents4 ,this brought an indignant protest from ,deacon ,goodsole1 who is a strong advocate of the free-pew system4 ,never1 said he1 with my consent4 ,any pew-rent is bad enough4 ,trafficking in the ,gospel is abominable at best4 ,it shuts out the poor4 ,worse than that1 it shuts out the godless1 the irreligious1 the profane--the very men we want to catch4 ,the pew-rents are too high now4 ,we must not raise them4 ,the ,treasurer also added a mild protest4 ,the pew-holders would not stand it4 ,what do you say1 ,mr4 ,wheaton8 said ,i4 ,say8 said he3 why1 ,i say you cannot carry on a church on the same principles on which you carry on a railroad or a bank4 ,it is a different affair altogether4 ,you must trust the ,lord for something4 ,i think that we can safely trust ,him to the amount of three hundred dollars at least4 ,where's your faith8 ,making false promises and trusting the ,lord to fulfil them isn't faith1 said ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,i say1 ,jim1 said ,mr4 ,jowett1 you trust ,him for your interest money--that will set us all right4 ,there was a little laugh at this suggestion4 ,mr4 ,wheaton holds a mortgage on the church4 ,he did not take kindly to this practical application of the doctrine of faith4 ,oh6 well1 said he1 we can raise it somehow4 ,never fear4 ,a good minister will fill up our empty pews4 ,then in the summer we must manage to bleed the boarders a little more freely4 ,it won't hurt them4 ,what with a concert1 or fair1 or a subscription1 or a little extra effort our plate collections1 we can manage it1 ,i have no doubt4 ,for my part1 said ,i1 ,i agree with one the gentlemen1 who told us early in this discussion that we must carry on church affairs on business principles4 ,i don't see any business principles in agreeing to pay money which we have not got and don't know where to get4 ,gentlemen1 said ,mr4 ,jowett1 ,mr4 ,laicus is right4 ,the shamefully loose ways in which our ,protestant churches carry on their finances is a disgrace to the ,christian religion4 ,mr4 ,jowett is a broker4 ,he assured me after the meeting that it was almost impossible to get a loan on church property because churches were so notoriously slack in paying their interest4 ,mr4 ,hardcap murmured an assent4 ,i don't b'lieve1 gentlemen1 in agreein' to pay what we hain't got4 ,if we'd got the #a1ejj1 ,i'd say give it to him4 ,i don't grudge him the money4 ,but ,i don't want this church to make no promises that it aint' a goin' to keep4 ,mr4 ,hardcap has had some experience with promise-breaking churches1 said ,deacon ,goodsole4 ,it seems that ,mr4 ,hardcap did the carpenter work in some repairs on the ,methodist church here last summer4 ,when he got through he carried in his bill to the ,president of the ,board of ,trustees4 ,the ,president referred him to the ,treasurer4 ,the ,treasurer reported no funds and referred him to the ,chairman of the ,building ,committee4 ,the ,chairman of the ,building ,committee explained that it was his business to supervise the building1 not to raise the funds1 and sent him back to the ,president4 ,it was not till ,mr4 ,hardcap1 whose stock of patience is small1 threatened the church with a mechanic's lien that the remedy was forthcoming4 ,well1 gentlemen1 said ,i1 ,i will not be a party to getting a minister here on-excuse the term1--false pretences2 on the assurance that we can pay him #a1ejj a year when it is a hard matter to pay him #a1bjj4 ,there are ten of us here4 ,i will put my name down now for #cj1 if the rest will do the same4 ,if the ,lord sends the #cjj1 or if the ladies raise it by a fair1 or if ,mr4 ,wheaton gets up a concert1 or the summer boarders come to our rescue1 we shall have nothing to pay4 ,if none of these things happen1 the minister will not have it all to lose4 ,the matter was eventually settled in that way4 ,we raised a contingent fund of #bej then and there1 which we have since made up to #djj4 ,so that now we can offer #a1ejj a year with a clear conscience4 ,as a lawyer ,i have had some experience dealing with corporations4 ,and ,i record my deliberate conviction here that of all corporations church corporations are financially the worst2 the most loose and dilatory and unconsciously dishonest4 ,i record it as my deliberate conviction1 having had some opportunities for knowing1 that in the ,calvinistic church1 of the others ,i don't pretend to know anything1 on the average not one half the ministry get their meagre salaries promptly4 ,this injustice is the greatest and most scandalous feature in the treatment to which the churches subject their ministers4 ,that ministers are subjected to hardships is a matter of no consequence4 ,so are other people4 ,it is the injustice1 the absolute and indefensible injustice1 the promising to pay their meagre salaries and then not paying even those-the obtaining of their services under false pretences-that ,i complain of4 ,if ,i were a minister ,i never would accept a call without knowing thoroughly the income and the expenditure of the church4 ,as ,i write there lies before me a letter from my late pastor4 ,he wants to borrow #cjj for a few weeks4 ,his ,board of ,trustees are thus much behind-hand in the first quarter's payment4 ,he has not the means to pay his rent4 ,the duty of the ,board in such a case is very evident4 ,the very least they can do is to share in providing temporarily for the exigency4 ,the very most which a mean ,board could do would be to ask the minister to unite with them in paying up the deficiency4 ,in fact1 he who is least able to do it has to carry it all4 ,nobody else will trust the church4 ,he has to trust it for hundreds of dollars4 ,and then when his grocer and his landlord and his tailor go unpaid1 men shrug their shoulders and say1 pityingly1 ,oh6 he's a minister1 he is not trained to business habits4 ,and the world looks on in wonder and in silent contempt to see the ,christian ,church carrying on its business in a manner the flagrant dishonesty of which would close the doors of any bank1 deprive any insurance company of its charter1 and drive any broker in ,wall street from the ,brokers' ,board4 ,jennie says this last is pretty sharp writing2 and she shakes her head over it4 ,but it is time1 and ,i decline to cancel it4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,our ,donation ,party--by ,jane ,laicus4 ,,my husband wants me to write an account of the donation we gave our new minister4 ,he wants it to put in his book4 ,why1 ,john1 said ,i1 ,i can't write anything for a book4 ,i never wrote anything for print in my life4 ,you mustn't think ,i am clever because you are4 ,my dear ,jennie1 said he1 there is no magic in print4 ,write just such an account as you wrote your mother4 ,if you had that letter you could not do better than give me that to put in4 ,i can't possibly write1 ,john4 ,i would indeed if ,i could4 ,then1 said ,john1 it can't go in at all4 ,for ,i was not here4 ,i cannot describe it4 ,he was so earnest about it ,i finally had to yield4 ,he says ,i always have my own way4 ,i didn't this time ,i am sure4 ,there is only one thing that reconciles me to it4 ,i do not believe the publishers will print it4 ,i told ,john ,i wouldn't trust my writing to his judgment4 ,i wouldn't you know1 of course because he would be sure to say it was good4 ,so we agreed to leave it to the publishers4 ,if they don't like this chapter they are going to leave it out4 ,john is going to leave them to read the proof1 and we shan't either of us know till the book is published whether our donation party gets in or not4 ,i confess to a little hope it will get in4 ,let me see how it happened4 ,oh6 this was the way3 ,maurice was at our house the ,sunday he supplied our pulpit4 ,he told my husband that he thought he should accept our call4 ,but he said he didn't think the parsonage would do him any good4 ,he wanted to go to housekeeping1 but he had not the money to furnish it with1 and he would not run in debt4 ,that set me thinking4 ,i talked the matter over with ,miss ,moore and found she was quite of my mind2 and the week after1 we got ,maurice's letter accepting the call1 we proposed to the ladies at the sewing society to undertake to furnish the parsonage4 ,the idea took at once4 ,in fact the having a parsonage is a new thing at ,wheathedge1 and we feel a little pride in having it respectable1 you know2 at least so as not to be a disgrace to the church4 ,mrs4 ,goodsole thought it doubtful about raising the money1 and ,mrs4 ,hardcap said that her husband wasn't in favor of the parsonage nohow1 and she didn't believe would think much of fixin' of it up2 but ,miss ,moore replied to ,mrs4 ,goodsole that she could try at any rate1 and to ,mrs4 ,hardcap that she would be responsible that ,mr4 ,hardcap would do his share2 a remark which to some of us seemed a bold one1 but which pleased ,mrs4 ,hardcap for all that4 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 ,i believe1 means well1 though to some of us his ideas do seem very contracted1 sometimes4 ,but my husband says that narrow men are needed as well as broad ones1 and that if there were no ,mr4 ,hardcap to count the cost of every venture before it was undertaken1 the church would have been bankrupt long before this time4 ,we appointed committees that evening2 one to raise the money-of course ,miss ,moore was at the head of that--one to furnish the kitchen1 one to furnish the parlor and bed-room1 7as ,i knew the bride1 ,i was put on that committee17 and one to provide a supper4 ,some of the ladies wanted to have a grand reception4 ,they said it would be a good thing to surprise the new pastor with a house-warming4 ,mrs4 ,hardcap proposed that the sewing society meet there that afternoon4 ,but ,miss ,moore objected strongly4 ,she said it would cost nearly as much to provide a supper for the whole congregation as to furnish a good bed-room set4 ,i think1 though1 it was really little ,miss ,flidgett who put a quietus on that plan4 ,why1 said she in an injured tone1 ,i want to be there and see how they like it4 ,nobody dared advocate the plan after that speech4 ,i really think that they all felt very much the same way1 however4 ,the next day some of us met at the parsonage to take a survey4 ,last year the house was without a tenant1 and it had come to be in rather a dilapidated condition4 ,the fence gate was off the hinges4 ,the garden was over-grown with weeds4 ,the sink in the kitchen was badly rotted4 ,one of the parlor blinds was off4 ,there was a bad leak over the back porch1 and the plastering looked just ready to fall1 and the whole looked dingy1--it needed outside painting sadly4 ,we needn't let these things go so1 said ,miss ,moore4 ,the landlord must put the house to rights4 ,so off we posted to the landlord1 who is a queer1 crusty old bachelor1 who has1 ,i verily believe1 a kind heart1 and does a good deal of good in his own fashion2 but his fashion is never like any one else's4 ,not a thing could ,miss ,moore get out of him4 ,he had rented the house as it stood1 he said4 ,if the trustees didn't like it they needn't have taken it4 ,they paid little enough rent to repair it themselves4 ,he had nothing more to do except to get his rent regularly1 and that she might depend he would do4 ,miss ,moore returned somewhat disappointed1 but nothing daunted4 ,so much the better1 said she4 ,it will give ,mr4 ,hardcap a chance to do something4 ,how about the painting8 said ,mrs4 ,wheaton4 ,it ought to be painted4 ,miss ,moore shook her head4 ,so it ought1 she said1 and so ,i told ,mr4 ,quirk2 but he won't do anything1--and we can't afford to paint it2 we shouldn't have money left for furnishing4 ,so we took the measure of the floors for the carpets1 settled on what furniture we would get1 and adjourned4 ,next week ,i went down to ,new ,york and called on the young lady to whom ,maurice is engaged4 ,her home is in ,new ,york1 or rather it was there2 for to my thinking a wife's home is always with her husband2 and ,i never like to hear a wife talking of going home as though home could be anywhere else than where her husband and her children are4 ,maurice and ,helen were to be married two weeks from the following ,friday1 for ,maurice proposed to postpone their wedding trip till his next summer's vacation2 and ,helen1 like the dear1 sensible girl she is1 very readily agreed to that plan4 ,in fact ,i believe she proposed it4 ,she had some shopping to do before the wedding1 and ,i had some to do on my own account1 and we went together4 ,i invented a plan of refurnishing my parlor4 ,i am afraid ,i told some fibs1 or at least came dreadfully near it4 ,i told ,helen ,i wanted her to help me select the carpet2 and though she had no time to spare1 she was very good-natured1 and did spare the time4 ,we ladies had agreed-not without some dissent-to get a ,brussels for the parlor1 as the cheapest in the end1 and ,i made ,helen select her own pattern1 without any suspicion of what she was doing1 and incidentally got her taste on other carpets1 too1 so that really she selected them herself without knowing it4 ,deacon ,goodsole recommended me to go for furniture to ,mr4 ,kabbinett1 a ,german friend of his1 and ,mrs4 ,goodsole and ,i found there a very nice parlor set1 in green rep1 made of imitation rosewood1 which he said would wear about as well as the genuine article1 and which we both agreed looked nearly as well4 ,we would rather have bought the real rosewood1 but that we could not afford4 ,mr4 ,kabbinett made us a liberal discount because we were buying for a parsonage4 ,we got an extension table and chairs for the dining-room1 7but we had to omit a side-board for the present71 and a very pretty oak set for the chamber4 ,we did not buy anything but a carpet for the library1 for ,mr4 ,laicus said no one could furnish a student's library for him4 ,he must furnish it for himself4 ,when we got back to ,wheathedge1 ,tuesday afternoon1 we found the parsonage undergoing transformations so great that you would hardly know it4 ,miss ,moore had got ,mr4 ,hardcap1 sure enough1 to repair it4 ,she had agreed to pay for the material1 and he was to furnish the labor4 ,the fence was straightened1 and the gate re-hung1 and the blinds mended up1 and ,mr4 ,hardcap was on the roof patching it where it leaked or threatened to4 ,deacon ,goodsole had a bevy of boys from the ,sabbath-school at work in the garden under his direction4 ,if there is anything the ,deacon takes a pride in1 next to his horse1 it is his garden1 and he said that the parson should have a chance for the best garden in town4 ,great piles of weeds stood in the walk4 ,two boys were spading up2 another was planting2 a fourth was wheeling away the weeds2 and still another was bringing manure from the ,deacon's stable4 ,miss ,moore was setting out some rose-bushes before the door2 and the ,deacon himself1 with his coat off1 was trimming and tying up a rather dilapidated looking grape-vine over a still more dilapidated grape arbor4 ,the next morning1 about eleven o'clock1 little ,miss ,flidgett came running into our house1 without ever knocking1 in the greatest possible excitement4 ,mrs4 ,laicus1 said she1 the painters have come4 ,the painters6 said ,i4 ,what painters8 ,why didn't you order them8 said she4 ,they are painting the parsonage4 ,i supposed of course you ordered them4 ,it was very evident that she did not suppose anything of the kind1 but was dying of curiosity to know who did4 ,i confess ,i had some curiosity to know myself4 ,so ,i put on my bonnet and shawl1 and ran over with her to find out about it4 ,sure enough the painters were there1 three or four of them1 with their ladders up against the side of the house1 and the parsonage already beginning to change color under their hands4 ,some of the ladies were in the kitchen supervising the repairs of the sink1 and the putting up of some shelves in the pantry1 but they knew nothing about the painters4 ,i asked one of the hands1 at work on the front door1 who sent him4 ,the boss1 ma'am1 he replied1 very promptly4 ,and who is the boss8 said ,i4 ,mr4 ,glazier1 ma'am4 ,mr4 ,glazier is the painter himself1 the head-man4 ,so ,i was no better off than before4 ,i was afraid ,mrs4 ,wheaton had ordered them1 and ,i knew our funds were getting low1 for we had overrun our estimate for carpets2 and ,i have the greatest horror of running in debt4 ,so ,i resolved to go right over to ,mrs4 ,wheaton's and get at the bottom of the mystery4 ,but ,mrs4 ,wheaton knew nothing of the matter4 ,we were both sure ,miss ,moore would not have ordered them1 and ,i was returning as wise as ,i started1 when1 as ,i passed the parsonage1 ,i saw ,mr4 ,glazier and ,mr4 ,quirk in the yard1 talking together4 ,so ,i turned in to ask ,mr4 ,glazier about it4 ,as ,i passed up the walk ,mr4 ,quirk called out to me4 ,you ladies are in possession1 ,i see1 said he4 ,you mean to make the parson comfortable and contented if you can4 ,yes1 ,sir1 said ,i1 though we are not responsible for the greatest improvement1 the painting4 ,i think ,mr4 ,glazier must be responsible for that himself4 ,i can't find any one that ordered it done4 ,i thought that would bring the information1 and it did4 ,oh6 that's ,mr4 ,quirk's orders1 said he4 ,yours8 said ,i turning to the crusty old landlord who wouldn't do anything4 ,he nodded4 ,i think he enjoyed my perplexity4 ,i spoke on the impulse of the moment4 ,if ,i had given it a second thought ,i should not have done it2 and yet ,i am not sorry ,i did4 ,mr4 ,quirk1 said ,i1 my husband was right and ,i was wrong4 ,we ladies thought very hard of you that you would not do anything toward repairing the parsonage4 ,for one ,i want to apologize4 ,judge not1 that ye be not judged1 said the old man2 and he turned on his heel and went away4 ,he is the queerest man ,i ever saw4 ,i wish you could have seen that parsonage last ,friday1 the day that ,mr4 ,mapleson and his wife were to arrive4 ,the walks were trim4 ,the plot before the piazza had been new sodded4 ,the grapevine was already putting out new buds as if it felt the effect of the ,deacon's tender care4 ,there was not a weed to be seen4 ,the beds1 with their rich1 black loam turned up to the sun1 had a beauty of their own1 which only one who loves to dig among flowers as much as ,i do can appreciate4 ,mr4 ,glazier had made the dingy old house look like a new one4 ,after all there is nothing ,i like better for a cottage than pure white with green blinds4 ,inside we had a lovely carpet on the parlor1 and the new set of imitation rosewood4 ,a beautiful bouquet from ,mrs4 ,wheaton's garden stood in the bay window1 which looks out upon the river4 ,my girl1 lent for the occasion1 was in the kitchen2 and in the dining-room there was supper spread just for two1 with cake1 preserves1 and pies enough in the closet 7every body in the parish had sent in supper for that evening7 to keep the parson supplied for a month at least4 ,i was the last to leave the house1 and ,i did not leave it till ,i heard the whistle of the train4 ,then ,i ran over to ,miss ,moore's little cottage1 which is right across the way4 ,her parlor window was full of ladies peering out1 first and foremost of whom was little ,miss ,flidgett1 who thus gratified her wish to see how they would take it4 ,the ,deacon1 who was fixing something about the stable1 was almost caught4 ,but he heard the carriage-wheels just in time to run into the shed1 and ,i could see him there holding the door open a crack and peering out to see what passed4 ,even dignified ,mrs4 ,wheaton could not resist the temptation to be passing along1 accidentally of course1 just as the parson drove up4 ,mr4 ,wheaton had called for them at the depot4 ,it was arranged 7with them1 that is7 that he was to take them right to our house1 and they were to stay there till they could decide whether to board or keep house4 ,he proposed to them1 however1 according to pre-arrangement1 to stop a minute at the parsonage on the way4 ,mrs4 ,mapleson1 he said1 can see what it is and how she likes the house1 and the location2 and besides ,i have an errand to do at the store4 ,we saw him get out and hand them out4 ,just then ,mrs4 ,wheaton passed by1 and he introduced her to them4 ,mrs4 ,wheaton took a seat in the now vacant carriage to go with her husband to the store2 and ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,mapleson went up the walk4 ,we saw them go in and shut the door4 ,in a moment they came out again4 ,maurice looked up and down the street in perplexity2 then he stepped back a few paces and looked up at the house4 ,his wife stood meanwhile on the door-step4 ,suddenly she beckoned to him1 and pointed out something on the side of the door just over the bell-handle4 ,they had discovered the little silver plate on which was engraved ,rev4 ,maurice ,mapleson4 ,at that moment the expressman drove up with their trunks4 ,maurice settled with him1 looked up and down the street as if looking for ,mr4 ,wheaton1 who did not make his appearance as you may believe2 and then parson1 wife1 and trunks all went into the house together1 and we dispersed4 ,as to the ,deacon1 he had to climb out of a back window into an ally that runs behind the house in order to get out of his position without being discovered4 ,and that is the way we gave our donation party in ,wheathedge4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,maurice ,mapleson4 ,,it is not six weeks since ,maurice ,mapleson preached his first sermon here1 at ,wheathedge1 and already events prove the wisdom of our selection4 ,i have been studying somewhat and pondering more the secret of his success1 and ,i have sat down this evening to try and clear up my own shadowy thoughts by reducing them to form4 ,i often take my pen for such a purpose4 ,is it not ,bacon who says the pen makes an accurate thinker8 ,maurice ,mapleson certainly is not what ,i should call a great preacher4 ,he is not learned4 ,he is not brilliant4 ,he seldom tells us much about ancient ,greece or ,rome4 ,he preached a sermon on ,woman's function in the church1 a few ,sundays ago4 ,i could not help contrasting it with ,dr4 ,argure's sermon on the same subject4 ,maurice could not have made a learned editorial or magazine article out of his sermon4 ,he did not even discuss the true interpretation of ,paul's exhortations and prohibitions4 ,he talked very simply and plainly of what the women could do here at ,wheathedge4 ,he thanked them with unmistakeable sincerity for what they had already done1 and made it an incentive to them to do more-more for ,christ1 not for himself4 ,jennie says that is the secret of ,maurice's success4 ,he is appreciative4 ,he never scolds4 ,he commends his people for what they have done and so incites them to do more4 ,she thinks that praise is a better spur than blame4 ,she always manages her servants on that principle4 ,perhaps that is the reason why they are not the greatest plague of life to her4 ,but if ,maurice's sermons are not great1 neither are they long4 ,he lays it down as a cardinal rule in moral hygiene that a congregation should not go away from the church hungry4 ,harry no longer begs to stay at home ,sunday mornings1 and even ,mr4 ,hardcap rarely gets asleep4 ,if ,i compare ,mr4 ,mapleson with ,mr4 ,uncannon1 ,i should say unhesitatingly that the latter was the more brilliant preacher of the two4 ,no one ever comes out of church saying ,what a powerful discourse6 ,what a brilliant figure6 ,what a pretty illustration6 ,how eloquent6 ,but ,i find that we very often spend our dinner hour in discussing not the sermon1 but its subject4 ,there are however two or three peculiarities which ,i observe about ,maurice ,mapleson's preaching4 ,dr4 ,argure tells me that he never writes a sermon without a reference to its future use4 ,i once asked him whether he ever preached extemporaneously4 ,no1 said he4 ,i have meant to4 ,but ,i have so many fine sermons waiting to be preached that ,i could never bring myself to abandon them for a mere talk4 ,i do not think ,maurice has any fine sermons waiting to be preached4 ,indeed ,i know he has not4 ,for one evening when he excused himself from accepting an invitation to tea1 because he was behind-hand in his work and had his sermon to prepare1 ,i replied1 ,you must have a good stock on hand4 ,give us an old one4 ,i haven't a sermon to my name1 he replied4 ,what do you mean8 said ,i4 ,i mean1 said he1 that a sermon is not an essay2 that every sermon ,i ever preached was prepared to meet some special want in my parish1 and that when it was preached1 there was an end of it4 ,i could no more preach an old sermon than ,i could fire a charge of gun powder a second time4 ,but experiences repeat themselves1 said my wife4 ,what your people at ,koniwasset ,corners knew of doubt1 of trouble1 of sorrow1 of imperfect ,christian experience1 we know too4 ,as in water face answereth to face1 so the heart of man to man4 ,that is true1 said ,maurice thoughtfully4 ,but there are no two faces exactly alike4 ,and my sermon is meaningless to me1 if not to my people1 unless ,i can see the want and bring out the truth to meet it4 ,but the truth is always the same1 said ,jennie1 and the wants of the human heart are not widely different4 ,that is both true and false1 said he4 ,the truth is always the same2 but not always the same to me4 ,i fell into conversation with ,mr4 ,gear last night on the subject of the atonement4 ,he thinks it represents ,god as revengeful and unforgiving4 ,can ,i answer him with an old sermon8 ,god's love is immutable4 ,but ,i hope ,i understand it better and feel it more than ,i did three years ago4 ,i cannot bring an old experience to meet a new want4 ,no6 a sermon is like a flower1 it is of worth only when it is fresh4 ,his sermons at all events are always fresh4 ,they are his personal counsel to personal friends4 ,i dimly recognize this element of power in them4 ,but this is not all4 ,there is something more1 something that ,i missed in ,dr4 ,argure's learned essays1 and in ,mr4 ,uncannon's pulpit pyrotechnics4 ,but it is something very difficult to define4 ,did you ever consider the difference between a real flower and a wax imitation8 ,the latter may be quite as beautiful4 ,it may deceive you at first4 ,and yet when you discover the deception you are disappointed4 ,the lack of fragrance1 ,jennie suggests4 ,no6 the flower may be odorless4 ,it is the lack of life4 ,i do not know what there is in that mystic life that should make such a difference4 ,but ,i am sure that the charm of the flower is in its life4 ,the most beautiful statue that ,powers ever chiseled does not compare for grace and beauty with the ,divine model4 ,the same mystic element of life is wanting4 ,there is life in ,maurice ,mapleson's sermons4 ,what do ,i mean by life8 ,earnestness8 ,no6 ,mr4 ,work was earnest4 ,but this mysterious life was wanting4 ,i can feel it better than ,i can define it4 ,it is not in the sermon4 ,it is in the man4 ,i get new information from ,dr4 ,argure4 ,i do not get much new information from ,maurice ,mapleson4 ,i used to get new ideas occasionally from ,mr4 ,work4 ,i rarely get a new idea from ,maurice ,mapleson4 ,but ,i get new life1 and that is what ,i most want4 ,this element of life enters into all his work4 ,it is in the man rather than in his productions4 ,our prayer-meetings have improved wonderfully since he came4 ,how do you prepare for the prayer-meeting8 ,i asked him the other day4 ,by an hour of sleep and an hour of prayer1 he replied4 ,i always try to go into the meeting fresh4 ,and he succeeds4 ,his coming into the meeting is like the coming of ,spring4 ,he brings an atmosphere with him4 ,it is indescribable1 but its effect is marvelous4 ,jennie says she never understood before as she does now what was meant by the declaration in ,acts concerning the ,apostles1 that though they were unlearned men1 the people took knowledge of them that they had been with ,jesus4 ,and it is this life which makes him so admirable as a pastor4 ,is he social8 a friend asked me the other day4 ,yes4 ,he is social4 ,but that is not all4 ,mr4 ,work was social4 ,but he was always a minister4 ,he went about the streets in a metaphysical white choker and black gown4 ,he was everywhere professional4 ,when he opened the subject of personal religion he did it with an introduction as formal and stately as that with which he habitually began his sermons4 ,he formally inducted you into the witness box and commenced a professional inquisition on the state of your soul4 ,i confess ,i have no fancy for that sort of ,presbyterian confessional4 ,i like the ,papal confessional better4 ,it does not invade your house and attack you with its questionings when you are in no mood for them4 ,i told ,mr4 ,work so once1 whereat he was greatly shocked and somewhat indignant4 ,mr4 ,uncannon too was very social4 ,but he was never a minister4 ,outside the pulpit he never introduced the subject of religion4 ,i think it is perfectly safe to say that no one would have taken knowledge of him that he had been with ,jesus4 ,as to pastoral calls he expressly disavowed any intention of making any4 ,i have no time1 said he1 for gadding about and spiritual gossiping4 ,it's as much as ,i can do to get up my two sermons a week4 ,but ,maurice is social in a different way4 ,i asked him once what system he pursued as to pastoral calls4 ,a very simple system1 said he1 mix much with my people and be much with ,christ4 ,if ,i do both1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 ,i shall not fail to bring them together4 ,i don't trouble myself about ways and means4 ,the week after ,mr4 ,mapleson came to ,wheathedge1 some ecclesiastical body met at ,albany4 ,i had a case before the ,court of ,appeals1 and ,maurice and ,i happened to take the same train4 ,as we waited in the station he addressed himself to a surly looking baggage-master with this question1 ,what time will the train get to ,albany8 ,can't tell1 said the surly baggage-master4 ,nothing is certain to railroad men4 ,except one thing1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,what's that8 said the surly baggage-master4 ,death1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,that's a fact1 said the surly baggage-master4 ,specially certain to railroad men4 ,and there is one other thing certain1 added ,maurice4 ,what's that8 asked the baggage-master1 no longer surly4 ,that we ought to be ready for it4 ,the baggage-master nodded thoughtfully4 ,so we ought1 said he2 and he added as he turned away1 ,i hope you're readier than ,i be4 ,i note this little incident here because it revealed so much of ,maurice ,mapleson's character to me4 ,i think it did more to disclose to me the secret of his success than any sermon he has ever preached4 ,mr4 ,work when he went away read us the statistics of his ministerial industry4 ,he told us how many sermons he had preached1 how many prayer meetings he had attended1 how many sick he had visited1 and how many religious conversations he had held with the impenitent4 ,i should as soon think of ,maurice ,mapleson's keeping a record of the number of times he kissed his wife or taught his children-if he had any4 ,while ,i have been writing in a vain endeavor to put my vague and shadowy ideas of ,maurice ,mapleson's magnetic power into words1 ,jennie has come in and has seated herself beside me4 ,jennie1 ,i cannot get into clear and tangible form my shadowy ideas4 ,what is the secret of ministerial success8 ,what is the common characteristic which gives pulpit power to such widely dissimilar characters as ,chalmers1 ,whitefields1 the ,westleys1 ,spurgeon and ,robertson in ,england1 and ,edwards1 ,nettleton1 ,finney1 the ,beechers1 father and son1 ,murray1 ,john ,hall1 ,dr4 ,tyng1 and a score of others ,i could mention in this country8 ,hand me your ,new ,testament1 ,john4 ,it was lying on the table beside me4 ,she took it from my hand and opened it4 ,i don't know as to all the names you have mentioned1 ,john1 but ,i think the secret of true pulpit power1 the secret of ,paul's wondrous power1 the secret of ,maurice ,mapleson's power--the same in kind though smaller in measure--is this4 ,and she read from ,galatians1 the second chapter and twentieth verse3 ',i am crucified with ,christ1 nevertheless ,i live2 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me1 and the life which ,i now live in the flesh1 ,i live by the faith of the ,son of ,god1 who loved me1 and gave himself for me4' ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,our ,church-,garden4 ,,one needs no other evidence that ,maurice ,mapleson is working a wonderful transformation in this parish than is afforded by the change which has been made in the external appearance of the church4 ,it is true that ,miss ,moore always was a worker4 ,but ,i do not believe that even ,miss ,moore could have carried out her plan of a church garden under ,mr4 ,work4 ,and ,mr4 ,work was a good minister too4 ,when ,i first came to ,wheathedge the ,calvary ,presbyterian church was externally1 to the passer-by1 distinguished chiefly for the severe simplicity of its architecture1 and the plainness1 not to say the homeliness1 of its surroundings4 ,it is a long1 narrow1 wooden structure1 as destitute of ornament as ,squire ,line's old fashioned barn4 ,its only approximation to architectural display is a square tower surmounted by four tooth-picks pointing heavenward1 and encasing the bell4 ,a singular1 a mysterious bell that was and is4 ,it expresses all the emotions of the neighborhood4 ,it passes through all the moods and inflections of a hundred hearts4 ,to-day it rings out with soft and sacred tones its call to worship4 ,to-morrow from its watch-tower it sees the crackling flame in some neighboring barn or tenement1 and utters1 with loud and hurried and anxious voice1 its alarm4 ,anon1 heavy with grief1 it seems to enter1 as a sympathising friend1 into the very heart experiences of bereaved and weeping mourners4 ,and when the rolling year brings round ,independence day1 all the fluctuations of feeling which mature and soften others are forgotten1 and it trembles with the excitement of the occasion1 and laughs1 and shouts1 and capers merrily in its homely belfry1 as though it were a boy again4 ,pardon the digression4 ,but ,i love the dear old bell4 ,and its voice is musical to me1 albeit ,i sometimes fancy1 like many another singer's it is growing weak and thin with age4 ,the surroundings of the church were no better than the external aspect4 ,the fence was broken down4 ,the cows made common pasture in the field-there is an acre of ground with the church1 ,i believe-till the grass was eaten so close to the ground that even they disdained it4 ,a few trees eked out a miserable existence4 ,most of them1 girdled by cattle1 were dead4 ,a few still maintained their struggle for life1 but looked as though they pined for the freedom of the woods again4 ,within1 the church justified the promise of its external condition4 ,the board of trustees are poor4 ,every man had been permitted to upholster his own pew4 ,some1 without owners1 were also without upholstering4 ,in the rest1 the only merit was variety4 ,the church looked as though it had clothed itself in a ,joseph's coat of many colors2 or rather1 its robe presented the appearance of poor ,joe ,sweaten's pantaloons1 which are so darned and pieced and mended that no man can guess what the original material was1 or whether any of it is left4 ,there was but one redeeming feature-the bouquet upon the pulpit4 ,every ,sunday1 ,sophie ,jowett brought that bouquet4 ,as her father had a large conservatory1 the bouquet was rarely missing even in winter4 ,as she has admirable taste it was always beautiful even when the flowers were not rare4 ,she had done her work very quietly1 had asked no permission1 had consulted with no one4 ,one ,sabbath the bouquet appeared upon the pulpit4 ,after that it was never missing1 except one ,sunday when ,miss ,sophie was sick1 and for three weeks in the ,fall1 when she was away from home4 ,such was the condition of the church at ,wheathedge when ,i bought my house4 ,last spring ,miss ,sophie was married4 ,there were more tears and less radiance than usual at that wedding4 ,mr4 ,line said that he never could supply the place in the ,sunday-school4 ,mr4 ,work came up from ,new ,york to marry them4 ,his voice was tenderer than usual when he pronounced the marriage ceremony4 ,the first ,sabbath after that wedding the pulpit was without flowers4 ,was there any who did not miss them1 and in missing them did not miss her8 ,it took the last ornament from our church1 which thenceforth looked desolated enough4 ,when ,maurice ,mapleson came the bouquet came back4 ,but it was made mostly of wild flowers4 ,i think his wife began it4 ,perhaps it was this which suggested to ,miss ,moore's fertile brain the idea of a church-garden4 ,at all events one ,wednesday after prayer-meeting ,miss ,moore and ,mrs4 ,biskit came to me4 ,we want a dollar from you1 said ,miss ,moore4 ,what for8 said ,i4 ,not that ,i thought of questioning ,miss ,moore's demand1--no one ever does that2 but because ,i naturally liked to know what my money was going to do4 ,we are going to start a church-garden1 said she4 ,the trustees have given us the ground1 and we want to raise about ten dollars for a beginning4 ,i gave her the dollar and thought no more about it2 indeed1 ,i should have accounted the scheme quite chimerical if there had been any one at the head of it except ,miss ,moore4 ,however1 the next week1 as ,i was passing the church1 ,i saw ,miss ,moore and ,mrs4 ,biskit at work in the churchyard4 ,a little plot had been spaded up at one side1 one or two walks laid out1 and they were busy putting in some flower seed4 ,i thought of offering my services4 ,but as my agricultural education was neglected in my youth1 and as my knowledge of gardening is very limited1 ,i passed on4 ,my chance came pretty soon4 ,when ,miss ,moore has anything to do for the church every one gets an opportunity to help4 ,it could not have been more than two or three days later1 when1 as ,i passed1 ,i perceived that she had already increased her stock of gardeners4 ,half a dozen young men were working with a will4 ,she had half of the minister's ,bible-class engaged4 ,two of them had brought a load of gravel from down under the hill as you go to the ,mill village4 ,they were shoveling this out at the front gate1 while some others were spreading it in a broad walk up to the church-door4 ,a great pile of sods lay right by the side of the growing gravel-heap4 ,deacon ,goodsole1 in his shirt sleeves1 was raking over the ground preparing it for grass-seed4 ,rather late for grass-seed1 he had remonstrated1 but the inexorable ,miss ,moore had replied1 ,better late than never4 ,four or five of the boys1 who had used the church common as a ball-ground1 were enlisted-a capital stroke of policy that4 ,among them was ,bill ,styles1 who prides himself on throwing a stone higher and with surer aim than any other boy in ,wheathedge1 and had demonstrated it by stoning all the glass out of the tower windows4 ,a melancholy-looking cow1 transfixed with astonishment1 had stopped in the middle of the road to look with bewilderment upon their invasion of its ancient territory4 ,i leaned for a moment on the tottering fence and looked1 equally bewildered1 on the busy scene4 ,but ,miss ,moore never suffers any one to look on idly where she is laboring4 ,ah6 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said she1 cheerily1 you are just the man we want4 ,that cow will come in through these gaps in the fence and undo our work in an hour after we leave it4 ,i wish you would get hold of somebody and fix it up4 ,with that she was off again1 and ,i was in for an office4 ,deacon ,goodsole afterwards told me confidentially that he was caught in the same way4 ,now1 though ,i am no gardener1 ,i am a bit of a carpenter4 ,so1 after taking the dimensions of the fence1 mentally1 ,i started off for the material1 which ,mr4 ,hardcap gave1 and1 with the aid of a volunteer or two1 ,i succeeded in so far filling the breach that the melancholy cow gave up her little game1 and walked philosophically away4 ,to make a long story short1 the result of ,miss ,moore's energetic endeavors was seen the next ,sabbath1 in part1 in an entirely new aspect of affairs1 which has been constantly improving since4 ,the board of trustees1 moved thereto partly by the energies of ,miss ,moore1 partly by those of their ,baptist neighbors who have just got into a new church1 have commenced to build a new fence4 ,a graveled walk1 free from dust in drought and from mud in rainy weather1 leads up to the church-door4 ,a border of sod on either side melts gradually away into the beginning of a lawn of grass which will be fuller and better next year than this4 ,on a couple of fan shaped lattices1 in which ,i take a little pride as my own handiwork1 a honey-suckle on one side of the church-door and a prairie rose on the other are planted4 ,in imagination ,i already see them reaching out their tendrils in courtship over the door4 ,i should not wonder if next ,spring should celebrate their nuptials4 ,some ivy1 planted by ,miss ,moore1 on the eastern side of the church promises in time to embosom it in green4 ,a parterre of flowers in the rear1 has already helped to furnish the pulpit every ,sunday with a bouquet1 and1 ,miss ,moore declares1 will1 another summer1 give the minister a bouquet on his study table all the week1 and messengers of beauty to add to the comfort of many a sick-room4 ,and in the ,fall ,deacon ,goodsole and ,i with half a dozen young men from the pastor's ,bible-class are going up into the woods for some maples to set out in the place of the dead sticks which served only as monuments of the departed4 ,but ,miss ,moore is in a quandary4 ,she does not know what to do with her ten dollars4 ,all the work was given4 ,even ,pat ,maloney1 ,roman ,catholic though he is1 would not take anything for spading up the ground for our church garden4 ,i am a conservative man4 ,but ,i do wish ,miss ,moore could be chairman of our board of trustees for a year or two4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,our ,temperance ,prayer-,meeting4 ,,it is late in the fall4 ,the summer birds have fled southward4 ,the summer residents have fled to their city homes4 ,the mountains have blossomed out in all the brilliance of their autumnal colors2 but the transitory glory has gone and they are brown and bare4 ,one little flurry of snow has given us warning of what is coming4 ,the furnace has been put in order2 the double windows have been put on2 a storm-house has enclosed our porch2 a great pile of wood lies up against the stable1 giving my boy promise of plenty of exercise during the long winter4 ,and still the summer lingers in these bright and glorious autumnal days4 ,and of them the carpenters and the painters are making much in their work on the new library-hall4 ,do not let the reader deceive himself by erecting in his imagination an edifice of brick or stone1 with all the magnificent architectural display which belongs to the modern style of ,american cosmopolitan architecture4 ,library-hall is a plain wooden building1 one story high1 and containing but three rooms4 ,it is to cost us just #a1jjj1 when it is finished4 ,let me record here how it came to be begun4 ,temperance is not one of the virtues for which ,wheathedge is1 or ought to be1 famous4 ,i know not where you will find cooler springs of more delicious water1 than gush from its mountain sides4 ,i know not where you will find grapes for home wine-that modern recipe for drunkenness-more abundant or more admirably adapted to the vintner's purpose4 ,but the springs have few customers1 and one man easily makes all the domestic wine which the inhabitants of ,wheathedge consume4 ,but at the landing there are at least four grog-shops which give every indication of doing a thriving business1 beside ,poole's1 half-way to the ,mill village2 to say nothing of the bar the busiest room by all odds1 at ,guzzem's hotel1 busiest1 alas6 on the ,sabbath day4 ,maurice ,mapleson is not one who considers that his parish and his congregation are coterminus4 ,i like the ,established ,church for one thing1 he says4 ,the parish is geographical1 not ecclesiastical4 ,all within its bounds are under the parson's care4 ,in our system the minister is only responsible for his own congregation4 ,it is like caring for the wounded who are brought into hospital1 and leaving those that are on the field of battle uncared for4 ,a little incident occurring soon after he came1 first opened ,maurice's eyes1 ,i think1 to the need of temperance reform in the community4 ,he had occasion1 one evening after prayer-meeting1 to visit a sick child of his ,sabbath-school4 ,the family were poor and his road led him down near the brickyard toward ,limerick1 as this settlement of huts-half house1 half pig-stye-is derisively called4 ,the night was dark1 and returning1 abstracted in thought1 he almost fell over what he first took to be a log lying in the street4 ,it was a man1 who1 on a cursory examination1 proved to be suffering under no less a disorder than that of hopeless intoxication4 ,it was a dangerous bed4 ,maurice made one or two unsuccessful attempts to arouse the fellow1 but in vain4 ,retracing his steps a few rods to the nearest hut1 he summoned assistance1 and with the aid of ,pat sober1 got ,pat drunk upon his feet4 ,but he was quite too drunk to help himself1 and too large and heavy to be left to the sole charge of ,pat sober1 who happened to recognize a friend1 whose home he said was a quarter of a mile down the valley4 ,maurice1 who had preached a few ,sundays ago on the parable of the ,good ,samaritan1 could not bring himself to imitate the example of the ,priest and ,levite2 so steadying the tipsy pedestrian on one side1 while sober ,pat sustained him on the other1 they half led1 half dragged the still unconscious sleeper to a little round hut1 which he called home4 ,the wife was sitting up for her husband and received both him and his custodians with objurgations loud on the first1 and thanks equally loud addressed to the others4 ,no sooner was the stupid husband safely deposited on the bed than1 begging them to wait a moment1 she went to the cupboard and taking down a big1 black bottle1 half filled a cracked tea-cup with whiskey1 which she offered to ,maurice as an expression of her gratitude4 ,i do not know1 said ,maurice to me1 as he told me the story1 that she will ever forgive me for declining1 though ,i couched my declension as courteously as possible4 ,coming home and pondering this incident1 he made up his mind that something must be done for the temperance cause in ,wheathedge2 and further pondering led him to the conclusion that he must begin at the church4 ,so one evening last week he came round to talk with me about it4 ,the first thing1 said he to me1 is to arouse the ,church4 ,i believe in preaching the gospel of temperance to the ,jews first1 and afterwards to the ,gentiles4 ,i will begin in the ,synagogue4 ,afterwards ,i will go to the streets1 and lanes1 and highways4 ,you will meet with some opposition1 said ,i4 ,a temperance meeting in the church has never been heard of in ,wheathedge4 ,you will be departing from the landmarks4 ,do you think so8 said ,maurice4 ,i am sure of it1 said ,i4 ,very good1 said he1 if ,i meet with opposition it will prove ,i am right4 ,it will prove that the ,church needs stirring up on the subject4 ,if ,i am not opposed ,i shall be inclined to give up the plan4 ,however ,i will not wait for opportunity4 ,i will challenge it4 ,the next ,sunday he gave notice that that evening there would be a ,temperance prayer and conference meeting in the church1 in lieu of preaching4 ,the town1 said he1 is cursed with intemperance4 ,there is one miscellaneous dry-goods and grocery store1 one drug store1 one mill1 about half a bookstore1 and an ice-cream saloon2 and within a radius of half a mile of this church there are ten grog-shops and two distilleries1 quite too large a proportion even for those who believe1 as ,i do not1 in moderate drinking4 ,i have no remedy to propose4 ,i have no temperance address to deliver4 ,what ,i do propose is that we gather to-night and make it the subject of earnest prayer to ,god1 and of serious conference among ourselves1 that we may know what our duty is in the case1 and knowing1 may do it bravely and well4 ,as we came out of church the proposed ,temperance prayer-meeting was the theme of general discussion4 ,mr4 ,guzzem was sorry to see that this church was threatened with an irruption of fanaticism4 ,he thought the minister had better stick to his business and leave side-issues alone4 ,mr4 ,wheaton thought the true remedy for intemperance was the cultivation of the grape1 and the manufacture of modern wines4 ,he did not believe in meetings4 ,mr4 ,hardcap was as much a foe to intemperance as any one2 but he thought the true remedy for intemperance was the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,paul was the model for preachers1 and ,paul knew nothing but ,jesus ,christ and ,him crucified4 ,deacon ,goodsole inquired who that man was that preached before ,felix of righteousness1 temperance1 and judgment to come4 ,but ,mr4 ,hardcap apparently did not hear the question1 at least he did not answer it4 ,elder ,law thought it might be very well1 but that the minister ought not to change the service of the ,sabbath without consulting the ,session4 ,it was a dangerous precedent4 ,deacon ,goodsole thought it a move in the right direction1 and vowed he would give the afternoon to drumming up recruits4 ,miss ,moore said she would go with him4 ,mr4 ,gear1 who has not been inside a prayer-meeting since he has been at ,wheathedge1 declared when ,i told him of the meeting1 that it was the first sensible thing he had ever known the church to do2 and if they were really going to work in that fashion he would like to be counted in4 ,and sure enough he was at the prayer-meeting in the evening1 to the great surprise of everybody1 and to the consternation of ,mr4 ,hardcap1 who found in the fact that an infidel came to the meeting1 a confirmation of his opinion that it was a desecration of the ,sabbath and the sanctuary4 ,mrs4 ,laynes1 whose eldest boy jumped off the dock last ,spring in a fit of delirium tremens1 came to ,maurice with tears in her eyes to thank him for holding a temperance meeting4 ,i can't do anything but pray1 she said2 but oh1 ,pastor1 that ,i can and will do4 ,the meeting was certainly a remarkable success1 there was just opposition enough to make it so4 ,those that were determined it should succeed were there ready to speak1 to sing1 to pray4 ,those that did not believe in it were there to see it fail4 ,those that were indifferent were there1 curious to see whether it would succeed or fail1 and what it would be like4 ,and ,deacon ,goodsole and ,miss ,moore were there with their recruits1 a curious and motley addition to the congregation4 ,the church was full4 ,every ear was attention2 every heart aroused4 ,and when finally good old ,father ,hyatt1 with his thin white hair and tremulous voice1 and eyes suffused with tears1 told in tones of unaffected pathos1 the sad story of ,charl4 ,pie's death1 ,i do not believe that even ,jim ,wheaton's eyes were dry4 ,at all events ,i noticed that when1 at the close of the meeting1 ,maurice put the question whether a second meeting should be held the following month1 ,jim ,wheaton was among those who voted in the affirmative4 ,there were no dissentients4 ,when ,i came home from this meeting1 ,i put on paper as well as ,i could ,father ,hyatt's pathetic story4 ,it is as follows3 ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,father ,hyatt's ,story4 ,,if you had known ,charlie ,p41 and had seen his little struggle1 and had felt as ,i did the anguish caused by his tragic death1 you would not talk of moderate drinking as a remedy for intemperance4 ,i was away from my parish when ,i first heard of it4 ,i very well remember the start with which ,i read the first line of the note1 ,charlie ,p-- is dead2 and how after ,i had finished the account1 written in haste and partaking of the confusion of the hour1 the letter dropped from my hands1 and ,i sat in the gathering darkness of the summer twilight1 rehearsing to myself the story of his life1 and the sad1 sad story of his tragic death4 ,years have passed since1 but the whole is impressed upon my memory in figures that time cannot fade4 ,if ,i were an artist1 ,i could paint his portrait1 ,i am sure1 as ,i see him even now4 ,such a grand1 open-hearted1 whole-souled fellow as he was4 ,it was about a year before that ,i first saw him in my church4 ,his peculiar gait as he walked up the center aisle1 first attracted my attention4 ,he carried a stout cane and walked a little lame4 ,his wife was with him4 ,indeed1 except at his office1 ,i rarely saw them apart4 ,she loved him with an almost idolatrous affection2 as well she might1 for he was the most lovable man ,i ever knew2 and he loved her with a tenderness almost womanly4 ,i think he never for a moment forgot that it was her assiduous nursing which saved his life4 ,his face attracted me from the first1 and ,i rather think ,i called on the new-comers that very week4 ,at all events we soon became fast friends1 and at the very next communion husband and wife united with my church by letter from --1 but no matter where2 ,i had best give neither names nor dates4 ,they lived in a quite1 simple way1 going but little into society1 for they were society to each other4 ,they rarely spent an evening out1 if ,i except the weekly prayer-meeting4 ,they came together to that4 ,he very soon went into the ,sabbath-school4 ,a ,bible-class of young people gathered about him as if by magic4 ,he had just the genial way1 the social qualities1 and the personal magnetism to draw the young to him4 ,i used to look about sometimes with a kind of envy at the eager attentive faces of his class4 ,judge of my surprise when1 one day1 a warm friend of ,charlie's came to me1 privately1 and said1 ,charlie ,p4 is drinking4 ,impossible1 said ,i4 ,alas6 said he1 it is too true4 ,i have talked with him time and again4 ,he promises reform1 but keeps no promise4 ,his wife is almost broken-hearted1 but carries her burden alone4 ,you have influence with him1 more than any one else ,i think4 ,i want you to see him and talk with him4 ,i promised1 of course4 ,i made the effort1 but without success4 ,i called once or twice at his office4 ,he was always immersed in business4 ,i called at his house4 ,but ,i never could see him alone4 ,i was really and greatly perplexed1 when he relieved me of my perplexity4 ,perhaps he suspected my design4 ,at all events one morning he surprised me by a call at my study4 ,he opened the subject at once himself4 ,pastor1 said he1 ,i have come to talk with you about myself4 ,i am bringing shame on the ,church and disgrace on my family4 ,you know all about it4 ,everybody knows all about it4 ,i wonder that the children do not point at me in the street as ,i go along4 ,oh6 my poor wife6 my poor wife6 what shall ,i do8 ,he was intensely excited4 ,i suspected that he had been drinking to nerve himself to what he regarded as a disagreeable but unavoidable duty4 ,i calmed him as well as ,i could1 and he told me his story4 ,he was formerly a temperate though never a total abstinence man4 ,he was employed on a railroad in some capacity-express messenger ,i think4 ,the cars ran off the track4 ,that in which he was sitting was thrown down an embankment4 ,he was dreadfully bruised and mangled1 and was taken up for dead4 ,it seemed at first as though he had hardly a whole bone in his body2 but by one of those marvelous freaks1 as we account them1 which defeat all physicians' calculations1 he survived4 ,gradually he rallied4 ,for twelve months he lived on stimulants4 ,his wife's assiduous nursing through these twelve months of anxiety prostrated her upon a bed of sickness4 ,from his couch he arose1 as he supposed1 to go through life on crutches4 ,but returning strength had enabled him to substitute a cane4 ,her attack of typhoid fever left her an invalid1 never to be strong again4 ,alas6 his twelve months' use of stimulants had kindled a fire within him which it seemed impossible to quench4 ,i cannot do my work1 said he1 without a little1 and a little is enough to overset me4 ,i am not a hard drinker1 ,pastor1 indeed ,i am not4 ,but half a glass of liquor will sometimes almost craze me4 ,i told him he must give up the little4 ,for him there was but one course of safety1 that of total abstinence4 ,he was reluctant to come to it4 ,his father's sideboard was never empty4 ,it was hard to put aside the notions of hospitality which he had learned in his childhood1 and adopt the principles of a total abstinence1 which he had always been taught to ridicule4 ,however1 he resolved bravely1 and went away from my study1 as ,i fondly hoped1 a saved man4 ,i had not then learned1 as ,i have since1 the meaning of the declaration1 ,the spirit indeed is willing1 but the flesh is weak4 ,i saw him every few days4 ,he never showed any signs of liquor4 ,i asked him casually1 as ,i had opportunity1 how he was getting along4 ,he always answered1 ,well4 ,i sounded others cautiously4 ,no one suspected him of any evil habit4 ,i concluded he had conquered it4 ,though ,i did not lose him from my thoughts or prayers1 ,i grew less anxious4 ,he kept his ,bible-class1 which grew in numbers and in interest4 ,spring came1 and ,i relaxed a little my labors1 as that climate-no matter where it was1 to me the climate was bad enough-required it4 ,despite the caution1 the subtle malaria laid hold of me4 ,i fought for three weeks a hard battle with disease4 ,when ,i arose from my bed the doctor forbade all study and all work for six weeks at least4 ,no minister can rest in his own parish4 ,my people understood that1 as parishes do not always4 ,one bright spring day1 one of my deacons called1 and put a sealed envelope into my hand to be opened when he had left4 ,it contained a check for my traveling expenses1 and an official note from the officers of the church bidding me go and spend it4 ,in three days ,i was on my way to the ,white ,mountains4 ,it was there my wife's hurried note told me the story of ,charlie's death4 ,and this was it3 ,the habit had proved too strong for his weak will4 ,he had resumed drinking4 ,no one knew it but his wife and one confidential friend4 ,he rarely took much2 never so much as to be brutal at home1 or unfit for business at the office2 but enough to prove to him that he was not his own master4 ,the shame of his bondage he felt keenly1 powerless as he felt himself to break the chains4 ,the week after ,i left home his wife left also for a visit to her father's4 ,she took the children1 one a young babe three months old1 with her4 ,mr4 ,p4 was to follow her in a fortnight4 ,she never saw him again4 ,one night he went to his solitary home4 ,possibly he had been drinking-no one ever knew-opened his photograph album1 covered his own photograph with a piece of an old envelope1 that it might no longer look upon the picture of his wife on the opposite page1 and wrote her1 on a scrap of paper torn from a letter1 this line of farewell3 ,i have fought the battle as long as ,i can4 ,it is no use4 ,i will not suffer my wife and children to share with me a drunkard's shame4 ,god-bye4 ,god have mercy on you and me4 ,the next morning1 long after the streets had resumed their accustomed activity1 and other houses threw wide open their shutters to admit the fragrance of flowers1 and the song of birds1 and the glad sunshine1 and all the joy of life1 that house was shut and still4 ,when the office clerk1 missing him1 came to seek him1 the door was fast4 ,neighbors were called in4 ,a window was forced open4 ,lying upon the bed1 where he had fallen the night before1 lay poor ,charlie ,p4 ,a few drops of blood stained the white coverlet4 ,it oozed from a bullet wound in the back of his head4 ,the hand in death still grasped the pistol that fired the fatal shot4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,our ,village ,library4 ,,to that prayer-meeting and ,father ,hyatt's story of ,charlie ,p41 ,wheathedge owes its library4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said ,mr4 ,gear as we came out of the meeting together1 ,i hope this temperance movement isn't going to end in a prayer-meeting4 ,the praying is all very well1 but ,i want to see some work go along with it4 ,very well1 said ,i1 what do you propose8 ,i don't know1 said he4 ,but ,i think we might do something4 ,i believe in the old proverb4 ,the gods help those who help themselves4 ,that very week ,mr4 ,mapleson called at my house to express the same idea4 ,what can we do to shut up ,poole's8 said he4 ,it's dreadful4 ,half our young men spend half their evenings there lounging and drinking away their time4 ,he proposed half a dozen plans and abandoned them as fast as he proposed them4 ,he suggested that we organize a ,sons of ,temperance1 and gave it up because neither of us believed in secret societies2 suggested organizing a ,band of ,hope in the ,sabbath-school1 but withdrew the suggestion on my remarking that the ,sabbath-school would not touch the class that made ,poole's bar the busiest place in town2 hinted at trying to get ,john ,b4 ,gough1 but doubted whether he could be obtained4 ,i told him ,i would think it over4 ,and the next evening ,i walked up to ,poole's to survey the ground a little4 ,i found1 just as you turn the corner from the ,main street to go up the hill1 what ,i had never noticed before-a sign1 not very legible from old age and dirt1 ,free ,reading-room4 ,having some literary predilections1 ,i went in4 ,a bar-room1 with three or four loungers before the counter1 occupied the foreground4 ,in the rear were two round wooden tables4 ,on one were half a dozen copies of notorious sensation sheets1 one or two with infamous illustrations4 ,a young lad of sixteen was gloating over the pages of one of them4 ,the other table was ornamented with a backgammon board and a greasy pack of cards4 ,the atmosphere of the room was composed of the commingled fumes of bad liquor1 bad tobacco1 kerosene oil and coal gas4 ,it did not take me long to gauge the merits of the free reading-room4 ,but ,i inwardly thanked the proprietor for the suggestion it afforded me4 ,a free reading-room1 said ,i to myself2 that is what we want at ,wheathedge4 ,the same thought had fortunately occurred almost simultaneously to my friend ,mr4 ,korley1 though his reason for desiring its establishment were quite different from mine4 ,his family spends every summer at ,wheathedge4 ,his wife and daughters found themselves at a loss how to spend their time4 ,they had nothing to do4 ,they pestered ,mr4 ,korley to bring them up the last novels4 ,but his mind was too full of stocks2 he always forgot the novels4 ,on ,saturday he went over to ,newtown1 hearing there was a circulating library there4 ,he found the sign1 but no books4 ,i had some books once1 the proprietor explained1 but the ,wheathedge folks carried them all off and never returned them4 ,thus it happened that when the week after my visit to the free reading-room1 ,i met ,mr4 ,korley on board the train1 he remarked to me1 ,we ought to have a circulating library at ,wheathedge4 ,and a reading-room with it1 said ,i4 ,well1 yes1 said he4 ,that's a fact4 ,a good reading-room would be a capital thing4 ,think of the scores of young men1 said ,i1 that are going down to ruin there4 ,they have no home1 no decent shelter even for a winter's evening1 except the grog-shop4 ,i don't care so much about the young men1 said ,mr4 ,korley1 as ,i do about the middle-aged ones3 ,my ,jennie pesters me almost to death every time ,i go down1 to buy her something to read4 ,of course ,i always forget it4 ,besides1 ,i would like a place where ,i could see the papers and periodicals myself4 ,i would give fifty dollars to see a good library and reading-room in ,wheathedge4 ,very good1 said ,i1 ,i will put you down for that amount4 ,so ,i took out my pocket-book and made a memorandum4 ,what6 are you taking subscriptions8 asked ,mr4 ,korley4 ,have taken one1 said ,i4 ,that was the beginning4 ,that night ,i took a blank book and drew up a subscription paper4 ,it was very simple4 ,it read as follows3 ,we1 the undersigned1 for the purpose of establishing a library and reading-room in ,wheathedge1 subscribe the sums set opposite our names1 and agree that when #ejj is subscribed the first subscribers shall call a meeting of the others to form an organization4 ,i put ,mr4 ,korley's name down for #ej1 which started it well4 ,mr4 ,jowett could do no less than ,mr4 ,korley1 and ,mr4 ,wheaton no less than ,mr4 ,jowett2 and so1 the subscription once started1 grew very rapidly1 like a boy's snowball1 to adequate proportions4 ,the second ,tuesday in ,july ,i was enabled to give notice to all the subcribers to meet at my house4 ,my parlors were well filled4 ,i had taken pains to get some lady subscribers1 and they were there as well as the gentlemen4 ,i read to the company the law of the ,state providing for the organization of a library association4 ,resolutions were drawn up and adopted4 ,stock was fixed at #e1 that everybody might be a stockholder4 ,the annual dues were made #b1 imposed alike on stockholders and on outsiders4 ,a ,board of trustees was elected4 ,and so our little boat was fairly launched4 ,we began in a very humble way4 ,the school trustees loaned us during the summer vacation a couple of recitation-rooms which we converted into a library and conversation-room4 ,the former we furnished in the first instance with the popular magazines and two or three of the daily newspapers4 ,we forthwith began also to accumulate something of a library4 ,mr4 ,wheaton presented us with a full assortment of ,patent ,office reports1 which will be very valuable for reference if any body should ever want to refer to them4 ,we also have two shelves full chiefly of old school-books1 which a committee on donations succeeded in raising in the neighborhood4 ,but apart from these treasures of knowledge our collection is eminently readable4 ,maurice ,mapleson is on the library committee1 and ,maurice ,mapleson is fortunately a very sensible man4 ,the first thing1 he says1 is to get books that people will read4 ,valuable books that they won't read may as well stay on the publishers' shelves as on ours4 ,so as yet we buy only current literature4 ,we rarely purchase any book in more than two volumes4 ,we have a good liberal assortment of modern novels-but they are selected with some care4 ,we sprinkle in a good proportion of popular history and popular science4 ,the consequence is our library is used4 ,the books really circulate4 ,our conversation-room has proved quite as popular as the library4 ,it is furnished with chess and checkers4 ,what is more important it is furnished with young ladies4 ,for the ,wheathedge library knows neither male nor female4 ,and the young men find our checkers more attractive than ,tom ,poole's cards4 ,they are ready to exchange the stale tobacco smoke and bad whiskey of his bar-room for the fair1 fresh faces that make our reading-room so attractive4 ,the boys1 too1 as a class are very willing to give up the shameless pictorial literature of his free reading-room for ,harper's and the ,illustrated ,christian ,weekly4 ,in a word the ,wheathedge library became so universally popular that when the opening of the school threatened to crowd us out of our quarters1 there was no difficulty in raising the money to build a small house1 large enough for our present and prospective needs4 ,the only objection was ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,for ,mr4 ,hardcap does not approve of novels4 ,this objection came out when ,i first asked him for a subscription1 payable in work on the new building4 ,do you have novels in your library8 said he4 ,of course1 said ,i4 ,then1 said he1 don't come to me for any help4 ,i won't do anything to encourage the reading of novels4 ,you do not approve of novels1 then1 ,i judge1 ,mr4 ,hardcap8 said ,i4 ,approve of novels6 said he1 energetically4 ,if ,i had my way1 the pestiferous things should never come near my house4 ,i totally condemn them4 ,i don't see how any consistent ,christian can suffer them4 ,they're a pack of lies1 anyhow4 ,do you not think1 said ,i1 that we ought to discriminate2 that there are different sorts of novels1 and that we ought not to condemn the good with the bad8 ,i don't believe in no kind of fiction1 nohow1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 emphatically4 ,what we want is facts1 ,mr4 ,laicus-hard facts4 ,that's what ,i was brought up on when ,i was a boy1 and that's what ,i mean to bring my boys up on4 ,i thought of ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 but said nothing4 ,yes1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 half soliloquizing1 there is ,charles ,dickens4 ,he was nothing in the world but a novel writer1 and they buried him in ,westminster ,cathedral1 as though he were a saint2 and preached sermons about him1 and glorified him in our religious papers4 ,sallie is crazy to get a copy of his works1 and even wife wants to read some of them4 ,but they'll have to go out of my house to do it1 ,i tell ye4 ,why1 they couldn't make more to do if it was ,bunyan or ,milton4 ,bunyan8 said ,i4 ,do you mean the author of ,pilgrim's ,progress8 ,yes1 said he3 that is a book4 ,why1 it's worth a hundred of your modern novels4 ,how is that8 said ,i4 ,pilgrim's ,progress1 if ,i mistake not1 is fiction4 ,oh6 well1 said 4,mr4 ,hardcap1 that's a very different thing4 ,it isn't a novel4 ,it's a allegory4 ,that's altogether different4 ,what is the difference8 said ,i4 ,oh6 well1 said he1 that's altogether different4 ,i suppose it is fictitious2 but then it's altogether different4 ,it's a allegory4 ,now ,i don't approve1 continued ,mr4 ,hardcap1 without explaining himself any further1 of our modern ,sunday-school libraries4 ,i have complained a good deal1 but it's no use4 ,tom brings home a story book every ,sunday4 ,i can't very well say he shan't take any books out of the library1 and ,i don't want to take him out of ,sunday-school4 ,but ,i don't like these ,sunday-school stories4 ,they are nothing but little novels anyhow4 ,and they're all lies4 ,i don't believe in telling stories to teach children4 ,if ,i had my way1 there wouldn't be but one book in the library4 ,that would be the ,bible4 ,you could hardly leave in all the ,bible1 said ,i4 ,you would have to cross out the parable of the prodigal son4 ,the parable of the prodigal son6 exclaimed ,mr4 ,hardcap1 in astonishment4 ,yes1 said ,i3 that is1 if you did not allow any fiction in your ,sunday reading4 ,oh6 said he1 that's very different4 ,that's not fiction2 that's a parable4 ,that's entirely different4 ,besides1 continued he1 ,i don't know what right you have to assume that it is a story at all4 ,i have no doubt that it is true4 ,christ says distinctly that a man had two sons1 and one came and asked him for his portion4 ,he tells it all for a fact1 and ,i think it very dishonoring to him to assume that it is not4 ,i have no doubt that he knew just such a case4 ,and the same thing is true of the parable of the lost sheep1 and the lost piece of money1 and the sower1 and the merchantman1 and the pearl1 and the unfaithful steward8 ,i asked4 ,yes1 said he1 ,i have no doubt of it4 ,well1 said ,i1 that is at least a new view of ,scripture teaching4 ,i have no doubt it is the correct one1 said he4 ,i don't believe there is any fiction in the ,bible at all4 ,well1 said ,i1 when you get home you read ,jotham's story of the trees1 in the ,book of ,judges2 ,i think it's about the ninth chapter4 ,i will1 said he2 but if it's in the ,bible ,i have no doubt it is true1 no doubt whatever4 ,but in spite of ,mr4 ,hardcap1 the ,wheathedge library flourished2 and next week our new quarters are to be dedicated to the cause of literature and temperance by a public meeting4 ,and ,i am assured by those that know1 that ,tom ,poole's business was never so poor as it has been since we started our opposition to his free reading-room4 ,miss ,moore asked ,maurice ,mapleson last week to suggest a subject for an illuminated motto to hang on the wall of the reading-room over the librarian's desk4 ,overcome evil with good1 said he4 ,,chapter ,,xxix4 ,maurice ,mapleson ,tries an ,experiment4 ,,five or six weeks ago ,maurice came to me in some excitement4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 is it true that ten of you gentlemen have to contribute thirty dollars a piece this year to make up my salary8 ,no1 said ,i4 ,why1 ,john1 said ,jennie4 ,we didn't have to do it1 ,i continued4 ,but in point of fact we do it4 ,i don't like that1 said he soberly4 ,if the church can't pay me fifteen hundred dollars a year ,i do not want to receive it4 ,i thought the church was strong and well able to do all it professed to do4 ,my dear ,mr4 ,mapleson1 said ,i1 you attend to the spiritual interests of the church and leave its finances to us4 ,if we cannot pay you all we have promised1 we will come and beg off4 ,till then you just take it for granted that it's all right4 ,maurice shook his head4 ,why1 my dear friend1 said ,i1 how much do you suppose ,i pay for pew rent8 ,i haven't the least idea1 said he4 ,fifty dollars1 said ,i4 ,that provides myself and wife and ,harry with a pew in church twice on the ,sabbath if we want it4 ,it pays for ,harry's ,sabbath-school instruction and for your service as a pastor to me and to mine4 ,but we will make no account of that4 ,fifty dollars a ,sabbath is a dollar a week1 fifty cents a service1 twenty cents a head4 ,harry half price1 and the ,sabbath-school1 and the prayer-meetings1 and the pastoral work thrown in4 ,it is cheaper than any lecturer would give it to us1 and a great deal better quality too4 ,my pew rent isn't what ,i pay for the support of the ,gospel4 ,it is what ,i pay for my own spiritual bread and butter4 ,it won't hurt me1 nor ,deacon ,goodsole1 nor ,mr4 ,wheaton1 nor ,mr4 ,gowett1 nor any one else on that list to contribute thirty dollars more for the cause of ,christ and the good of the community4 ,maurice shook his head thoughtfully1 but said nothing more about it then1 and the matter dropped4 ,the last week in ,december we have our annual meeting4 ,it is generally rather a stupid affair4 ,the nine or ten gentlemen who constitute the board of trustees meet in the capacity of an ecclesiastical society4 ,in the capacity of a board of trustees they report to themselves in the capacity of a society4 ,in the capacity of a society they accept the report which they have presented in the capacity of a board of trustees1 and pass unanimously a resolution of thanks to the board1 i4 e4 themselves1 for the efficient and energetic manner in which they have discharged their duties4 ,they then ballot in a solemn manner for themselves for the ensuing year and elect the ticket without opposition4 ,and the annual meeting is over4 ,but this year our annual meeting was a very different affair4 ,the ,sabbath preceding1 the parson preached a sermon on the text3 ,the poor have the ,gospel preached to them4 ,in this sermon he advocated a free-pew system4 ,his arguments were not very fresh or new 7there is not much that is new to be said on the subject7 till he came to the close4 ,then he startled us all by making the following proposition3 ,the chief objection1 said he1 to the free-pew system is the question1 ',where shall the money come from8' ,from ,god1 ,i answer4 ,i believe if we feed his poor1 he will feed us4 ,i1 for one1 am willing to trust ,him1 at least for one year4 ,it slipped out very naturally1 and there was a little laugh in the congregation at the preacher's expense4 ,but he was very much in earnest4 ,i propose to the society to throw open the doors of this church1 and declare all the pews free4 ,provide envelopes and papers1 and scatter them through the pews4 ,let each man write thereon what he is willing to pay for the support of the ,gospel1 and whether he will pay it weekly1 monthly1 quarterly1 semi-quarterly or annually4 ,give these sealed envelopes to me4 ,no one shall know what they contain but myself and the treasurer4 ,i will pay out of the proceeds all the current expenses of the church1 except the interest4 ,whatever remains1 ,i will take as my salary4 ,the interest1 the trustees will provide out of the plate collections and with the aid of the ladies4 ,this is my proposition4 ,consider it seriously1 earnestly1 prayerfully1 and come together next ,wednesday night to act intelligently upon it4 ,i hardly think the minister's eloquence would have sufficed to carry this plan1 but the treasurer's balance-sheet helped his case amazingly4 ,i supposed there would be a small deficit1 but thought ,i knew it could not be very great4 ,but ,i had not reckoned on the genius for incapacity which characterises church boards4 ,to have the unusual deficit1 which was involved by the increase of the parson's salary1 provided for by a special subscription was more than they could bear4 ,they had regarded it as their duty1 made plain by the example of their predecessors in office for many years1 to bring the church in debt1 and nobly had they fulfilled their duty4 ,on the strength of that extraordinary subscription they had rushed into extraordinary expenditures with a looseness that was marvellous to behold4 ,here is the annual exhibit as it appears in the treasurer's report3 ,,balance ,,sheet4 ,cr4 ,pew-rents #a1bej4jj ,sunday ,collections #cbe4be ,received by a ,ladies' ,fair #aac4cd ,special ,subscription #cjj4jj #a1ihh4ei ,dr4 ,minister's ,salary #a1ejj4jj ,organist 7a new expenditure advocated by ,mr4 ,wheaton because of the ,special ,subscription71 ,six months' salary #ajj4jj ,church ,repairs1 7a new fence and new blinds1 c41 advocated by ,mr4 ,wheaton because of the ,special ,subscription7 #acd4ge ,reed ,organ for the ,sabbath-,school 7advocated by ,mr4 ,wheaton because of the ,special ,subscription7 #aej4jj ,interest on ,mortgage #cae4jj ,sexton #bjj4jj ,fire1 lights and incidentals #bbe4jj ,commission for collecting pew-rents #ee4ge #b1fhj4ej #a1ihh4ei ,deficit #fia4ia ,of course1 the minister's salary was behind2 and1 of course1 the minister was behind to the grocer1 and the baker1 and the butcher1 and the dry-goods dealer2 and1 of course1 everybody felt blue4 ,there was a good deal of informal discussion before the parson's proposition was taken up4 ,mr4 ,hardcap wanted to decrease the minister's salary4 ,mr4 ,wheaton wanted to raise the pew rents4 ,mr4 ,leacock thought ,mr4 ,wheaton could afford to give up his mortgage on the church4 ,mr4 ,line proposed to take up a subscription1 pay the balance off on the spot1 and begin the new year afresh4 ,mr4 ,gazbag thought it ought to be left to the ladies to clear off the debt with a concert or something of that sort4 ,mr4 ,cerulian thought 7though he said it very quietly7 that if we had a minister who could draw better1 we shouldn't have any difficulty4 ,the parson kept his own counsel till these various plans had been1 one after another1 proposed and abandoned4 ,then he again proposed his own4 ,i do not want1 he said1 any more salary than this church and congregation can well afford to give4 ,i am willing if it is poor to share its poverty4 ,i believe if it is prosperous it will be willing to share with me its prosperity4 ,i have studied this matter a good deal2 ,i believe the pew rent system to be thoroughly bad4 ,it excludes the poor4 ,what is more to the purpose it excludes those whom we most need to reach4 ,the men who most need the ,gospel will not pay for it4 ,the law of supply and demand does not apply4 ,no man pays a pew rent who does not already at least respect religion1 if he does not personally practise it4 ,the influence within the church of selling the ,gospel in open market is as deadly as its influence without4 ,it creates a caste system4 ,practically our pews are classified4 ,we have a parquette1 a dress circle1 a family circle1 and an amphitheatre4 ,the rich and poor do not meet together4 ,we are not one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,moreover ,i believe it to be as bad financially as it is morally4 ,when an ,american makes a bargain he wants to make a good one4 ,what he buys he wants to get as cheap as his neighbor4 ,if you rent your pews1 every renter expects to get his seat at the lowest rates4 ,but ,americans are liberal in giving4 ,if they contributed to the support of the ,gospel1 if what they gave the church was a free gift1 ,i believe they would give with a free hand4 ,at all events ,i would like to try the experiment4 ,it can be no worse than it has been this year4 ,the trustees can have no difficulty in raising interest money from the plate collections and a special subscription4 ,there can be no injustice in requiring them to secure a special fund for any special expenditures4 ,and all the other expenditures ,i will provide for myself out of the free gifts of the congregation4 ,i am willing to run all the risks4 ,it may do good4 ,it can do the church no harm4 ,a long discussion followed this proposal4 ,mr4 ,wheaton was at first utterly opposed to the plan4 ,he thought it was tempting ,providence to make no more adequate provision for our debts4 ,six of us quietly agreed to assume the mortgage debt1 that is to say to insure him that the plate collections and the ladies together would pay the interest promptly4 ,that changed his view4 ,he said that if the minister had a mind to risk his salary on such a crazy scheme1 very well4 ,and at the last he voted for it4 ,mr4 ,hardcap thought it was a first-rate plan4 ,it was noticed afterward that he moved from a plain seat in the gallery to a cushioned and carpeted seat in the center aisle4 ,whether he paid any more contribution than he had before paid of pew rent1 nobody but the parson knows4 ,but nobody suspects him of doing so4 ,mrs4 ,potiphar thought it was horrid4 ,what was to prevent any common1 low-born fellow1 any carpenter's son1 right from his shop1 coming and sitting right alongside her ,lillian8 ,she couldn't sanction such communist notions in the church4 ,deacon ,goodsole warmly favored the minister's idea-was its most earnest advocate1 and was the man who first started the plan for buying ,mr4 ,wheaton's acquiescence4 ,mr4 ,line hadn't a great deal of faith in it4 ,this was not the way the church used to raise money when he was a boy4 ,still1 he wanted to support the minister1 and he wanted to have the poor reached1 and he hadn't anything to say against it4 ,squire ,rawlins said1 ,go ahead4 ,the minister takes all the risk1 don't you see8 ,he's a big fool in my opinion4 ,but there's no law agin a man makin' a fool of himself1 ef he wants ter4 ,miss ,moore organized that very night a double force to carry the plan into effect4 ,one was a ladies' society to pay the interest2 the other was a band of workers1 young men and young women1 to go out on ,sunday afternoons and invite the people who now do not go anywhere to church1 to come to ours4 ,on the final vote the plan was carried without a dissenting voice4 ,i beg ,mrs4 ,potiphar's pardon4 ,her voice was heard in very decided dissent as the meeting broke up4 ,but as the ladies do not vote in the ,calvary ,presbyterian ,church1 her protest did not prevent the vote from being unanimous4 ,maurice ,mapleson is sanguine of results1 ,i am not4 ,i am afraid he will come out bankrupt himself at the end of the year4 ,i wanted to raise a special subscription quietly to ensure his salary4 ,but he would not hear of it4 ,he replied to my suggestion1 ,i said ,i would trust the ,lord1 and ,i will4 ,if you want to add to your envelope contribution1 very well4 ,but ,i do not want any more than that will give me4 ,but one thing ,i notice and record here4 ,our congregation have increased from ten to twenty per cent4 ,miss ,moore's invitations have met with far greater success than ,i anticipated4 ,i never could get any of the boys from the ,mill village to come to church at all regularly under the old system4 ,when this change was made ,i gave notice of it1 and now over half my ,bible-class are in the congregation4 ,but ,i can get no intimation from ,maurice how the plan is prospering financially4 ,all he will say is1 ,we shall all know at the close of the year4 ,,chapter ,,xxx4 ,mr4 ,hardcap's ,family ,prayers4 ,,jennie1 said ,i1 the other evening1 ,i should like to go and make a call at ,mr4 ,hardcap's4 ,our new pastor had preached a sermon on that unapplied passage of ,scripture1 ,luke xiv3 #ab-ad4 ,it had made a great stir in our little village4 ,mr4 ,wheaton thought it was a grand sermon1 but impracticable4 ,mrs4 ,potiphar resented it as personal4 ,deacon ,goodsole thought it was good sound doctrine4 ,i thought ,i would give the sermon a trial2 meanwhile ,i reserved my judgment4 ,it is not a bad method1 by the way1 of judging a sermon to try it and see how it works in actual experiment4 ,jennie assented with alacrity to my proposition2 her toilet did not take long1 and to ,mr4 ,hardcap's we went4 ,it was very evident that they did not go into society or expect callers4 ,in answer to our knock we heard the patter of a child's feet on the hall floor and ,susie opened the door4 ,as good fortune would have it1 the sitting-room door at the other end of the hall stood invitingly open1 and so1 without waiting for ceremony1 ,i pushed right forward to the common room1 which a great blazing wood fire illuminated so thoroughly that the candles were hardly necessary4 ,mrs4 ,hardcap started in dismay to gather up her basket of stockings1 but on my positive assurance that we should leave forthwith if she stopped her work she sat down to it again4 ,luckily the night was cold and there was no fire in the stove of the cheerless and inhospitable parlor4 ,so they were fain to let us share with them the cheery blaze of the cozy sitting-room4 ,we did not start out till after seven1 and we had not been in the room more than ten minutes before the old-fashioned clock in the corner rang out the departure of the hour and ushered in eight o'clock--whereat ,james laid aside his book1 and at a signal from his father brought him the family ,bible4 ,we always have family prayers at eight o'clock1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 before the children go to bed2 and ,i never let anything interfere with it4 ,this in the tone of a defiant martyr2 as one under the impression that we were living in the middle ages and that ,i was an ,inquisitor ready to march the united family to the stake on the satisfactory evidence that the reading of the ,bible was maintained in it4 ,i begged him to proceed1 and he did so1 the defiant spirit a little mollified4 ,he opened at a mark somewhere in ,numbers4 ,it was a chapter devoted to the names of the tribes and their families4 ,poor ,mr4 ,hardcap6 ,if he was defiant at the first threatening of martyrdom1 he endured the infliction of the torture with a resolute bravery worthy of a covenanter4 ,the extent to which he became entangled in those names1 the new baptism they received at his hands1 the singular contortions of which he proved himself capable in reproducing them1 the extraordinary and entirely novel methods of pronunciation which he evolved for that occasion1 and the heroic bravery with which he struggled through1 awoke my keenest sympathies4 ,words which he fought and vanquished in the first paragraph rose in rebellion in a second to be fought and vanquished yet again4 ,the chapter at length drew to an end4 ,i saw to my infinite relief that he was at last emerging from this interminable feast of names4 ,what was my horror to see him turn the page and enter with fresh zeal upon the conquest of a second chapter4 ,little ,charlie 7five years old7 was sound asleep in his mother's arms4 ,her eyes were fixed on vacancy and her mind interiorly calculating something4 ,i wondered not that ,james snored audibly on the sofa4 ,susie never took her eyes off her father1 but sat as one that watches to see how a task is done4 ,my wife listened for a little while with averted face1 then wandered off1 as she afterwards told me1 to a mental calculation of her resources and expenses for the next month4 ,and still ,mr4 ,hardcap rolled out those census tables of ,judea's ancient history4 ,it was not till he had finished three chapters that at length he closed the book and invited me to lead in prayer4 ,half an hour later1 after ,jamie had been roused up from his corner of the sofa and sent off to bed1 and ,charlie had been undressed and put to bed without being more than half aroused1 ,mrs4 ,hardcap asked my advice as to this method of reading the ,bible4 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said she1 read a statement the other day to the effect that by reading three chapters every day and five on ,sunday he could finish the ,bible in a year4 ,and he is going through it in regular course4 ,but ,i sometimes doubt whether that is the best way4 ,i am sure our children do not take the interest in it which they ought to2 and ,i am afraid those chapters of hard names do not always profit me4 ,the martyr in ,mr4 ,hardcap re-asserted itself4 ,all ,scripture1 said he solemnly1 is given by inspiration of ,god and is profitable for doctrine1 for reproof1 for correction and for instruction in righteousness4 ,we cannot afford to pass by any part of the word of ,god4 ,what do you think about it1 ,mr4 ,laicus8 said ,mrs4 ,hardcap4 ,think6 said ,i2 ,i should be afraid to say what ,i think lest your husband should account me a hopeless and irreclaimable unbeliever4 ,speak out1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap2 as one who at the stake should say1 'pile the fuel on the flame1 and try my constancy to its utmost4' ,where the spirit of the ,lord is1 there is freedom4 ,well1 said ,i1 if ,i were to speak out1 ,i should say that this way of reading the ,bible reminds me of the countryman who went to a city hotel and undertook to eat right down the bill of fare1 supposing he ought not to call for fish till he had eaten every kind of soup4 ,it is as if one being sick1 should go to the apothecary's shop1 and beginning on one side1 go right down the store taking in due order every pill1 potion1 and powder1 till he was cured-or killed4 ,mr4 ,hardcap shook his head resolutely4 ,is it not true1 said he1 that all ,scripture is profitable8 ,yes1 said ,i1 but not that it is all equally profitable for all occasions4 ,all the food on the table is profitable1 but not to be eaten at one meal4 ,all the medicine in the apothecary's shop is profitable1 but not for the same disease4 ,there is another thing1 said ,mrs4 ,hardcap1 that ,i cannot help being doubtful about4 ,james is learning the ,new ,testament through as a punishment4 ,as a punishment6 ,i exclaimed4 ,yes1 said she4 ,that is1 ,mr4 ,hardcap has given him the ,new ,testament1 and for his little offences about the house he allots him so many verses to learn2 sometimes only ten or twelve1 sometimes a whole chapter4 ,i am afraid it will give the poor boy a distaste for the word of ,god4 ,there is no danger1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 oracularly4 ,the word of ,god is sharper than a two edged sword1 and is quick even to the dividing asunder of the joints and the marrow4 ,it is the book to awaken conviction of sin1 the proper book for the sinner4 ,there is no book so fitting to bring him to a sense of his sinfulness and awaken in him a better mind4 ,and how1 said ,i1 do you find it practically works8 ,does he seem to love his ,bible8 ,says he hates it awfully1 said his mother4 ,such1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap1 is the dreadful depravity of the human heart4 ,it is deceitful above all things1 and desperately wicked4 ,it was quite idle to argue with ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,we left him unconvinced1 and ,i doubt not he is still reading his three chapters a day and five on ,sunday4 ,but ,i pity poor ,james from the bottom of my heart2 and as my wife and ,i walked home ,i could not but help contrasting in my own mind ,mr4 ,hardcap's way of reading the ,bible and that which ,deacon ,goodsole pursues in his family4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,in ,darkness4 ,,last ,tuesday night ,jennie met me at the station4 ,it is unusual for her to do so4 ,the surprise was a delightful one to me4 ,but as ,i sat down beside her in the basket wagon she did not greet me as joyously as usual4 ,her mien was so sober that ,i asked her at once the question3 ,jennie1 what is the matter8 ,you look sick4 ,i am sick1 ,john1 said she2 sick at heart4 ,willie ,gear is dead4 ,willie ,gear dead6 ,i exclaimed4 ,yes1 said ,jennie4 ,he was skating on the pond4 ,i suppose this warm weather has weakened the ice4 ,it gave way4 ,three of the boys went in together4 ,the other two got out4 ,but ,willie was carried under the ice4 ,jennie was driving4 ,instead of turning up the hill from the depot she kept down the river road4 ,i thought you would want to go down there at once1 said she4 ,and so ,i left baby with ,nell and came down for you4 ,we rode along in silence4 ,willie ,gear was his father's pride and pet4 ,he was a noble boy4 ,he inherited his mother's tenderness and patience1 and with them his father's acute and questioning intellect4 ,he was a curious combination of a natural skeptic and a natural believer4 ,he had welcomed the first step toward converting our ,bible-class into a mission ,sabbath-school1 and had done more than any one else to fill it up with boys from the ,mill village4 ,he was a great favorite with them all and their natural leader in village sports and games4 ,there was no such skater or swimmer for his age as ,willie ,gear1 and he was the champion ball-player of the village4 ,but ,i remember him best as a ,sabbath-school scholar4 ,i can see even now his earnest upturned face and his large blue eyes1 looking strait into his mother's answering gaze1 and drinking in every word she uttered to that mission-class which he had gathered and which she every ,sabbath taught4 ,he was not very fortunate in his teacher in our own church ,sabbath-school4 ,for he took nothing on trust and his teacher doubted nothing4 ,i can easily imagine how his soul filled with indignation at the thought of ,abraham's offering up his only son as a burnt sacrifice1 and how with eager questioning he plied his father1 unsatisfied himself with the assurances of one who had never experienced a like perplexity1 and therefore did not know how to cure it4 ,and ,willie was really gone4 ,would it soften the father's heart and teach him the truth of ,pascal's proverb that ,the heart has reasons of its own that the reason knows not of2 or would it blot out the last remnant of faith1 and leave ,mr4 ,gear without a ,god as he had been without a ,bible and without a ,saviour8 ,i was still pondering these problems1 wildly thinking1 not aimlessly1 yet to no purpose1 when we reached the familiar cottage4 ,is it indeed true that nature has no sympathy8 ,there seemed to me to be on all around a hush that spoke of death4 ,there needed no sorrowful symbol of crape upon the door2 and there was none4 ,i almost think ,i should have known that death was in the house had no one told me4 ,as ,i was fastening my horse ,mr4 ,hardcap came up4 ,we entered the gate together4 ,this is a hard experience for ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i to ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,the judgments of the ,lord are true and righteous altogether1 replied ,mr4 ,hardcap1 severely4 ,i could feel ,jennie tremble on my arm1 but ,i made no response to ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,mr4 ,gear opened the door for us himself before we had time to knock4 ,he was perfectly calm and self-possessed4 ,jennie said afterward she should not have guessed1 to have seen him elsewhere1 that he had even heard of ,willie's death4 ,but ,i noticed that he uttered no greeting4 ,he motioned us into the sitting-room without a word4 ,here1 on a sofa1 lay1 like a white statue1 the form of the dear boy4 ,by the side of the sofa sat the mother1 her eyes red and swollen with much weeping4 ,but the fierceness of sorrow had passed2 and now she was almost as quiet as the boy whose sleep she seemed to watch2 she was quite as pale4 ,she rose to meet us as we entered1 and offered me her hand4 ,jennie put her arm around the poor mother's waist and kissed her tenderly4 ,but still nothing was said4 ,mr4 ,hardcap was the first to break the silence4 ,this is a solemn judgment1 said he4 ,mr4 ,gear made no reply4 ,i hope1 my friend1 continued ,mr4 ,hardcap1 that you will heed the lesson ,god is a teachin' of you1 and see how fearful a thing it is to have an unbeliev'n heart4 ,god will not suffer us to rest in our sin of unbelief4 ,if we lay up our treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt1 we must expect they will take to themselves wings and fly away4 ,mr4 ,hardcap's horrible mutilation of ,scripture had always impressed me in a singular manner4 ,but ,i think its ludicrous side never so affected me before4 ,what is it in me that makes me always appreciate most keenly the ludicrous in seasons of the greatest solemnity and distress8 ,the absurdity of his misapplication of the sacred text mingled horribly with a sense of the insupportable anguish ,i knew he was causing4 ,and yet ,i knew not how to interfere4 ,i hope he was prepared1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,i hope so1 said ,mr4 ,gear quietly4 ,he was such a noble fellow1 said ,jennie to the weeping mother4 ,she said it softly1 but ,mr4 ,hardcap's ears caught the expression4 ,nobility1 ma'am1 said he1 isn't a savin' grace4 ,it's a nateral virtoo4 ,the question is1 did he have the savin' grace of faith and repentance8 ,i believe1 said ,mrs4 ,gear1 earnestly1 that ,willie was a ,christian1 if ever there was one1 ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,he hadn't made no profession of religion you know1 ma'am1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap4 ,and the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked4 ,mr4 ,hardcap is very fond of quoting that text4 ,i wonder if he ever applies it to himself4 ,it seems kind o' strange now that he should be taken away so sudden like1 continued ,mr4 ,hardcap1 without any warnin'4 ,and you know what the ,scripture tells us4 ',the wages of sin is death4' ,mr4 ,gear could keep silence no longer4 ,i wish then1 said he hoarsely1 ,god would pay me my wages1 and let me go4 ,oh6 ,thomas1 said his wife appealingly4 ,then she went up to ,mr4 ,hardcap1 and laid her hand gently on his arm4 ,mr4 ,hardcap1 said she1 it was very good of you to call on us in our sorrow4 ,and ,i am sure that you want to comfort us1 and do us good4 ,but ,i don't believe my husband will get any good just now from what you have to say4 ,we are stunned by the blow that came so suddenly1 and must have a little time to recover from it4 ,would you feel offended if ,i asked you to go away and call again some other time8 ,the word must be spoken in season and out of season1 said ,mr4 ,hardcap doggedly4 ,nevertheless he turned to leave4 ,he offered his hand to ,mr4 ,gear1 who was leaning with his head upon his hand against the mantel-piece1 and possibly did not notice the proffered salutation4 ,at all events he never moved4 ,mr4 ,hardcap looked at him a moment1 opened his mouth as if to speak1 but apparently reconsidered his purpose1 for he closed it again without speaking1 and so left the room4 ,mrs4 ,gear went with him to the door1 where ,i heard her ask him to pray for her and for her husband1 and where ,i heard him answer something about a sin unto death that could not be prayed for4 ,jennie followed ,mrs4 ,gear softly out2 and so ,mr4 ,gear and ,i were left alone4 ,alone with the dead4 ,that's your ,christian consolation1 said ,mr4 ,gear bitterly4 ,is that just to your wife8 ,i answered him quietly4 ,no6 ,it is not just to my wife1 he replied4 ,i would give all ,i possess to have her faith4 ,she is almost heart-broken1--and yet-yet-,i who ought to sustain her would be crazed with grief if ,i had not her to lean upon4 ,and she-she leans on ,i know not what4 ,oh6 if ,i did but know4 ,she leans on ,him who not in vain ,experienced every human pain1 ,i answered softly4 ,he was such a noble boy1 continued ,mr4 ,gear speaking half to himself1 and half to me4 ,he was so pure1 so truthful1 so chivalrous1 so considerate of his mother's happiness and of mine4 ,and he was beginning to teach me1 teach me that ,i did not know all4 ,i was afraid of my own philosophy for him4 ,i wanted him to have his mother's faith1 though ,i never told him so4 ,i never perplexed him with my own doubtings4 ,i solved what ,i could of his1 ,i was coming to believe little by little that there was a clearer1 better light than that ,i walked in4 ,i was hoping that he might find it and walk in it4 ,i even dreamed1 sometimes1 to myself1 that he would yet learn how to show it to me4 ,and now he is gone1 and the glimmer of light is gone1 and the last hope for me is gone with him4 ,he is gone1 ,i said softly1 to walk in that clearer1 better light1 and beckons you to follow4 ,mr4 ,gear made no answer1 hardly seemed to note the interruption4 ,and this is the bitterness of the blow to me1 he continued1 still speaking half to me1 half to himself4 ,i thought ,i believed in immortality4 ,i thought ,i believed in ,god4 ,these two beliefs at least were left me4 ,and now nothing is left4 ,my wife says 'he is not dead but sleepeth4' ,but ,i cannot see it4 ,to me he is gone1 for ever gone4 ,if on the other side of that veil which hides him from me1 that mystic something which we call his spirit still lingers1 ,i do not see it4 ,i had a dream of that better land once and called it faith4 ,but this cruel blow has wakened me1 and the dream has passed in the very hour when ,i need it most4 ,and nothing is left me2 not even that poor vision4 ,not even ,god8 said ,i softly4 ,not even ,god1 he answered with terrible deliberation4 ,for a bad ,god is worse than no ,god at all4 ,and how can ,i believe that ,god is good8 ,he looks down on our happy home4 ,he looks on our dear boy1 its life and joy4 ,he knows how our life is wrapped up in him4 ,he sees how little by little ,willie is leading me up into a higher1 happier1 holier life4 ,and then ,he strikes him down1 and leaves my wife heart-broken1 and me in darkness1 bereft by one blow of my child and of my faith4 ,then he pointed to the dead boy who lay on the lounge before us4 ,how can ,i reconcile this with the love of ,god8 he cried4 ,how can you1 ,mr4 ,laicus8 ,all bitterness was gone now4 ,he looked me earnestly in the eye1 and asked eagerly1 as one who longed for a solution1 and yet was in despair of finding it4 ,i cannot1 ,i answered1 and dare not try4 ,if ,i had only life's book to read1 ,mr4 ,gear1 ,i should not believe in a ,god of love4 ,i should turn ,persian1 and believe in two gods1 one of love and good-will1 one of hate and malice4 ,he looked at me in questioning surprise4 ,love1 ,mr4 ,gear1 is its own demonstration4 ,i know that ,god loves me4 ,how8 said he4 ,how8 said ,i4 ,do you remember when we first met1 ,mr4 ,gear1 that you told me your ,god was everywhere1 in every brook1 and mountain1 and flower1 and leaf1 and storm1 and ray of sunshine4 ,he nodded his head reflectively1 as one recalling a half forgotten conversation4 ,my ,god is in the hearts of those that seek ,him1 said ,i4 ,and in my heart ,i carry an assurance of ,his love that life cannot disturb4 ,i know ,his love as the babe knows its mother's love1 lying upon her breast4 ,it knows her love though it neither understands her nature nor her ways4 ,he shook his head sadly4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 said he1 ,i believe you1 but ,i do not comprehend you4 ,i believe that you have a faith that is worth the having4 ,i would give all ,i possess or ever possessed to share it with you in this hour4 ,i do not know-,i sometimes think it is only a pleasant dream4 ,would ,god ,i could sleep and dream such dreams4 ,it is no dream1 ,mr4 ,gear1 but truth and soberness1 said ,i4 ,a dream does not last through eighteen centuries1 and raise half a world from barbarism to civilization4 ,a dream does not carry mothers through such sorrows as this with outlooking anticipations so clear as those which give ,mrs4 ,gear her radiant hope4 ,no6 ,mr4 ,gear4 ,it is you who have been dreaming1 and life's sorrow has awakened you4 ,mr4 ,laicus1 he cried almost passionately1 ,i said ,i believed in nothing4 ,but it is not true4 ,i have no creed4 ,i do not even believe in ,god or immortality any more4 ,i have no ,god4 ,i am without hope4 ,but ,i believe in my wife4 ,i believe in you4 ,i believe that you and she have something-,i know not what-that supports you in temptation and sustains you in sorrow4 ,tell me what it is4 ,tell me how ,i may get it4 ,i will cast my pride away4 ,i would believe4 ,help my unbelief4 ,mr4 ,gear1 said ,i1 laying my hand upon his arm1 here in the presence of this dear boy1 be the solemn witness of your petition and your vow1 will you kneel with me to ask of ,god what you have asked of me1 but what ,he alone can give you1 and record before ,him the promise you have made to me1 but which ,he alone can receive at your hands8 ,he made no answer-hesitated a moment-then knelt1 with the dear boy's hand fast clasped in his1 while kneeling at his side ,i echoed the prayer he had already uttered3 ,i believe2 help ,thou mine unbelief4 ,and as we rose ,i saw the tears streaming down his softened face1 the first tears he had shed since ,i had entered his house4 ,i knew that ,willie had taught him more in his death than by his life1 and felt that now1 to my own heart though not to his1 ,i could answer the question he had asked me1 ,how can you reconcile this with the love of ,god8 ,,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,god said1 ,let there be ,light4 ,,from ,mr4 ,gear's ,jennie and ,i drove directly to ,maurice ,mapleson's4 ,fortunately we found him at home4 ,briefly ,i told him of my visit4 ,what can we do1 ,i said at the close1 to save this man from the despair of utter skepticism8 ,he is in good hands1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson1 with calm assurance4 ,no6 ,mr4 ,mapleson1 said ,i1 ,i can do nothing more with him4 ,so long as ,i had only the intellect to deal with1 ,i thought ,i knew what to say and when to keep silence4 ,but ,i dare neither speak nor keep silence now4 ,i did not mean your hands1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,what then8 said ,i4 ,he is in ,god's hands1 replied the pastor4 ,god has taken him out of your hands into ,his own4 ,leave him there4 ,is there then nothing more to be done8 ,i said4 ,yes1 said he1 but chiefly prayer4 ,then after a moment's pause he added3 ,i believe1 ,mr4 ,laicus1 in the oft quoted and generally perverted promise3 ,if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask1 it shall be done for them of my ,father which is in heaven4 ,i believe it was intended for just such exigencies as this4 ,it is not a general charter1 but a special promise4 ,now is the time to plead it4 ,who beside yourself in our church is ,mr4 ,gear's most intimate acquaintance and warmest friend8 ,i thought a moment before ,i answered4 ,then ,i replied1 ,to be honest1 ,mr4 ,mapleson1 ,i do not believe there is one in the church who understands him4 ,but ,deacon ,goodsole has had more to do with him than any other1 and perhaps understands him better4 ,very well1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,will you meet ,deacon ,goodsole at my house to-morrow evening1 half an hour before the prayer-meeting1 to unite in special prayer for ,mr4 ,gear8 ,i will see the ,deacon4 ,i am sure he will come4 ,i am sure he will1 ,i added warmly2 as sure as that ,i will be there myself4 ,with that ,i bade ,mr4 ,mapleson good-night and hurried away4 ,for tea had long been waiting1 the children's bed hour was near1 and ,jennie was growing impatient to be at home4 ,wednesday evening ,mr4 ,mapleson1 the ,deacon and ,i went into our church prayer-meeting from half an hour spent in ,mr4 ,mapleson's study in prayer for ,mr4 ,gear4 ,mr4 ,mapleson had seen ,mr4 ,gear that morning4 ,but the stricken father was very silent2 he offered no communication2 and ,mr4 ,mapleson had pressed for none4 ,i confess ,i had hoped much from ,mr4 ,mapleson's interview1 and ,i went into the prayer-meeting burdened and sorrowful4 ,i think ,i have already remarked that ,mr4 ,mapleson's conduct of a prayer-meeting is exceedingly simple4 ,he seldom says much4 ,he sets us all an example of brevity4 ,a few words of ,scripture1 a few earnest words of his own or a simple prayer1 usually constitute his sole contribution to the meeting1 which is more truly a meeting for prayer than any other prayer-meeting ,i ever attended4 ,that evening he seemed loath to open the meeting4 ,we were little late in beginning4 ,when we did begin we were late in getting into the heart of it4 ,he called on one after another to lead in prayer4 ,i did not know but that he was going to omit the reading of ,scripture and his own remarks altogether4 ,our prayer-meeting commences at half-past seven4 ,the pastor never allows it to overrun an hour4 ,and it was after eight when he arose to read4 ,he read from the twelth chapter of ,acts1 the account of ,peter's deliverance from prison4 ,he read it from beginning to end without a comment1 and then he spoke substantially as follows4 ,his words were very simple4 ,but that meeting has left an impression upon me that time will never obliterate4 ,i believe ,i could repeat his words to my dying day4 ,a great deal is said and written1 said he1 about the apostolic faith4 ,but the apostles were men of like passions as we ourselves4 ,they fought the same doubts4 ,they prayed in the same hesitating1 uncertain1 unbelieving way4 ,peter was in prison4 ,his friends could do nothing to effect his deliverance-nothing but pray4 ,so they assembled for that purpose4 ,they had the promise of the ,lord1 ',if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask1 it shall be done for them of my ,father which is in ,heaven4' ,but they did not believe it4 ,they took some comfort in praying-as we do4 ,but they did not expect any answer to their prayers4 ,the thought that ,god might really afford deliverance never seems to have occurred to them4 ,and when ,peter1 delivered by the angel of the ,lord1 came knocking at the gate of the house1 and the startled disciples wondered what this midnight summons might mean1 and the servant returned to report that ,peter stood without1 they laughed at her4 ,you are mad1 said they4 ,and when he persisted in his knocking1 and she in her assertion1 they added with trembling and under-breath to one another1 in mortal fear1 ,it is his ghost4 ,anything was more credible to their minds than that ,god should have answered their united prayers4 ,the promise of ,god is to the prayer of faith4 ,but ,god is constantly better than his promise4 ,he does not limit ,himself by our expectations4 ,he does exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or even think4 ,we are not therefore to be driven from our knees by our want of faith4 ,i hear men talk as though prayer were of no avail unless we believe beforehand with assurance that we were going to receive all for which we asked4 ,it is not true4 ,we are not heard for our much asking1 nor for much our believing1 but for ,god's great mercy's sake4 ,when the mission was first started at the ,mill village1 if ,i have understood aright1 it was started on the application of the children themselves4 ,they gathered around the school-house when the ,bible-class assembled4 ,they had no expectation of instruction4 ,when the first person came to the door to invite them in1 probably half of them scampered away in fright4 ,did they expect all that has come8 ,or would any ,christian worker have said1 ',they shall not have a ,sabbath-school till they ask it1 and believe that it will be provided for them8' ,and our ,father does not wait for the prayer of faith4 ,like the father in the parable he comes while we are yet afar off4 ,if we have faith enough to look wistfully and yearningly for a blessing1 ,he has superabundant love to grant it4 ,and then he read1 and we sang that most beautiful hymn3 ,oh6 see how ,jesus trusts himself ,unto our childish love6 ,as though by ,his free ways with us ,our earnestness to prove4 ,his sacred name a common word ,on earth ,he loves to hear2 ,there is no majesty in ,him ,which love may not come near4 ,the light of love is round ,his feet1 ,his paths are never dim2 ,and ,he comes nigh to us when we ,dare not come nigh to ,him4 ,let us be simple with ,him1 then1 ,not backward1 stiff1 nor cold1 ,as though our ,bethlehem could be ,what ,sinai was of old4 ,mr4 ,mapleson is very fond of music4 ,singing is a feature of all our prayer-meetings4 ,i have heard him say that he thought more people had been sung into the kingdom of heaven than were ever preached into it4 ,usually his rich voice carries the bass almost alone4 ,but during the singing of this hymn he sat silent1 leaning his head upon his hand4 ,this silence was so unusual that it almost oppressed the meeting4 ,when the hymn closed there was a solemn hush1 a strange expectancy2 it seemed as though no one dared to break the sacred silence4 ,our lecture-room occupies half the basement of the church4 ,i sat in a front seat1 close by the little desk-a low platform furnished only with a light stand on which rests the minister hymn-book and a small ,bible4 ,the room was full1 but it had filled up after ,i came in4 ,the prolonged silence grew painful4 ,then ,i heard a rustle as of one rising to his feet4 ,then a voice2 ,i startled1 half turned round1 restrained myself1 thank ,god1 and only cast on ,jennie1 at my side1 a look of wonder and of thanksgiving4 ,the voice was that of ,mr4 ,gear4 ,fellow-townsmen1 said he1--he spoke hesitatingly at first as one unused to the place and the assemblage1--,i have come here to make a request4 ,you are surprised to see me here4 ,you will be more surprised to hear my request4 ,i want to ask you to pray for me4 ,he had recovered from his hesitancy now4 ,but he spoke with an unnatural rapidity as though he were afraid of breaking down altogether if he stopped a moment to reflect upon himself and his position4 ,you know me only as an infidel4 ,i am an infidel4 ,at least ,i was4 ,yes6 ,i suppose ,i still am4 ,my mother died when ,i was but a babe4 ,my father brought me up4 ,he was orthodox of the orthodox4 ,but oh6 he was a hard man4 ,and he had a hard creed4 ,i used to think the creed made the man4 ,lately ,i have thought perhaps the man made the creed4 ,at all events both were hard4 ,and ,i repudiated both4 ,at fourteen ,i abhorred my father's creed4 ,at eighteen ,i had left my father's roof4 ,i have never returned except on occasional visits4 ,he had gained more self-possession now1 and spoke more slowly and distinctly4 ,the room was as still as that room of death in which the evening before ,i had prayed with him1 kneeling by the corpse of his little boy4 ,what ,i have been at ,wheathedge you know4 ,i cannot come here to-night on a false pretence4 ,i cannot call myself a desperate sinner4 ,i have wronged no man4 ,i have lived honestly and uprightly before you all4 ,i owe no man anything4 ,i have depended on my daily labor for my daily bread4 ,out of it ,i have provided as ,i had opportunity for the poor around me4 ,no one ever went hungry from my door away4 ,my creed has been a short and simple one1 ',do unto others as you would have others do unto you4' ,i have tried to live according to my creed4 ,but ,i begin to think that my creed is not all the truth4 ,mr4 ,laicus first led me to think so4 ,no6 my boy first led me to think so4 ,i was satisfied with my creed for myself4 ,but ,i was not satisfied with it for my boy4 ,then ,i met ,mr4 ,laicus4 ,we commenced to study the ,bible together4 ,if he had attempted to prove my opinions wrong ,i would have defended them4 ,but he did not4 ,we studied the undoubted truth4 ,the doubtful points he left alone4 ,i learned there was more in the ,bible1 more in human life and the human heart than ,i had thought4 ,i grew little by little sure that ,i had not all the truth4 ,but ,i was unwilling to confess it4 ,i was-yes1 ,i was too proud4 ,yesterday--his voice trembled and he spoke with difficulty for a moment1 but quickly recovered himself--yesterday we lost the light and life out of our house4 ,no6 ,i am wrong4 ,my light was extinguished1 and my life was quenched in death4 ,but my wife's was not4 ,the dear boy was as dear to her as he was to me4 ,but she lives and hopes2 ,i am in darkness and almost in despair4 ,my father's hard creed drove me into infidelity4 ,my wife's1 my friend's tenderer and happier faith calls me back again4 ,but ,i do not know the way4 ,last night1 kneeling by the side of my dear boy1 ,i vowed that ,i would cast away my pride and seek that light in which my wife and my friends are walking4 ,an hour ago the thought occurred to me-where seek it better than where they are gathered who are walking in this light8 ,it seemed to me ,i could not come4 ,but ,i had made the vow4 ,i would not go back from it4 ,i have cast away my pride4 ,oh6 friends1 help me to find that light in which you walk4 ,do not misunderstand me4 ,i will not have your prayers on false pretences4 ,i am1 if not still an infidel1 at least an unbeliever4 ,i have no creed4 ,i only believe that there is light somewhere1 for others live in it4 ,and ,i long to come into that light myself4 ,help me to find the way4 ,and yet-,i hardly know why ,i came here to-night4 ,it was not for counsel4 ,i do not want words now4 ,the kindliest only pain me4 ,discussion and debate would arouse all the old devil of contradiction in me4 ,leave me alone4 ,no6 ,do not leave me alone4 ,give me your prayers4 ,give me your ,christian sympathies4 ,but for the rest1 for a little while1 ,i want to be alone4 ,he sat down4 ,there was a moment of perfect stillness4 ,then the pastor arose4 ,christ's sympathies are broader and ,his love is larger than we think1 said he4 ,we hedge him round with our poor creeds1 and shut ,him up in our little churches1 and think ,he works only in our appointed ways4 ,he breaks over the barriers we put about him1 and carries on ,his work of love in hearts that we think are beyond all reach of ,him or us4 ,we cannot tell our brother how to find the light4 ,the light will find him4 ',jesus ,christ is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world4' ,and when the heart casts its pride away the light enters4 ,for thus saith the ,high and ,lofty ,one that inhabiteth eternity1 whose name is ,holy2 ,i dwell in the high and holy place2 with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit1 to revive the heart of the contrite ones4 ,into ,his hands let us commit our brother's spirit4 ,and he poured forth his soul in a prayer which carried heavenward many an unbreathed cry for help1 and received in the beating of many hearts a warmer1 truer response than any spoken words could have given to it4 ,after service ,i walked along with ,maurice ,mapleson4 ,i was never more astonished in my life1 said ,i1 than when ,i heard ,mr4 ,gear's voice in the prayer-meeting to-night4 ,i was not astonished1 said ,mr4 ,mapleson4 ,i went to that prayer-meeting sure that ,god had in store for us a better answer to our prayers than we had thought4 ,i do not believe in presentiments2 but ,i had a strange presentiment that ,mr4 ,gear would come to our meeting to-night1 that ,god would rebuke our little faith by ,his unexpected answer4 ,i even waited for ,mr4 ,gear's coming4 ,i saw him enter4 ,i took that chapter of ,acts-which ,god seemed to give me at the moment-partly that ,i might lead him on to fulfil the purpose which ,i fully believed had brought him there4 ,while you were singing1 ,i was praying4 ,and when the hymn and the prayer were ended together1 ,i knew ,god would not let him go away unblest4 ,i shall never again doubt1 said ,i1 the truth of ,god's promise-'that if two of us shall agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask1 it shall be done for them4' ,shall you not8 said he1 with a smile4 ,i wish ,i could be as sure for myself4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,a ,retrospect4 ,i am sitting in my library4 ,the fire burns cheerily in the grate4 ,a dear voice is singing sweetly by my side4 ,for baby is restless to-night and ,jennie has brought him down to rock him to sleep here and keep me company4 ,the years pass in review before me4 ,thank ,god for the dear wife who three years ago persuaded me that ,i was a ,christian more than a ,congregationalist4 ,the years have not been unfruitful4 ,the work has been1 oh6 so little1 and the harvest so great6 ,i believe the whole church is satisfied with the result of our peculiar method of candidating4 ,i am sure there is no one who would willingly exchange ,mr4 ,mapleson for ,mr4 ,uncannon4 ,there have been rumors once or twice that there was danger ,maurice ,mapleson would leave4 ,he has twice had invitations to preach in city churches whose pulpits were vacant4 ,but he has declined4 ,i hope1 he says1 to live and die here4 ,it is as ,god wills4 ,but ,i have no ambition for a larger field of usefulness4 ,it is all ,i can do to cultivate this field4 ,my prophesy has proved true respecting ,mr4 ,work4 ,he has broken down1 given up preaching1 nominally because of a throat trouble2 really1 ,i believe1 because of spirit trouble1 and has opened a young ladies' school in one of the suburbs of the city4 ,mr4 ,uncannon has left ,north ,bizzy after a year's pastorate1 for one of the great cities of the ,west1 where he is about equally famous for his fast horses1 his good cigars1 and his extraordinary pulpit pyrotechnics4 ,maurice ,mapleson's experiment has proved a complete success4 ,our church at last is out of its financial difficulties4 ,we held our annual meeting last week4 ,and here is the financial exhibit as it appeared in the treasurer's report3 ,cr4 ,monthly ,subscriptions #a1fge4jj ,sunday ,collections #cie4he ,ladies' ,entertainments 7a special fair having been organized by ,miss ,moore to secure the interest money47 #bea4jf #b1cba4ia #b1bgf4ij ,balance in ,treasury #de4ja ,dr4 ,minister's ,salary #a1ejj4jj ,organist1 7the office was discontinued1 congregational singing established1 and ,deacon ,goodsole's eldest daughter voluntered to play47 ,nothing ,church ,repairs-,sundries #ee4ej ,interest on ,mortgage #cae4jj ,sexton 7,salary reduced by himself as a contribution to the support of the church47 #age4jj ,fire1 lights and incidentals #bca4dj #b1bgf4ij ,the church has never before had a balance in its treasury1 and it was bewildered with astonishment at the result4 ,the money was really due to ,maurice1 who was to pay1 the reader will recollect1 the incidental expenses out of the monthly subscriptions and take the remainder as his salary4 ,but ,maurice positively refused to take it4 ,he1 however1 has long wanted the old pulpit cut down and a low platform substituted4 ,the money was voted for that purpose1 and the alterations are now going on4 ,though the pews are free1 the pew system is not wholly abandoned4 ,each attendant selects a seat for himself or a pew for his family4 ,this is regarded his as much as if he paid pew rent for it4 ,but instead of a fixed rent he pays what he will4 ,no one has paid less than the old rates and some have nearly doubled them4 ,but the improvement in finances is not the only nor even the best result of ,maurice ,mapleson's experiment4 ,the congregation has increased quite as much as the income4 ,not less than a score of families are regular attendants on our church who never went to church before4 ,with one or two exceptions every pew is taken4 ,we are beginning to talk quietly about an enlargement4 ,i think this change had something to do with the revival last ,spring4 ,maurice thinks so at all events4 ,and any attempt to go back to the old system would meet with as much opposition from ,deacon ,goodsole as from ,jim ,wheaton4 ,the only member of the congregation who regrets the change is ,mrs4 ,potiphar4 ,she turns up her nose --metaphorically ,i mean--the natural nose is turned up all the time at that revival4 ,it did not reach any of our set1 she says4 ,why1 bless you1 ,i don't believe it added fifty dollars to the church income4 ,one would think to hear her talk that ,mrs4 ,potiphar supported the church4 ,if she does1 her right hand does not know what her left hand is doing4 ,the immediate precursor of that revival was the prayer-meeting which ,mr4 ,gear attended1 and in which he asked the prayers of the church4 ,when in ,june he stood up before the congregation to profess his faith in ,christ as a ,savior from sin1 and in the ,holy ,spirit as a ,divine ,comforter in trial and in sorrow1 he did not stand alone4 ,twenty-eight stood with him4 ,among them were nine of the boys from our ,mill village ,bible-class4 ,of that brightest of ,sabbath days ,i cannot trust myself to speak4 ,the tears come to my eyes1 and my hand trembles as ,i write4 ,i must pass on to other thoughts4 ,i have already explained how the ,bible-class gathered to itself a second class of which ,mrs4 ,gear took charge4 ,both classes have grown steadily1 and latterly1 rapidly1 and are now beyond all that the most sanguine of us ever anticipated4 ,there is a flourishing ,sabbath-school at the ,mill village4 ,mr4 ,gear superintends it4 ,nearly half of my old scholars are teachers now4 ,but others have come to take their places4 ,my own class is larger than ever4 ,once a month ,mr4 ,mapleson preaches in the school-house1 and in the summer his congregation overflows upon the green sward without4 ,once or twice he has been forced into the grove adjoining4 ,it is evident that the old school-house will not serve us much longer4 ,mr4 ,gear is already revolving plans for the erection of a chapel4 ,it seems to me rather chimerical4 ,no6 ,on second thoughts nothing seems to me chimerical any more4 ,and as ,mr4 ,gear and ,miss ,moore are both engaged in this enterprize1 ,i am confident it will succeed4 ,there is not in our church a more active1 earnest1 devoted ,christian worker than ,mr4 ,gear4 ,he is one of the board of trustees1 and about the only man on it who is not afraid of ,jim ,wheaton4 ,he rarely misses a prayer-meeting1 and though he does not speak very often he never speaks unless he has something to say4 ,and that is more than can be said of some of those who occupy the time in our prayer-meetings4 ,i understand that ,mr4 ,hardcap was not altogether satisfied with ,mr4 ,gear's evidences when he appeared before the session4 ,but if daily life affords the true evidences of ,christian character1 there are very few of us that might not be glad to exchange with ,mr4 ,gear4 ,i doubt whether ,dr4 ,argure would think he was sound in the faith4 ,and if the faith is synonymous with the ,westminster ,assembly's ,confession of it1 ,i do not believe he is4 ,deacon ,goodsole has confidentially hinted to me his fear that ,mr4 ,gear has some doubts concerning the doctrine of election2 and that he is not quite clear even on the doctrine of eternal punishment4 ,it is not impossible4 ,but ,i do not believe there is a member of our church whose faith in a present1 prayer-hearing ,god is stronger4 ,his first step toward securing a chapel for the ,sabbath-school has been taken already4 ,it was a meeting of the ,sabbath-school teachers at his own house to pray for a chapel4 ,and he builds on that prayer-meeting a strong assurance that he will get it4 ,i do not think he is quite sound in the catechism4 ,i wish ,i were as sound in the faith4 ,i have often wished to know how he solved his old doubts4 ,if ,i could find his specific for skepticism1 ,i thought to myself1 it would be of inestimable value to others4 ,so with some hesitation1 lest ,i should awaken the old unbelief1 ,i asked him the question the other day4 ,how did you finally settle your old difficulties concerning ,christian truth8 said ,i4 ,i never have1 said he quietly4 ,they disappeared of themselves1 as the snow disappears from ,snow-cap when ,may comes4 ,the fire burns low upon the hearth4 ,the risen moon casts her soft light through the ,eastern window and bathes the room with her radiance4 ,the mountains1 mist clad1 stand as shadows of their daily self1 more beautiful in their repose than in the full glory of the busy day4 ,the baby sleeps quietly1 nestled close to his mother's breast1 too big ,i tell her for her arms2 but she protests ,i'm wrong4 ,and still ,i sit1 silent1 and the past defiles before me4 ,at length ,jennie breaks the silence4 ,what are you pondering so deeply1 ,john8 ,i was thinking1 ,jennie1 how much ,i owe the little woman who persuaded me to this dear home1 who convinced me that ,i was1 or at least ought to be1 a ,christian more than a ,congregationalist1 and who taught me that ,i could work for ,christ without infringing on my daily duties1 and so brought to me all the flood tide of happiness that makes my life one long song of joy4 ,,the ,,end4