ned those four
little words. _Thy will be done_, it would be worth more than the
biggest book in the world without them.

Dr. Shepherd, the worthy vicar (with whom the farmer's wife had
formerly lived as housekeeper), was very fond of taking a walk with
him about his grounds, and he used to say that he learned as much
from the farmer as the farmer did from him. If the Doctor happened
to observe, "I am afraid these long rains will spoil this fine piece
of oats," the farmer would answer, "But then, sir, think how good
it is for the grass." If the Doctor feared the wheat would be but
indifferent, the farmer was sure the rye would turn out well. When
grass failed, he did not doubt but turnips would be plenty. Even for
floods and inundations he would find out some way to justify
Providence. "'Tis better," said he, "to have our lands a little
overflowed, than that the springs should be dried up, and our cattle
faint for lack of water." When the drought came, he thanked God that
the season would be healthy; and the high winds, which frightened
others, he said, served to clear the air. Whoever, or whatever was
wrong, he was always sure that Providence was in the right. And he
used to say, that a man with ever so small an income, if he had but
frugality and temperance, and would cut off all vain desires, and
cast his care upon God, was richer than a lord who was tormented by
vanity and covetousness. When he saw others in the wrong, he did
not, however, abuse them for it, but took care to avoid the same
fault. He had sense and spirit enough to break through many old, but
very bad customs of his neighbors. "If a thing is wrong in itself,"
said he one day to Farmer Hodges, "a whole parish doing it can't
make it right. And as to its being an old custom, why, if it be a
good one, I like it the better for being old, because it has had the
stamp of ages, and the sanction of experience on its worth. But if
it be old as well as bad, that is another reason for my trying to
put an end to it, that we may not mislead our children as our
fathers have misled us."

THE ROOF-RAISING.

Some years after he was settled, he built a large new barn. All the
workmen were looking forward to the usual holiday of roof-raising.
On this occasion it was a custom to give a dinner to the workmen,
with so much liquor after it, that they got so drunk that they not
only lost the remaining half-day's work, but they were not always
able to work the following