say, for so wide a space, would
make too much of a confusion and noise, to say nothin' of the jarin'
that would take place and ensue. I felt more and more, as I meditated on
the subject, that a buzz saw, although estimable in itself, yet it wuz
not a spear in which a religious deacon could withdraw from the world,
and ponder on the great questions pertainin' to his own and the world's
salvation.

I felt it wuz not a spear that he could revolve round in and keep that
apartness from this world and nearness to the other, that I felt that
deacons ought to cultivate.

But my idees wuz frowned at by every man in Jonesville, when I ventured
to promulgate 'em. They all said, "The better the man, the better the
deed."

They said, "The better the man wuz, the better the buzz saw he would be
likely to run." The fact wuz, they needed some buzz saw mills bad, and
wuz very glad to have these deacons lay holt of 'em.

[Illustration: TALKING OVER THE BUZZ-SAW.]

But I threw out this question at 'em, and stood by it--"If bein' set
apart as a deacon didn't mean anything? If there wuzn't any deacon-work
that they ought to be expected to do--and if it wuz right for 'em to
go into any world's work so wild and hazardous and engrossin', as this
enterprise?"

And again they sez to me in stern, decided axents, "The better the man,
the better the deed. We need buzz saws."

And then they would turn their backs to me and stalk away very
high-headed.

And I felt that I wuz a gettin' fearfully onpopular all through
Jonesville, by my questions. I see that the hull community wuz so sot on
havin' them five deacons embark onto these buzz saws that they would not
brook any interference, least of all from a female woman.

But I had a feelin' that Josiah Allen wuz, as you may say, my lawful
prey. I felt that I had a right to question my own pardner for the good
of his own soul, and my piece of mind.

And I sez to him in solemn axents:

"Josiah Allen, what time will you get when you are fairly started on
your buzz saw, for domestic life, or social, or for religious duties?"

And Josiah sez, "Dumb 'em! I guess a man is a goin' to make money when
he has got a chance." And I asked him plain if he had got so low, and if
I had lived with him twenty years for this, to hear him in the end dumb
religious duties.

And Josiah acted skairt and conscience smut for most half a minute, and
said, "he didn't dumb 'em."

"What wuz you dumbin'?" sez I, col