b. "I was in the war of 1812, belonged to the
cavalry, and at the battle of--"

"Husband," gently interposed his wife,--an intellectual-looking woman,
with a face expressive of goodness,--"the minister will not care to
hear of war to-day;" adding, with a blush, "You must excuse us, sir;
but it is so long since we have seen one of your profession, or
attended religious services, that the days seem too much alike; there
is little here to remind us that the Sabbath should be kept holy. O,
it is so dreadful--so like heathenism--to live without the ordinances
of the gospel! No Sunday school for our children and youth, no servant
of God to counsel the dying, comfort the bereaved, and point the
heavy-laden to Christ!"

"Such a state of things must, indeed, be a great trial to those who
love the Saviour," I observed.

"Yes; and what adds to the trial," she continued, "is, that members of
churches, after they have been here awhile, fall into great laxity in
respect to the Lord's day. Those who were exemplary east, are here
seen starting upon or returning from a business journey on Sunday. O,
we need some one to gather these straying sheep, and unite them by the
public means of grace: many of them, I doubt not, are secretly longing
for this. For more than a year I have been praying that God would send
a servant of his this way."

"And sometimes, I dare say, you have felt almost discouraged," I
suggested.

"Yes," she replied, weeping; "but last week something came to
strengthen my faith, and later, intelligence that you were to visit
us. Months ago I wrote east for a donation of good reading to scatter
among the settlers, but received no response till, last Tuesday, a
package of books, tracts, and religious papers arrived. In one of the
papers was an article entitled 'The Pulpit and the Beech Tree.'"

"Here it is," said the husband, passing her the sheet; "better read it
to the parson; there'll be plenty of time afore the meeting;" and he
glanced at a venerable clock screwed to a log over the wide-mouthed
clay-stick-and-stone fireplace.

She read as follows: "Nearly a score of years ago, a pioneer sought a
home in one of the Western States. He selected a 'quarter section' in
a dense wilderness, and soon entered upon the arduous work of clearing
a farm. He was a man of athletic constitution, and well adapted to
cope with the trials on the frontier. He was in the prime of life; and
in those days a man was famous according a