dges joined them. Miss Prime turned tragically at his
greeting, and broke out, "Don't reproach me 'Liphalet; it ain't no
trainin' o' mine that 's perduced a child that laughs at old foks in the
Lord's house."

"I ain't a-goin' to reproach you, Miss Hester, never you fear; I ain't
a-goin' to say a word ag'in' yore trainin'; but I jest thought I 'd ask
you not to be too hard on Freddie. You know that Dan'l is kind o' tryin'
sometimes even to the gravity of older people; an' childern will be
childern; they 'ain't got the sense, nor--nor--the deceit to keep a
smooth face when they 're a-laughin' all in their innards."

Miss Prime turned upon him in righteous wrath. "'Liphalet," she
exclaimed, "I think it 's enough fur this child to struggle ag'inst
natural sin, without encouragin' him by makin' excuses fur him."

"It ain't my intention nor my desire to set a bad example before nobody,
especially the young lambs of the flock, but I ain't a-goin' to blame
Freddie fur doin' what many another of us wanted to do."

"'Deed an' double, that is fine talk fur you, 'Liphalet Hodges! you a
trustee of the church, an' been a class-leader, a-holdin' up fur sich
onregenerate carryin's-on."

"I ain't a-holdin' up fur nothin', Miss Hester, 'ceptin' nature an' the
very could n't-help-it-ness o' the thing altogether. I ain't a boy no
more, by a good many years, but there 's times when I 've set under
Dan'l Hastings's testimonies jest mortally cramped to laugh; an' ef it
's so with a man, how will it be with a pore innercent child? I ain't
a-excusin' natural sin in nobody. It wa'n't so much Freddie's natural
sin as it was Dan'l's natural funniness." And there was something very
like a chuckle in 'Liphalet's throat.

"'Liphalet, the devil 's been puttin' fleas into yore ear, but I ain't
a-goin' to let you argy me out o' none o' my settled convictions,
although the Old Man 's put plenty of argyment into yore head. That 's
his way o' capturin' a soul.--Walk on ahead, Frederick, an' don't be
list'nin'. I 'll 'tend to yore case later on."

"It 's funny to me, Miss Hester, how it is that Christians know so much
more about the devil's ways than they do about the Lord's. They 're
allus a-sayin', 'the Lord moves in a mysterious way,' but they kin allus
put their finger on the devil."

"'Liphalet Hodges, that 's a slur!"

"I ain't a-meanin' it as no slur, Miss Hester; but most Christians do
seem to have a powerful fondness for the devil. I not