s. Lathrop's gate instead of her
own when she did get home. Mrs. Lathrop knew almost to the minute when
to expect her and was invariably seated ready and waiting.

One late May day when Susan returned from church she followed her usual
course of Sunday observances by going straight to her neighbor's and
sitting down hard on one of the latter's kitchen chairs, but she
differed from her usual course by her expression, which--usually bland
and fairly contented with the world in general--was this morning most
bitterly set and firmly assured in displeasure.

"Well," said Mrs. Lathrop, somewhat alarmed but attempting to speak
pleasantly, "was--"

"No," said Susan, "I should say not." Then she unpinned her hat and ran
the pin through the crown with a vicious directness that bore out her
words to the full.

"Susan!" said Mrs. Lathrop, appalled, "why--"

"Well, I can't help it if you are," said Miss Clegg, "you don't have to
go Sunday after Sunday an' listen like I do. If you did, an' if you had
what you ain't got an' that's some spirit, Mrs. Lathrop, you'd be
rammin' around with a hat-pin yourself an' understand my feelin's when I
say as there ain't a spot in the Bible as I ain't been over fully as
often as the minister nor a place where he can open it that I can't tell
just what he'll say about it afore he's done settlin' his tie an'
clearin' his throat. I'm so tired of that tie-settlin' an'
throat-clearin' business I don't know what to do an' then to-day it was
the Sermon on the Mount an' he said as he had a new thought to develop
out of the mount for us an' the new thought was as life was a mount with
us all climbin' up it an' sure to come out on top with the Sermon if our
legs held out. It's this new idea of new thoughts as he's got hold of as
puts me so out of all patience I don't know what to do; if they was
really new I'd revel to listen to 'em, but they're as old as the hills
an' I feel like I was offered somethin' to cut my teeth on whenever I
hear him beginnin' with a fresh old one. The other day I met him down in
the square an' he stopped me short an' told me to my face as the world
was gettin' full o' new thoughts, an' that a star as he see the night
afore had given him one as he was intendin' to work up for Christmas.
Well, Mrs. Lathrop, what do you think that particular new thought was?
What _do_ you think? It was as God was back o' the stars! My lands, I
felt like givin' him a punch with my parasol an' I'd o