ecting upon the future destinies of his country, and on the rising
generation, upon whom those future destinies must devolve; or, most
probably, with a sentiment of moral and religious feeling, he was
collecting an argument which no art would be "able to elude, and no force
to resist." Our traveler remained a spectator, and took no part in what
was said.

At last one of the young men, remarking that it was impossible to combat
with long and established prejudices, wheeled around, and with some
familiarity exclaimed, "Well, my old gentleman, what think you of these
things?" "If," said the traveler, "a streak of vivid lightning had at that
moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have been greater than
it was from what followed." The most eloquent and unanswerable appeal that
he had ever heard or read, was made for nearly an hour by the old
gentleman. So perfect was his recollection, that every argument urged
against the Christian religion was met in the order in which it was
advanced. Hume's sophistry on the subject of miracles, was, if possible,
more perfectly answered than it had already been done by Campbell. And in
the whole lecture there was so much simplicity and energy, pathos and
sublimity, that not another word was uttered.

"An attempt to describe it," said the traveler, "would be an attempt to
paint the sunbeams." It was now a matter of curiosity and inquiry who the
old gentleman was. The traveler concluded that it was the preacher from
whom the pulpit eloquence was heard; but no, it was John Marshall, the
Chief Justice of the United States.

NOTES.--David Hume (b. 1711, d. 1776) was a celebrated Scotch historian
and essayist. His most important work is "The History of England." He was
a skeptic in matters of religion, and was a peculiarly subtle writer.

George Campbell (b. 1719, d. 1796) was a distinguished Scotch minister. He
wrote "A Dissertation on Miracles," ably answering Hume's "Essay on
Miracles."

John Marshall (b. 1755, d. 1835) was Chief Justice of the United States
from 1801 until his death. He was an eminent jurist, and wrote a "Life of
Washington," which made him famous as an author.

LXXXVII. THE BAREFOOT BOY. (317)

John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-1892, was born in Haverhill, Mass., and,
with short intervals of absence, he always resided in that vicinity. His
parents were Friends or "Quakers," and he always held to the same faith.
He spent his boyhood on a farm, occasionally