"Not quite that: but the nation has tasted liberty; and now every man
assumes to do what is right in his own eyes."

"That mean's what is wrong in his neighbor's."

Sir Charles thought this neat, and laughed good-humoredly: he asked the
rector to dine on Sunday at half-past seven. "I shall know more about
it by that time," said he.

They dined early on Sunday, at Highmore, and Ruperta took her maid for
a walk in the afternoon, and came back in time to hear the female
preacher.

Half the village was there already, and presently the preacher walked
to her station.

To Ruperta's surprise, she was a lady, richly dressed, tall and
handsome, but with features rather too commanding. She had a glove on
her left hand, and a little Bible in her right hand, which was large,
but white, and finely formed.

She delivered a short prayer, and opened her text:

"Walk honestly; not in strife and envying."

Just as the text was given out, Ruperta's maid pinched her, and the
young lady, looking up, saw her father coming to see what was the
matter. Maid was for hiding, but Ruperta made a wry face, blushed, and
stood her ground. "How can he scold me, when he comes himself?" she
whispered.

During the sermon, of which, short as it was, I can only afford to give
the outline, in crept Compton Bassett, and got within three or four of
Ruperta.

Finally Sir Charles Bassett came up, in accordance with his promise to
Angelo.

The perfect preacher deals in generalities, but strikes them home with
a few personalities.

Most clerical preachers deal only in generalities, and that is
ineffective, especially to uncultivated minds.

Mrs. Marsh, as might be expected from her sex, went a little too much
the other way.

After a few sensible words, pointing out the misery in houses, and the
harm done to the soul, by a quarrelsome spirit, she lamented there was
too much of it in Huntercombe: with this opening she went into
personalities: reminded them of the fight between two farm servants
last week, one of whom was laid up at that moment in consequence.
"And," said she, "even when it does not come to fighting, it poisons
your lives and offends your Redeemer."

Then she went into the causes, and she said Drunkenness and Detraction
were the chief causes of strife and contention.

She dealt briefly but dramatically with Drunkenness, and then lashed
Detraction, as follows:

"Every class has its vices, and Detraction is the vice of the poor