rch.

"That's one o' the hymns we always sung at a watch-meetin'," she
observed, "that and

"'Lo, on a narrow neck of land
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand.'

"I love every one o' the old hymns, child, jest as much as I love my
Bible, and I can take that hymn-book yonder and read over the hymns we
used to sing at prayer-meetin' and communion and funerals and
baptizin's, and I declare it's jest like livin' over again all the
Sundays of my life. When we got through singin' the hymn Parson Page
read a chapter out o' the Bible. It was the ninetieth psalm, the one
that begins, 'Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all
generations'; and then he give us a little talk, not a sermon exactly,
but jest a little talk about the new year and the old year. I
ricollect pretty much all he said as well as if it was yesterday. He
said that there was nothin' sad about the passin' of the years, and
every New-year's eve ought to be a time for rejoicin'; that life was
jest a gainin' and a losin' and the two balanced pretty even. Every
year we lost a little of our youth and a little of our strength, but
we gained in wisdom and understandin'. He said if we'd improved our
time and come up to our opportunities durin' the past year, we could
go forward joyfully to meet the new year, and if we hadn't, why, still
there wasn't any reason for givin' up and feelin' downhearted, for the
mercy of the Lord was infinite, and there was always another chance
waitin' for us, and if a man turned over a new leaf and made up his
mind to do better, every day was a New-year's day.

"And then he called on the men folks to tell what their experience had
been durin' the past year, and jest as Uncle Jim Mathews got up to
tell his experience the clock struck ten, and Uncle Jim says:
'Brethren, you hear that? Jest two more hours of this year is left to
us.' Says he, 'I don't know how it is with the rest of you, but for my
part I feel that this has been a profitable year for my soul. I feel,'
says he, 'that I have grown in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord,
that my faith has been strengthened, that patience has had her perfect
work in me, and that I'm nearer to the kingdom than I ever was'; and
he went on this way for about ten minutes, and Sally Ann whispered to
me and says she, 'If one-half o' that's true, the Lord ought to send
down a chariot of fire and take Uncle Jim up to heaven this very
night.'

"Then Uncle Jerry Amos got up and says h