other Wilson, I
believe you are right about this thing; but,' says he, 'it looks like
this might be a case that calls for a little of the wisdom of the
serpent.' Says he, 'You know there's good Scriptural authority for
bein' "wise as serpents."' Says he, 'I know the Lord is no respecter
of persons; but,' says he, 'there's times when common sense tells us
to stop and consider a man's standin' and influence. Here we are,'
says he, 'in the midst of buildin' a church. There's none too much
money comin' to us, and Squire Schuyler's subscription is two or three
times as big as anybody's, and, besides, it's all in hard money, and
if we turn him out o' the church, we'll run short o' funds and have to
stop buildin'.' Says he, 'If it was any time but now, I'd say, "Go
ahead, and we'll all stand by you," but as we're buildin' a church,
why, it looks to me like the wrong time to turn people out o' the
church.'

"And Brother Wilson jumped up and says he, 'That's exactly the point
I'm aiming at. We're building a church, and that is the reason why I
want Squire Schuyler, and all members like him, deprived of church
privileges.' Says he, 'What is a church, anyway? Is it that pile of
brick and mortar you're putting up out yonder?' Says he, 'That's the
church building, but the church itself,' says he, 'no eye but the eye
of God has ever seen it, for it is builded of the hearts and
consciences of men and women that have known the power of the spirit.
That's the real church,' says he, 'and if you've got that, it matters
not whether you've got the house of brick and stone or not.' Says he,
'When the Pilgrim Fathers set foot on Plymouth Rock and sang a hymn
and knelt down and prayed under the open sky, _there_ was a living
church of the living God, and not a hypocrite or a mammon-worshiper or
a time-server in it.' Says he, 'You men are mighty particular about
the house for the church to worship in. You are looking for the best
stone, and the best brick, and the best mortar; but when it comes to
the building of the church itself, you're ready to put in hay, straw,
and stubble for the sake of a little filthy lucre.'

"And all the time Brother Wilson was talkin', he was poundin' the
table with his fist till the pens and the papers that was on it jest
danced around, and Judge Grace said afterwards that he believed
Brother Wilson'd rather have hit some o' the session than that table.

"Well, he sort o' stopped to take his breath, and Doctor Br