id Ben, with studied,
politeness, "that no doctor can never compare with a preacher, for I've
seen a doctor myself, an' there's the kind of work he done," displaying
his wooden leg and foot with pride. "But what I say is that w'en it
comes to doin' real 'igh-class, fine work, give me the Reverend Richard
Boyle, Esquire. Yes, sir, sez I, Dick Boyle's the man fer me!"

"Aw, gwan now wid ye! An' wud ye be afther puttin' a preacher in the
same car wid a docthor, an' him the Medical Superintendent av the
railway?"

"I hain't talkin' 'bout preachers an' doctors in general," replied
Ben, keeping himself firmly in hand, "but I'm talkin' about this 'ere
preacher, the Reverend Richard Boyle." Ben's attention to the finer
courtesies in conversation always increased with his wrath. "An' that
I'll stick to, for there's no man in these 'ere mountain 'as done more
fer this 'ere country than that same Reverend Richard Boyle, Esquire."

"Listen til the monkey! An' what has he done, will ye tell me?"

"Well," said Ben, ignoring Tommy's opprobrious epithet, "I hain't got a
day to spend, but, to begin with, there's two churches up the Windermere
which--"

"Churches, is it? Sure an' what is a church good fer but to bury a man
from, forby givin' the women a place to say their prayers an' show their
hats?"

"As I was sayin'," continued Ben, "there's two churches up the
Windermere. I hain't no saint, an' I hain't no scholar, but I goes by
them as is, an' I know that there's Miss Margaret, an' I tell you"--here
Ben solemnly removed his pipe from his mouth and, holding it by the
bowl, pointed the stem, by way of emphasizing his words, straight at
Tommy's face--"I tell you she puts them churches above even this 'ere
hinstitution!" And Ben sat back in his chair to allow the full magnitude
of this fact to have its full weight with Tommy. For once Tommy was
without reply, for anything savouring of criticism of Miss Margaret or
her opinions was impossible to him.

"An' what's more," continued Ben, "this 'ere hinstitution in which we're
a-sittin' this hour wouldn't be 'ere but fer that same preacher an'
them that backs him up. That's yer churches fer yeh!" And still Tommy
remained silent.

"An' if yeh want to knew more about him, you ask Magee there, an'
Morrison an' Old Cap Jim an' a 'eap of fellows about this 'ere preacher,
an' 'ear 'em talk. Don't ask me. 'Ear 'em talk w'en they git time. They
wuz a blawsted lot of drunken fools, workin'