ls. She says she 's give
John Bunyan her father's cuff-button 'n' told him 'f he keeps on 's
well 's he 's begun 't she 'll give him a button f'r the other cuff
the day he's twenty-one.

"Mrs. Brown was down town buyin' eggs. She says them Leghorns o' hers
can't begin to keep up with Henry Ward Beecher. She says, besides, 't
she hasn't no scraps to feed 'em since he's come, 'n' so the knife
cuts two ways. She's mighty glad that the observin' 's goin' to begin
to-night, f'r she says she's prayin' Heaven for relief but she ain't
got much faith left. Mr. Kimball was feelin' mighty funny, 'n' he
hollered to her 't she wa'n't the first to have her faith shook by
Henry Ward Beecher, but we was all too considerate for her feelin's to
laugh. I wouldn't laugh at a joke o' Mr. Kimball's anyhow."

"I wish--" said Mrs. Lathrop mildly.

"It's a curious thing," continued Susan,--"it's a mighty curious thing
how many folks is give to likin' to hear themselves talk. Mr.
Kimball's a sad example o' that kind o' man. I'd sometimes enjoy to
stop 'n' exchange a few friendly words with him, but, lor'! I'd never
get a chance. The minister is about all I c'n stand in the talkin'
line--'n' you, o' course, Mrs. Lathrop."

* * * * *

The evening after, as Susan was snapping out her dish-towels, she
spied her neighbor meandering back and forth among the clover
blossoms. Later she observed her standing--ruminative and ruminating,
so to speak--at the fence. There was always a potent suggestion in
Mrs. Lathrop's pose, as she leaned and waited, which vastly
accelerated Miss Clegg's after-dinner movements. In this case less
than two minutes intervened between the waiting of Mrs. Lathrop and
the answering of her younger friend.

"Was you to--" the older woman asked, as her eyes were brightened by
the approach of her medium of communication with the world at large.

"Oh, yes," replied that lady, "I was to town, 'n' the whole town 's
light-headed 'n' runnin' hither 'n' yon like they was ants bein'
stepped on. The town's gone plum crazy over the minister bein' gone
altogether. I do believe the only happy woman in it last night was
Gran'ma Mullins, 'n' 'f you want to see happiness, Mrs. Lathrop, you'd
ought to see Gran'ma Mullins this day. Seems 't Mrs. Sperrit was
drivin' in early last evenin' 'n' she stopped at Gran'ma Mullins to
get one o' the crick stones out o' her horse's shoe, 'n' Gran'ma
Mullins was weepin' on the pi