t he says the rest o' the time.'"

"Well, so far as boys are concerned, preachin' ain't so reliable, for
behavin' purposes, as a good young alder switch," was the opinion of
Mrs. Popham, her children being of the comatose kind, whose minds had
never been illuminated by the dazzling idea of disobedience.

"Land sakes, Maria! There ain't alders enough on the river-bank to
switch religion into a boy like Dick Larrabee. It's got to come like
a thief in the night, as the ol' sayin' is, but I guess I don't mean
thief, I guess I mean star: it's got to come kind o' like a star in a
dark night. If the whole village, 'generate an' onregenerate, hadn't
'a' kep' on naggin' an' hectorin' an' criticizin' them two boys, Dick
an' Dave,--carryin' tales an' multiplyin' of 'em by two, '_ong root_'
as the ol' sayin' is,--I dare say they'd 'a' both been here yet; 'stid
o' roamin' roun' the earth seekin' whom they may devour."

There was considerable truth in Ossian Popham's remark, as Letty could
have testified; for the conduct of the Boynton-Gilman household, as
well as that of the minister, had been continually under inspection
and discussion.

Nothing could remain long hidden in Beulah. Nobody spied, nobody
pried, nobody listened at doors or windows, nobody owned a microscope,
nobody took any particular notice of events, or if they did they
preserved an attitude of profound indifference while doing it,--yet
everything was known sooner or later. The amount of the fish and meat
bill, the precise extent of credit, the number of letters in the post,
the amount of fuel burned, the number of absences from church and
prayer-meeting, the calls or visits made and received, the hours of
arrival or departure, the source of all incomes,--these details were
the common property of the village. It even took cognizance of more
subtle things; for it observed and recorded the fluctuations of all
love affairs, and the fluctuations also in the religious experiences
of various persons not always in spiritual equilibrium; for the soul
was an object of scrutiny in Beulah, as well as mind, body, and
estate.

Letty Boynton used to feel that nothing was exclusively her own; that
she belonged to Beulah part and parcel; but Dick Larrabee was far more
restive under the village espionage than were she and David.

It was natural that David should want to leave Beulah and make his way
in the world, and his sister did not oppose it. Dick's circumstances
were diff