being; he was very quiet and all who greeted
him received only a stiff nod in response, which may have been due
to a desire on his part not to disturb the spirit of the meeting.

The regular meeting was preceded by a roll call, and when the
pastor called out "Jan Anderson of Ruffluck Croft," the latter
answered "here" without the slightest hesitation--as if Emperor
Johannes of Portugallia had never existed.

The clergyman sat at a table at the far end of the room, with the
big church registry in front of him. Beside him sat Lars Gunnarson,
enlightening him as to who had moved away from the district within
the year, and who had married.

Jan having answered all questions correctly and promptly, the
pastor turned to Lars and put a query to him in a low tone of voice.

"It was not as serious as it appeared," said Lars. "I took it out
of him. He works at Falla every day now, as he has always done."

Lars had not thought to lower his voice, as had the pastor. Every
one knew of whom he was speaking and many glanced anxiously at Jan,
who sat there as calm as though he had not heard a word.

Later, when the catechizing was well on, the pastor happened to ask
a trembling youth whose knowledge of the Scriptures was to be
tested, to repeat the Fourth Commandment.

It was not wholly by chance the pastor had chosen this commandment
as his text for that evening. When seated thus in a comfortable old
farmhouse, with its olden-time furniture, and much else that
plainly bespoke a state of prosperity, he always felt moved to
impress upon his hearers how well those prosper who hold together
from generation to generation, who let their elders govern as long
as they are able to do so, and who honour and cherish them
throughout the remaining years of their lives.

He had just begun to unfold the rich promises which God has made to
those who honour father and mother, when Jan of Ruffluck arose.

"There is some one standing outside the door who is afraid to come
in," said Jan.

"Go see what the matter is, Boerje," said the pastor. "You're
nearest the door."

Boerje rose at once, opened the door, and glanced up and down the
entry.

"There's nobody out there," he replied. "Jan must have heard
wrongly."

After this interruption the pastor proceeded to explain to his
listeners that this commandment was not so much of a command as it
was good counsel, which should be strictly followed if one wished
to succeed in life. He was himse