of God was a gang of insultin' hypocrites,
an' ez ef I didn't ever want to see 'em again. Ef that kind o' pride's
sinful, the devil's a saint. Ef there's any thin' wrong about a man's
feelin' so about himself and them God give him, God's to blame for it
himself; but seein' it's the same feelin' that makes folks keep
'emselves strait in all other matters, I'll keep on thinkin' it's
right."

"But the preveleges of the Gospel, George," remonstrated the Deacon.

"Don't you s'pose I know what they're wuth?" continued the carpenter.
"Haven't I hung around in front of the meetin'-house Summer nights, when
the winders was open, jest to listen to the singin' and what else I
could hear? Hezn't my wife ben with me there many a time, and hevn't
both of us prayed an' groaned an' cried in our hearts, not only 'cos we
couldn't join in it all ourselves, but 'cos we couldn't send the
children either, without their learnin' to hate religion 'fore they
fairly know'd what 'twas? Haven't I sneaked in to the vestibule Winter
nights, an' sot just where I did last night, an' heard what I'd 'a liked
my wife and children to hear, an' prayed for the time to come when the
self-app'inted elect shouldn't offend the little ones? An' after sittin'
there last night, an' comin' home and tellin' my wife how folks was
concerned about us, an' our rejoicin' together in the hope that some day
our children could hev the chances we're shut out of now, who should
come along this mornin' but one of those same holy people, and Jewed me
down on pay that the Lord knows is hard enough to live on."

The Deacon _had_ a heart, and he knew the nature of self-respect as well
as men generally. His mind ran entirely outside of texts for a few
minutes, and then, with a sigh for the probable expense, he remarked:

"Reckon Flite's notion was right, after all--ther' ort to be a
workin'-man's chapel."

[Illustration]

"Ort?" responded Hay; "who d'ye s'pose'd go to it? Nobody? Ye can
rent us second-class houses, an' sell us second-hand clothin', and the
cheapest cuts o' meat, but when it comes to cheap religion--nobody knows
its value better 'n we do. We don't want to go into yer parlors on
carpets and furniture we don't know how to use, an' we don't expect to
be asked into society where our talk an' manners might make some better
eddicated people laugh. But when it comes to religion--God knows nobody
needs an' deserves the very best article more 'n _we_ do."

The Deaco