"I'll show you," said Joe, handing the Squire the paper on which he has
just put in writing his promise to Sam.

"Joseph," said the Squire, after reading the paper several times, to
assure himself that his eyes did not deceive him, "it beats the widow's
mites; she gave the Lord all she had, but you've given Him more than you
ever had in all your life until to-day."

Joe handed Sam the paper, and it was to the teamster the strongest
evidence of Christianity he had ever seen in Bungfield. He had known of
some hard cases turning from the saloon and joining the church, but none
of these things were so wonderful as this action of Joe Gatter's. Sam
told the story, in strict confidence, to each of his friends, and the
good seed was thus sown in soil that it had never reached before.

It would be pleasant to relate that Joe forthwith ceased shaving notes
and selling antiquated grease for butter, and that he devoted the rest
of his days and money to good deeds, but it wouldn't be true. Those of
our readers who have always consistently acted according to their own
light and knowledge are, of course, entitled to throw stones at Joe
Gatter; but most of us know to our sorrow why he didn't always act
according to the good promptings he received. Our only remaining duty is
to say that when, thereafter, Joe's dividends came seldom, he knew who
to blame.

THE TEMPERANCE MEETING AT BACKLEY.

Loud and long rang the single church-bell at Backley, but its industry
was entirely unnecessary, for the single church at Backley was already
full from the altar to the doors, and the window-sills and altar-steps
were crowded with children. The Backleyites had been before to the
regular yearly temperance meetings, and knew too well the relative
merits of sitting and standing to wait until called by the bell. Of
course no one could afford to be absent, for entertainments were
entirely infrequent at Backley; the populace was too small to support a
course of lectures, and too moral to give any encouragement to circuses
and minstrel troupes, but a temperance meeting was both moral and cheap,
and the children might all be taken without extra cost.

For months all the young men and maidens at Backley had been practising
the choruses of the songs which the Temperance Glee Club at a
neighboring town was to sing at the meeting. For weeks had large
posters, printed in the reddest of ink, announced to the surrounding
country that the parent societ