Litchfield enquirer., 1875-10-28
It was my turn now to look cbereft of

E [ - ExtemporaDeous preaching was far less common in those days than now, and one l who has never ''felt the halter draw" can- not Tn the least comprehend the horrible fear of failure-failure Tn my fathers pull plt-whlch oppressed me at tue spectacle of this debonair youngster. as he smiling ly announced that he "hadnt the remotest idea what he should preach about to-mor- row" fairly gasped with dismay as my fancy painted the probable effect of the novel experiment. upon certain typical faces In the congregation which I was wont to watch furtively from that coigne of vantage, ''the pastors pew" Mir. Charles's smile faded under my gaze, and his old embarrassment return l ed.
 | You obviously haven't much confi- dence in my powers, Miss Draper, and I do not think 1t strange. haven't myself. If you will only tell me of some clergyman in town to whom can apply, you will This was cheerful hurriedly assured Mir. Charles that I had already canvassed the city in mental agony before his arrival finding no possible substitute except an ex-clergyman of the- persua- sion, excellently good, but whose intellec- tual caliber may be inferred from the fact that he had recently applied at drug glsts for "couple of ounces of caloric, ' which remedy had been recommended for his rheumatic difficulties.
 With this we returned to our psalmody, and by the help of opening" ''closing," and general" hymns. the formidable list was made ready. We grew once more comfortable and chatty over the hymn book, and by a natural transition my | transporting enthusiasm for the Brownings was suggested, and when Mr. Charles had l solemnly shaken hands with me in token | of like fealty, he proceeded to draw out | from the pocket where a we'll filled sermon case ought to have beer. a new volume, and began to r, ad from 1t that of which I had only heard tantalizing whispers heretofore -''Sonnets from the Portuguese" The mercilessly clear bells of the vari- ous Corporations" rang out eleven, and the spell was broken, the spell of the most perfect of 'pure womanly" loveapoems, rendered by what still think the most musical voice in the world.
 started up with an exclamation at the lateness of the hour, and somewhat sum- marily substituted Bible for the beguil- ing brown book in the readers hand with the, to me, most familiar of household words "We will have prayers now, if you please" If had said, we will now dance saraband, St. Mark could not have looked more dismayed, anxiously inquiring-even mortified. But as was sitting expectant, and if an interested wit ness's testimony can be received, lawfully rigid and judicial the young man rustled back and forth through the Bible as if it were as new to him as he had confessed the Church Psalmodyt be, and at last stammered out
 ''Shall I-shall I read anything in par ticular ?"
 "Papa reads psalm at night :" and a psalm read papa s enigmatical successor, one of the bloodthirstiest (the psalm I mean) as it happened, and, as he shut the book, gaZed at me with an accession of beseechiDg inquiry in his eyes. made slight inclination of my hostess's head. as if to say to this astonishing creature that had no idea of relieving him of any part of his prIestly office, and then kneIt, as had been used to do at family worship every night and morning of my life,
 Awful silence ensued, but I, of course, knelt on, not knowing what better to do; and at last he who had so readily lent to the rhyme of the poet the music of his voice, and could talk SO fuently on every them-aside from his profession-faltere out the Lords Prayer-onIy this and nothing mOre-and we both arose from our knees in depressed spirits, and i'll enough at ease, although the oddness of the situation was very inadequately real ized at the time, by me at least. Now, I confess, I grow red under my gray curls every time think of the tableau then and there presented ,and should I see it repro duced in this final quarter of the century by my daughter, or any other girl of the period, and any youth whatsoever II should think it preposterous.
 A little solitary damsel of nineteen on one side of the table, and big, handsome stranger of t~ enty-three. whose person. character, and antecedents were utterly unknown to her, and all her friends. on the other, all alone in the house. except Dinah asleep in the third story-hayine prayers together after this Darby-and Joan fashion.
 Yet my occupancy of my mothers place had been so unavoidable, and became. through daily, hourly and yearly custom. so much a matter of course, that I only vaguely felt it's incongruity with my young maidenhoOd even then in the presence of Mir. Charles obvious uneasiness.
 I am confident that our clerical guests also ordinarily accepted the situation as not at all singular, and I fancy I must have had prematurely aged and semi maternal air, for know the young theo logues often grew quite confidential, and received much excellent counsel from my wise lips.
 On Sunday morning Mir. Charles seemed to have recovered his self possession and spirits. although, as afterwards appeared, he had. thanks to my distrust of his im- provislng talent, spent most of the night on his sermons.
 He suffered brief relapse when bow ed him into the solitary chair opposite mine at the foot of our tete-a-tate break fast-table and bade him ''ask blessing but, on the whole, affairs went very we'll, much as they were used to go in papa's exchanges, only there was 8 peculiar thrill of excitement, altogether new and strange, partly owing to the uncertainty as to what St. Mark might possibly do next.
 Morning prayers were more successful than our vespers had been. Mir. Charles had obviously ''found his place in antici- patton, and his prayer was of more canon ical length and originality, possibly be- cause he was treasured by black Dinah's matronly presence.
 He abounded, however, in phrases from the Prayer Book, and was thankful to notice did not put up any of those minute ly personal petitions in behalf of '.thy young servants" with which Fanny and 1 were often:.affronted at the mouths of diyin- ity babes and suckings.
 My fears in regard to the substitutes public serylces were auieted very soon after we entered the church. I had thor oughly drilled him in the order of exercis- es, which seemed his weakest point. and his prayers, though singularIy brief and formal, were unexceptionaSle but when the sermon began he was thoroughly self possessed, and apparently quite at home. The congregation all agreed with me, Il believe, III finding MT. CharIes's sermons delightfully."-. fresh, original. and exhaust i've studies of character, and as I came out of church, I was questioned on all sides as to who and whence he was.
 Sunday evening in the parsonage was