Peninsular news and advertiser. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1872-1904, 1876-05-26


er of the risible muscles, old ladies put
up their fans, youths and maidens in
the singers seat lauged outright, and for
the moment general snicker among
the children was pardoned But [ was
one of that luokless kind whose nerves,
once set in vibration, could not be COM
posed. When the reign of gravity and
decorum had returned, Harry and l sat
by each other, shaking with suppressed
laughter. Everything in the subsequent
exercises took funny turn, and in the
long prayer, when everybody else was
still and decorous, the whole scene came
over me with such overpowering force
that exploded with laughter, and had
to be taken out of meeting and marched
home by Aut Lois as a convicted Grim
inal. What especially moved her in
dignation was that the more she rebuked
and upbraided the more 1 laughed until
the tears rolled down my cheeks, which
Aunt Lois construed into wilful dis
respect to her authority and resented
accordingly.
BY Sunday evening, as we gathered
around the fire, the reaction from undue
gayety to sobriety had taken place, and
we were in a pensive and penitent state.
Grandmother was gracious and fogiving,
but Aunt Lois still preserved that frosty
air of reprobation which she held to be
a salutary means of quickening our con-
sciences for the future. 1t was, there
fore, with unusual delight that we saw
our old friend Sam come in and sit him
self quietly down on the block in the
chimney corner. With Sam we felt
assured of indulgence and patronage,
for though always rigidly moral and
instructive in his turn of mind, he had
that fellow feeling for transgressors
which is characteristic of the loose
jointed, easy-going style of his individ-
uality.
"Lordy massy, boys-yis," said Sam,
virtuously, in view of some of Aunt
Lois thrusts, I'VE ought never to laugh
nor cut up in meetin', that ares so, but
there is times when the best of us gets
took down. We gets took unawares
ye see-even ministers does. Yis, natur'
will git the upper hand afore they know
| it."
"Why, Sam, ministers don't ever
laugh in meetin', do theyp"
We put the question with wide eyes.
Such supposition bordered on profanity
we thought; it was approaching the sin
of Uzzah, who unwarily touched the ark
of the Lord.
Laws, yes. Why, haven't you never
heard how there was council held tC
try Parson Morrel for laughing out il
prayer timer"
Laughing in prayer time!' we botl
repeated, with uplifted hands and eyes.
My grandmother's face became lumin
Gus with a suppressed smile which
frightened it as the moon does cloud
but he said nothing.
Eyes, yes" said my grandmother,
"that affair did make dreadful scandal
i'll the time ont. But Parson Morrel
was good man, and Pm glad the coun-
Gil wasn't hard on him."
"Wal," said Sam Lawson, latter all,
it was more like Rabbits fault than
twas anybody's. Ye see, Ike, he was
alters for gettin' what he could out o.
the town, and he would feed his sheep
ON the meetin' house green. Somehow
or other, Ike's fences alters contrived to
give out, come Sunday, and up would
come his sheep, and Ike was too pious to
drive them back Sunday, and so there
they was. He was talked to enough
about it, case ye see to have sheep and
lambs ba-a-in' and blatin' all prayer
and sumon time, want the thing. Mem
ber that are old meeting house up to the
north end, down under Blueberry hill,
the land sort o. sloped down, so as body
he'd to come into the meetin' house step
PIN down instead o. up.
"Fact was, they said twas put there
cause the land WANT good for nothin'
else, and the folks thought putin a
meetin' house ont would be q clear
savin'- but Parson Morrel he didn't
like it-and was free to tell 'em his mind
ont, that twas like bringin' the lame
and the blind to the Lords service-but
but there twas.
'There warn't better minister nor
no one more set by in all the State than
Parson Morrel. His doctrines was right
up and down good and sharp, and he
gives saints and sinners their meat in
due season, and for consolin' and COM
fortin' widders and orphans Parson Nor
rel hadn't his match. The women sot
lots by him and he was allus' ready to
take tea round, and make things pleasant
and comfortable and he had good story
for every one and word for the children,
and may be an apple or cookey in his
pocket for 'em. Wal, you know the
amt no pleasin' everybody, and eff GA
beriel himself, right down out o. heaven,
was to come and be minister 1 expect
there'd be pickin' at his wings, and a
sort o. fault findin'. Now aunt Jerushy
Scran and Aunt Polly Hokum they said
Parson Morrel WANT solemn enough.
Ye see there's them that thinks that a
minister ought to be jest like the town
hearse, so that ye think o. death, Judge
ment and eternity, and nothin' else,
when you see him round; and eff they
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