Year: 1859

In one or the Eastern OtateS tnere is
settlement which has long been celebrated
as stronghold of Methodism. 1t is an
out-of-the-way neighborhood, yet no place
in the whole country is better known, or
more highly esteemed. In the centre of
the settlement, just where two roads cut
each other at right angles, making " four
corners" is the school-house, painted red,
and long familiar as the only place of pub
! lie worship in the settlement. The people
are well off now, and have built a nice and
commodious church on the opposite corner.
A few rods up the road from the school
house, lived Squire Scrub, You could
tell at first sight that the Squire" was
"well to do" in this world, for everything
about him denoted it. There was his
picket-fence all around his garden, painted
red, and the top tipped with white there
was his house, a modest one story and
half, with a leaning to it in the rear, paint
ed white all over there was the barn-a
large, well-flled barn it was there was
the farm, a choice lot of one hundred
acres, we'll cultivated and, besides all
| this. there were the honors and emOlu-
ments of the important office of Justice of
the Peace. The Squire" was, of course,
a man of note in his town. He had been
Justice several terms in succession he
was Trustee Of the school district, and
he was both class-leader and steward in
the Methodist Church. | have no doubt
he would have received other honors at
the hands of his fellow-townsmen and
brethren, had he been eligible. Still he
was quiet, unassuming man, and | verify
believe he thought more of his religion
than of all his ecclesiastical and civil hon.
ors. His house was the itinerants home !;
and right sweet, pleasant home it would
have been, but for certain unfortunate
weakness of the every other way e1celle1t
Sister Scrub The weakness | have al
luded to was, or, at least, it was suspected
to be, the I0ve Of praise. Now, the good
sister was really worthy of high praise, and
she often received it; but she had way
of disparaging herself and her perform
ances, which some people thought was in
tended to invite praise. No housewife
kept her floors looking so clean and her
walls SO well whitewashed as she. Every
board was scrubbed and secured till fur
ther scrubbing and securing would have
been labor wasted No one could look at
her white-ash floor, and not admire the
polish her industry gave it. The Squire"
was a good provider, and Sister Scrub was
an excellent cook and so their table
groaned under burden Of good things on
all occasions when good cheer was de-
manded And yet you could never enter
the house and sit haif an hour without be-
ing reminded that Husband held court
yesterday, and she couldn't keep the house
decent" If you set down to eat with
them, she was sorry she hadn't anything
fit to eat )" she had been scrubbing, or
washing, or ironing, or she had been half
sick, and she hadn't got such and such
things that she ought to have. Nor did it
matter how bountiful or how well prepared
the repast really was ; there was always
something deficient, the want of which
furnished text for disparaging discourse
on the occasion. | remember once that
we sat down to a table that a king might
have been happy to enjoy. There was
the light, snow-white bread, there were the
chickens swimming in gravy, there were
the onions and the turnips, and / was sure
Sister Scrub had gratifed her ambition
once. We sat down, and a blessing was
asked. Instantly the good sister began ::
she was afraid her coffee was too much
burned, or that the water had been smoked,
or that she hadn't roasted the chicken
enough. There ought to have been some
salad, and it was too bad that there was
nothing nice to offer US.


We, of course, endured these unjustifa-
bic apologies as well as we could, simply
remarking that everything was really
nice, and proving by our acts that the re-
past was tempting to our appetites.


will now introduce another actor to the
reader. 1t is Elder Blunt, the circuit
preacher. Elder Blunt was good man.