Year: 1876

The minister gave out his text and


droned along monotonously through an


argument which was so prosy that many


a head by-and-by began to nod-and yet


it was an argument that dealt in limitless


fire and birthstone, and thinned the pre-


destined elect down to a company Sc


small as to be hardly worth the saving


Tom counted the pages OF the sermon ;


after church he always knew how many


pages there had been, but he seldom


knew anything about the discourse.


However, this time he was really inter-


ested for little while. The minister


made grand and moving picture OF the


assembling together of the worlds hosts


at the millennium, when the lion and the


lamb shall lie down together and little


child shall lead them. But the pathos,


the lesson, the moral of the great specta-


Gle were lost upon the boy; he only


thought of the conspicueusness OF the


principal character before the Unlocking


nations; his face lit up with the thought,


and he said to himself that he wished he


could be that child, if it was tame lion.


Now he lapsed into suffering again as
the dry argument was resumed. fres-
emily he bethought himself of treasure
he had, and got it out. 1t was large
black beetle, with formidable iaws-a
sspinch-bug" he called it. 1t was in a
percussion cap-box. The first thing the
beetle did was to take him by the finger.
A natural flip followed, the beetle went
flounderlng into the aisle, and lit on its
back, and the hurt finger went into the
boys mouth. The beetle lay there,
working its helpless legs, unable to turn
over. Tom eyed it, and longed for it,
but it was safe out of his reach. Other
people, uninterested in the sermon, found
relief in the beetle, and they eyed lt,too.


Presently a vagrant poodle dog came
idllng along, sad at heart, lazy with the
summers softness and the quiet weary
of captivity, signing for change. He
spied the beetle; the dropping tail lifted
and wagged. He surveyed the prize
walked around it; sn-elt of it from safe
distance walked around it again; grew
bolder and took closer smell then lift |
ed his lip and took a gingerly snatch at
it, just missing it; made another and
another; began to enjoy the diversion;
subsidized to his stomach with the beetle |
between his paws, and continued his ex-
periments; grew weary at last, and then |
Indifferent and absent-minded. HIS head |
nodded, and little by little his chin de-
scended and touched the enemy, who |
seized it. There was a sharp yelp, a
firt of the poodle's head, and the beetle
fell q couple of yards away, and lit on
its back once more. The neighboring
spectators shook with gentle inward
Joy, several faces went behind fans and
handkerchiefs, and Tom was entirely
happy. The dog looked foolish and
probably felt so; but there was resent
ment in his heart, too, and craving
for revenge. So he went to the beetle
and began a wary attack on it again
jumping at it from every point of circle
lighting with his fore-paws within an
inch of the creature, making even closer
snatches at it with his teeth, and Jerking
his head till his ears tapped again. But
he grew tired once more, after while;
tried to amuse himself with a fly, but
found no relief; followed an ant around
with his nose close to the floor, and
quickly wearied of that; yawned and
sighed, forgot the beetle entirely, and
sat down on it. Then there was wild
yelp of agony, and the poodle went
sailing up the aisle the yelps continued, (
and so did the dog; he crossed the house
in front of the altar; he flew down the
other aisle; he crossed before the doors I
he clamored up the home stretch; his
anguish grew with his progress, till
presently he was a woody comet, moving
in its orbit with the gleam and speed Of
light. At last the frantic .suffererl
sheered from its course and sprang into
its masters lap; he flung it out Of the
window, and the voice of distress quick
ly thinned away anG. died in the distance.
Tom Sawyer went home
quite cheerful, thinking to himself that
there was Come satisfaction about divine
service Where there was bit of variety
IN it.. He had but one marring thought
me was willing that the dog should
play with his pinch-bug, but he did not
think it was upright to carry it off.