little old man with a wooden leg.

The children whispered noisily, and soon, to our surprise, the lecturer
rose and began. He bowed, and treated us with beautiful deference, and
read his dreary lecture with enthusiasm. I wish I could say, for his
sake, that it was interesting; but I cannot tell a lie, and it was so
long! He went on and on, until it seemed as if I had been there ever
since I was a little girl. Kate and I did not dare to look at each
other, and in my desperation at feeling her quiver with laughter, I
moved to the other end of the pew, knocking over a big hymn-book on the
way, which attracted so much attention that I have seldom felt more
embarrassed in my life. Kate's great dog rose several times to shake
himself and yawn loudly, and then lie down again despairingly.

You would have thought the man was addressing an enthusiastic Young
Men's Christian Association. He exhorted with fervor upon our duties as
citizens and as voters, and told us a great deal about George Washington
and Benjamin Franklin, whom he urged us to choose as our examples. He
waited for applause after each of his outbursts of eloquence, and
presently went on again, in no wise disconcerted at the silence, and as
if he were sure that he would fetch us next time. The rain began to fall
again heavily, and the wind wailed around the meeting-house. If the
lecture had been upon any other subject it would not have been so hard
for Kate and me to keep sober faces; but it was directed entirely toward
young men, and there was not a young man there.

The children in front of us mildly scuffled with each other at one time,
until the one at the end of the pew dropped a marble, which struck the
floor and rolled with a frightful noise down the edge of the aisle where
there was no carpet. The congregation instinctively started up to look