Europe, where he was chaplain to Lord C----d, to the most aristocratic
society. Perhaps it was owing to his knowledge of the vanity of
aristocratic airs that he affected such a plainness of manners, being
thoroughly tired of the odd, unmeaning ceremonials of fashion. It must
be confessed, at any rate, that he entertained no small contempt for the
mushroom aristocratic imitations that he witnessed in America; and this
made him a little sarcastic, and therefore rather rude, in his
association with what he called "the monkey aristocracy" of the new
world.

Such being the sentiments of Father Ugo, the reader ought not to be
surprised that his reluctance to enter into a theological discussion
with Amanda was great, and his answers to that indefatigable _she bore_
rather curt and ironical. After a good deal of conversation about the
weather, crops, the telegraph, railroads, thunder storms, electricity,
and such other subjects as were suggested by the climate and state of
the weather, Mr. Prying left the room, wondering where this priest got
his knowledge, and how could he be one of that low, canting,
Scripture-phrase class to which all ministers he ever knew belonged, and
in which he thought the priest must have exceeded the ministers in
degree as much as the Green Mountain exceeded the little knoll in front
of his house.

"That's a well-read, intelligent fellow," said he to his wife.

"We allers heard they knowed nothing but ignorance and idolatry," she
carelessly remarked.

"I guess those who represented the Catholic priests as such are the most
ignorant," was the remark of Ephraim.