"Well, so far as boys are concerned, preachin' ain't so reliable, for
behavin' purposes, as a good young alder switch," was the opinion of
Mrs. Popham, her children being of the comatose kind, whose minds had
never been illuminated by the dazzling idea of disobedience.

"Land sakes, Maria! There ain't alders enough on the river-bank to
switch religion into a boy like Dick Larrabee. It's got to come like
a thief in the night, as the ol' sayin' is, but I guess I don't mean
thief, I guess I mean star: it's got to come kind o' like a star in a
dark night. If the whole village, 'generate an' onregenerate, hadn't
'a' kep' on naggin' an' hectorin' an' criticizin' them two boys, Dick
an' Dave,--carryin' tales an' multiplyin' of 'em by two, '_ong root_'
as the ol' sayin' is,--I dare say they'd 'a' both been here yet; 'stid
o' roamin' roun' the earth seekin' whom they may devour."

There was considerable truth in Ossian Popham's remark, as Letty could
have testified; for the conduct of the Boynton-Gilman household, as
well as that of the minister, had been continually under inspection
and discussion.

Nothing could remain long hidden in Beulah. Nobody spied, nobody
pried, nobody listened at doors or windows, nobody owned a microscope,
nobody took any particular notice of events, or if they did they
preserved an attitude of profound indifference while doing it,--yet
everything was known sooner or later. The amount of the fish and meat
bill, the precise extent of credit, the number of letters in the post,
the amount of fuel burned, the number of absences from church and
prayer-meeting, the calls or visits made and received, the hours of
arrival or departure, the source of all incomes,--these details were
the common property of the village. It even took cognizance of more