reform it. And to do that you must begin at the bottom. You must teach
young people, and especially young ladies, the value of reforms. In that
way you enable them to reform their husbands when they get them, and
also make them comprehend the value of new ideas. As for old people, she
declared it time wasted to try to get new ideas into their heads.

Chapman congratulated his dear wife on this new and grand idea. He
agreed with her that a woman was just the thing to straighten up a
husband in need of mental and physical reformation. But it would not do
to start the enterprise until you could get people to take stock enough
to insure a sound basis. He did not care about money himself, still it
was necessary to the success of all great enterprises. And seeing that
the inn had failed, though based on great moral principles, he was not
quite sure that the people would hasten to take stock in the new
enterprise.

It was also an objection with Chapman that with such an institution
there would be nothing to run opposition to except a few beer-drinking
school-masters, who got their victuals and fifteen dollars a month for
driving a knowledge of the rule of three into the heads of little Dutch
children. How different it would be with a church. And then the big inn
could be made such an excellent church, at such a small expense. A man
owning a church could feel himself strong in both politics and religion,
and have all the quarrels he wanted. Chapman was delighted with this new
idea of his; and his good wife supposed it was infinitely superior to
her own. It was another proof to her that there was no greater man in
the world than her dear Chapman. Once get the church going, and with a
preacher of the Dogtown school, to preach out and out transcendentalism,
and another ism or two, and they could get up an opposition that would
be popular with the people. In that way the thing would be sure to go.