Precious Father Gray! Excellent Father Gray! Saintly Father Gray! It
was Father Gray here and Father Gray there, and Father Gray
everywhere and always! He ate with us all day and slept with us all
night! The coolest cot in the dryest nook of the tent at night--the
shadiest seat at the table by day--were always for his reverence!
The nicest tit-bits of the choicest dishes--the middle slices of the
fish, the breast of the young ducks, and the wings of the chickens,
the mealiest potatoes, the juiciest tomatoes, the tenderest roasting
ear, the most delicate custard, and freshest fruit always for his
reverence! I had to put up with the necks of poultry, and the tails
of fishes, watery potatoes, specked apples and scorched custards--
and if I dared to touch anything better before his precious
reverence had eaten and was filled, Mrs. Condiment there--would look
as sour as if she had bitten an unripe lemon--and Cap would tread on
my gouty toe! Mrs. Condiment, mum, I don't know how you can look me
in the face!" said Old Hurricane, savagely. A very unnecessary
reproach, since poor Mrs. Condiment had not ventured to look any one
in the face since the discovery of the fraud of which she, as well
as others, had been an innocent victim.

"Come, come, my dear major, there is no harm done to you or your
family; therefore, take patience!" said Mr. Goodwin.

"Demmy, sir, I beg you pardon, parson, I won't take patience! You
don't know! Hang it, man, at last they got me to give up one-half of
my own blessed bed to his precious reverence--the best half which
the fellow always took right out of the middle, leaving me to sleep
on both sides of him, if I could! Think of it--me, Ira Warfield--
sleeping between the sheets--night after night--with Black Donald!
Ugh! ugh! ugh! Oh, for some lethean draught that I might drink and