"I won't ask you to do any of the more ornamental part," I
said,--"only plain digging and hoeing."

"I would rather be excused, sir."

"I am afraid I made you think"--

"I thought nothing, sir. I thank you kindly, sir."

"I assure you I want the work done, and I must employ some one else
if you don't undertake it."

"Well, sir, my back's bad now--no, sir, I won't tell a story about
it. I would just rather not, sir."

"Now," his wife broke in, "now, Old Rogers, why won't 'ee tell the
parson the truth, like a man, downright? If ye won't, I'll do it for
'ee. The fact is, sir," she went on, turning to me, with a plate in
her hand, which she was wiping, "the fact is, that the old parson's
man for that kind o' work was Simmons, t'other end of the village;
and my man is so afeard o' hurtin' e'er another, that he'll turn the
bread away from his own mouth and let it fall in the dirt."

"Now, now, old 'oman, don't 'ee belie me. I'm not so bad as that.
You see, sir, I never was good at knowin' right from wrong like. I
never was good, that is, at tellin' exactly what I ought to do. So
when anything comes up, I just says to myself, 'Now, Old Rogers,
what do you think the Lord would best like you to do?' And as soon
as I ax myself that, I know directly what I've got to do; and then