Deacons . akesman the agent by whom to answer his own prayers; andhe used to say,—but the senior deacon of the churchcalled it rank heresy, — he used to say that deaconsnever prayed aright unless they went and did them-selves what they asked God to do. Thus upheld,buttoned to the chin, and warmly gloved, he openedthe door of his dwelling, and plunged out into ^^Now, the deacon was no gymnast. He had neverpractised on the trapeze. He was large, as I have hinted,and not remarkably agile. The snow lay a foot in depth,the flagging was iced beneath ; and, as he stepped boldlyoff into t
Deacons . akesman the agent by whom to answer his own prayers; andhe used to say,—but the senior deacon of the churchcalled it rank heresy, — he used to say that deaconsnever prayed aright unless they went and did them-selves what they asked God to do. Thus upheld,buttoned to the chin, and warmly gloved, he openedthe door of his dwelling, and plunged out into ^^Now, the deacon was no gymnast. He had neverpractised on the trapeze. He was large, as I have hinted,and not remarkably agile. The snow lay a foot in depth,the flagging was iced beneath ; and, as he stepped boldlyoff into the drift, some of you may imagine the deacon slipped, — even deacons do make a slipoccasionally, — the deacon slipped, I say; slipped withboth feet at once ; slipped, and sat down. It was welldone, as only a deacon of his size could do it. He wasa man of decision, and he sat down decidedly. Hisfirst thought was of his wife. Had she seen him?Horrors! if she had! He knew that he closed the. HE TWISTED HIMSELF ALOUT, ETC. Page 73. THE deacons fall. 73 door behind him; but had she, in her loving anxiety,followed him? and were her affectionate eyes nowfastened on him ? He twisted himself about, and easta look of agony at the door. Blessed absence! herdarling face was not there. But had she heard him ?She must have. It seemed to him that he had shakenthe entire block when he struck the pavement. But710: the good woman had resigned him to the care ofProvidence when he left her, and Providence was nowdealing with him alone. Yes, he was unobserved. Afeeling of sweet complacency stole over him. Thereare positions perfectly honorable in themselves, butin which a man does not like to be looked at. Thedeacon started to get up: he succeeded only in discovered, with Carlyle, that our successes arepart failures. He lifted himself on his palms to thefull length of his arms ; and there he hung a moment,hung dubiously, and then sat down again. Thedeacon laughed. Friends
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