The farm-yard club of Jotham: . ient edifice, and without a tearful demonstrationperformed well his painful part in the house of entire fitness everybody recognized. At church he was more thansexton ; at fune-rals he was by nomeans an under-taker ; but inspite of the sad-ness of his occu-pation and thepoverty and low-liness of his life,,he managed tosecure such a pe-culiar hold uponthe people thatthey submittedthe sacred ashesof their friendsinto his handswith a feelingof tender confi-dence ; theyopened theirdoors to him at all hours, as if he had been a member of thedomestic circ
The farm-yard club of Jotham: . ient edifice, and without a tearful demonstrationperformed well his painful part in the house of entire fitness everybody recognized. At church he was more thansexton ; at fune-rals he was by nomeans an under-taker ; but inspite of the sad-ness of his occu-pation and thepoverty and low-liness of his life,,he managed tosecure such a pe-culiar hold uponthe people thatthey submittedthe sacred ashesof their friendsinto his handswith a feelingof tender confi-dence ; theyopened theirdoors to him at all hours, as if he had been a member of thedomestic circle ; they bestowed their alms upon him, as ifthey were contributing to a sacred cause ; and they classedhim with the minister and the lawyer and the doctor, asamong the most important personages in the village. Madeup as he was of simplicity and shrewdness, he had won fromthe Rev. Mr. Howe and his predecessor, with whom hehad also served, the high eulogium of being as wise as aserpent and harmless as a dove. Had he not been the. THE OLD SEXTON. THE SMALLER AAUMAL^S OF THE FARM. 517 sexton he would probabl} have amounted to but little ; buthe was the sexton, and so as the conij)anion of the minis-ter he counted a great deal. When, therefore, this impor-tant official seated himself before the fire, and, resting hiswrists on his knees, presented his great open palms to thegenial warmth of the embers, all the while moving hisfeatures up and down with curious and impressive method,Deacon Thomas prepared his mind for some kind of im-portant business, he knew not what. We had heard the nine-oclock bell, and were juststarting for bed as you came in, said Huldah to the sex-ton. You must ha come right from the meeting-househere. So I did, drawled the sexton. Every night, forthirty years, in fair weather and foul, I ve travelled upthis road zind rung that bell. Not a night have I I ve been kind o tired, and kind o sick, andsometimes the folks have nt been well, but I ve a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
