ey wuzn't tellin' the
truth, though they had told the same thing so much that probable they
had got to thinkin' so.

But in the case of one man in petickuler, I found out for myself, for I
didn't believe what he wuz a sayin' any of the time.

Why, he made out in evenin' meetin's, protracted and otherwise, that he
had been a awful villain. Why no pirate wuz ever wickeder than he made
himself out to be, in the old times before he turned round and become
pious.

[Illustration: "HIS FACE WUZ A GOOD MORAL FACE."]

But I didn't believe it, for he had a good look to his face, all but the
high headed look he had, and sort o' vain.

But except this one look, his face wuz a good moral face, and I knew
that no man could cut up and act as he claimed that he had, without
carryin' some marks on the face of the cuttin' up, and also of the
actin'.

And so, as it happened, I went a visitin' (to Josiah's relations) to the
very place where he had claimed to do his deeds of wild badness, and I
found that he had always been a pattern man--never had done a single
mean act, so fur as wuz known.

Where wuz his boastin' then? As the Bible sez, why, it wuz all vain
talk. He had done it to get up a reputation. He had done it because he
wuz big feelin' and vain. And he had got so haughty over it, and had
told of it so much, that I spoze he believed in it himself.

Curius! hain't it? But I am a eppisodin', and to resoom. Trueman's wife
would talk jest so, jest so haughty and high headed, about the world
comin' to a end.

She'd dispute with everybody right up and down if they disagreed with
her--and specially about that religion of hern. How sot she wuz, how
extremely sot.

But then, it hain't in me, nor never wuz, to fight anybody for any
petickuler religion of theirn. There is sights and sights of different
religions round amongst different friends of mine, and most all on 'em
quite good ones.

That is, they are agreeable to the ones who believe in 'em, and not over
and above disagreeable to me.

Now it seems to me that in most all of these different doctrines and
beliefs, there is a grain of truth, and if folks would only kinder hold
onto that grain, and hold themselves stiddy while they held onto it,
they would be better off.

But most folks when they go to follerin' off a doctrine, they foller too
fur, they hain't megum enough.

Now, for instance, when you go to work and whip anybody, or hang 'em, or
burn 'em up for not beli