win' to the visit of a
great Evangelist from the West. Lots of folks had come on the night
boats so as to be there to hear him. For if the angel Gabriel wanted
to preach there to lost sinners, he couldn't land there on Sunday
unless he swum or come cross lots (that is, unless he flowed down).
The folks on that island are too good to let anyone come there to
meetin' unless they come sarahuptishously. I asked a trustee once why
it wuz wicked for folks to ride there to meetin'.

And he said, "A merciful man is merciful to his beast."

Sez I, "A steamer hain't a beast, and if it wuz, it wouldn't tucker it
out much to come over from the bay or Clayton." And he said the
sailors would have to toil to git 'em there.

"So the driver and the horses have to toil to git sinners to meetin'
on the main land," sez I. And he said, "The steamers would make noise
and confusion, and disturb the sweet Sabbath calm." I felt there wuz
some truth in this, though it wouldn't make nigh so much noise as the
thousands of church bells clangin' out church time in cities and
villages.

Sez he, "If we allowed boats to land here we should be overrun with
excursionists who don't care for Sunday as a day of holy quiet and
rest, and our peaceful Sabbath would be turned into a carnival of
pleasure seekers, flirtations, giggles, brown paper parcels, egg
shells, cigar smoke and sandwiches."

And I sez, "Like as not that is so." And I felt that mebby he wuz in
the right on't. But some don't like it and feel that they'd ort to
take the resk.

CHAPTER TEN

WE HEAR A GREAT TEMPERANCE SERMON, BUT JOSIAH STILL HANKERS FOR CONEY
ISLAND

CHAPTER TEN

WE HEAR A GREAT TEMPERANCE SERMON, BUT JOSIAH STILL HANKERS FOR
CONEY ISLAND

Ever since I had been to the Thousand Island Park, my mind had roamed
onto that idee of the Tabernacle with a sort of or. It is a big
impressive word and one calculated to impress a stranger and
sojourner. And so when we made up our minds to attend to it I almost
instinctively put on my best alpacky dress (London brown) and I also
run a new ribbin into my braize veil and tied it round my bunnet so it
would hang in graceful folds adown the left side of my frame, I also
put on my black mitts and my mantilly with tabs; of course I carried
my faithful umbrell.

I looked well. Faith had a bad headache, I guess the job of gittin'
that information into Mr. Pomper's head had tuckered her out, so I and
my pardner sot off