ttle
bedroom on that tempestuous night, and brought to my mind how creditable
to me was my conduct through the whole night, and how barren it was of
moral spot or fleck during that entire period: he said Mr. X was sexton,
or something, of the Episcopal church in his town, and had been for many
years the competent superintendent of all the church's worldly affairs,
and was regarded by the whole congregation as a stay, a blessing, a
priceless treasure. But he had a couple of defects--not large defects,
but they seemed large when flung against the background of his
profoundly religious character: he drank a good deal, and he could
outswear a brakeman. A movement arose to persuade him to lay aside these
vices, and after consulting with his pal, who occupied the same position
as himself in the other Episcopal church, and whose defects were
duplicates of his own and had inspired regret in the congregation he was
serving, they concluded to try for reform--not wholesale, but half at a
time. They took the liquor pledge and waited for results. During nine
days the results were entirely satisfactory, and they were recipients of
many compliments and much congratulation. Then on New-year's eve they
had business a mile and a half out of town, just beyond the State line.
Everything went well with them that evening in the barroom of the
inn--but at last the celebration of the occasion by those villagers
came to be of a burdensome nature. It was a bitter cold night and the
multitudinous hot toddies that were circulating began by and by to exert
a powerful influence upon the new prohibitionists. At last X's friend
remarked,

"X, does it occur to you that we are _outside the diocese_?"

That ended reform No. 1. Then they took a chance in reform No. 2. For a
while that one prospered, and they got much applause. I now reach the
incident which sent me back a matter of sixty years, as I have remarked
a while ago.

One morning Mr. Blank-Blank met X on the street and said,

"You have made a gallant struggle against those defects of yours. I am
aware that you failed on No. 1, but I am also aware that you are having
better luck with No. 2."

"Yes," X said; "No. 2 is all right and sound up to date, and we are full
of hope."

Blank-Blank said, "X, of course you have your troubles like other
people, but they never show on the outside. I have never seen you when
you were not cheerful. Are you always cheerful? Really always cheerful?"

"Well,