said Josiah.

"People do not talk about what is continuous--what goes right along. Am
I not right, Josiah?"

"Quite right! quite right!"

"If a man tells me he is honest, he is not honest. If he tells me that
he is pure, he isn't pure. If he were honest or pure he says nothing
about it. Am I not right, Josiah?"

"Quite right! quite right!"

"Nobody tells about his stomach unless it is out of order; and no one
puts cotton into keyholes unless he himself is peeking through keyholes.
Am I not right, Josiah?"

"Quite right! quite right!"

"And no one asks ye to sign a temperance pledge unless he's been a
drunkard himself, or thinks ye are one, or likely to be. Ain't I right,
Josiah?"

"Quite right!"

"The best way to support temperance is to live temperately and say
nothin' about it. There, now! If I had held my peace, the stones would
have cried out. Olive Eastman has spoken, and Josiah says that I am
right, and I'm agin the temperance pledge, and there's nothin' more to
be said about it."

Aunt Indiana sat down amid much applause. Then Jasper rose, and showed
that intemperance was a great evil, and that public sentiment should be
educated against it.

"This education should begin in childhood," he said, "in habits of
self-respect and self-restraint. The child should be first instructed to
say "No" to himself."

He proceeded to argue for the temperance pledge from his point of view.

"The world is educated by pledges," he said. "The patriot is kept in his
line of march by the pledge; the business man makes a pledge when he
signs a note; and the Christian takes pledges when he joins the Church.
We should be willing to take any pledge that will make life better. If
eating meat cause my brother to stumble and offend, then I will not eat
meat. I will sacrifice myself always to that which will help the world
and honor God. I am sorry to differ from the good woman who has spoken,
but I am for the use of the pledge. I never drank strong drink, and this
hand shall sign any pledge that will help a poor tempted brother by my
example."

Tall Abraham Lincoln arose.

"There! he's goin' to speak--I knew he'd been preparin'," whispered Aunt
Indiana to Josiah Crawford. "Wonder what he'll have to say. _You'll_
have to answer him. He's just a regular Philistine, and goes stalkin'
through the land, and turns people's heads; and he's just Tom Linkern's
son, who is shiftless and poor, and I'm goin' agin him."

The tall y