f,
unless he, or she, as the case may be, is a lovable person, and loves
back. There can be no arbitrary rules that will bind you against what
you think is right. Suppose your neighbor is a horsethief, or a liar,
who belongs to another political party, and backbites, and steals your
wood, and kicks your dog, and puts up jobs on you, how you going to love
that neighbor as yourself? Two or three thousand years ago maybe these
things would have been all right, when they didn't have any newspapers,
and trolley cars, and there was no business except selling fish, and no
money but coppers. I'll tell you how I shall bring up my boys, when
I have any, and that is to keep their cheeks away from the smoter who
smotes. Be on your guard, and if a boy tries to smite you on one cheek,
you duck, and side-step, and smile at him, and keep your hands up so
if he makes a feint to smite you on one cheek, just stand him off, and
maybe he will think that you are onto his smiting on the cheek business
yourself, and are no chicken, that is going to keep cheeks for other
people to smite, and he may quit, and you can laugh over it, and
consider the incident closed. But if he gets gay, and it seems to be his
day to smite cheeks, and he acts as though he had picked you out for a
soft mark, and rushes in to do you up, if I ever hear of your running,
or putting your hands down, and letting him biff you, one, two, on both
cheeks, and you come home here crying, with the nosebleed, and your eye
blacked, and you haven't done a thing to that cheek smiter, I will warm
your jacket so you will think there is a hornets' nest in it, hear
me?" and the old man looked cross and sassy. "No, sir; you just let him
search for your cheeks, and if he won't quit, you finally give him your
left in the neck, and side-step, and keep out of his way, and if he
wants more, find a place where there is an opening, and jab him until
he quits looking for cheeks to smite, and other cheeks to turn also. I
don't know as it is right, but turning the other cheek also has gone out
of style, and nobody is doing it that has got any gravel in their crop.
Don't let me ever catch you fighting, that is, bringing on a fight, but
don't you ever let anybody use you to practice that verse on, because
your minister or your Sunday-school superintendent wouldn't allow
anybody to smite them without getting hurt."

"Well, I like that," said the boy, getting up and starting for the
dining room. "I wi