per's wife, who had
lumbago, and joined the circle around the stove, seeing within it
such worthy companions as the lawyer and the Squire, and having room
made promptly and deferentially for him.

The discussion had been running high upon the subject of town
appropriations for the poor, until Doctor Prescott entered and the
grating arm-chairs made place for him, when there was a hush for a
moment. Ozias Lamb, hunched upon a keg on the outskirts, smiled
sardonically around at Adoniram Judd standing behind him.

"Cat's come," he said; "now the mice stop squeakin'." The men near
him chuckled.

Simon Basset, who, having arrived first, had the choice of seats, and
was stationed in the least rickety arm-chair the farthest from
draughts, ceased for a moment the rotatory motion of lantern jaws and
freed his mind upon the subject of the undue appropriations for the
poor.

"Ain't a town of this size in the State begins to lay out the money
we do to keep them good-for-nothin' paupers," said he, and chewed
again conclusively.

Doctor Prescott, not as yet condescending to speak, had made a slight
motion and frown of dissent, which the minister at his elbow saw.
Doctor Prescott was his pillar of the sanctuary, upholding himself
and his pulpit from financial and doctrinal downfall--his pillar even
of ideas and individual movements. Poor old Solomon Wells fairly
walked his road of life attached with invisible leading-strings to
Doctor Seth Prescott. He spoke when Simon Basset paused, and more
from his mentor's volition than his own. "The poor ye have always
with ye," said the minister, with pious and weighty dissent. Doctor
Prescott nodded.

Ozias Lamb squinted slowly around with ineffable sarcasm of
expression. He took in deliberately every detail of the two
men--Doctor Seth Prescott, the smallest in physical stature of
anybody there, yet as marked among them all as some local Napoleon,
and the one whom a stranger would first have noted, and the old
clergyman leaning towards him with a subtle inclination of mind as
well as body; then he spoke as Jerome entered.

Jerome laid the empty sack, which he had brought for meal, on the
counter, and stood about to listen with the rest. Squire Eben
Merritt, having given his chair to the minister and squared up his
great shoulders against a pile of boxes on the counter, was near him,
and saluted him with a friendly nod, which Jerome returned with a
more ardent flash of his black eyes