at such meetings. Polly disliked to go, not being, in fact, a
"hens'-rights hen," and transferred her stock to me. I, after going
once, disliked it more than she. But Dennis went to the next meeting,
and liked it very much. He said the armchairs were good, the collation
good, and the free rides to stockholders pleasant. He was a little
frightened when they first took him upon one of the ferry-boats, but
after two or three quarterly meetings he became quite brave.

Thus far I never had any difficulty with him. Indeed, being of that
type which is called shiftless, he was only too happy to be told daily
what to do, and to be charged not to be forthputting or in any way
original in his discharge of that duty. He learned, however, to
discriminate between the lines of his life, and very much preferred
these stockholders' meetings and trustees' dinners and commencement
collations to another set of occasions, from which he used to beg off
most piteously. Our excellent brother, Dr. Fillmore, had taken a
notion at this time that our Sandemanian churches needed more
expression of mutual sympathy. He insisted upon it that we were
remiss. He said, that, if the Bishop came to preach at Naguadavick,
all the Episcopal clergy of the neighborhood were present; if Dr. Pond
came, all the Congregational clergymen turned out to hear him; if Dr.
Nichols, all the Unitarians; and he thought we owed it to each other
that, whenever there was an occasional service at a Sandemanian
church, the other brethren should all, if possible, attend. "It looked
well," if nothing more. Now this really meant that I had not been to
hear one of Dr. Fillmore's lectures on the Ethnology of Religion. He
forgot that he did not hear one of my course on the Sandemanianism of
Anselm. But I felt badly when he said it; and afterwards I always made
Dennis go to hear all the brethren preach, when I was not preaching
myself. This was what he took exceptions to--the only thing, as I
said, which he ever did except to. Now came the advantage of his long
morning-nap, and of the green tea with which Polly supplied the
kitchen. But he would plead, so humbly, to be let off, only from one
or two! I never excepted him, however. I knew the lectures were of
value, and I thought it best he should be able to keep the connection.

Polly is more rash than I am, as the reader has observed in the outset
of this memoir. She risked Dennis one night under the eyes of her own
sex. Governor Go