o the gruntin'! Thar's one thing I've larned, and
larned it for sartin, an' that is, thar's dum few people in this world
that cut a ham in the middle. Most on 'em cut few slices an' cut 'em
thin."

Among the Southport islanders Uncle Terry was considered an odd stick,
and yet one who would go out of his way to do a good turn to others. He
was seldom seen at church, though his wife and Telly usually were. As he
once remarked: "It's a good thing for 'em, 'cause it takes up thar mind
an' is more sociable, tho' prayin' allus seems to me a good deal like a
man tryin' to lift himself by his boot-straps. It keeps him busy, tho',
an' it's healthy exercise."

In spite of his investment in a mine, he had been frugal and owned most
of the land between the village and the point, and was also joint owner,
with two other men, in a small trading-schooner that made semi-monthly
trips between the Cape and Boston. She carried fish, clams, lobsters,
hay, and potatoes, and fetched an "all sorts" cargo useful to the
islanders, from a paper of needles to a hogshead of molasses.

The most pronounced characteristic of Uncle Terry was his unfailing good
humor, tinged with a mild sarcasm. He loved his fellow-men, and yet
enjoyed puncturing their small conceits, but so droll was his way of
doing it that no one felt the sting. To Bascom, who kept the only store,
and also post-office, at the Cape, and dearly loved to hear himself
talk, Uncle Terry once said: "You've got the greatest gift o' gab I ever
heerd, Bascom, and you could 'a' made your fortin in the show business.
But if you're ever took with religion, the hull island'll turn
infiddle."

And again: when Deacon Oaks, the leader at all prayer-meetings, assured
him how great a blessing religion was, and how much he enjoyed divine
service, Uncle Terry answered: "Your takin' the lead at meetin's is a
blessin' to the rest, for none of 'em has to worry 'bout who's goin' to
speak next. They know you're allus ready."

In this connection it must be stated that the spiritual life of
Southport was of a primitive description. The small unpainted church at
the Cape, above which hung a diminutive bell, was the only place of
worship, and to this, every other Sunday, came a minister from the
mainland. It was furnished with long wooden settees and a small cottage
organ graced the platform, upon which an antique desk did duty as pulpit
and a storage place for hymn books. Four wall bracket lamps lighted t