the attribute of a Christian, Slick, for he hopes
beyond this world; but I changed on principle.'

"'Well,' sais I, 'I changed on interest; now if our great nation is
backed by principal and interest here, I guess its credit is kinder well
built. And atween you and me, Abednego, that's more than the soft-horned
British will ever see from all our States. Some on 'em are intarmined to
pay neither debt nor interest, and give nothin' but lip in retarn.'

"'Now,' sais he, a pretendin' to take no notice of this,' you know we
have the Voluntary with us, Mr. Slick.' He said "_Mister_" that time,
for he began to get formal on puppus to stop jokes; but, dear me, where
all men are equal what's the use of one man tryin' to look big? He must
take to growin' agin I guess to do that. 'You know we have the Voluntary
with us, Mr. Slick,' sais he.

"'Jist so,' sais I.

"'Well, what's the meanin' of that?'

"'Why,' sais I, 'that you support religion or let it alone, as you like;
that you can take it up as a pedlar does his pack, carry it till you are
tired, then lay it down, set on it, and let it support you."

"'Exactly,' sais he; 'it is voluntary on the hearer, and it's jist so
with the minister, too; for his preachin' is voluntary also. He can
preach or lot it alone, as he likes. It's voluntary all through. It's a
bad rule that won't work both ways.'

"'Well,' says I, 'there is a good deal in that, too.' I said that just
to lead him on.

"'A good deal!' sais he, 'why it's every thing. But I didn't rest on
that alone; I propounded this maxim to myself. Every man, sais I, is
bound to sarve his fellow citizens to his utmost. That's true; ain't it,
Mr. Slick?'

"'Guess so,' sais I.

"'Well then, I asked myself this here question: Can I sarve my fellow
citizens best by bein' minister to Peach settlement, 'tendin' on a
little village of two thousand souls, and preachin' my throat sore, or
bein' special minister to Saint Jimses, and sarvin' our great Republic
and its thirteen millions? Why, no reasonable man can doubt; so I give
up preachin'.'

"'Well,' sais I, 'Abednego, you are a Socdolager, that's a fact; you are
a great man, and a great scholard. Now a great scholard, when he can't
do a sum the way it's stated, jist states it so--he _can_ do it. Now the
right way to state that sum is arter this fashion: "Which is best, to
endeavour to save the souls of two thousand people under my spiritual
charge, or let them go to Old Nic