e to the front door, and they burned over a hundred wax candles
before the evenin' was over, and folks said it looked like they had
ransacked the heavens above and the earth beneath and the waters under
the earth for somethin' to put on that supper-table. Brother Wilson
said a mighty nice ceremony over 'em, and when they went out to supper
the preacher and his wife set on the right hand of the bride and
groom.

"Well, when Brother Wilson got ready to leave, he went up to Squire
Schuyler to shake hands and say good night, and the squire pulled a
long paper out o' the breast pocket of his coat, and he bowed, and
says he, 'Will you do me the honor, sir, to accept this?' Squire
Schuyler had a mighty grand way of talkin', honey, and you don't see
any such manners nowadays as the Schuylers and the Elrods used to
have. And says he, 'Don't open it till you get home.' And Brother
Wilson, he says, 'I'm not the man to look a gift horse in the mouth,
but,' says he, 'I must see the gift horse before I accept it.' With
that he opened the paper, and what do you reckon it was, honey? It was
a deed to that house I p'inted out to you the day we went to
town--Schuyler Hall, they call it--and I don't know how many acres of
land along with it.

"Brother Wilson he looked at it and looked at it, and it seemed as if
he couldn't take it in. And says he, 'There must be some mistake about
this. You surely do not mean to deed me a house and land?'

"And the squire he bows again, and says he, 'There's no mistake. The
house and the land are yours to have and to hold while you live and to
will as you please when you die.'

"And Brother Wilson held out the paper and says he, 'Sir, it's a
princely gift, but I can't take it. It's no suitable fee for a poor
preacher like myself.'

"And the squire he folded his arms and stepped back to keep Brother
Wilson from puttin' the deed into his hands, and says he, 'It takes a
princely gift to suit an occasion like this.' Says he, 'I want the
wedding fee to match the worth of my bride and the worth of my
minister, but, not being a prince, this is the best I can do.' And all
the time he was talkin', Brother Wilson was shakin' his head and
tryin' to make him take back the paper, and sayin', 'I can't take it,
I can't take it.'

"And the squire says: 'Sir, you'll have to take it. The deed has
passed from my hands to yours, and a Schuyler never takes back a
gift.' And Brother Wilson, he says, 'But the gift will