e beaten the minister holler. Ha! ha! ha! I am really
glad you silenced his gab, for he is 'tarnally blabbing about his
religion; though I think he hain't much of it himself, except
counterfeit stuff, like a bad bill,--ha! ha!--that he wants to pass."

"I hope he is not angry," said Paul, timidly.

"Pshaw! And who cares, Paul? Let him cool, if he is mad, the darned
fool," said uncle Jacob. "I am glad to have the house shet of him."

Paul and uncle Jacob, with whom he was of late becoming a great
favorite, retired for the evening to the latter's bed room, where Paul
was accustomed to read aloud for him out of his Catholic books of
instruction.

CHAPTER IX.

THE PRYING FAMILY.

The farms of the brothers Prying were situated in a beautiful valley. On
the one side were the Vermont snow-crowned and cloud-capped mountains,
rising up like eternal ramparts against all eastern hostile incursions
of the elements. On the other, or the western side, were the pleasant
hills of York State, which, in contrast with the mountains of Vermont,
looked like so many tumuli of the deceased Indian giants of ages gone
by. In the centre between, in a southerly course, ran a clear, silver
brook, well stocked with an abundance of trout and other species of the
finny tribe. On both sides of this stream were situated the extensive
farms of the Pryings. They had abundance of woods from the elevated
extremes on either side. The rivulet constituted a cooling retreat for
cattle in summer, and in spring afforded an abundant source of
irrigation to the rich meadows on both sides.

Ephraim's family, where Paul and Bridget remained, consisted of Mrs.
Prying, Amanda, the senior daughter, Melinda, and Mary, called after her
grandmother, who was Irish. There were besides, Calvin, Wesley, Cassius,
and Cyrus, younger members of the family, together with old uncle
Jacob, an unmarried brother of Ephraim, the head of this family. We may
as well here remark that Mr. Prying was, from the beginning, averse to
receive these orphans into his house, seeing, as he said, "that he
wanted no more such hands as they were;" but Amanda persuaded him, in
order to have the glory of being instrumental in the conversion of the
"interesting orphans," as they were called.

There were frequent friendly contentions in the family to see who would
have the special care of the new comers. Little Mary insisted on having
Bridget to sleep with herself instead of her sister M