inhabitants agreed that never before had life
in Bruceton been so pleasant. Everybody was on good terms with
everybody else, and no one, no matter how poor or common, lacked
pleasant greetings on the street from acquaintances of high degree.

There had been some wonderful conversions during the meetings;
hard-swearing, hard-drinking men had abandoned their evil ways, and
were apparently as willing and anxious as any one else to be informed
as to how to conform their lives to the professions which they had
made. All the other churches sympathized with the efforts which Dr.
Guide's flock had been making, for they themselves had been affected to
their visible benefit.

Dr. Guide himself became one of the humblest of the humble. Always a
man of irreproachable life and warm heart, it never had occurred to him
that anything could be lacking in his church methods. But he also was a
man of quick perceptions: so, as the meetings went on, and he realized
that their impetus was due not at all to anything he had said or done,
but solely to the personal example of Sam Kimper, he fell into deep
thought and retrospection. He resolutely waived all compliments which
his clerical brethren of other denominations offered him on what they
were pleased to call the results of his ministrations, and honestly
insisted that the good work was begun by the example set by Sam Kimper,
the ex-convict.

Dr. Guide was an honest believer in the "church universal," but he had
been trained to regard the Church of Rome as the "scarlet woman" of
Revelation, and whenever he met Father Black in the streets he
recognized him only with a dignified bow. The day before the closing
meeting, however, he encountered the priest at the turning of a
corner,--too suddenly for a change of manner.

"My dear brother!" exclaimed Father Black, extending both hands and
grasping Dr. Guide's hands warmly, "God bless you for the good work you
have been doing!"

"My dear sir," said the pastor, rallying all his powers to withstand
the surprise, "I am very glad that you are pleased to regard the work
as good."

"How can I help it?" said the priest, impetuously. "The spirit which
your church efforts have awakened has spread throughout the town and
affected everybody. There are men--and some women--of my flock whom
I've been trying in vain for years to bring to confession, so as to
start them on a new life. I've coaxed them, threatened them, prayed for
them with tears of agon