w Smith, and a whole
bevy of little, dried old ladies, with small, straight, black bonnets,
tight sleeves to the elbow, long silk gloves, and great fans, big enough
for a windmill; and of a hot day it was a great amusement to me to watch
the bobbing of the little black bonnets, which showed that sleep had got
the better of their owners' attention, and the sputter and rustling of
the fans, when a more profound nod than common would suddenly waken
them, and set them to fanning and listening with redoubled devotion.
There was Deacon Dundas, a great wagon load of an old gentleman, whose
ample pockets looked as if they might have held half the congregation,
who used to establish himself just on one side of me, and seemed to feel
such entire confidence in the soundness and capacity of his pastor that
he could sleep very comfortably from one end of the sermon to the other.
Occasionally, to be sure, one of your officious blue flies, who, as
every body knows, are amazingly particular about such matters, would
buzz into his mouth, or flirt into his ears a passing admonition as to
the impropriety of sleeping in meeting, when the good old gentleman
would start, open his eyes very wide, and look about with a resolute
air, as much as to say, "I wasn't asleep, I can tell you;" and then
setting himself in an edifying posture of attention, you might perceive
his head gradually settling back, his mouth slowly opening wider and
wider, till the good man would go off again soundly asleep, as if
nothing had happened.

It was a good orthodox custom of old times to take every part of the
domestic establishment to meeting, even down to the faithful dog, who,
as he had supervised the labors of the week, also came with due
particularity to supervise the worship of Sunday. I think I can see now
the fitting out on a Sunday morning--the one wagon, or two, as the case
might be, tackled up with an "old gray" or an "old bay," with a buffalo
skin over the seat by way of cushion, and all the family, in their
Sunday best, packed in for meeting; while Master Bose, Watch, or Towser
stood prepared to be an outguard and went meekly trotting up hill and
down dale in the rear. Arrived at meeting, the canine part of the
establishment generally conducted themselves with great decorum, lying
down and going to sleep as decently as any body present, except when
some of the business-loving bluebottles aforesaid would make a sortie
upon them, when you might hear the s