out the parson than his horse. The good man realized, one day,
that he was not as young as he used to be, and that climbing Harrison
Hill on a July afternoon and walking five miles in a drizzling rain
after a preaching service were not so easy to do as he had found them a
dozen years before. So he wisely concluded to call in the aid of four
strong legs in carrying on his work, and that is how he came to buy a
horse.

"The people of Hilltown heartily approved of this plan, and several were
anxious to help him.

"Deacon Cowles had a four-year-old colt, raised on the farm, 'a real
clever steady-goin' creetur, that he guessed he could spare--might be
turned in for pew-rent;' and Si Olcott didn't care if he traded off his
gray mare on the same conditions. She was about used up for farm-work,
but had considerable go in her yet--could jog round with the parson for
ten years to come.

"The minister received these offers with politeness, and promised to
think of them; and then one day after a brief absence from home, set
every body in the parish talking, by driving into town seated in an open
wagon, shining with fresh paint and varnish, and drawn by a horse the
like of which had never been seen in Hilltown before.

"He was of a large and powerful build, and most comely and graceful in
proportion, with a small head, slender legs, and flowing mane and tail.
In color, he was milk-white, while his nose and the inside of his
pointed ears were of a delicate pink. He held his head high, stepping
proudly and glancing from side to side in a nervous, excited way; but he
had a kind eye, and the watching neighbors saw him take an apple from
the hand of his new master, after they turned in at the parsonage gate.
In answer to all questions, the parson said he had purchased the horse
at Winterport, of a seafaring man, that he was eight years old, and his
name was Peter. But to neither man nor woman in Hilltown did he ever
tell the sum he paid in yellow gold and good bank-notes for the white
horse,

"A few days after the purchase, Parson Lorrimer attended a funeral, and
when the service at the house was ended, and he had shaken hands all
round with the mourners, and exchanged greetings with neighbors and
friends, he stepped out to the side-yard, where he had fastened his
horse, and drove round the house to take his place before the hearse;
for in Hilltown it was the custom for the minister to lead the
procession to the burying-ground.