The usual dull things
that churches do, you know."

"Well, take another instance that I happen to remember," J.W. had a
touch of the sort of feeling he used to delight in at Cartwright, when
he was gathering his material for a debate. "My first summer after
leaving college, a few of us in First Church got busy studying our own
town. We found two of the general church boards ready to help us with
facts and methods. The Home Missions people gave us one sort of help,
and another board, with the longest name of them all, the Board of
Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals, showed us how to go about an
investigation of the town's undesirable citizens and their influence. It
is in that sort of business for all of us, you know."

"That must have been exciting," said Miss Morel. "I know I should enjoy
such work. What did you find out, and what could you do about it?"

That was a question not to be glibly answered, J.W. knew. But he meant
to be fair about it. "We found out plenty that surprised us; a great
deal," he added, "that ought to be done, and much more that needed to be
changed. We even went so far as to draw up a sort of civic creed, 'The
Everyday Doctrines of Delafield,' The town paper printed it, and it was
talked about for a while, but probably we were the people who got the
most out of it; it showed us what we church members might mean to the
town. And that was worth something."

Miss Morel was sure it was. But she came back to her first idea about
the home churches. "Don't you think that much of the preaching, and all
that, is pretty dull and tiresome? I came from a little country church,
and it was so dreary."

J.W. thought of Deep Creek, and said, "I know what you mean; but even
the country church is improving. I must tell you some time about Marty,
my chum. He's a country preacher, helped in his training by the Rural
Department of the Home Missions Board, and his people come in crowds to
his preaching. Country churches are waking up, and the Board people at
Philadelphia have had a lot to do with it."

"Well, I'm glad. But anyway, home missions is rather commonplace,
haven't you noticed?" and Miss Morel looked almost as though she were
asking a question of state.

"I can't say I've found it so," J.W. said, stoutly, "I was some time
learning, but I ran into a lot of experiences before I left home. Take
the work for colored people, for instance. I had to make a speech at a
convention, and I found out t