wished to remove prejudices, and supplant them with the right impressions to be derived from acquaintance.

They could see, in a moment, - for they were not blind, how superior were her manners and intelligence to their own, and did not fail to fit their qualifications into the exact places where they of propriety belonged. Still she was unwilling to place any one under the least constraint in her presence, but strove to make them feel only at their ease and properly companionable.

"I should think our minister's wife was rather fonder of young company than any other," remarked Mrs. Thorn to Mrs. Sanger.

"So it looks at present," returned the lawyer's wife.

"Well, girls will be girls, I s'pose; leastways, I never found that they wouldn't. But I don't think it's just the thing to get into just such a frolic of laughter as they are having there the very first time she meets with the society. Do you, Mrs. Sanger?"

"I can't say I do. Yet, as you say, girls will be girls. However, perhaps we may feel it our duty to teach her a lesson or two yet. If it should be, I hope she will take it just as it's intended.”

"She won't; she won't. You never saw a young minister's wife that would."

"Well, I must say, then, that I shall set her an example, from which she will be able to see her proper place. How can we expect her to know about these things, so young and inexperienced?"

"Sure enough, we can't. I don't, leastways. She's got to learn."

Carrie, did you pause to think, before entering on the path you had chosen, of the crosses and obstacles, mixed and multiplied, of the backbitings and envy, of the hasty speech and the hastier prejudices, of the spoken opinions and the unuttered faultfindings, that would be sure to follow you in your journey, like a pack of starving wolves after their prey? Did ever a dream sweep across your brain of the sinister motives that would be freely ascribed to your very goodness, and of the uncharitable versions that would be put upon your very benevolence?

Yes, yes; you thought of it all. You tried to realize it all. He whom you loved, and with whom you joined so nobly your earthly fortune, that with your feeble hands, under God, you might help in building up his kingdom,— he had told you of it all. There had been nothing kept back. The whole breadth and length of the story was spread before you. You determined to face all, to endure all, to try and change all -a harder task than heart like yours could understand.

But there was One who endured what you can never endure, though you go lingeringly through the windings of all earthly pains. He took upon himself wrongs far greater than humanity alone can ever suffer. It was only for your sake for the sake of us all freely. And then it is sweet for you to know that your heart can be wounded, even ever so slightly, for his name. You can recall

his sufferings,

how they reviled and buffeted him, how they spat upon him and put on his head a crown of thorns,

how they tried and crucified him, — and it makes all your petty trials seem small-O, how small! - by the comparison.

And you go forward in the path you have chosen, hoping to win over to yourself by love alone.

CHAPTER XIV.

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING.

THE winter wore away slowly at Deacon Burroughs's, but quite pleasantly. Mr. Humphreys devoted himself with renewed zeal and energy to the task of his life, being constant in labor, ready in deeds of benevolence and sympathy, and openhearted and openhanded with all. As the society added to the number of its meetings, his wife found more favor at the hands of those who were at first so ready to judge her, and felt that she was gradually winning her way into their hearts. The objections some raised to her usefulness, on account of her youth, were soon in a fair way of being surmounted; and the very consideration of youth began, finally, to be her chief recommendation to their closest sympathies.

The agreement between the committee of the parish and the young minister amounted to this: they were to pay him, for the present, at the rate of four hundred and fifty dollars a year in money; he was to occupy the parsonage, as long as he staid with them, rent free; and the parish

promised, by presents and the like, to make up seventy-five or one hundred dollars additional, as their ability might be. For those days, when frugality and low prices ruled with all classes of people, this was esteemed a liberal offer; so Mr. Humphreys thought himself, and so his brethren in the neighboring towns told him,

In the month of March a quantity of furniture came over from Thornton, the provision of the young wife's father. The parsonage had been thoroughly repaired and cleaned, inside and out, and got ready for the reception of the furniture. Mr. Humphreys had been careful enough to lay up a little sum from the savings of his school teaching, and upon this he relied to begin housekeeping with. The task was quite as new to him as it was to his wife, or the other way either.

For several weeks previous he had been engaged in preparing his sermons in anticipation of this event, knowing that it would be too busy a time with him then to do justice to his texts or to himself. So he had three or four discourses ready to rely upon, until his feelings should be quieted enough for him to resume mental labor again. ! They went, early in the morning, over to the parsonage, and staid till dinner time, and then back again after dinner, not returning until tea. Where lifting was to be done Mr. Humphreys had plenty of assistance, many of the men in the village volunteering their services, but Mr. Upton staying till the end. The ladies came in and made the carpets, and put them down, and insisted on arranging all