CHAPTER X.


     "And calling sinful man to pray,
     Loud, long, and deep the bell had tolled."
      --Scotts Burgher

While Richard and Monsieur Le Quoi, attended by Benjamin, proceeded to
the academy by a foot-path through the snow, the judge, his daughter,
the divine, and the Major took a more circuitous route to the same place
by the streets of the village.

The moon had risen, and its orb was shedding a flood of light over
the dark outline of pines which crowned the eastern mountain. In many
climates the sky would have been thought clear and lucid for a noontide.
The stars twinkled in the heavens, like the last glimmerings of distant
fire, so much were they obscured by the overwhelming radiance of the
atmosphere; the rays from the moon striking upon the smooth, white
surfaces of the lake and fields, reflecting upward a light that was
brightened by the spotless color of the immense bodies of snow which
covered the earth.

Elizabeth employed herself with reading the signs, one of which appeared
over almost every door; while the sleigh moved steadily, and at an easy
gait, along the principal street. Not only new occupations, but names
that were strangers to her ears, met her gaze at every step they
proceeded. The very houses seemed changed. This had been altered by an
addition; that had been painted; another had been erected on the site
of an old acquaintance, which had been banished from the earth almost as
soon as it made its appearance on it. All were, however, pouring forth
their inmates, who uniformly held their way toward the point where the
expected exhibition of the conjoint taste of Richard and Benjamin was to
be made.

After viewing the buildings, which really appeared to some advantage
under the bright but mellow light of the moon, our heroine turned her
eyes to a scrutiny of the different figures they passed, in search of
any form that she knew. But all seemed alike, as muffled in cloaks,
hoods, coats, or tippets, they glided along the narrow passages in the
snow which led under the houses, half hid by the bank that had been
thrown up in excavating the deep path in which they trod. Once or twice
she thought there was a stature or a gait that she recollected; but the
person who owned it instantly disappeared behind one of those enormous
piles of wood that lay before most of the doors, It was only as they
turned from the main street into another that intersected it at right
angles, and which led directly to the place of meeting, that she
recognized a face and building that she knew.

The house stood at one of the principal corners in the village; and by
its well-trodden doorway, as well as the sign that was swinging with
a kind of doleful sound in the blasts that occasionally swept down the
lake, was clearly one of the most frequented inns in the place. The
building was only of one story; but the dormer-windows in the roof, the
paint, the window-shutters, and the cheerful fire that shone through the
open door, gave it an air of comfort that was not possessed by many of
its neighbors. The sign was suspended from a common ale-house post, and
represented the figure of a horseman, armed with sabre and pistols,
and surmounted by a bear-skin cap, with a fiery animal that he bestrode
"rampant." All these particulars were easily to be seen by the aid of
the moon, together with a row of somewhat illegible writing in black
paint, but in which Elizabeth, to whom the whole was familiar, read with
facility, "The Bold Dragoon."

A man and a woman were issuing from the door of this habitation as the
sleigh was passing, The former moved with a stiff, military step, that
was a good deal heightened by a limp in one leg; but the woman advanced
with a measure and an air that seemed not particularly regardful of what
she might encounter. The light of the moon fell directly upon her full,
broad, and red visage, exhibiting her masculine countenance, under the
mockery of a ruffled cap that was intended to soften the lineamints of
features that were by no means squeamish. A small bonnet of black silk,
and of a slightly formal cut, was placed on the back of her head, but so
as not to shade her visage in the least. The face, as it encountered
the rays of the moon from the east, seemed not unlike sun rising in the
west. She advanced with masculine strides to intercept the sleigh; and
the Judge, directing the namesake of the Grecian king, who held the
lines, to check his horse, the parties were soon near to each other.

"Good luck to ye, and a welcome home, Jooge," cried the female, with a
strong Irish accent; "and I'm sure it's to me that ye're always welcome.
Sure! and there's Miss Lizzy, and a fine young woman she is grown. What
a heart-ache would she be giving the young men now, if there was sich
a thing as a rigiment in the town! Och! but it's idle to talk of sich
vanities, while the bell is calling us to mateing jist as we shall be
called away unexpictedly some day, when we are the laist calkilating.
Good-even, Major; will I make the bowl of gin toddy the night, or it's
likely ye'll stay at the big house the Christmas eve, and the very night
of yer getting there?"

"I am glad to see you, Mrs. Hollister," returned Elizabeth. "I have
been trying to find a face that I knew since we left the door of the
mansion-house; but none have I seen except your own. Your house, too, is
unaltered, while all the others are so changed that, but for the places
where they stand, they would be utter strangers. I observe you also keep
the dear sign that I saw Cousin Richard paint; and even the name at the
bottom, about which, you may remember, you had the disagreement."

"It is the bould dragoon, ye mane? And what name would he have, who
niver was known by any other, as my husband here, the captain, can
testify? He was a pleasure to wait upon, and was ever the foremost in
need. Och! but he had a sudden end! but it's to be hoped that he was
justified by the cause, And it's not Parson Grant there who'll gainsay
that same. Yes, yes; the squire would paint, and so I thought that we
might have his face up there, who had so often shared good and evil wid
us. The eyes is no so large nor so fiery as the captain's Own; but the
whiskers and the cap is as two paes. Well, well, I'll not keep ye in the
cowld, talking, but will drop in the morrow after sarvice, and ask ye
how ye do. It's our bounden duty to make the most of this present, and
to go to the house which is open to all; so God bless ye, and keep ye
from evil! Will I make the gin-twist the night, or no, Major?"

To this question the German replied, very sententiously, in the
affirmative; and, after a few words had passed between the husband of
the fiery-faced hostess and the Judge, the sleigh moved on. It soon
reached the door of the academy, where the party alighted and entered
the building.

In the mean time, Mr. Jones and his two companions, having a much
shorter distance to journey, had arrived before the appointed place some
minutes sooner than the party in the sleigh. Instead of hastening into
the room in order to enjoy the astonishment of the settlers, Richard
placed a hand in either pocket of his surcoat, and affected to walk
about, in front of the academy, like one to whom the ceremonies were
familiar.

The villagers proceeded uniformly into the building, with a decorum and
gravity that nothing could move, on such occasions; but with a haste
that was probably a little heightened by curiosity. Those who came in
from the adjacent country spent some little time in placing certain blue
and white blankets over their horses before they proceeded to indulge
their desire to view the interior of the house. Most of these men
Richard approached, and inquired after the health and condition of their
families. The readiness with which he mentioned the names of even
the children, showed how very familiarly acquainted he was with their
circumstances; and the nature of the answers he received proved that he
was a general favorite.

At length one of the pedestrians from the village stopped also, and
fixed an earnest gaze at a new brick edifice that was throwing a long
shadow across the fields of snow, as it rose, with a beautiful gradation
of light and shade, under the rays of a full moon. In front of the
academy was a vacant piece of ground, that was intended for a public
square. On the side opposite to Mr. Jones, the new and as yet unfinished
church of St. Paul's was erected, This edifice had been reared during
the preceding summer, by the aid of what was called a subscription;
though all, or nearly all, of the money came from the pockets of the
landlord. It had been built under a strong conviction of the necessity
of a more seemly place of worship than "the long room of the academy,"
 and under an implied agreement that, after its completion, the question
should be fairly put to the people, that they might decide to what
denomination it should belong. Of course, this expectation kept alive
a strong excitement in some few of the sectaries who were interested
in its decision; though but little was said openly on the subject. Had
Judge Temple espoused the cause of any particular sect, the question
would have been immediately put at rest, for his influence was too
powerful to be opposed; but he declined interference in the matter,
positively refusing to lend even the weight of his name on the side of
Richard, who had secretly given an assurance to his diocesan that both
the building and the congregation would cheerfully come within the pale
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. But, when the neutrality of the
Judge was clearly ascertained, Mr. Jones discovered that he had to
contend with a stiff necked people. His first measure was to go among
them and commence a course of reasoning, in order to bring them round
to his own way of thinking. They all heard him patiently, and not a man
uttered a word in reply in the way of argument, and Richard thought,
by the time that he had gone through the settlement, the point was
conclusively decided in his favor. Willing to strike while the iron was
hot, he called a meeting, through the newspaper, with a view to decide
the question by a vote at once. Not a soul attended; and one of the most
anxious afternoons that he had ever known was spent by Richard in a
vain discussion with Mrs. Hollister, who strongly contended that the
Methodist (her own) church was the best entitled to and most deserving
of, the possession of the new tabernacle. Richard now perceived that he
had been too sanguine, and had fallen into the error of all those
who ignorantly deal with that wary and sagacious people. He assumed a
disguise himself--that is, as well as he knew how, and proceeded step by
step to advance his purpose.

The task of erecting the building had been unanimously transferred
to Mr. Jones and Hiram Doolittle. Together they had built the
mansion-house, the academy, and the jail, and they alone knew how to
plan and rear such a structure as was now required. Early in the day,
these architects had made an equitable division of their duties. To the
former was assigned the duty of making all the plans, and to the latter
the labor of superintending the execution.

Availing himself of this advantage, Richard silently determined that the
windows should have the Roman arch; the first positive step in effecting
his wishes. As the building was made of bricks, he was enabled to
conceal his design until the moment arrived for placing the frames;
then, indeed, it became necessary to act. He communicated his wishes
to Hiram with great caution; and, without in the least adverting to the
spiritual part of his project, he pressed the point a little warmly
on the score of architectural beauty. Hiram heard him patiently, and
without contradiction, but still Richard was unable to discover the
views of his coadjutor on this interesting subject. As the right to plan
was duly delegated to Mr. Jones, no direct objection was made in words.
but numberless unexpected difficulties arose in the execution. At first
there was a scarcity in the right kind of material necessary to form the
frames; but this objection was instantly silenced by Richard running his
pencil through two feet of their length at one stroke. Then the expense
was mentioned; but Richard reminded Hiram that his cousin paid, and that
he was treasurer. This last intimation had great weight, and after a
silent and protracted, but fruitless opposition, the work was suffered
to proceed on the original plan.

The next difficulty occurred in the steeple, which Richard had modelled
after one of the smaller of those spires that adorn the great London
cathedral. The imitation was somewhat lame, it was true, the proportions
being but in differently observed; but, after much difficulty, Mr.
Jones had the satisfaction of seeing an object reared that bore in its
outlines, a striking resemblance to a vinegar-cruet. There was less
opposition to this model than to the windows; for the settlers were fond
of novelty, and their steeple was without a precedent.

Here the labor ceased for the season, and the difficult question of the
interior remained for further deliberation. Richard well knew that, when
he came to propose a reading-desk and a chancel, he must unmask; for
these were arrangements known to no church in the country but his own.
Presuming, however, on the advantages he had already obtained, he boldly
styled the building St. Paul's, and Hiram prudently acquiesced in this
appellation, making, however, the slight addition of calling it "New
St. Paul's," feeling less aversion to a name taken from the English
cathedral than from the saint.

The pedestrian whom we have already mentioned, as pausing to contemplate
this edifice, was no other than the gentleman so frequently named as
Mr. or Squire Doolittle. He was of a tall, gaunt formation, with rather
sharp features, and a face that expressed formal propriety mingled with
low cunning. Richard approached him, followed by Monsieur Le Quoi and
the major-domo.

"Good-evening, squire," said Richard, bobbing his head, but without
moving his hands from his pockets.

"Good-evening, squire," echoed Hiram, turning his body in order to turn
his head also.

"A cold night, Mr. Doolittle, a cold night, sir."

"Coolish; a tedious spell on't."

"What, looking at our church, ha! It looks well, by moonlight; how the
tin of the cupola glistens! I warrant you the dome of the other St.
Paul's never shines so in the smoke of London."

"It is a pretty meeting-house to look on," returned Hiram, "and I
believe that Monshure Ler Quow and Mr. Penguilliam will allow it."

"Sairtainlee!" exclaimed the complaisant Frenchman, "it ees ver fine."

"I thought the monshure would say so. The last molasses that we had was
excellent good. It isn't likely that you have any more of it on hand?"

"Ah! oui; ees, sair," returned Monsieur Le Quoi, with a slight shrug of
his shoulder, and a trifling grimace, "dere is more. I feel ver happi
dat you love eet. I hope dat Madame Doleet' is in good 'ealth."

"Why, so as to be stirring," said Hiram. "The squire hasn't finished the
plans for the inside of the meeting house yet?"

"No--no--no," returned Richard, speaking quickly, but making a
significant pause between each negative--.. "it requires reflection.
There is a great deal of room to fill up, and I am afraid we shall not
know how to dispose of it to advantage. There will be a large vacant
spot around the pulpit, which I do not mean to place against the wall,
like a sentry-box stuck up on the side of a fort."

"It is ruleable to put the deacons' box under the pulpit," said Hiram;
and then, as if he had ventured too much, he added, "but there's
different fashions in different Countries."

"That there is," cried Benjamin; "now, in running down the coast of
Spain and Portingall, you may see a nunnery stuck out on every headland,
with more steeples and outriggers such as dog-vanes and weathercocks,
than you'll find aboard of a three-masted schooner. If so be that a
well-built church is wanting, old England, after all, is the country
to go to after your models and fashion pieces. As to Paul's, thof I've
never seen it, being that it's a long way up town from Radcliffe Highway
and the docks, yet everybody knows that it's the grandest place in the
world Now, I've no opinion but this here church over there is as like
one end of it as a grampus is to a whale; and that's only a small
difference in bulk. Mounsheer Ler Quaw, here, has been in foreign parts;
and thof that is not the same as having been at home, yet he must have
seen churches in France too, and can form a small idee of what a church
should be; now I ask the mounsheer to his face if it is not a clever
little thing, taking it by and large."

"It ees ver apropos of saircumstance," said the Frenchman--"ver
judgment--but it is in the catholique country dat dey build de--vat you
call--ah a ah-ha--la grande cathdrale--de big church. St. Paul, Londre,
is ver fine; ver belle; ver grand--vat you call beeg; but, Monsieur Ben,
pardonnez-moi, it is no vort so much as Notre Dame."

"Ha! mounsheer, what is that you say?" cried Benjamin; "St. Paul's
church is not worth so much as a damn! Mayhap you may be thinking too
that the Royal Billy isn't so good a ship as the Billy de Paris; but she
would have licked two of her any day, and in all weathers."

As Benjamin had assumed a very threatening kind of attitude, flourishing
an arm with a bunch at the end of it that was half as big as Monsieur Le
Quoi's head, Richard thought it time to interpose his authority.

"Hush, Benjamin, hush," he said; "you both misunderstand Monsieur Le
Quoi and forget yourself. But here comes Mr. Grant, and the service will
commence. Let us go in."

The Frenchman, who received Benjamin's reply with a well-bred good-humor
that would not admit of any feeling but pity for the other's ignorance,
bowed in acquiescence and followed his companion.

Hiram and the major-domo brought up the rear, the latter grumbling as he
entered the building:

"If so be that the king of France had so much as a house to live in that
would lay alongside of Paul's, one might put up with their jaw. It's
more than flesh and blood can bear to hear a Frenchman run down an
English church in this manner. Why, Squire Doolittle, I've been at the
whipping of two of them in one day--clean built, snug frigates
with standing royals and them new-fashioned cannonades on their
quarters--such as, if they had only Englishmen aboard of them, would
have fout the devil."

With this ominous word in his mouth Benjamin entered the church.