"How's that new club gettin' along?" Mr. Stout asked his wife while they were at supper on the day of the meeting at the parsonage.
"Fine; I ain't enjoyed myself for years the way I do at them meetin's," replied Mrs. Stout, enthusiastically.
"There won't be any need of a newspaper here now," observed her husband without looking up from his plate.
"I expected to hear you say somethin' like that," replied Mrs. Stout. "But I want you to understand just this much, Peter Stout; that club's goin' to be the talk of the town, and do more for it than any crowd of men have ever done so far."
"Won't have to do much," grunted Peter, with his mouth full of beefsteak.
"You're just right about that. This town has got the laziest set of men, outside of their own affairs, that I ever heard of. When they're through work for the day, they just set 'round and smoke, and tell each other that the town ain't the same as it used to be; and that this thing would be done, or that thing 'tended to, if the right men was in office. Who elects the selectmen, I should like to know? And then they talk about who's goin' to be the next President, and who's goin' to be next governor, and let the town that they live in, that's right under their lazy noses day and night, go to rack and ruin. I say the right way is to do somethin' even if you make a mess of it tryin'."
"Hear, hear!" cried Peter, as he clapped his hands. "That's a great speech, Emmy, and all true."
"True, I guess it is, true as gospel," replied Mrs. Stout, and then turning on her oldest son asked, sharply, "Henry Warren Stout, are you eatin' butter on bread, or bread on butter?" Before the boy had time to reply he was hit in the eye with a bread pill from the hand of Paul Jones, whereupon Wendell Phillips fell off his chair convulsed with laughter.
"We're goin' to give a play," said Mrs. Stout, after she had boxed Paul Jones's ears, and the commotion had ceased.
"A play!" Peter put down his knife and fork, masticated and swallowed the food that was in his mouth, and sat staring at his wife in astonishment.