'No, sir; it was a 'Gospel Sonnet on Tobackka and Pipes'; pipes, mind you, as well—all about this Indian weed, and the pipe which is so lily white. Oh, sir, it was most improvin'. And that fanatic of a praycher, not fit to blacken the Erskines' shoes, even if they were Sesayders! I went home and I says, 'Rufus, my son,' and he says, 'Yes, fayther!' Says I, 'Rufus, am I a Christian man, though frail and human, am I a Christian man or am I not?' Rufus says, 'You are a Christian, fayther.' Then says I, 'What is the praycher, Rufus, my boy?' and Rufus, that uses tobackka in no shape nor form, says, 'He's a consayted, ignerant, bigitted bladderskite of a Pharisee!' Sir, I was proud of that boy!'
"That was very fine of your son to stand up for his father like that. You can't say that your foes were those of your own household. In such cases, young people must do one of two things, despise their parents or despise the preacher; and, when the parents go to church, the children, unless they are young hypocrites, uniformly despise such preachers."
"Yes, and to think I had never told Rufus a word about the 'Gospel Sonnets of the Sesayders!' It's a great pleasure, sir, to an old man like me to smoke a pipe with a gentleman like yourself."
Coristine replied that it afforded him equal satisfaction, and they puffed away with occasional remarks on the surrounding scenery.
Meanwhile, Wilkinson was striving to draw out the somewhat offended mistress.
"Your husband tells me, Mrs. Hill, that you are of German parentage," he remarked blandly.
"Yes," she replied; "my people were what they call Pennsylvania Dutch. Do you know German, sir?"
"I have a book acquaintance with it," remarked the dominie.
"Do you recognize this?
Yo een fayter in der ayvig-eye,