“Well, that’s so. I know it. I know she gets a dollar a week the year round at Captain Liscome’s, and earns it, too; and I know she gives half of it to her aunt, who never did much for her but spoil her temper. But it’s an awful pity her religion don’t make her pleasant.”
“One mustna judge another,” said Mrs Nasmyth, gently.
“No, and I don’t want to. Only I wish—but there’s no good talking. Still I must say it’s a pity that folks who have got religion don’t take more comfort out of it. Now there’s mother; she’s a pillar in the church, and a good woman, I believe, but she’s dreadful crank sometimes, and worries about things as she hadn’t ought to. Now it seems to me, if I had all they say a Christian has, and expects to have, I’d let the rest go. They don’t half of them live as if they took more comfort than I do, and there are spells when I don’t take much.”
Janet’s eyes glistened with sympathy. There was some surprise in them, too. Mr Snow continued—
“Yes, I do get pretty sick of it all by spells. After father died—and other things—I got over caring about going out West, and I thought it as good to settle down on the old place as any where. So I fixed up, and built, and got the land into prime order, and made an orchard, a first-rate one, and made believe happy. And I don’t know but I should have stayed so, only I heard that Joe Arnold had died out West—he had married Rachel Jennings, you know; so I got kind of unsettled again, and went off at last. Rachel had changed considerable. She had seen trouble, and had poor health, and was kind o’ run down, but I brought her right home—her and little Emily. Well—it didn’t suit mother. I hadn’t said anything to her when I went off. I hadn’t anything to say, not knowing how things might be with Rachel. Come to get home, things didn’t go smooth. Mother worried, and Rachel worried, and life wasn’t what I expected it was going to be, and I worried for a spell. And Mis’ Nasmyth, if there had been any such thing as getting religion, I should have got it then, for I tried hard, and I wanted something to help me bad enough. There didn’t seem to be anything else worth caring about any way.
“Well, that was a spell ago. Emily wasn’t but three years old when I brought them home. We’ve lived along, taking some comfort, as much as folks in general, I reckon. I had got kind of used to it, and had given up expecting much, and took right hold to make property; and have a good time, and here is your minister has come and stirred me up, and made me as discontented with myself and everything else as well.”
“You should thank the Lord for that,” interrupted Janet, devoutly.
“Well, I don’t know about that. Sometimes when he has been speaking, I seem to see that there is something better than just to live along and make property. But then again, I don’t see but it’s just what folks do who have got religion. Most of the professors that I know—”
“Man!” exclaimed Janet, hotly, “I hae no patience with you and your professors. What need you aye to cast them up? Canna you read your Bible? It’s that, and the blessing that was never yet withheld from any one that asked it with humility, that will put you in the way to find abiding peace, and an abiding portion at the last.”
“Just so, Mis’ Nasmyth,” said Mr Snow, deprecatingly, and there was a little of the old twinkle in his eye. “But it does seem as though one might naturally expect a little help from them that are spoken of as the lights of the world; now don’t it?”