Page:Dickens - A Child s History of England, 1900.djvu/615

Rh the case mildly, as bad as most, in respect of giving short weight in their shops, and not speaking the truth—I say, before this knowledge became forced upon me, their prolix addresses, their inordinate conceit, their daring ignorance, their investment of the Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth with their own miserable meannesses and littlenesses, greatly shocked me. Still, as their term for the frame of mind that could not perceive them to be in an exalted state of grace was the "worldly " state, I did for a time suffer tortures under my inquiries of myself whether that young worldly-devilish spirit of mine could secretly be lingering at the bottom of my non-appreciation.

Brother Hawkyard was the popular expounder in this assembly, and generally occupied the platform (there was a little platform with a table on it, in lieu of a pulpil) first on a Sunday afternoon. He was by trade a dry-salter. Brother Gimblet, an elderly man with a crabbed face, a large dog's-eared shirt-collar, and a spotted e neckerchief reaching up behind to the crown of his head, was also a dry-salter, and an expounder. Brother Gimblet professed the greatest admiration for Brother Hawkyard, but (I had thought more than once) bore him a jealous grudge.

Let whosoever may peruse these lines kindly take the pains here to read twice my solemn pledge, that what I write of the language and customs of the congregation in question I write scrupulously, literally, exactly, from the life and the truth. On the first Sunday after I had won what I had so long tried for, and when it was certain that I was going up to college. Brother Hawkyard concluded a long exhortation thus:—

"Well, my friends find fellow-sinners, now I told you when I began, that I didn't know a word of what I was going to say to you, (and no, I did not!) but that it was all one to me, because I knew the Lord would put into my mouth the words I wanted."

("That's it!" from Brother Gimblet.)

"And he did put into my month the words I wanted."

("So he did!" from Brother Gimblet.)

"And why?"

"Ah, let's have that!" from Brother Gimblet.)

"Because I have been his faithful servant for five-and