420 TENANTS OF AN OLD FARM. 



my unfinished sentence with very firm but tremulous 

 voice. "It is an old, old truth. Why should thee 

 spare to speak it ? 'God hath made man upright, but 

 they have sought out many inventions.' That is the 

 strange element, the fact, the revolution which you are 

 thinkhig about ; sin hath entered in ! " 



It was plainly a truth in which Aunt Hannah did 

 not glory, for as she finished her sentence and resumed 

 her knitting, her mild eyes slowly fell, and tears 

 trickled over the white cheeks and dropped into her 

 lap. 



It was an unexpected diversion from our theme, and 

 an embarrassing silence came upon the room, whose 

 solemnity old Dan interrupted in his own peculiar way. 

 He had sunk from his cricket almost into the attitude 

 of prayer, and, Avith hands clasped over his breast, 

 swayed to and fro. 



"Good Lor', hab marcy !" he at last exclaimed. 

 " Dar's no denyin' hit — we's all pore sinners, shore 

 'nough, and is chock full uv upsottin' sins. Hit's jes 

 dat, Mars Mayfiel', and nuffin else. As de good 

 Book saze, hit 's de upsottin sins w'at 's done de 

 damage." 



" Shall we go back to our subject ?" I asked, after a 

 moment's pause. 



"I was a-thinkiu'," said Hugh, " w'ile you and the 

 ladies was talkin', that I 'd like to ax you a question 

 about worms." The good fellow had evidently small 

 interest in a discussion of that jihase of man's natural 

 history which relates to human depravity. Indeed, he 



