14 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK 



" What does that mean ? " asked a young sailor. 

 " How can we carry religion on our hands ? " 



" Well, the idea comes to me like this," replied 

 another : " If a gent has a regular tip-top ring, a 

 diamond, or something like that, he's not only not 

 ashamed of it, but he takes good care that everyone 

 shall see it. You'll see, he'll stick out his finger 

 when he lifts up his glass of wine to his lips ; an' if 

 he's twistin' his moustache, somehow you don't 

 see the twist of the hair, but you do the twirl of that 

 diamond. And it strikes me that God means to 

 say to us, if our religion is worth anything people 

 will see it as readily as though it was a diamond 

 ring bound upon our finger." 



Then, with a smile at the young sailor who had 

 made the inquiry, the expounder continued : " Don't 

 you remember, chum, when you an' me was ship- 

 mates in the C , and we went ashore together 



at Madras, how we saw the different sects of Hindoos 

 with their castemarks in their foreheads, and how 

 proud they were of them, and how plainly the marks 

 showed up to everyone ? " 



" Right yer are, I remember ! But what's that 

 got to do with religion on the hand ? " said the 

 young sailor. 



" Nothing to do with the hand," replied the 

 other. " But that same verse has something about 

 the foreheads, too," and, lifting his Bible, the sea- 

 man expositor read, by the light of the lantern 



