80 THE JONATHAN PAPERS 



I have often wished for the hen s ability to 

 express indignation. 



Yes, the farm is at peace, and as we sit 

 under the big maples it seems to be reproach 

 ing us - &quot;See how quiet everything is! And 

 you could n t even manage church!&quot; 



Other people seem to manage it very com 

 fortably and quite regularly. On Sunday 

 morning our quiet little road, unfrequented 

 even by the ubiquitous automobile, is gay 

 with church-goers. &quot;Gay&quot; may seem the 

 wrong word, but it is quite the right one. In 

 the city church-going is rather a sober affair. 

 People either walk or take cars. They wear a 

 certain sort of clothes, known as &quot;church 

 clothes,&quot; which represent a sort of hedging 

 compromise between their morning and their 

 afternoon wear. They approach the church 

 in decorous silence; as they emerge they ex 

 change subdued greetings, walk a block or 

 two in little companies, then scatter to their 

 homes and their Sunday dinners. 



But in the country everybody but the vil 

 lage people drives, and the roads are full of 

 teams, buggies, surreys, phaetons, the 

 carriages newly washed, the horses freshly 



