THE TOWN-MEETING 37 



and the nodding birches casting their shadows 

 overhead, enswathed in a delicious coolness that 

 defied the heat of the August sun, were gathered 

 the clans on the day of which we write. It was 

 here that they were deceived, betrayed, undone by 

 a stony-hearted Preacher who had journeyed far 

 to be present at this meeting. But that suggests 

 backing up and starting over again in order to get 

 the Preacher to this lonely spot. 



How did he find the town-meeting? That is a 

 long story and must be compressed if told at all. 

 It would take more time than we have at our com- 

 mand to describe the mighty struggle through 

 which the Preacher passed in wrenching himself 

 away from the seductive stockyards' odours of Chi- 

 cago. He succeeded, however, and went meander- 

 ing through New York State and Massachusetts, 

 finally taking passage on a venerable tub that crawls 

 in fair weather between Boston and Yarmouth. 

 There was a vague idea haunting the ministerial 

 mind that he wanted to see the Evangeline country; 

 but that infant persuasion died suddenly in Digby. 

 If any American tourist wants to see Nova Scotia 

 let him keep away from Digby or put it last on his 

 list. For fascination it discounts the Lorelei. All 

 right-minded people (that means those who love to 

 sail and fish) are charmed with this little town. 



If we had not set out to tell how the Preacher 

 broke up that Blue Rock town-meeting, we should 

 stop right here and relate one or two mild stories 



