XXI]



                THE PREACHER

S O,"the preacher" whom my client, McNeil,
    and my poor neighbors talked of was no other
than John Marvel! I felt that he must have
changed a good deal since I knew him. But
decency, as well as curiosity, required that I go
to see him. Accordingly, although I had of late
gone to church only to see a certain worshipper,
I one evening sauntered over toward the little
rusty-looking chapel, where I understood he
preached. To my surprise, the chapel was quite
full, and to my far greater surprise, old John
proved to be an inspiring preacher. Like Wolf-
fert, he had developed. Wrhen he came to preach,
though his sermon was mainly hortatory and
what I should have expected of him, his earnest-
ness and directness held his congregation, and I
must say he was far more impressive than I should
have imagined he could be. His sermon was as
far from the cut-and-dried discourse I was used
to hear, as life is from death.
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