Chapter X.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　"And calling sinful man to pray,Loud, long, and deep the bell had tolled."--Scotts Burgher

　　While Richard and Monsieur Le Quoi, attended by Benjamin, proceeded tothe academy by a foot-path through the snow, the judge, his daughter,the divine, and the Major took a more circuitous route to the sameplace by the streets of the village.

　　The moon had risen, and its orb was shedding a flood of light over thedark outline of pines which crowned the eastern mountain. In manyclimates the sky would have been thought clear and lucid for anoontide. The stars twinkled in the heavens, like the lastglimmerings of distant fire, so much were they obscured by theoverwhelming radiance of the atmosphere; the rays from the moonstriking upon the smooth, white surfaces of the lake and fields,reflecting upward a light that was brightened by the spotless color ofthe immense bodies of snow which covered the earth.

　　Elizabeth employed herself with reading the signs, one of whichappeared over almost every door; while the sleigh moved steadily, andat an easy gait, along the principal street. Not only newoccupations, but names that were strangers to her ears, met her gazeat every step they proceeded. The very houses seemed changed. Thishad been altered by an addition; that had been painted; another hadbeen erected on the site of an old acquaintance, which had beenbanished from the earth almost as soon as it made its appearance onit. All were, however, pouring forth their inmates, who uniformlyheld their way toward the point where the expected exhibition of theconjoint taste of Richard and Benjamin was to be made.

　　After viewing the buildings, which really appeared to some advantageunder the bright but mellow light of the moon, our heroine turned hereyes to a scrutiny of the different figures they passed, in search ofany form that she knew. But all seemed alike, as muffled in cloaks,hoods, coats, or tippets, they glided along the narrow passages in thesnow which led under the houses, half hid by the bank that had beenthrown up in excavating the deep path in which they trod. Once ortwice she thought there was a stature or a gait that she recollected;but thc person who owned it instantly disappeared behind one of thoseenormous piles of wood that lay before most of the doors, It was onlyas they turned from the main street into another that intersected itat right angles, and which led directly to the place of meeting, thatshe recognized a face and building that she knew.

　　The house stood at one of the principal corners in the village; and byits well-trodden doorway, as well as the sign that was swinging with akind of doleful sound in the blasts that occasionally swept down thelake, was clearly one of the most frequented inns in the place. Thebuilding was only of one story; but the dormer-windows in the roof,the paint, the window-shutters, and the cheerful fire that shonethrough the open door, gave it an air of comfort that was notpossessed by many of its neighbors. The sign was suspended from acommon ale-house post, and represented the figure of a horseman, armedwith sabre and pistols, and surmounted by a bear-skin cap, with afiery animal that he bestrode "rampant." All these particulars wereeasily to be seen by the aid of the moon, together with a row ofsomewhat illegible writing in black paint, but in which Elizabeth, towhom the whole was familiar, read with facility, "The Bold Dragoon."

　　A man and a woman were issuing from the door of this habitation as thesleigh was passing, The former moved with a stiff, military step, thatwas a good deal heightened by a limp in one leg; but the womanadvanced with a measure and an air that seemed not particularlyregardful of what she might encounter. The light of the moon felldirectly upon her full, broad, and red visage, exhibiting hermasculine countenance, under the mockery of a ruffled cap that wasintended to soften the lineamints of features that were by no meanssqueamish. A small bonnet of black silk, and of a slightly formalcut, was placed on the back of her head, but so as not to shade hervisage in the least. The face, as it encountered the rays of the moonfrom the east, seemed not unlike sun rising in the west. She advancedwith masculine strides to intercept the sleigh; and the Judge,directing the namesake of the Grecian king, who held the lines, tocheck his horse, the par ties were soon near to each other.

　　"Good luck to ye, and a welcome home, Jooge," cried the female, with astrong Irish accent; "and Im sure its to me that yere alwayswelcome. Sure! and theres Miss Lizzy, and a fine young woman she isgrown. What a heart-ache would she be giving the young men now, ifthere was sich a thing as a rigiment in the town! Och! but its idleto talk of sich vanities, while the bell is calling us to mateing jistas we shall he called away unexpictedly some day, when we are thelaist calkilating. Good-even, Major; will I make the bowl of gintoddy the night, or its likely yell stay at the big house theChristmas eve, and the very night of yer getting there?"

　　"I am glad to see you, Mrs. Hollister," returned Elizabeth. "I havebeen trying to find a face that I knew since we left the door of themansion-house; but none have I seen except your own. Your house, too,is unaltered, while all the others are so changed that, but for theplaces where they stand, they would be utter strangers. I observe youalso keep the dear sign that I saw Cousin Richard paint; and even thename at the bottom, about which, you may remember, you had thedisagreement."

　　"It is the bould dragoon, ye mane? And what name would he have, whoniver was known by any other, as my husband here, the captain, cantestify? He was a pleasure to wait upon, and was ever the foremost inneed. Och! but he had a sudden end! but its to be hoped that he wasjustified by the cause, And its not Parson Grant there wholl gainsaythat same. Yes, yes; the squire would paint, and so I thought that wemight have his face up there, who had so often shared good and evilwid us. The eyes is no so large nor so fiery as the captains Own;but the whiskers and the cap is as two paes. Well, well, I'll notkeep ye in the cowld, talking, but will drop in the morrow aftersarvice, and ask ye how ye do. Its our bounden duty to make the mostof this present, and to go to the house which is open to all; so Godbless ye, and keep ye from evil! Will I make the gin-twist the night,or no, Major?"

　　To this question the German replied, very sententiously, in theaffirmative; and, after a few words had passed between the husband ofthe fiery-faced hostess and the Judge, the sleigh moved on. It soonreached the door of the academy, where the party alighted and enteredthe building.

　　In the mean time, Mr. Jones and his two companions, having a muchshorter distance to journey, had arrived before the appointed placesome minutes sooner than the party in the sleigh. Instead ofhastening into the room in order to enjoy the astonishment of thesettlers, Richard placed a hand in either pocket of his surcoat, andaffected to walk about, in front of the academy, like one to whom theceremonies were familiar.

　　The villagers proceeded uniformly into the building, with a decorumand gravity that nothing could move, on such occasions; but with ahaste that was probably a little heightened by curiosity. Those whocame in from the adjacent country spent some little time in placingcertain blue and white blankets over their horses before theyproceeded to indulge their desire to view the interior of the house.Most of these men Richard approached, and inquired after the healthand condition of their families. The readiness with which hementioned the names of even the children, showed how very familiarlyacquainted he was with their circumstances; and the nature of theanswers he received proved that he was a general favorite.

　　At length one of the pedestrians from the village stopped also, andfixed an earnest gaze at a new brick edifice that was throwing a longshadow across the fields of snow, as it rose, with a beautifulgradation of light and shade, under the rays of a full moon. In frontof the academy was a vacant piece of ground, that was intended for apublic square. On the side opposite to Mr. Jones, the new and as yetunfinished church of St. Pauls was erected, This edifice had beenreared during the preceding summer, by the aid of what was called asubscription; though all, or nearly all, of the money came from thepockets of the landlord. It had been built under a strong convictionof the necessity of a more seemly place of worship than "the long roomof the academy," and under an implied agreement that, after itscompletion, the question should be fairly put to the people, that theymight decide to what denomination it should belong. Of course, thisexpectation kept alive a strong excitement in some few of thesectaries who were interested in its decision; though but little wassaid openly on the subject. Had Judge Temple espoused the cause ofany particular sect, the question would have been immediately put atrest, for his influence was too powerful to be opposed; but hedeclined interference in the matter, positively refusing to lend eventhe weight of his name on the side of Richard, who had secretly givenan assurance to his diocesan that both the building and thecongregation would cheerfully come within the pale of the ProtestantEpiscopal Church. But, when the neutrality of the Judge was clearlyascertained, Mr. Jones discovered that he had to contend with a stiffnecked people. His first measure was to go among them and commence acourse of reasoning, in order to bring them round to his own way ofthinking. They all heard him patiently, and not a man uttered a wordin reply in the way of argument, and Richard thought, by the time thathe had gone through the settlement, the point was conclusively decidedin his favor. Willing to strike while the iron was hot, he called ameeting, through the news paper, with a view to decide the question bya vote at once. Not a soul attended; and one of the most anxiousafternoons that he had ever known was spent by Richard in a vaindiscussion with Mrs. Hollister, who strongly contended that theMethodist (her own) church was the best entitled to and most deservingof, the possession of the new tabernacle. Richard now perceived thathe had been too sanguine, and had fallen into the error of all thosewho ignorantly deal with that wary and sagacious people. He assumed adisguise himself--that is, as well as he knew how, and proceeded stepby step to advance his purpose.

　　The task of erecting the building had been unanimously transferred toMr. Jones and Hiram Doolittle. Together they had built the mansion-house, the academy, and the jail, and they alone knew how to plan andrear such a structure as was now required. Early in the day, thesearchitects had made an equitable division of their duties. To theformer was assigned the duty of making all the plans, and to thelatter the labor of superintending the execution.

　　Availing himself of this advantage, Richard silently determined thatthe windows should have the Roman arch; the first positive step ineffecting his wishes. As the building was made of bricks, he wasenabled to conceal his design until the moment arrived for placing theframes; then, indeed, it became necessary to act. He communicated hiswishes to Hiram with great caution; and, without in the leastadverting to the spiritual part of his project, he pressed the point alittle warmly on the score of architectural beauty. Hiram heard himpatiently, and without contradiction, but still Richard was unable todiscover the views of his coadjutor on this interesting subject. Asthe right to plan was duly delegated to Mr. Jones, no direct objectionwas made in words. but numberless unexpected difficulties arose inthe execution. At first there was a scarcity in the right kind ofmaterial necessary to form the frames; but this objection wasinstantly silenced by Richard running his pencil through two feet oftheir length at one stroke. Then the expense was mentioned; butRichard reminded Hiram that his cousin paid, and that he wastreasurer. This last intimation had great weight, and after a silentand protracted, but fruitless opposition, the work was suffered toproceed on the original plan.

　　The next difficulty occurred in the steeple, which Richard hadmodelled after one of the smaller of those spires that adorn the greatLondon cathedral. The imitation was somewhat lame, it was true, theproportions being but in differently observed; but, after muchdifficulty, Mr. Jones had the satisfaction of seeing an object rearedthat bore in its outlines, a striking resemblance to a vinegar-cruet.There was less opposition to this model than to the windows; for thesettlers were fond of novelty, and their steeple was without aprecedent.

　　Here the labor ceased for the season, and the difficult question ofthe interior remained for further deliberation. Richard well knewthat, when he came to propose a reading-desk and a chancel, he mustunmask; for these were arrangements known to no church in the countrybut his own. Presuming, however, on the advantages he had alreadyobtained, he boldly styled the building St. Pauls, and Hiramprudently acquiesced in this appellation, making, however, the slightaddition of calling it "New St. Pauls," feeling less aversion to aname taken from the English cathedral than from the saint.

　　The pedestrian whom we have already mentioned, as pausing tocontemplate this edifice, was no other than the gentleman sofrequently named as Mr. or Squire Doolittle. He was of a tall, gauntformation, with rather sharp features, and a face that expressedformal propriety mingled with low cunning. Richard approached him,followed by Monsieur Le Quoi and the major-domo.

　　"Good-evening, squire," said Richard, bobbing his head, but withoutmoving his hands from his pockets.

　　"Good-evening, squire," echoed Hiram, turning his body in order toturn his head also.

　　"A cold night, Mr. Doolittle, a cold night, sir."

　　"Coolish; a tedious spell ont."

　　"What, looking at our church, ha! It looks well, by moonlight; how thetin of the cupola glistens! I warrant you the dome of the other St.Pauls never shines so in the smoke of London."

　　"It is a pretty meeting -house to look on," returned Hiram, "and Ibelieve that Monshure Ler Quow and Mr. Penguilliam will allow it."

　　"Sairtainlee!" exclaimed the complaisant Frenchman, "it ees ver fine,"

　　"I thought the monshure would say so. The last molasses that we hadwas excellent good. It isnt likely that you have any more of it onhand?"

　　"Ah! oui; ees, sair," returned Monsieur Le Quoi, with a slight shrugof his shoulder, and a trifling grimace, "dere is more. I feel verhappi dat you love eet. I hope dat Madame Doleet is in good ealth."

　　"Why, so as to be stirring," said Hiram. "The squire hasnt finishedthe plans for the inside of the meeting house yet?"

　　"No--no--no," returned Richard, speaking quickly, but making asignificant pause between each negative--.. "it requires reflection.There is a great deal of room to fill up, and I am afraid we shall notknow how to dispose of it to advantage. There will be a large vacantspot around the pulpit, which I do not mean to place against the wall,like a sentry-box stuck up on the side of a fort."

　　"It is rulable to put the deacons box under the pulpit," said Hiram;and then, as if he had ventured too much, he added, "but theresdifferent fashions in different Countries."

　　"That there is," cried Benjamin; "now, in running down the coast ofSpain and Portingall, you may see a nunnery stuck out on everyheadland, with more steeples and outriggers. such as dog-vanes andweathercocks, than youll find aboard of a three-masted schooner. Ifso be that a well-built church is wanting, old England, after all, isthe country to go to after your models and fashion pieces. As toPauls, thof Ive never seen it, being that its a long way up townfrom Radcliffe Highway and the docks, yet everybody knows that itsthe grandest place in the world Now, Ive no opinion but this herechurch over there is as like one end of it as a grampus is to a whale;and thats only a small difference in bulk. Mounsheer Ler Quaw, here,has been in foreign parts; and thof that is not the same as havingbeen at home, yet he must have seen churches in France too, and canform a small idee of what a church should be; now I ask the mounsheerto his face if it is not a clever little thing, taking it by andlarge."

　　"It ees ver apropos of saircumstance," said the French-. man--" verjudgment--but it is in the catholique country dat dey build dc--vat youcall--ah a ah-ha--la grande cathdrale--de big church. St. Paul, Londre,is ver fine; ver belle; ver grand--vat you call beeg; but, MonsieurBen, pardonnez-moi, it is no vort so much as Notre Dame."

　　"Ha! mounsheer, what is that you say?" cried Benjamin; "St. Paulschurch is not worth so much as a damn! Mayhap you may be thinking toothat the Royal Billy isnt so good a ship as the Billy de Paris; butshe would have licked two of her any day, and in all weathers."

　　As Benjamin had assumed a very threatening kind of attitude,flourishing an arm with a bunch at the end of it that was half as bigas Monsieur Le Quois head, Richard thought it time to interpose hisauthority.

　　"Hush, Benjamin, hush," he said; "you both misunderstand Monsieur LeQuoi and forget yourself. But here comes Mr. Grant, and the servicewill commence. Let us go in."

　　The Frenchman, who received Benjamins reply with a well-bred good-humor that would not admit of any feeling but pity for the othersignorance, bowed in acquiescence and followed his companion.

　　Hiram and the major -domo brought up the rear, the latter grumbling ashe entered the building:

　　"If so be that the king of France had so much as a house to live inthat would lay alongside of Pauls, one might put up with their jaw.Its more than flesh and blood can bear to hear a Frenchman run downan English church in this manner. Why, Squire Doolittle, Ive been atthe whipping of two of them in one day--clean built, snug frigates withstanding royals and them new-fashioned cannonades on their quarters--such as, if they had only Englishmen aboard of them, would have foutthe devil."

　　With this ominous word in his mouth Benjamin entered the church.