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PREFACE.

Again it come to pass, in the fulness of time, that my companion, JosiahAllen, see me walk up and take my ink stand off of the manteltry piece,and carry it with a calm and majestick gait to the corner of the settin'room table devoted by me to literary pursuits. And he sez to me:

"What are you goin' to tackle now, Samantha?"

And sez I, with quite a good deal of dignity, "The Cause of EternalJustice, Josiah Allen."

"Anythin' else?" sez he, lookin' sort o' oneasy at me. (That manrealizes his shortcomin's, I believe, a good deal of the time, he duz.)

"Yes," sez I, "I lay out in petickuler to tackle the Meetin' House. Sheis in the wrong on't, and I want to set her right."

Josiah looked sort o' relieved like, but he sez out, in a kind of a pertway, es he set there a-shellin corn for the hens:

"A Meetin' House hadn't ort to be called she—it is a he."

And sez I, "How do you know?"

And he sez, "Because it stands to reason it is. And I'd like to knowwhat you have got to say about him any way?"

Sez I, "That 'him' don't sound right, Josiah Allen. It sounds more rightand nateral to call it 'she.' Why," sez I, "hain't we always hearn aboutthe Mother Church, and don't the Bible tell about the Church bein'arrayed like a bride for her husband? I never in my life hearn it calleda 'he' before."

"Oh, wall, there has always got to be a first time. And I say it soundsbetter. But what have you got to say about the Meetin' House, anyway?"