“I know, sir, the Romish faith forbids her votaries the use of meat; but, Paul, I thought you were now thoroughly weaned from such notions, from what you have seen since you came to this free and Protestant country.”

“All I have seen since I was unfortunately compelled to come to these parts, only confirms me in my attachment to the religion of our ancestors,” said Paul.

“My child, I love you,” said the parson, seeing he had been committed by his temper, and now changing his air of haughtiness into that of affected kindness; “I love you in my soul, and that is why I want to teach you to know Jesus, and to cause you to give up the fooleries of Popery.  What can be more foolish than to abstain from what God has given for man’s use?”

“I hope I appreciate that love, sir,” said Paul; “but if you wish not to insult me, and if you do not want to cause me to doubt the sincerity of your love, you won’t call any prescription of the church of Christ foolish.  The Scriptures tell us that we may lawfully and meritoriously abstain from many good and useful gifts of God—­as Samson abstained from wine; St. John the Baptist from flesh and the luxury of apparel; St. Paul fasted and chastised his body; the Jews were commanded to abstain from the use of pork and other meats.  Finally, our Savior promises to reward those publicly who will fast or abstain from food.”

“Ah, poor, lost, ignorant one,” exclaimed the parson, “you are in error; sunk in superstition!”

“I hope your assertions do not prove me so.”

“Paul, child, don’t you speak so to the minister,” interrupted old Mrs. Prying.  “He is for your good, and desires to make you a Christian.”

“Ma’am, I don’t wish to insult any body, as I said before; but I can’t hear my religion run down and misrepresented while I know the contrary to be the fact.”

“Well, madam, let me alone; I will soon catch the lad in his own Jesuit net.  Paul, you know the Bible, you think; where in the Bible do you find it ordered to fast from flesh on Fridays?”

“Where in the Bible,” said Paul, “do you find it ordered to keep Sunday holy instead of Saturday, the Sabbath? where are you ordered to build churches? where do you find authority for establishing feasts and fasts? where to hold synods or assemblies? where to baptize infants?”

“O Paul, the Bible does not order these things expressly; but the Christian church does.”

“Well,” said Paul, “it is only our church that forbids her children the use of flesh on Friday; and ’he that does not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.’”

“But you ought not to obey the church in what is evidently wrong; and it must be wrong to forbid the use of meat made for man’s use.”

“If it was wrong, God would not have forbidden the Jews the use of meat that we now use as a gift of God.”

“That was in the old law.  You cannot find any such prohibition in the gospel.”