The donation came off happily.  Our minister had been many years with us, and was a good man, to the extent of his light, and worthy of all we could bestow on him.  He owned a small farm, and had also practised a little in medicine, and had always tried to do his duty.  I suppose his fiery sermons were preached honestly, and that his duty, as Clara said, led him to hang out a signal lantern.  To me it was a glow-worm light, that only warned me in a different direction, and although my fierce treatment of that Christmas sermon was past, down deep in my heart strong truths had been planted.  I felt I must have a talk with both my pastor and my father before I could again partake of the communion.

Clara did not go with us to the donation.  We went after supper, meeting at the house about six P.M., and stayed until nine.  Many good and sensible gifts were brought them, and Clara’s was not least among them.  Jane North proudly displayed the four five dollar gold pieces, and descanted long on “such fine linen,” and that beautiful lady who sent it.

Several said to us:  “Why, we didn’t know as you would come”—­to which I said: 

“Oh, yes! of course we proposed to come;” and for once I was wise enough not to ask why.  I told Clara, she certainly had planted good seed, for not one word of scandal escaped the lips of Jane that evening, only praise of the beautiful Mis’ Desmonde.

It was only a few days after the donation, that Mr. Davis, our minister, came over to spend the evening, and we had a long talk, one that ended better than I anticipated.  When he came he inquired particularly for Clara, who insisted on our going into her sitting-room, and all but Hal followed her thither, his steps, after supper, turning as usual toward the house of his “fawn.”

Mr. Davis alluded to his donation visit, and he desired especially to thank Clara for her most welcome offers to his wife and himself, adding, “And the greatest wonder to me is that the shirts fit me so well.”

“You know my dear boy is a man in size,” said Clara, “I thought they would be right, and he has now left four more that are new and like the ones I sent you, but please do not thank me so much, Miss North did me full justice in that line.”

“She was a willing delegate, then?” said Mr. Davis.

“Oh, very!” said Clara, “and she is a lonely soul in the world.”

“So she is, more lonely than she need be if our people could understand her,” he replied; “but I confess my own ignorance there, for I never seemed to know just what to say to her.”

“Clara does,” said I, but Clara looked, “Emily don’t,” and I said no more.

At last the conversation turned on religious matters, and to my surprise, Mr. Davis came to explain himself instead of asking explanations, as I had expected.

“I have understood,” said he, “that you, Mr. Minot, think my sermon alluding to false doctrines, and also the one in which I spoke of preachers of heresy, were particularly directed to you, and that I believed you had done very wrong in leaving for one Sabbath your own church to hear a minister that preaches new and strange things.”