`` Our folks was n't very pious ; they did n't have time , I s ` pose . '' `` I wonder if you know just what it means to be pious ? '' `` Goin ' to church , and readin ' the Bible , and sayin ' prayers and hymns , ai n't it ? '' `` Those things are a part of it ; but being kind and cheerful , doing one 's duty , helping others , and loving God , is the best way to show that we are pious in the true sense of the word . '' `` Then you are ! '' and Ben looked as if her acts had been a better definition than her words . `` I try to be , but I very often fail ; so every Sunday I make new resolutions , and work hard to keep them through the week . That is a great help , as you will find when you begin to try it . '' `` Do you think if I said in meetin ' , ' I wo n't ever swear any more , ' that I would n't do it again ? '' asked Ben , soberly ; for that was his besetting sin just now . `` I 'm afraid we ca n't get rid of our faults quite so easily ; I wish we could : but I do believe that if you keep saying that , and trying to stop , you will cure the habit sooner than you think . '' `` I never did swear very bad , and I did n't mind much till I came here ; but Bab and Betty looked so scared when I said ` damn , ' and Mrs. Moss scolded me so , I tried to leave off . It 's dreadful hard , though , when I get mad . ` Hang it ! ' do n't seem half so good if I want to let off steam . '' `` Thorny used to ` confound ! ' every thing , so I proposed that he should whistle instead ; and now he sometimes pipes up so suddenly and shrilly that it makes me jump . How would that do , instead of swearing ? '' proposed Miss Celia , not the least surprised at the habit of profanity , which the boy could hardly help learning among his former associates . Ben laughed , and promised to try it , feeling a mischievous satisfaction at the prospect of out-whistling Master Thorny , as he knew he should ; for the objectionable words rose to his lips a dozen times a day .
The XXXXX was ringing as they drove into town ; and , by the time Lita was comfortably settled in her shed , people were coming up from all quarters to cluster around the steps of the old meeting-house like bees about a hive .
Bab Ben Betty Bible Celia Moss day every meetin readin