And all the old grannies want to tame her , darn them . But they 'll never be able to do it -- never ! They might as well try to drown a fish . Boyd , see that you put more fertilizer on your potatoes next year . Ho , ho , ho ! ' And then he laughed till the roof shook . '' `` Mr. Douglas pays well to the salary , at least , '' remarked Susan . `` Oh , Norman is n't mean in some ways . He 'd give a thousand without blinking a lash , and roar like a Bull of Bashan if he had to pay five cents too much for anything . Besides , he likes Mr. Meredith 's sermons , and Norman Douglas was always willing to shell out if he got his brains tickled up . There is no more Christianity about him than there is about a black , naked heathen in Africa and never will be . But he 's clever and well read and he judges sermons as he would lectures . Anyhow , it 's well he backs up Mr. Meredith and the children as he does , for they 'll need friends more than ever after this . I am tired of making excuses for them , believe ME . '' `` Do you know , dear Miss Cornelia , '' said Anne seriously , `` I think we have all been making too many excuses . It is very foolish and we ought to stop it . I am going to tell you what I 'd LIKE to do . I sha n't do it , of course '' -- Anne had noted a glint of alarm in Susan 's eye -- `` it would be too unconventional , and we must be conventional or die , after we reach what is supposed to be a dignified age . But I 'd LIKE to do it . I 'd like to call a meeting of the Ladies Aid and W.M.S. and the Girls Sewing Society , and include in the audience all and any Methodists who have been criticizing the Merediths -- although I do think if we Presbyterians stopped criticizing and excusing we would find that other denominations would trouble themselves very little about our manse folks .
I would say to them , ` Dear Christian friends ' -- with marked emphasis XXXXX ` Christian ' -- I have something to say to you and I want to say it good and hard , that you may take it home and repeat it to your families .
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