When I preached I had to wear my second best suit , for it was one of Aunt Janet 's laws that we should take our good suits off when we came home from church . There were , I saw , compensations for being a hired boy . Peter made quite a handsome little minister , in his navy blue coat , white collar , and neatly bowed tie . His black eyes shone , and his black curls were brushed up in quite a ministerial pompadour , but threatened to tumble over at the top in graceless ringlets . It was decided that there was no use in waiting for Sara Ray , who might or might not come , according to the humour in which her mother was . Therefore Peter proceeded with the service . He read the chapter and gave out the hymn with as much SANG FROID as if he had been doing it all his life . Mr. Marwood himself could not have bettered the way in which Peter said , `` We will sing the whole hymn , omitting the fourth stanza . '' That was a fine touch which I had not thought of . I began to think that , after all , Peter might be a foeman worthy of my steel . When Peter was ready to begin he thrust his hands into his pockets -- a totally unorthodox thing . Then he plunged in without further ado , speaking in his ordinary conversational tone -- another unorthodox thing . There was no shorthand reporter present to take that sermon down ; but , if necessary , I could preach it over verbatim , and so , I doubt not , could everyone that heard it . It was not a forgettable kind of sermon . `` Dearly beloved , '' said Peter , `` my sermon is about the bad place -- in short , about hell . '' An electric shock seemed to run through the audience . Everybody looked suddenly alert . Peter had , in one sentence , done what my whole sermon had failed to do . He had made an impression . `` I shall divide my sermon into three heads , '' pursued Peter .
`` The first head is , what you must not do XXXXX you do n't want to go to the bad place .
about at for from if into of off that to