and Mrs. Chapman, though he never once
mentioned their names. He urged his flock to keep in mind always how
much better off they were, how much more happy they were than those men
who came to town with the devil and a number of strange religions in
their heads. Such people, he added, always had the devil for a friend;
and it was the devil who assisted them to get poor people's money. And
with this money they dressed their wives in silks and satins, built big
houses, and lived like people who were very proud and never paid their
debts, nor did a day's work on the roads. It was all well enough for
these men to talk of Heaven and put on pious faces, but Heaven would
take no notice of them while they gave themselves up to the temptations
of the devil and built steamboats and founded railroads, to kill honest
people with, and ruin the country.
"My friends," said the Dominie, resting for a moment, and then charging
his guns for another fire at Chapman, "you have seen a man ready to sell
his soul for money enough to build a steamboat.
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