Hi : )

    Hi y'all😄 What have you been up to?

    I've mostly been doing school (ugh). My sister and I are doing an online school this year, and I like it reasonably well, but I still liked being homeschooled better. 

    I also have a job at the bakery of a Farmer's Market about ten minutes away from here. I like working there, but it's also really hard work, and I'm always sooo tired and sore when I get home. We've been especially busy lately, because it's almost Thanksgiving.

    Me and another girl usually chop three five-gallon buckets of apples, and that's enough to last most of the day.

    Well, last week, we did six buckets, and we were out of apples by 10:30. It was crazy. 

    On a completely unrelated subject, I recently got something in my toe and was ordered to soak my foot in Epsom salt. While I was sitting by the bathtub, my little sister came in and serenaded me with a ukulele. It was hilarious, and I took some pictures of her.

    

Okay, so maybe I'm not an expert photographer..

I can't believe tomorrow's Thanksgiving already. It seems liked 2021 just zipped by. 

    Anyway, I have to go now; just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and well, and that I am working on a much longer blog post. Stay tuned!

                                ~Caitlyn O

Virginia Beach!!

    Hi everyone! Yikes, I haven't written a new post for a long time😬 I kept on meaning to, but I just never got it done.

    We went to Virginia Beach last weekend for a vacation! We haven't had a "real live vacation" for several years, and we all had a lot of fun.

     We left Friday around lunchtime, and got there about 7:00.

    We stayed in a lovely little Airbnb about six miles from the beach, because anything closer was ridiculously expensive.

    We were so tired when we got there that after a supper of pizza from a local pizza place, we all went to bed.

    I usually get up fairly early, and Saturday morning was no exception. I woke up at six, and couldn't go back to sleep.

    Since my sister and I were sleeping on couches in the living room downstairs, and the other four members of the family were in one of two rooms upstairs (the other room was the bathroom), I couldn't exactly turn on the light and read, as I do at home. So, I made a cup of hot chocolate in the dark, then read by turning on the flashlight on the iPad under the blanket.

    It wasn't exactly comfortable, and I was glad when it got light enough outside that I could read by sitting beside the window.

    Everyone else got up at eight, and after an impromptu (and, unfortunately, rather unhealthy) breakfast of dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch, (we forgot to bring milk or bread or anything like that 😏)  we went to the beach.

    We went to Sandbridge Beach, and it was considerably less crowded than most beaches, for which we were happy 😁

    We were there till about three o'clock, when my little sister started getting cranky, so we went back to the Airbnb for showers, and, in my parents' case, naps.

    We went to a seafood place called "The Lucky Oyster" for supper. I have never been a seafood person, but I got a fried flounder dinner, and it didn't taste very fishy, so I liked it.

    Daddy got something called a "Treble Hook," which looked and smelled disgusting. It had shrimp, haddock, and oysters. I tasted an oyster. It tasted exactly how the ocean smells, and it almost ruined my appetite.

    We enjoyed the ocean so much that we gave up our plans to see the rest of Virginia Beach, and went back the next day, Sunday, till it was time to go home, about one o'clock.

    We started for home, tired, sandy, hungry, and very sunburnt, because Mama couldn't find the sunscreen.

    We stopped at Wendy's for lunch, and then only stopped once after that, for gas.

    We got home about 8:45, because we had to drive through D.C. and traffic was terrible.

    The next day, we paid dearly for not doing the seemingly insignificant task of buying some more sunscreen. 

    My skin is naturally dark enough that I got off with a blistered nose and bright red face and arms, but the others, especially the baby and Mama, weren't so lucky.

    My little sister had a huge fit if you try to change her clothes, because her back and shoulders got terribly sunburned, and let's not even talk about trying to put B&W on it. (We found that B&W really helps sunburn). She writhed around on the floor, which resulted in rubbing most of the skin off, which made her scream louder, and writhe around some more. It's somewhat better now, but she still doesn't like wearing clothes or having B&W put on.

    My other sister had it pretty bad, too, especially on her face. Her nose got so swollen she couldn't wear her glasses for a few days, and then after the swelling went down, her nose was so sore she still couldn't put on glasses. Here's a picture from Monday, the day after we got back:

She wants me to say that she doesn't actually look this hideous, it just looks that way, and looks can be deceiving, you know😜

And here are some pictures from Saturday evening, when we were at the Lucky Oyster:

Me and my brother😁

Mama and Daddy

And my littlest sister😍

    We don't have any pictures of my other sister from that evening; at least, none she would let me put in this blog post.

    We had lots of fun, and we're planning to go back next year, hopefully for a longer visit, so we can see the rest of Virginia Beach😄

    I should be going now, so bye! (I'll try to write blog posts more regularly in the future; sorry about that!)

                        Regards,

                          Caitlyn O'Brien

Q&A W/ My Grandma ANSWERS

          I'm sorry this is a day late; I completely forgot about it😬           

Katie Miller is the mother of seven children, four girls and three boys, the second youngest of which is my mother. She has twenty-seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, as well. She was born and raised and has remained Amish. Some of the things she enjoys doing are quilting, baking pies, playing board and card games, and talking with her friends. She wants you to guess how old she is😁

Me and Grandma.... Excuse my expression😂🙄

What is your favorite traditional Amish food?

Rivvel soup. The recipe:

Rivvel (rub) one cup of flour and one egg together with your hands to make crumbs. In the meantime, brown 1/4 cup butter in a medium-sized soup-pot. When the butter is browned, pour in one quart of milk, and heat to boiling. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat, and add your rivvels, stirring with a fork to break up the lumps. Cover immediately, and let set for at least five minutes, until the rivvels are cooked all the way through. Serve with saltine crackers and bread with apple butter. Enjoy. 

(From Caitlyn: I'm lactose intolerant, so this sounds nasty! But if you like milk, you will probably like this.)

What things do you enjoy doing?

Quilting and baking pies.

What is your favorite thing about being Amish?

How the people stand together through thick and thin, and are always there for someone in a time of need. 

What do you like to cook/bake?

Casseroles, pies, and ho-ho cake.

Did you ever play any instruments?

Harmonica

Do you come from a large family?

No, I only have two sisters. But most Amish have large families. 

                 That's it for today! 

                       ~Caitlyn O'Brien

Q&A W/ My grandma/ Birthday Girlie

    Hi! What have you all been doing lately?

    A while back, I did a guest post with my mom,  about her life growing up as an Amish girl. Now, her mom (Katie Miller) is here for a month-long visit, and she has agreed to do a Q&A with me. This is how it works:

    You may comment and ask her any question you like about the Amish. The deadline for questions is March 28, and then on March 29, I will type up her answers, and post them. Please be respectful😊

    Moving on..... We have been pretty busy here lately. Yesterday, we painted the basement (which was in sore need of a fresh coat of paint). Well, technically, we put the first coat of paint on the doors and the baseboards on Thursday evening. Then, yesterday, we got started about 10:00, and put on the second coat of paint. Then, while that dried, we painted a bookcase that has not been painted for seven or eight years (my sister found tremendous satisfaction in painting over her name, which she wrote on the bookcase in colored pencil when she was seven). By the time the bookcase was finished, we could already start on the walls. One wall is concrete block, with the coal stove in from of it, so we only painted the other three walls. We painted two of the three remaining walls a pale, earthy green, and the remaining one a darker shade of the same earth green. My sister roller-painted one of the pale-green walls, and then I volunteered to do the other. I spent two and a half long, boring hours on a ladder, painting the other wall, and putting the second coat on both walls. It was terribly dull, but at least it went a lot faster than it would have if we would have had to do that by hand, with a paintbrush. By six o'clock, we were ready to do the darker green wall, which Mama did. That took till six-forty-five, and then we went to get hamburgers for supper, because by then we were all ravenous, and we had only had a light lunch. But wouldn't you know, the fast-food place was so. Incredibly. Slow! It was a little after seven before we got home. And oh my! You should have heard the munching😂 The only sounds were smacking lips, and the baby exclaiming, "Mmmmmm!" I honestly think those were the best hamburgers I have ever eaten. 

    Speaking of the baby.... she turned two the other day😱 How is it already two years?! Happy Birthday, cutie pie. 

    She is quite precocious (if I do say so myself). She has quite a repertoire of songs including Jesus Loves Me, B-I-N-G-O, Baby Shark, God is Great, Rock-A-Bye-Baby, Wind the Bobbin Up (which she loves to sing at the top of her lungs in church....),and the Hallelujah Chorus (😲). Of course, she doesn't sing the words, just the tune. But still! I can barely sing the Hallelujah Chorus. How could a two-year-old?! However, I will be the first to admit I am not all that great at singing, so it wouldn't be too hard to pass me up in music skills!

    The baby can also hold a pencil the right way, and she very carefully "draws" things (huge scribbles that she points at, and says my name. Wait.... so I look like a scribble?!). She tries to draw animals, too. They don't really look like animals; she just scribbles a bit, and then points at the scribbles and makes animals sounds. It's incredibly adorable💜She also likes to try to imitate a crying baby. She scrunches up her face, and almost closes her eyes, ad goes, "Oooh waaah!" It's so cute, I can't even describe it.

    Now for some pictures of the young lady who seems to be the heroine of this post (😉😁), A.K.A. my baby sister (wait, I guess she's not a baby anymore. So, my little sister):

                    

Awwww😍💖

Her "shocked face."

She was trying to say, "Yuck."

She was imitating a crying baby😂

Who knows what she was doing here!

                                                                                                                        I had lots of fun, taking pictures this afternoon :) 

~Caitlyn O'Brien

Random Ramblings

    Two years ago, I got a writer's handbook called "The Usborne Creative Writer's Handbook." It has been one of the most helpful books on writing I have ever read, and I highly recommend it. You can get your copy here: The Usborne Creative Writer's Handbook. It's definitely worth the money😁

    More books I have been reading lately: 

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Betsy-Tacy books

Understood Betsy

Pollyanna

Elsie Dinsmore

The Borrowers

Vice-Versa

Cheaper by the Dozen & Belles On Their Toes

The Bounces of Cynthiann'

A Woman Named Damaris

Two Are Better Than One

The Five Little Peppers

Under the Lilacs

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Hound of the Baskerville's (A Sherlock Holmes mystery that gave me nightmares)

    Oh, yes, did I ever mention that I like to read? 

    It has been snowing like crazy here lately. I have not seen so much snow in one winter since I was seven!

Around the middle of December, we got about seven inches. Then, the beginning of January, we got six inches. And around the last of January and the first of February, we got twenty inches😱 I mean, we almost never get that much snow! The snow has finally all melted. I was getting a little tired of seeing dirty snow. The past few days, it actually warmed up to almost 60 degrees! My little sister just loves going on stroller rides when the weather is nice. Sometimes we go on two or three walks a day. Let me tell you, it's not easy pushing 35 pounds uphill after walking half a mile!

    Lately, we have been playing a rather weird version of hide-and-seek with the baby. If you tell her to, she will close her eyes for about 3 1/2 seconds. While they're closed, the rest of us run for a previously-chosen hiding place (in the bathtub or behind the door; somewhere where she can find us easily). If you're lucky, you reach the hiding spot before she opens her eyes. If you're not.... well, she sees & follows you straight to your hiding spot. Then she yells "BOOOO!!" as loud as she can, and yanks on your clothes till you come out. Then, she runs to tell Mama in great detail about how she found you, and while she's gone, you run and hide again. So, unless all three of us older ones are hiding in the same spot (which can happen rather often; there being only so many bathtubs you can reach within three seconds from the counting spot) there there are usually two people hiding all the time. This goes on until a) We get tired of running around, or b) someone tells us to stop thundering around so loud.

    It can be fun to play regular hide-and-seek, though. I usually hide with the baby. If you repeatedly whisper to her that she needs to be quiet, she (usually) will be. 

    Another thing the she likes doing lately is coming up behind people and blasting a whistle. I mean, you see her coming, but you're not expecting her to blow a whistle. Then if you scream, she laughs and jumps around, and runs around telling everyone and giggling. She also likes sitting there blowing her whistle while you're trying to do school, which can be rather distracting, especially as spit flies everywhere🤢

    Welp, I've run out of ramblings (for now)

                         

                       ~Caitlyn O'Brien~

The Twelve Days of Blogmas, Day Eleven: Christmas Traditions

 tra·di·tion

/trəˈdiSH(ə)n/    

N.

The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.

    I'm sure every family has their own private traditions which they follow at certain times of the day, week, month, or year. 

    Today I will be sharing with you some of our Christmas traditions.

    We always watch The Nutcracker with our parents a little before Christmas, and then either a few days before, or a few days after Christmas, my brother and sister and I watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. 

    If we're not at relatives, an old couple we met about eight years ago come over for Christmas Eve supper.

Here are some pictures of last year: 

And these are from 2018:

Then we open our gifts, and Mama reads "The Other Wiseman," by Henry van Dyke.

    On Christmas Day, we usually just lounge around and relax. We usually eat lunch about 12:30, and then Mama and Daddy take naps, and us children read our Christmas books, or play with our new toys, until 4:45 or so. Then Mama and Daddy get up, and we sometimes watch those old cartoons (like Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and Daffy Duck)  with Daddy, while Mama gets supper out. We always have cold turkey sandwiches and leftover pie for supper. And then we often go for a drive after dark, and look at all the "Twinky Lights," as we always called them when we were little. 

    And then we come home, and read some more, and then head for bed!

    And that's it for today! Come back tomorrow for the final post!

                             *Caitlyn*

 What are your traditions? Do you have turkey or ham for Christmas dinner? And do you open gifts on Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve?

   

The Twelve Days of Blogmas, Day Ten: What the Bells Saw and Said, Part Four

     Part One

    Part Two

    Part Three

    Today I will be sharing with you the final part of "What the Bells Saw and Said," by Louisa May Alcott. 

                    What the Bells Saw and Said

                           by Louisa May Alcott

    As the spirit imitated the various calls, as only a jovial bell-sprite could, the others gave him a chime of laughter, and vowed they would each adopt some tuneful summons, which should reach human ears and draw human feet more willingly to church.

"Faith, brother, you've kept your word and got the laugh out of us," cried a stout, sleek spirit, with a kindly face, and a row of little saints round his cap and a rosary at his side. "It's very well we are doing this year; the cathedral is full, the flock increasing, and the true faith holding its own entirely. Ye may shake your heads if you will and fear there'll be trouble, but I doubt it. We've warm hearts of our own, and the best of us don't forget that when we were starving, America--the saints bless the jewel!--sent us bread; when we were dying for lack of work, America opened her arms and took us in, and now helps us to build churches, homes and schools by giving us a share of the riches all men work for and win. It's a generous nation ye are, and a brave one, and we showed our gratitude by fighting for ye in the day of trouble and giving ye our Phil, and many another broth of a boy. The land is wide enough for us both, and while we work and fight and grow together, each may learn something from the other. I'm free to confess that your religion looks a bit cold and hard to me, even here in the good city where each man may ride his own hobby to death, and hoot at his neighbors as much as he will. You seem to keep your piety shut up all the week in your bare, white churches, and only let it out on Sundays, just a trifle musty with disuse. You set your rich, warm and soft to the fore, and leave the poor shivering at the door. You give your people bare walls to look upon, common-place music to listen to, dull sermons to put them asleep, and then wonder why they stay away, or take no interest when they come.

"We leave our doors open day and night; our lamps are always burning, and we may come into our Father's house at any hour. We let rich and poor kneel together, all being equal there. With us abroad you'll see prince and peasant side by side, school-boy and bishop, market-woman and noble lady, saint and sinner, praying to the Holy Mary, whose motherly arms are open to high and low. We make our churches inviting with immortal music, pictures by the world's great masters, and rites that are splendid symbols of the faith we hold. Call it mummery if ye like, but let me ask you why so many of your sheep stray into our fold? It's because they miss the warmth, the hearty, the maternal tenderness which all souls love and long for, and fail to find in your stern. Puritanical belief. By Saint Peter! I've seen many a lukewarm worshipper, who for years has nodded in your cushioned pews, wake and glow with something akin to genuine piety while kneeling on the stone pavement of one of our cathedrals, with Raphael's angels before his eyes, with strains of magnificent music in his ears, and all about him, in shapes of power or beauty, the saints and martyrs who have saved the world, and whose presence inspires him to follow their divine example. It's not complaining of ye I am, but just reminding ye that men are but children after all, and need more tempting to virtue than they do to vice, which last comes easy to 'em since the Fall. Do your best in your own ways to get the poor souls into bliss, and good luck to ye. But remember, there's room in the Holy Mother Church for all, and when your own priests send ye to the divil, come straight to us and we'll take ye in."

"A truly Catholic welcome, bull and all," said the sixth spirit, who, in spite of his old-fashioned garments, had a youthful face, earnest, fearless eyes, and an energetic voice that woke the echoes with its vigorous tones. "I've a hopeful report, brothers, for the reforms of the day are wheeling into rank and marching on. The war isn't over nor rebeldom conquered yet, but the Old Guard has been 'up and at 'em' through the year. There has been some hard fighting, rivers of ink have flowed, and the Washington dawdlers have signalized themselves by a 'masterly inactivity.' The political campaign has been an anxious one; some of the leaders have deserted; some been mustered out; some have fallen gallantly, and as yet have received no monuments. But at the Grand Review the Cross of the Legion of Honor will surely shine on many a brave breast that won no decoration but its virtue here; for the world's fanatics make heaven's heroes, poets say.

"The flock of Nightingales that flew South during the 'winter of our discontent' are all at home again, some here and some in Heaven. But the music of their womanly heroism still lingers in the nation's memory, and makes a tender minor-chord in the battle-hymn of freedom.

"The reform in literature isn't as vigorous as I could wish; but a sharp attack of mental and moral dyspepsia will soon teach ourpeople that French confectionery and the bad pastry of Wood, Bracdon, Yates & Co. is not the best diet for the rising generation.

"Speaking of the rising generation reminds me of the schools. They are doing well; they always are, and we are justly proud of them. There may be a slight tendency toward placing too much value upon book-learning; too little upon home culture. Our girls are acknowledged to be uncommonly pretty, witty and wise, but some of us wish they had more health and less excitement, more domestic accomplishments and fewer ologies and isms, and were contented with simple pleasures and the old-fashioned virtues, and not quite so fond of the fast, frivolous life that makes them old so soon. I am fond of our girls and boys. I love to ring for their christenings and marriages, to toll proudly for the brave lads in blue, and tenderly for the innocent creatures whose seats are empty under my old roof. I want to see them anxious to make Young America a model of virtue, strength and beauty, and I believe they will in time.

"There have been some important revivals in religion; for the world won't stand still, and we must keep pace or be left behind to fossilize. A free nation must have a religion broad enough to embrace all mankind, deep enough to fathom and fill the human soul, high enough to reach the source of all love and wisdom, and pure enough to satisfy the wisest and the best. Alarm bells have been rung, anathemas pronounced, and Christians, forgetful of their creed, have abused one another heartily. But the truth always triumphs in the end, and whoever sincerely believes, works and waits for it, by whatever name he calls it, will surely find his own faith blessed to him in proportion to his charity for the faith of others.

"But look!--the first red streaks of dawn are in the East. Our vigil is over, and we must fly home to welcome in the holidays. Before we part, join with me, brothers, in resolving that through the coming year we will with all our hearts and tongues,--

"'Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring out the false, ring in the true;
Ring in the valiant man and free,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.'"

Then hand in hand the spirits of the bells floated away, singing in the hush of dawn the sweet song the stars sung over Bethlehem,--"Peace on earth, good will to men."

    Come back tomorrow for Day Eleven!

The Twelve Days of Blogmas, Day Nine: What the Bells Saw and Said, Part Three

     Part One

    Part Two

                                      What the Bells Saw and Said

                             by Louisa May Alcott

As the excitement subsided and the spirits reseated themselves, looking ten years younger for that burst, another spoke. A venerable brother in a dingy mantle, with a tuneful voice, and eyes that seemed to have grown sad with looking on much misery.    "He loves the poor, the man we've just hurrahed for, and he makes others love and remember them, bless him!" said the spirit. "I hope he'll touch the hearts of those who listen to him here and beguile them to open their hands to my unhappy children over yonder.  If I could set some of the forlorn souls in my parish beside the happier creatures who weep over imaginary woes as they are painted by his eloquent lips, that brilliant scene would be better than any sermon. Day and night I look down on lives as full of sin, self-sacrifice and suffering as any in those famous books. Day and night I try to comfort the poor by my cheery voice, and to make their wants known by proclaiming them with all my might. But people seem to be so intent on business, pleasure or home duties that they have no time to hear and answer my appeal. There's a deal of charity in this good city, and when the people do wake up they work with a will; but I can't help thinking that if some of the money lavished on luxuries was spent on necessaries for the poor, there would be fewer tragedies like that which ended yesterday. It's a short story, easy to tell, though long and hard to live; listen to it. "Down yonder in the garret of one of the squalid houses at the foot of my tower, a little girl has lived for a year, fighting silently and single-handed a good fight against poverty and sin. I saw her when she first came, a hopeful, cheerful, brave-hearted little soul, alone, yet not afraid. She used to sit all day sewing at her window, and her lamp burnt far into the night, for she was very poor, and all she earned would barely give her food and shelter. I watched her feed the doves, who seemed to be her only friends; she never forgot them, and daily gave them the few crumbs that fell from her meagre table. But there was no kind hand to feed and foster the little human dove, and so she starved.

"For a while she worked bravely, but the poor three dollars a week would not clothe and feed and warm her, though the things her busy fingers made sold for enough to keep her comfortably if she had received it. I saw the pretty color fade from her cheeks; her eyes grew hollow, her voice lost its cheery ring, her step its elasticity, and her face began to wear the haggard, anxious look that made its youth doubly pathetic. Her poor little gowns grew shabby, her shawl so thin she shivered when the pitiless wind smote her, and her feet were almost bare. Rain and snow beat on the patient little figure going to and fro, each morning with hope and courage faintly shining, each evening with the shadow of despair gathering darker round her. It was a hard time for all, desperately hard for her, and in her poverty, sin and pleasure tempted her. She resisted, but as another bitter winter came she feared that in her misery she might yield, for body and soul were weakened now by the long struggle. She knew not where to turn for help; there seemed to be no place for her at any safe and happy fireside; life's hard aspect daunted her, and she turned to death, saying confidingly, 'Take me while I'm innocent and not afraid to go.' "I saw it all! I saw how she sold everything that would bring money and paid her little debts to the utmost penny; how she set her poor room in order for the last time; how she tenderly bade the doves good-by, and lay down on her bed to die. At nine o'clock last night as my bell rang over the city, I tried to tell what was going on in the garret where the light was dying out so fast. I cried to them with all my strength.--

"'Kind souls, below there! a fellow-creature is perishing for lack of charity! Oh, help her before it is too late! Mothers, with little daughters on your knees, stretch out your hands and take her in! Happy women, in the safe shelter of home, think of her desolation! Rich men, who grind the faces of the poor, remember that this soul will one day be required of you! Dear Lord, let not this little sparrow fall to the ground! Help, Christian men and women, in the name of Him whose birthday blessed the world!'

"Ah me! I rang, and clashed, and cried in vain. The passers-by only said, as they hurried home, laden with Christmas cheer: 'The old bell is merry to-night, as it should be at this blithe season, bless it!'

"As the clocks struck ten, the poor child lay down, saying, as she drank the last bitter draught life could give her, 'It's very cold, but soon I shall not feel it;' and with her quiet eyes fixed on the cross that glimmered in the moonlight above me, she lay waiting for the sleep that needs no lullaby.

"As the clock struck eleven, pain and poverty for her were over. It was bitter cold, but she no longer felt it. She lay serenely sleeping, with tired heart and hands, at rest forever. As the clocks struck twelve, the dear Lord remembered her, and with fatherly hand led her into the home where there is room for all. To-day I rung her knell, and though my heart was heavy, yet my soul was glad; for in spite of all her human woe and weakness, I am sure that little girl will keep a joyful Christmas up in heaven."

In the silence which the spirits for a moment kept, a breath of softer air than any from the snowy world below swept through the steeple and seemed to whisper, "Yes!"

"Avast there! fond as I am of salt water, I don't like this kind," cried the breezy voice of the fourth spirit, who had a tiny ship instead of a tassel on his cap, and who wiped his wet eyes with the sleeve of his rough blue cloak. "It won't take me long to spin my yarn; for things are pretty taut and ship-shape aboard our craft. Captain Taylor is an experienced sailor, and has brought many a ship safely into port in spite of wind and tide, and the devil's own whirlpools and hurricanes. If you want to see earnestness come aboard some Sunday when the Captain's on the quarter-deck, and take an observation. No danger of falling asleep there, no more than there is up aloft, 'when the stormy winds do blow.' Consciences get raked fore and aft, sins are blown clean out of the water, false colors are hauled down and true ones run up to the masthead, and many an immortal soul is warned to steer off in time from the pirates, rocks and quicksands of temptation. He's a regular revolving light, is the Captain,--a beacon always burning and saying plainly, 'Here are life-boats, ready to put off in all weathers and bring the shipwrecked into quiet waters.' He comes but seldom now, being laid up in the home dock, tranquilly waiting till his turn comes to go out with the tide and safely ride at anchor in the great harbor of the Lord. Our crew varies a good deal. Some of 'em have rather rough voyages, and come into port pretty well battered; land-sharks fall foul of a good many, and do a deal of damage; but most of 'em carry brave and tender hearts under the blue jackets, for their rough nurse, the sea, manages to keep something of the child alive in the grayest old tar that makes the world his picture-book. We try to supply 'em with life-preservers while at sea, and make 'em feel sure of a hearty welcome when ashore, and I believe the year '67 will sail away into eternity with a satisfactory cargo. Brother North-End made me pipe my eye; so I'll make him laugh to pay for it, by telling a clerical joke I heard the other day. Bellows didn't make it, though he might have done so, as he's a connection of ours, and knows how to use his tongue as well as any of us. Speaking of the bells of a certain town, a reverend gentleman affirmed that each bell uttered an appropriate remark so plainly, that the words were audible to all. The Baptist bell cried, briskly, 'Come up and be dipped! come up and be dipped!' The Episcopal bell slowly said, 'Apos-tol-ic suc-cess-ion! apos-tol-ic suc-cess-ion!' The Orthodox bell solemnly pronounced, 'Eternal damnation! eternal damnation!' and the Methodist shouted, invitingly, 'Room for all! room for all!'"

Come back tomorrow for the final part! 

                                          Part Four