"Is there enough people in Bixby to fill three meetings? Why, no, there ain't; but nobody expects to see a church filled nowadays. Money? Of course there ain't enough to support three societies, but land! a church has something else to think about except being supported, I guess! For that matter, there ain't always enough Democrats to elect a President, but they go right on being Democrats whether they git anything or not. They git the fun o' bein' Democrats, 't any rate, if there's any fun in it, or Baptists or Universalists, or whatever 'tis! "When we come to decidin' which church we should have the Readin' in, there was consid'able talk, and finally we settled it by writin' to the author and askin' her if she had any preference, and she wrote back and said she was a 'piscopalian, and we hadn't one of them and couldn't get one to oblige her; and I never had no opinion of 'em anyhow, for if they was anyways smart they wouldn't have to have their prayers written all out for 'em. I forgot to say that some of the club wanted a gentleman author. As we'd never hed one here before, and might never hev one again, some of 'em thought best to have the real article while we was about it; but the rest of us concluded a lady author'd come cheaper, and Mis' Stevens settled it by declarin' that she was goin' to do the entertainin' and she wouldn't have a man under foot. Yes, of course, Mr. Stevens is alive, but she's got him trained so't he don't stay in the house much. They say he keeps store jest so's he can hev a place to stop evenin's. "After a good deal o' talk we agreed to hev the Readin' in the Baptist meetin'-house to please Mis' Stevens. She vowed she wouldn't entertain the author without we did, and she has the biggest house in the village and the best spare room, and if she happens to be in a good temper she takes three tickets besides, so we always flatter her up and calm her down all we can when there's anything going on. You wa'n't brought up hereabouts, so you ain't familiar with the Stover temper; Mis' Stevens was one of the Stovers of Scarboro', and there was temper enough in that family, if it was thinned out, to spread over the whole o' York County. Peace was the youngest, and she lost one likely beau by kickin' the churn out o' the door jest as he happened to pass by one morning; then she went away on a visit to Bangor and married Mr. Stevens. He's prospered and she's dretful ambitious. She's bound and determined that Bixby Centre shall keep right up with Bangor and Portland.