As the next meeting of the Scripture Club was about to open, certain members noticed that Mr. Jodderel had taken a seat which would entitle him to be the first person called upon for an opinion, and that he was divesting his pockets of a large number of books, most of them in faded and unconventional bindings. The members glanced at each other in terror, and when the opening prayer was concluded, Mr. Radley promptly exclaimed: "Mr. Leader, the New Testament contains eight thousand verses, lacking two. With occasional quadrennial exceptions, there are but fifty-two Sundays in a year. We have already consumed, on an average, two Sundays to a verse; at this rate we will need more than three hundred years to get through the New Testament. Certain chapters, like the first chapter of Matthew and the third chapter of Luke, may form exceptions; but as no man here can expect to live through much more than one-tenth of the time necessary to consider all the Gospels and Epistles, and as, even at the rate of a verse to a day, we would need to have our lives extended to several times the average longevity of mortals, I move that no single verse of Scripture shall be allowed to monopolize the attention of this class for more than one Sunday." "I second the motion," said Mr. Alleman. "Mr. Leader!" exclaimed Mr. Jodderel, "I object. We have spent two Sundays in considering the third beatitude, and we know no more about the whereabouts of the kingdom of heaven than when we began. If the proposed resolution takes effect now, and we find each verse of the Gospel as interesting as those already studied, no one knows how many of us may go from our deathbeds to the bar of God without knowing what to expect thereafter." "And as God is only our Father, and the maker of the universe, and as we profess only to believe that he is wiser and more loving than any earthly parent, we daren't trust him to make the matter plain in the next world," observed Captain Maile. "Question!" exclaimed every one who had perceived Mr. Jodderel's collection of books. The question was put and carried, with but two dissenting voices, that of young Mr. Waggett being one of them. Then the Leader read the verse: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled;" and he asked Mr. Jodderel to open the discussion. The gentleman addressed maintained a sulky silence for about two minutes, and finally remarked: