his text from Saint Matthew, Chapter vii., verses 26 and 27:

"_And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them
not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon
the sand_;

"_And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of
it_."

Taffy never followed his father's sermons closely. He would listen
to a sentence or two, now and again, and then let his wits wander.

"You think this church is built upon the sands. The rain has come,
the winds have blown and beaten on it; the foundations have sunk and
it leans to leeward. . . . By the blessing of God we will shore it
up, and upon a foundation of rock. Upon what rock, you ask? . . .
Upon that rock which is the everlasting foundation of the Church
spiritual. . . . Hear what comfortable words our Lord spake to Peter.
. . . Our foundation must be faith, which is God's continuing
Presence on earth, and which we shall recognise hereafter as God
Himself. . . . Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. . . . In other words, it is the rock we
search for. . . . Draw near it, and you will know yourself in God's
very shadow--the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. . . . As
with this building, so with you, O man, cowering from wrath, as these
walls are cowering. . . ."

The benediction was pronounced, the pew-door opened, and the old man
marched down the aisle, looking neither to right nor to left, with