understandin' of it. What tribe was it in sacred writ that wore
bunnits?"

"Lordy!" exclaimed the old man. "How d'ye suppose I know! They must 'a'
been a tarnal old womanish lookin' set anyway."

"The tribe o' Judah, pa," said Grandma, gravely. "Now, how good it is,
husband, to have your understandin' all freshened up on the scripters!"

"Come, come, ma!" said Grandpa, rising nervously. "It's time we was
startin'. When I make up my mind to go anywhere I always want to git
there in time. If I was goin' to the Old Harry, I should want to git
there in time."

"It's my consarn that we shall git thar' before time, some on us," said
Grandma, with sad meaning, "unless we larn to use more respec'ful
language."

I shall never forget how we set off for church that Sabbath morning, way
out at one of the sunny back doors of the Ark: for there was Madeline's
little cottage that fronted the highway, or lane, and then there was a
long backward extension of the Ark, only one story in height. This
belonged peculiarly to Grandma and Grandpa Keeler. It contained the
"parlor" and three "keepin'" rooms opening one into the other, all of
the same size and general bare and gloomy appearance, all possessing the
same sacredly preserved atmosphere, through which we passed with
becoming silence and solemnity into the "end" room, the sunny kitchen
where Grandma and Grandpa kept house by themselves in the summer time,
and there at the door, her very yellow coat reflecting the rays of the
sun, stood Fanny, presenting about as much appearance of life and