ButthemostelaboratethingofthekindIeversawwasthebreakingupofa``SecondAdventist’’meetingbyascoreofstudentroysterers。Anitinerantfanatichadtakenanoldwoodenmeeting—houseinthelowerpartofthetown，hadsetuponeithersideofthepulpitlargecanvasrepresentationsofthemanofbrasswithfeetofclay，andotherportentouscharactersoftheprophecies，andthenchallengedtheclergytomeethiminpublicdebate。Attheappointedtimeabodyofcollegeyouthappeared，mostsoberinhabitanddemureinmanner，havingattheirhead``Bill’’HowellofBlackRockand``Tom’’ClarkofManlius，thetwowildestmiscreantsinthesophomoreclass，eachoversixfeettall，thelatterdressedasarespectablefarmer，andtheformerasacountryclergyman，wearingadress—coat，awhitecravat，atallblackhatwrappedincrape，leaningonaheavy，ivory—knobbedcane，andcarryingostentatiouslyaGreekTestament。Thesedisguisedmalefactors，havingtakentheirseatsinthegallerydirectlyfacingthepulpit，thelecturerexpressedhis``satisfactionatseeingclergymenpresent，’’andbeganhisdemonstrations。Foraboutfiveminutesallwentwell;then``Bill’’Howellsolemnlyaroseand，inasnufflingvoice，askedpermissiontosubmitafewtextsfromscripture。Permissionbeinggranted，heputonahugepairofgoggles，solemnlyopenedhisGreekTestament，reademphaticallythefirstpassagewhichattractedhisattentionandimpressivelyaskedthelecturerwhathehadtosaytoit。Atthis，thelecturer，greatlypuzzled，askedwhatthereverendgentlemanwasreading。UponthisHowellreadinNewTestamentGreekanotherutterlyirrelevantpassage。Inreplythelecturersaid，ratherroughly，``IfyouwillspeakEnglishIwillansweryou。’’
AtthisHowellsaidwiththemosthumblesuavity，``DoIunderstandthatthedistinguishedgentlemandoesnotrecognizewhatIhavebeenreading？’’Thepreacheranswered，``Idon’tunderstandanysuchgibberish;
speakEnglish。’’ThereuponHowellthrewbackhislongblackhairandlaunchedforthintoeloquentdenunciationasfollows:``Sir，isitpossiblethatyoucomeheretointerprettoustheHolyBibleanddonotrecognizethelanguageinwhichthatblessedbookwaswritten？Sir，doyoudaretocalltheverywordsoftheAlmighty`gibberish？’’’Atthisallwasletloose;somestudentsputasafetidaonthestove;othersthrewpigeon—shotagainsttheceilingandwindows，makingamostappallingdin，andonewretchputindeadlyworkwithasyringethrustthroughthecanvasrepresentationofthemanofbrasswithfeetofclay。But，alas，ConstableJohnDeyhadrecognizedHowellandClark，evenamidtheirdisguises。
Hehaddealtwiththemtoooftenbefore。Thenexttableaushowedthem，withtheirtallhatscrushedovertheirheads，belaboringJohnDeyandhismyrmidons，andpresently，withhalfadozenotheringenuousyouth，theywerehaledtotheofficeofjustice。Theyoungjudgewhoofficiatedonthisoccasionwasnoneotherthanapersonagewhowillbementionedwithgreatrespectmorethanonceinthesereminiscences，——CharlesJamesFolger，——
afterwardmycolleagueintheStateSenate，ChiefJusticeoftheStateandSecretaryoftheTreasuryoftheUnitedStates。HehadmetHowelloften，fortheyweremembersofthesameGreekletterfraternity，——thethriceillustriousSigmaPhi，——and，onlyafewdaysbefore，Howellhadpresentedmetohim;buttherewasnofraternalbondvisiblenow;justicewassternlyimplacable，andgoodroundfineswereimposeduponalltheculpritscaught。