Therewasastiratthedoor。Allheadsswunginthatdirection——
allbutMr。Pepper’s，thatis。TheministerandGracewerecominguptheaisleandbehindthemcameCaptainNatHammondandKeziahCoffin。Natwassmilingandself-possessed。NeverbeforeinhislifehadheenteredtheRegularmeetinghouseasaworshiper，butheseemedtobebearingtheordealbravely。ItwasGrace’sfirstvisittothechurch，also，andshewasplainlyembarrassed。Tobestaredatbyeighty-oddpairsofeyes，andtocatchwhisperedcommentsfromthestarers’tongues，islikelytoembarrassone。
Yetthecommentswereallfriendly。
“Ideclare！“whisperedMrs。Prince，“Ineverseeherlooksoprettyafore。Iknewshewasthebestlookin’girlinthistown，butI
neverrealizedshewasSUCHabeauty。Well，there’sonethingsartin’——we’vegotthehandsomestparsonandparson’swifeinTHIS