Mice In His Pocket

St. Paul Globe: Everybody has heard Daniel Webster's story of the New Hampshire parson who put on a pair of pants in which the wasps had built a nest, and did not make the discovery until he was in the pulpit. He had just announeed the beginning of the text, "The Spirit of the Lord is in my mouth- '' when the pesky littlefellowsgotin theirwork, and the sentence was concluded with the exclamation: "and the clevil is in mv brecches P' A St. Paul clergyman found himself In nearly as embarrassing a position as the JNew Harapshire parson, when last Sunday he appeared In the pulpit weariii" i pair of fall trousers which had lié'en hanging in the wardrobc during the long suminer vacation. The wasps had not found him out, but a motherly old mouse had. She had spread a nice, warm couch ofsealskin pluckings in the right hand pocket of the trousers, into which an even half-dozen of one-day-old miceleU had been tucked away. It is a favorito gesture of the clergyman in questian wheu about to approach a climax in the sermón to thrust liis nght hand in his trousers pocket and elévate the left with the forennger extended. .1 . ?1.l1V,p3ned on this Particular day that JMijahs translation was the theme The good prophet liad been followed by the eloquent preacher until the climax of the ascensión in achariot of flre liad been reached, when the clergyman thrust his ngnt hand Into his trousers pocket The audience, who had been hanging on the burning words of the orator, were no little startled by the sudden collapse of the uplifted left hand, the index flnger of which was in the act of pointing to the gates that were being lifted up to let the prophet in. The expression of a ínomentary pang shot across the preacher's face as with a convulsive jerk the other hand was brought up from the pocket. A gluuce at lts contents, a quick squeezinotogether of the hand, the llght thud oí something dropping behind the pulpit, an amused smile on the face for a second, and then the glowing theme was resumed Only those who sat on the front row in the amen corner heard what the preacher sald when he discovered the mice in his hand. "Well, I'll be doggoned!" was sufllcient.