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Vernacular rhyme about deacons abounded in popular literature in the late-nineteenth century, presenting a thoughtprovoking interplay between the ideal of diaconal holiness and the vicissitudes of daily life. These verses, ideologically balanced between free will and determinism, used humor to defuse economic and social tensions within rural communities. The use of rural vernacular was a signal that the writer was in tune with bedrock values, the moral cornerstones of the Republic. The single lesson that emerges is that while deacons may be subject to any of the seven deadly sins, true charity means being a good neighbor to the hungry and poor. Old Deacon Graywas as mean a manAs I've seen for many a day; Hen steal and lie for the sake of a dime, And rob all who came in his way.-UllieAkerstromDeacons abounded in American popular literature before the turn of the twentieth century. They figured in poetry and prose, and song and image, most appearing without mention of church affiliation. Countless writers, many little known today, called attention to a figure seen more often in church aisles than in the newspaper, and they often did so in vernacular rhyme. A few members of this diaconal fraternity were saintly; many more were scoundrels. Some were susceptible to feminine wiles, while others enjoyed a daily tipple and drove fast horses. On the whole, these figures present a thought-provoking interplay between the ideal of diaconal holiness and the vicissitudes of daily life. William E. Barton, a "pastor of a 241

Henry Ward Beecher, the influential pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn until his death in 1887, became an iconic figure in Puck magazine during its first decade. Beecher, who was involved in the Tilton marital scandal, was satirized in word and graphics by editor and cartoonist Joseph Keppler for both his womanizing and his politics. A study of Puck’s response to Beecher from 1877 to 1887 exemplifies the magazine’s crusade against dishonesty and attempt to safeguard public morals as it followed in the steps of its mascot Puck, proclaiming “What Fools These Mortals Be!”