FIiEELAND TRIUHNE.
PUBLJ&HKD KVEItY
MONDAY AND THURSDAY.
"flios. A. BUCKLEY,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
OFFICE: MAIN STREET ABOVE CENTRE.
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Report promptly to this office when your paper
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he mode In the manner provided by law.
A village humorist was asked to sug
gest a motto for the now grocery, and
he proposed this: "Honest tea is the
best policy."
A New York man chewed the end of
a dynamite cartridge the other day and
ull his friends now agree that chewing
Is a very bad habit.
Russia has ordered $4,000,000 worth
of armor plates from a Pennsylvania
firm. Here Is Uncle Sum's chance to
work off his entire stuck of blowholes.
Now York has decided that a bridge
with a single span can be built across
the North river. If this can be done
the structure will be a bridge without
a pier.
In Chelsea, Muss., all the bells in the
village are rung ou election clay fifteen
minutes before the polls open. This is
the best application of political ring
rule we can iveall.
A dispatch from Muncle, Ind., savs
that town has "a boy who lieurs with
lils fingers." An investigation of this
case probably will prove that it is noth
ing more remarkable than a special
correspondent who lies with a Faber
No. 2.
A young woman writes to a Now
York paper describing her first love
sensations as "a sort of inward indo
scribableness of an outward all-over
ishness." That's it, exactly; any one
whoever fooled with Cupid will indorse
that description.
In view of the prevailing style of
woman's dress, if sleeves a foot and a
half wide are a good thing why would
not sleeves a yard in diameter be bet
ter? The suggestion is handed over to
the modistes as an intimation that they
may be wasting their opportunities.
The proposition of some romantic
writers to put their romances to the
test by actually living through the ex
periences described should be discour
aged. Any one trying to live the expe
riences of a romance of the modern sen
sational school would come Into conflict
with the police before he had lived past
the first chapter.
Some members of a recent grand jury
In Chicago took a novel method of find
ing out the true inwardness of bucket
shops. They had been appointed a
committee to look after tho bucket
shops personally and took u few "fly
ers" for luck and Incidentally to assure
themselves that tho shops were violat
ing the law. They had no trouble in
finding indictments after this unique
personal Investigation.
In order to prove the docility of the
bulldog the South London Bulldog So
ciety, which Is holding a show at the
Royal Aquarium, has caged one large
dog with a small cat, and the pair got
along together with perfect amity—and
the cat is not inside tho dog, either.
Nevertheless, we fear the effort is in
vain. Until they can brood a new kind
of bulldog, with a different kind of face
on him, tho generality of people will
still credit him with a fearful amount
of ferocity.
Voiceless sorrow, grief that is deeper
and more lasting than any that death
ever brings, broken hopes, blighted
lives and perpetual sadness are covered
by the smiling mask of habit and edu
cation. One idol after another is shut
tered, but the well-disciplined mind,
after a little time, recovers its balance,
the carefully-trained hands remember
their cunning, and, with 110 outward j
sign of inward desolation, the ship
wrecked spirit gathers up the remnant
of its life and goes on Just the same as
before to do the next thing.
The cental of 100 pounds, the most
sensible unit of measure ever used, bus
not yet been adopted by the trade, but
dealers continue to struggle ulong with
the two measures. Tho grain is bought
from the farmers by tho bushel, but
measured by weighing, which necessi
tates a reduction by the buyer. What
he loses through error Is a sacrifice to
a benighted system of measures. Grain
Is shipped by the 100 pounds, and that
Is the unit upon which freight rates are
charged. The cental system would !
greatly facilitate tho business and pre
vent ninny errors.
To He a Successful Minister.
It was Martin Luther who gave the
following ton qualifications us making
a good preacher of the Gospel: 1. He
should be able to teach plainly and in
order. 2. lie should have a good head.
3. Good power of language. 4. A good
voice. 5. A good memory. 0. He should
know when to stop. 7. He should be
sure of what he means to say. H. And
be ready to stake body and soul, goods
and reputation, 011 its truth. >. He
should study diligently. 10. And suffer !
himself to be vexed uud criticised by •
everyone.
I THE DAYS AND THE YEAR.
j What is the world, my own littlo ono?
j Our world belongs to that clock tho sun.
I Steady its spins ; whiio tho clock boats true
! Pays and soason3 for mo and you.
! And tick-tick-tock ! goes tho mighty clock
I Wnilo time swings on below,
Now left— now right; now day—now night,
With a tick-tick to and fro.
I Tbe pussy-willow in coat of fur ;
A sweet pink roso in the wind astir,
A maplo loaf with a crimson blush ;
, Then falling stiowllak"s, and winter's hush—
I Whiiotlck-tick-tock goes tho mighty clock,
J And tho world swings on boiow,
Dudding—blowing ; shining—snowing—
i With a tick-tock to and fro.
I A littlo song when tho heart is glad,
| A littlo sigh when tho way is sad ;
Whether tho shadows or sunbeams fall,
Sweet rest and dreaming at last for all,
i While tlck-tick-tock goes tho mighty clock,
i And tho world swings on bolow,
Smiling—sighing ;singing —crying--
With a tick-tock to and fro.
j So this is tho way, my own littlo on,
Our world belongs to that clock tho sun,
And tho hand that somewhero keeps tho
key
Is thosamo that holdeth you and mo,
Whiio tick-tick-took goes tho mighty clock, '
And tho world 6wings on below,
Now left—now right; now day—now night,
With a tick-to?k to and fro.
—Harriet P. Blodgott, in St. Nicholas.
CASWELL'S EXPEDIENT.
BY EDSON KEMP.
f evening a
Z* s /J 7 m KM E rou P of del"
M r§ egates to tho
(-C.l ,ij CI yV,\ Jfil convention
Lofthoßroth
i W erhooii of
Locomotive
\XfvrA. Illsl Engineers
sat in tlio ro-
F (j t'unla ut the
I J a 1 in e r
House in
S^ries! l^
tliem was a
grizzled, oldish man from tho Old
Colony, who had a curious rod scar
bending- around from bis forehead
across bis right temple and down upon
his right check, with almost as regu
lar a curve as if it had been marked
there with a compass. The redness of
its color indicated that the mark had
been inflicted not very long ago.
The man who woro tho scar had
taken no part in tho conversation.
Presently ono of tho Western delegates
said to him : %
"Come, Brother Hawkins, you ought
to have a story to tell. How did you
get that scar, now?"
Tho Old Colony man colored a lit
tle and looked uneasy.
"You fellows can tell stories," he
said, "and I can't. But I will say
this—l was never thankful for a hard
blow in tho faco but once, and that
was when I got this scar."
Theu he subsided into silence, ap
parently supposing that there was
nothing moro to say. Of course tho
engineers übout him raised a loud de
mand lor the rest of tho story, which
seemed to surprise tho Old Colony
man. Under this pressure ho went
on, a littlo awkwardly.
"I hain't had tho scar moron'u
about a year," ho said. "I was run
uing tho three-thirty passenger out of
Boston on the Cape Cod Division', as
lam now when I'm at home. We had
passed Wureham ono blustering,
blowing, rainy November afternoon;
it was half-past livo by that time, and
as the sky was thick with clouds, it
was just as dark as pitch.
"Between Wareham and Buzzard's
Bay there's a stretch of woodsy, scrub
by country where tho track is pretty
tolerably crooked, crossing and dodg
ing the salt-water inlets. You can't
see far ahead of you at any time.
"But if I'm going to tell you this
6tory uuywliero near right, "I'vo got
to get you out of my cab and onto the
Plying Dude; and that's a groat priv
ilege, I can tell you, for they say it
takes a patent of nobility to mako you
eligible to ride on that fast
express. It's a swell affair, that runs
down on tho cast BIRTO of Buzzard's
Bay.
"By tho hour I mentioned tho Dude
should have been at Wood's Holl,
her run made; but sho bad stopped at
Middlcboro on account of a hot box,
and was way behind time. Sho had
gouo on, and was Hying along through
tho woods between Wareham and
Onset, not moro than fifteen
uiiuutes ahead of our time, when that
baino box began to smoko uguin, hot
ter than firo.
"Thero was nothing for thom to do
but haul up and cool her off. But
they knew that wo were coming right
behind. Tho Dudo had just made a
curve where tho track follows the
bond of tho bay, and it was a bad
plnco. I shouldn't havo seen the
Dudo's rear lights around that curve
until wo were right on her. Of course
they sent a man back with a lantern
to signal us. Tho man they took
for tho duty was a young brakemau,
not over nineteen, by tho name of
Jimmy Caswell. lie hadn't been
working for tho road moro than two
years, but ho camo of a very good
family of folks down to Falmouth,
and was a mighty bright, gentlemanly
sort of a youngster—just the kind
that tho swells who travel down to the
bay like to havo on tho Flying Dudo.
"He'd boon put forward a good deal
for a fellow of nineteou, and it was
somewhat tho result of favor, I daro
say, that ho was ou that train ; But
thoy all had a great deal of confidence
in him. I'll leave it to you to say
whether tho coufidouco was justified.
"Well, Jimmy sot out in tho dark
and rain and wind with his red lan
tern back along tho track. He had to
go quite u pioce, for there's u second
curvo along back a littlo ways on that
crooked lino there, and after that a
long, clear stretch, and ho wanted to
get around tho second curve und warn
us there.
"Ho was making pretty well along
toward the second curve, running his
head against the storm, and was just
where ho was out of sight of both
trains—the Dudo standing still and
wo a-coining—with woods along tho
inner sido of tho curve, so that noth
ing whatever could bo seen of him or
his lantern at that point from either
train. Then suddonly ho heard my
train rolling up in the distance.
"Ho started to run, Jimmy, did, to
get around tho second turn in soason
to sigual mo there. It seoms that ho
knew ho had plenty of tim 6 to mako
tho bend, as ho owned up afterward,
but ho wanted to bo mighty sure.
"Just as ho started up, what do you
suppose happened? A stronger gust
of wind than any of the rost como
whistling through tho scrub, and that
and tho motiou of Jimmy's start to
run blew out his lantern. Then my
train coming along roared louder yet,
for tho wind was coming to him from
my way.
"Jimmy wasn't at all scared. Ho
know ho had time to strike a light.
Ho put his lingers in his upper vest
pocket after matchee. No matches
there. That niado him foel kind of
queer. Then ho put his lingers in his
other upper vest pocket. None there,
either.
"Ho heard my train roariug nearer
and nearer. It was coming around
tho second bend. Then, ho owned up,
Jimmy was a good deal scared.
"Ho jumped right down tho middlo
of tho track in tho dark toward iny
train, not knowing what bo was going
to do, but feeling that somehow or
other ho was going to stop tho train
boforo it went on and crashed into
tho oxprose. As he run, my headlight
loomed out ou him through tho mist
coming up around tho bond.
"He yelled like a madman, but his
voice might as well havo been tho
squeak of a mouse. Not a sound could
bo heard through tho racket that the
storm und tho locomotive made to
gether, as you ull would know very
well.
"As for me, I never heard nor saw a
thing on tho track before me, though
Jimmy stood straight in tho middle of
it all the while, waving the lantern
with no light in it, and hollering till
110 was black in tho face. My head
light seemed to mo to bo shining
about a dozen feet into a kind of thick
pudding of rain and mist.
"Jimmy told mo that ho stopped all
at once, when it seemed that my head
light was not fifty feot away from
him. Probably it was moro than that.
It occurred to him that ho hadn't
time to bo scared. He must take time
to think. So he thought; and tho
lives of two hundred people depanded
on his thinking to good advantage.
"Ho wondered if it would bo best
to throw himself down ou tho track
and let tho train go over him. Ho
was willing to do it, if it would do any
good. But ho thought that the
chances wore ton to ono that his body
would throw the train off tho track,
whereas there was at least a smull
chance that if my train went on I
might bring it to a stop some way in
time to save a bad smash-up.
"Anyhow, ho resolved not to throw
himself down, but to do tho thing ho
did do. He steppod off the track—
uud by this tirno I saw him dimly by
tho light from tho headlight—and
measuring his distanco coolly, ho
throw his lantern with all his might
straight through tho side window of
tho cab!
"As luck would havo it, tho lantern
got freo of tho broken glass before it
struck me, and tho bottom of it hit
mo fair and square in tho sido of tho
head, here, just whore you see tho
mark. For an iustant it stunned me,
but by tho time I had got back my
senses I found that I had reversod tho
engine and put on the air-brake, and
tho train was coming to a stop.
"It was just second nature to any
engincor—and Jimmy Cuswell know
well it would bo—to know that any
human being wouldn't do a thing like
that unless thero was good cause for
tho engiuo to stop. My fireman
would havo stoppod tho train if I
hadn't, when ho saw tho lantern como
in ; but 110 says that ho hadn't moro
than heard tho crash ot' the lautern
through tho window boforo ho saw mo
jump for tho throttlo and tho uir
brake.
"After tho train had como to a stop,
and I, without knowing what had
really happened, was wiping tho blood
oil'my faco and thinking that some
body had tried to kill mo and wreck
tho train, that boy camo runuing up
alongside tho cab, panting, clean out
of breath, and climbed up, all wet,
into the cab. 'My gracious!' ho
managed to get out, pretty soon, 'did
I hit you?'
"'Somebody hit mo,' says I; 'I
don't know who 'twas nor what 'twas.'
" 'I throw my lantern at you,' says
he, as cool as a frog.
" 'You did !' says I; 'well, what did
you do that for?'
" 'To koop you from running into
tho Dude,' says he.
"By this time ho was up in tho cab,
and ho and tho iirornou were sopping
my faco with water. Aud thou my
head was swimming around again, and
1 didn't ltuow any too well what was
going on.
"But by tho timo tho conductor and
train hands aud about two thirds of
tho passengers had como swarming
around, I was able to order 'em back,
and wo pullod up and overhauled the
express, slowly.
"Jimmy, ho was full of apologies to
rac. 'My goodness,'snys he, '1 hoped
I shouldn't hit you, but I was bound
to stop you anyway.'
" 'That's so,' says I. 'Don't talk
about it HDV more. I might havo
passed you and never seen you, or if
I hud noticed you waving your arm by
tho sido of tho track I should have
taken you for some fool of u tramp,
and like as not paid no attention to
you, and gone on at full speed around
that next bend. But,' Beys I, 'you'd
better go on to your own train now.'
44 'I wish some of you fellows would
lend mo a lantern,' says he.
"I lookod at his lantern, and saw
that tho glass had smashod when it
went to tho cab floor after hitting
me.
11 'What's tho matter?' says I.
'Haven't you any more lanterns on
your train?'
4 'l'd rather go back with one,* says
he.
"That made mo laugh. Ho wasn't
going to let on but what he'd stopped
my train in tho regular way. And 1
don't believe ho did. Thero was no
occasion to report to anybody. That
boy wasn't after any hero's honors, or
any of that kind of business.
"But of courso it came out, because,
though I didn't ask for any leave, 1
had to go around for quito a spell
with my face all plastered up.
"Doctor down to Yarmouth fixod
mo up all right. Jimmy oifered to
pay the bill, but bless you, I'd never
let him do that, even if tho doctor
had charged mo a cent, which ho
didu't.
"I was mighty glad to get out of
that scrape with a scar on my face,
and I reckon it won't amount to much
after it's bleached out.
"How is Jimmy getting on? Oh,
first-rate, I guess. If they ever thought
of reprimanding him for not making
sure he had matches with him, when
he started out to signal that train, I
guess tlioy reflected that he'd shown
qualities that redeemed that fault, and
that the chances wore that he'd make
a first-rate railroad man.
"He's still braking on tho Flying
Dude. But it won't tako many years
to see him u conductor—you can de
pend on that."—Youth's Companion.
The Tide Turning South,
"Georgia ought to get thousands of
Bottlers from Ohio aud Pennsylvania,"
says "Sam" B. Webb, who has just
returned from a trip to those States
in tho interest of the Central Railroad.
"Tho people in thoso States aro dis
contented and are moving away. They
do not waut to settle in Kansas or Ar
kansas or Texas, where so many of
their friends used to go. If Georgia
only had somo literature descriptive
of her resources, it would attract
thousands of good, honest, hardwork
ing people of tho agricultural and me
chanical classes. 'The tide of emigra
tion is now setting toward Tennessee,
which State issued, probably a year
ago, one of the most complete books
on its resources that auy Stato has
ever got out. That book catches a
possible immigrant as soon rt3 he ex
amines it. If our Stato will just let
tho world know what wo havo iu tho
way of climate, soil, minerals, woods,
water power and that sort of thing
our uncultivated and low-priced lands
will soon bo in demand and tho tax
able property of tho Stato will in
crease in value a hundred million dol
lars in a few years."—Atlanta Consti
tution.
Mirror anil Light on a Cuttlefish.
The phosphorescent organs of a raro
cuttlefish from deep water havo been
investigated by Joubin. It comprises
what the author calls a mirror uud an
apparatus for producing light. Ke
supposes that this organ does no
function, and that it is like a machine
at rest; but i* a living creature adapt
ed for food wanders near the cuttle
fish, this prey, being of a bighr tem
perature than tho water in which it
lloats, emits heat rays, which impinge
on tho reflecting mirror and are then
concentrated iu tho light produciug
orguu, causing there a sensation, the
organs acting by reflex action. Tho
water around it is then lighted up by
rays perceived by the eyo of the cut
tle. In a word, these organs aro thoso
of caloric sense. He has also found
iu another cuttlofish an extrcraoly
curious organ constructed iu such a
mauner that it does not porceivo light
rays, but is solely adapted to receive
heat rays, which coufirms his hypoth
esis as to tho nature of the organs in
tho other cuttle.—New York Inde
pendent.
A Cohl Light.
Tho recent investigations of Pro
fessor Ebert form an interesting se
quel to tho researches of Tesla on the
production of electric light with the
minimum amount of heat. Tho goal,
of course, is to get tho light with no
lieat at all, except that which natural
ly belongs to tho luminous rays; that
is, to get rid of tho obscure or dark
heat altogether. Only about live per
cent, of tho eueigy expended in an in
cauhescent lamp is tuned into light,
tho remaining ninety-five going into
waste heat. Professor Elbert has now
not only deduced tho laws according
to which apparatus should bo made to
produce cold light by means of alter
nating currents of high frequency, but
ho has succeeded in obtaining a light
of about one-tliirteeuth of a candlo
power, with about one-thousandth of
the energy required in one of tho
standard caudle power lamps. This,
of course, is a very small light, but
Professor Ebert is confident that
lights of practical brightness may bo
obtained according to his method.—
Loudon Exchange.
Dyes From Vine-Leaves.
Dyes from autumn leaves might
seem a natural and mntter-of-courso
production, but until recently no such
thing lias been thought of. Some
German chemists huve, however, suc
ceeded in extracting a substanco from
ripened vine-leaves that with appro
priate mordants will color beautiful
shades of brown und yellow.—New
York Ledger.
TIIE CIRCUIT RIDER.
ITINERANT PREACHERS OF PIO
NEER DAYS.
Ifbw Spiritual Wants of the First Set
tlers Were Supplied—Labors of Karly
Preachers Their Miserable Pay—
Hardships Kudu red.
Parson and People.
Among the inuny peculiar characters
developed in the early days of our na
tional history not tho least singular
was the traveling preacher, who min
istered to the spiritual wants of tho
settlers In the backwoods. lie was a
natural product of the times in which
he lived and of tho country in which
his l<t was cast lie was In the most
emphatic sense of the word one of tho
people himself, for, in all probability,
he had been born and reared in the im
mediate neighborhood of his "circuit"
nine-tenths of his auditors knew him
from his boyhood, and his father and
the rest of Ids family, and were pre
pared to give his pedigree back to tho
time when the family made its appear
anco in this country. Earlier than this
few knew even their own family his
tory, and nobody cared, for it was a
well-established social principle in the
early days of the colonies that nobody
had a father until lie came to America,
and when lie was here he was as good
as anybody, if not a little better. The
traveling preacher, or circuit rider, as
be was generally called, was a man
thoroughly and conscientiously devoted
to his calling. He always believed him
self to he "called" to tho work of the
ministry, and, having this conviction,
gave up everything else for its sake.
His worldly belongings, barring the
wife and children, that aiways lived
somewhere within the hounds of his
circuit, were generally limited to what
lie could carry in his saddle-bags, and
these usually contained a change of
linen, a Bible, a hymn book, in those
days called a "hluie book," and some
times a lunch of chicken and corn
bread, put up by a kindly sister at the
last preaching place, lie had a horse,
generally a good horse, for no other
kind could stand the hardships of the
journeys he had to make, and for his
living lie trusted to Providence and the
people of the various "appointments"
along his route. And, as a rule, he was
as well cared for as the means of the
PERFORMS A PLEASING DUTY.
people permitted, for every family
counted it an honor to have the preach
er stay with them, and as he was usu
nlly the bearer of news from one neigh
borhood to another, he was always a
w tlcome guest.
Ills circuit was planned, partly by
himself, partly by his ecclesiastical
superiors, who laid out the general
ground and expected him to add to
the number of appointments or preach
ing places as tlie membership increased
und the work broadened. Two preach
ers, a senior and a junior, were usually
assigned to each circuit, and the ap
pointments for tho two were arranged
in such away that the people of each
station had preaching every other week,
at least, or sometimes every week. The
labors of these self-sacriflclng men
were by no means, however, couliued to
Sunday. They preached every day,
sometimes twice a day, reaching one
station at I) or 10 in the morning, hold
ing service, dining with some brother !
who lived near by, in the afternoon, j
riding on to another station, where an ;
evening service was to be held, and re
peating this round week after week,
month after mouth, during the year
until "conference" came, when the ap
pointments were changed and the
preachers went to new llelds. Twenty
or thirty sermons every four weeks
were the usual work, together with 200
or .'SOO miles of the hardest kind of trav
el. Of roads there were few, the trav
eler being compelled to rely on bridle
paths through the forest, and often on
mere tracks aided by "blazes" on the
trees, or pieces of bark chopped out,
leaving a white place underneath,
which could be seen at a considerable
distance and materially aided the pro
gress of the wayfarer. When dark
ness overtook the preacher on his Jour
ney, and lie could no longer discern the
"blazes" on the tres, be trusted to the
Instinct of his horse, and when this fail
ed, as it sometimes, though rarely, did,
lie was compelled to pass the night in
the woods. If he bad flint and steel he
made a lire; if not, he sat down at the
root of a tree and held his horse until
morning. In rainy weather he was
often compelled to swim the swollen
streams that lay in liis route, or make
long detours in search of a place wliero
the streaih could be forded. Yet all
these hardships, and more, including
sleeping in lofts where the snow drift
ed In, in rooms where four beds were
placed and the family all slept in the
only room the cabin afforded, and the
annoyance of having absolutely no pri
vacy but that of the forest during his
journey from one appointment to an
other, were cheerfully endured, and for j
no compensation save the conscious- |
ness of duty well done, and the pittance
that the people were able to give in re \
turn for the services rendered them. J
Money in those times were scarce, and
many an old preacher has been heard
to tell how in the early days of his min
istry he received but $25 or SSO from
ills people ror a years tiara work. But
this sum illd not really represent all
they (lid for him, for his entertainment
was free wherever he went, and a pair
of stockings here, a pair of shoes there,
a wool hat or fur cap from one, a coat
from another and a pair of jeans trous
ers from a third, eked out his scnnty
support very materially. Nor was tills
all, for on his "homo round"—that is,
when on that part of his circuit that
brought him toward home—iie might ho
seen with a ham or llitch of bacon on
one side of his saddle, a pair of chick
ens or a wild turkey on the other, and,
it may be a liauneh of venison or a bag
of corn in front, ail the contributions
of those who gave willingly of what
they had to give nt all. These, with an
occasional wedding fee, a sum varying
from 25c to sl, paid by a youth in his
tlrst suit of 111-fitting store clothes,
constituted ills principal reliance for a
livelihood, ills wife did her own work,
and lier neighbors brought in supplies
from time to time to help out the
preacher, so, on the whole, lie lived
übotit as well as they, and. what was
better, was fully content with what lie
had, and cheerfully sang:
"No foot of land do I possess,
No cottage in tills wilderness."
The "meeting houses" where ho
preached were as plain as the people
and the fare. In Kentucky, Tennessee,
and tile Southern States generally, the
first "meeting houses" were of logs, and
in a style of architecture that closely
approximated that of the settlers'
cabins. Where there were school
houses these were used for religious
purposes, but where there were none
the cabins of the settlers were em
ployed, and almost anyone, whether lie
was a member of the particular (lis
nomination to which the circuit rider
belonged or not, was generally willing
to open ills house for preaching. Whore
regular houses were built for service,
however, the neighborhood was under
stood to have advanced considerably
on tlie road to refinement. "Quarterly
meeting" at one of these wayside log
sanctuaries was a great occasion. The
presiding elder was always there, '.vitli
as many of the brethren as could he
mustered. I.oug before the appointed
hour for the service the roads were full
of primitive vehicles on the way to the
meeting house. Antiquated wagons,
a man and his wife on the front seat,
two or three wooden chairs Just behind
for Invited guests, and the balance of
the load made up of children packed in
straw, were common, but more fre
queent were the riders on liorsebnck.
They came in twos and threes, men and
women, with children in front and be
hind, and on arriving at the grove in
w hick the church was situated they
tied the horses, not always far enough
apart to prevent an equine dispute,
scattered ear-corn on the ground in
front of them to be about equally di
vided between the steeds and the strol
ling pigs that always Infested the
neighborhood on such occasions, and
men and women separated into groups.
Down at the always convenient spring
the former gathered, the elders to
smoke their pipes and talk crops, their
juniors to discuss politics. In and
about the church the old women talked
butter and eggs, or discussed the attire
of the one "worldly" girl sure to be
found in every neighborhood, while
their daughters sat silent, for it was a
favorite maxim in those days that
young girls and children should be
seen and not heard.
A stir in the little crowd about the
door told of the arrival of the elder
and his brother circuit riders, for the
elder was just us much a circuit rider
as the rest, except that his circuit was
bigger, and a few of the nearest filed
into the church, whither the preachers
had preceded them. The brethren
said their prayers, took their seats,
conferred among themselves In loud
whispers as to the order of service,
and then some ono struck up a famil
iar hymn. All Joined lustily, and the
sound thereof, wafted out of the open
windows and down the hill to the
spring, notified the brethren there that
"inect'.n' had begun," and Induced nu
instant suspension of crop talk and a
stampede in the direction of the meet
ing house. Ity the time the hymn was
ended the house was filled and the reg
ular service of the day began.
There was preaching in abundance,
for preaching was the main feature of
the exercises. The preachiug would
hardly be acceptable in a SIOO,OOO
church nowadays, for it often happened
that grammar and rhetoric were con
spicuous by their absence, but there
was always enthusiasm in any quan
tity, and also plenty of Scripture. The
old preachers of those days did not
know much about the graces of oratory,
but they did know all about the Bible,
for it was the one book that they con
stantly read, and that they were thor
oughly conversant with from cover to
cover. A proposition was stnrted, and
Bible texts in confirmation of it were
cited; if it could be proved from the
Bible, well and good; if not, no matter
what it was. or who stated it, it was
rank Infidelity, and the proposer was
an infidel. The nice distinctions of the
higher criticism were unknown quanti
ties; the preachers of those days knew
nothing of the .Tavist, und the Eloblst.
Where the apostle affirmed "Wives, sub
mit to your husbands," they said that
it meant that the women should mind,
and not cherish any ideas about being
equal to the man and voting. They hat
ed gold chains and rings and silk
dresses and boiled shirts and cards
and fiddles and whisky, and all these
things were, in their sight, almost
equally abominable. A man with spot
less linen was to them a dandy; a wom
an with gold chains and jewelry was
on the right road to perdition. Some
of them preached against these things
and denounced unsparingly all who
favored them. Cards and fiddles were
their pet aversion, and when,.as some
times happened, a mischievous person
went to a "protracted meeting" or a
camp meeting with a fiddle or a Jug of
wldsky or pack of cards, the preachers
were sometimes known to knock down
and drag out the offender with as much
energy as would bo shown by any
shoulder-hitting son of Belial in the
country.
Their meetings did not lack for vl
encity from other causes. In those
Jays no man stirred abroad without
ids gun and his dog, and a concourse
of people was the occasion also for a
concourse of dogs. Generally curs of
low degree, they had neither patience
nor pedigree, and dog fights at meeting
were matters of by no means infre
quent occurrence. When they took
place outside, the curs were generally
left to settle their dispute among them
selves, unless it became too noisy, but
when tills occurred some man seated
uear the door and armed with a good
sized whip, quietly slipped out to act
us umpire, and a moment later a series
of yelps, followed by silence, gave in
illcatlou that the war was over. More
of an incident were they when they
took place within the limits of the con
gregation, for every other exercise was
at once suspended until the belligerents
could he parted. The brethren united
their forces, however, and by kicking
one and half-strangling the other, gen
erally accomplished the desired end in
a few moments. When the church had
a fioor raised a few feet from the
ground, the space beneath was not in
frequently used by vagrant swine as a
place of temporary abode, and when, as
sometimes happened, the dogs took into
their heads the notion that the hogs
were trespassers and ought to be evict
ed, the trouble was more serious from
the difficulty of reaching the battle
field, a difficulty that was finally sur
mounted by sending In a boy with n
cowhide to eject both (logs and pigs.
Such trilles as crying babies were never
noticed in a congregation of this kind;
crying was popularly supposed to lie
good for the lungs of the infant, and
the mother let it cry, with such efforts
to soothe it as occurred to her on the
spur of the moment, or were suggested
by Interested friends.
To tlio people of tlie present time
with their t?r>00,000 churches Itnil SO,OOO
preachers, with organ and choir anil
Sunday-school appointments of the
most elegant description, such services
stem farcical and lacking in proper
reverence. Hut it should not be forgot
ten that nil these things are merely
comparative, and that to the people of
the latter part of the eighteenth and
the early years of the nineteenth ceil
tury, the religious elegances of the
present would have seemed just as In
appropriate. The preachers and the
singing were to their taste. To them
•he eloquence of a Talmage and the mu
sic of a Ilandel would have been only
words and noise. They could under
stand their preacher, and could slug
their "himes," and were satlslled with
both. To them separate hymn books
would have been a superfluity, for
many of them could not rend, and one
hymn book, held by the preacher, who
"lined" the hymn, that Is, gave out two
lines of the liyinn at a time for the peo
ple to sing, was enough for the whole
congregation.
The old preachers have mostly passed
I away, but the results of their works
are seen in the thousands of churches
that everywhere dot the country dis
tricts, many of them on the Identical
spots where the log cabins once stood
that were sanctified by the presenco
and labors of the early circuit riders.
And the system still continues, and
some readers may be surprised to learn
that many thousands of country peo
ple In the North, West uud South have ,
now no other religious services than ¥
those conducted by the circuit riders.
The times have changed for these, too,
and now they wear broadcloth and ride
In buggies instead of on horseback, to
their appointments. Their churches
are of boards, or even of brick, and
have choirs and cabinet orgnus, and
the women wear feathers in their hats,
and the men polish their boots, and
the girls have ear-rings and finger rings
and beaux, but the principles are the
same, and the system is almost Iden
tical with that known to our grand
fathers.
IT MEANT THE SAME THING.
The Old Complolnt Quite the Smile,
liven When Given to Jiostoncsc.
The man had groaned so often and
coughed so hard that every one In the
car was Interested, says the Detroit
Free Tress, and one sympathetic
passenger Inquired:
"Got the grip?"
"No; bronchitis."
"Bron which?"
"Bronchitis."
"Oh!"
There was a spelt of silence. The
sufferer was from Boston. That was
evident, because he emphasized the
"i" in bronchitis in away that left
no doubt. No one among tliu pas
sengers dared to tackle the complaint
until a series of deeper groans and
coughs aroused them to a sense of
their duty.
"I've had browncreeters myself, but
I s'pose them Is different," said tho
man with the carpetbag. "Had 'em
bad, but I took yarb tea for mine and
it cured me all-Bred quick."
"Brongetus ain't a circumstance to
reuniatiz," began another man, but he
was interrupted.
"Are you talking about bronkcotus? ,
If It's anything like what I had when ¥
I was—-"
"Try mustard Inside," suggested an
other. "I've had bronchentus till you
couldn't rest, and it always cured
me."
" 'Tan't our kind of broncliotus tho
gentleman's got at all, is it, pard?"
"No," said the Boston man, wearily,
as he closed his eyes and wished he
was dead.
"There, I told you so, didn't I ? Boor
man. There ain't 110 help for bron
kytus 011 this yearth." And the sym
pathetic passenger wound up his watch
to hide Ids feelings.
A modern philosopher remarks upon
It as a wise provision of nature that
a man can neither pat himself on the
back nor kick himself.