Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-04-17

ers was jameson, as he was usually called
Jimmy Haxley. In 1906 or 1907 he was sent
as missionary TO the Attakapas country, in
Louisiana, a region chiefly Inhabited by
French Catholics. He had little comfort 70
expect from unpaid kindness, and he had no
money with which to purchase it. At one
time he was reduced to the very verge of star
vation. He had passed the previous night in
the open swamp.
Towards evening, cold, wet and hungry
for he had eaten nothing for a6 hours-he
reached plantation. He entered the house
and petitioned for food and lodging. The mis-
tress of the house, widow with sundry daugh-
tiers and several negro children playing about,
recognized his calling and refused his request.
"She would have no such cattle about her."
The most that he could gain was permission
to warm himselfby the fire, before he set out
into the cold and darkness. As he sat warm
ing himself he thought of his sad plight, and Of
his empty stomach. He thought of another
night in the swamp; he thought that it might
be his last night upon earth; he thought of the
dark rolling river, and of the Celestial city
beyond; his heart sweled with gladness, and
his emotion found vent in one of his favorite
hymns:
"Peace my soul, thou need'st not fear,
The Great Provider still is near"
He sang the whole hymn, then another, and
still another. Looking around at the close, he
saw mother and daughters and negroes all in
tears. "Sally, get the preacher a good sup
per; and Pete, you put up his horse; he shall
stay a week if he pleases," said the widoE.
So Jimmy paid for his supper with song.
Many years after, Father Haxley attended
the General Conference at Baltimore, and on
Sunday was appointed to preach at the Oldest
church. He rose and lined the first verse of
the hymn. When the choir rose to sing, all
the audience turned round to them, presenting
their backs to the preacher. Jimmy was as
founded. He had never seen such a procee-
ding, and it appeared to him breach of good
manners, that deserved rebuke. When he
was about to give out the second stanzas, the
audience turned round again to him; and then
again faced the choir as they sang. The
preacher thereupon, turned his own back to
them. He heard them turning back to hear
the dining of the next stanza. Still he kept
his back towards them. "Does this look
well!'' he at length asked. as this good
mannersl And yet my back looks as well as
any of yours" From that day to the present
that congregation never turned their backs to
the preacher during singing.
At another general conference, ferce--l
might say hot discussion, arose upon some
point of discipline. At the close of the ses-
sion the Bishop requested Father Haxley,
who had taken no part in the discussion? to
lead their devotions, which he proceeded to
do as fo!lows:.
snow, o Lord, thou knowest what time
we have had, discussing and arguing about
this question of Elders Thou knowest what
our feelings are--tfat we do not care what
becomes of the team; it is only who shall
drive the oxen"
He preached among people who were all
sharp-shooters, and he had learned how to hit
the nail on the head, when he had occasion
to administer a rebuke.
Those old preachers-even though residing
in Slave States were usually Anti-Slavery
men; and they had the pluck to express their
sentiments where the system existed. hon.
or them for it, said Mr.. NJ. II a man is an
anti-slavery man, let him dare avow it among
Shareholders, and take the consequences.
| Thus did a famous old Tennessee preacher,
Father Craven, preaching once in the heart
of Virginia, rebuke what he deemed the sins
Of the people:
"Iere are great many professors Of reli-
gion, sleek and good looking. Yet you are
not the thing you ought to be. You know a
bushel of wheat ought to weigh sixty or sixty
four pounds; but you sometimes see wheat
with round, plump kernels, and when you
come to weigh it, its only forty-fve pounds.
You know there is something the matter with
the wheat. You take grain of it between
out pops weevii. Now, some of you good
looking Christians only weigh forty-five pound
4 to the bushel instead of sixtyiour as you ought
to. Squeeze you between the thumb of the
Law and the finger of the Gospel, and out
will pop whiskey bottle and woolly-head." :"
} And now, said the Lecturer, there is an old
friend of mine, now living in Illinois, my first
"Presiding Elder Peter Cartwright, of whom
must relate an anecdote which illustrates
several peculiarities of the class to which he
belonged, and of some of their experiences a.
mong rude border people.
When the state of Illinois was admitted in
; to the Union it was as free state. Not long
after, the question was largely discussed,
whether the Constitution of the State should
; not be so amended as to permit slavery.
!, Cartwright, who then resided in Tennessee,
, Of slayorv and dptpr-
mined to move to Illinois to take part in the
settlement of the question. So he was ap-
pointed presiding Elder over district about
as large as England. He kept his appoint
ments, and after preaching on Sunday was
wont to announce that on Monday he would
5 deliver stump speech. He soon became re-
garded as politician, and no little anger was
excited against him. One day coming to the
= ferry across the river, where he was not per-
sonally known, he heard the ferryman holding
4 forth to a crowd in bitter terms against that
! old renegade, prefixing sundry emphatic ex-
e pletives TO that fattering term, Pete Cart
! wright, declaring that he would drown him il
e he ever came that way. After while Peter
, engaged the ferryman to put him over. They
: were alone in the boat; and when they had
e reached the centre of the stream, in full sight
! of the shore, the preacher, throwing the bri-
die of his horse over the post, ordered the fer
ryman to put down his pole.
"What is the matter!' asked the ferryman.
"You have just been making free with my
E name, and threatening to drown me in the
' river. want to give you chance to do so.
"You are Pete Cartwright" replied the
!, ferryman.
3 The ferryman, nothing 10th, laid down his
A pole, and the contest began. The preacher
, proved the better man, and seizing his antag-
onist by the nape of the neck and the seat Of
r his neither garments, plunged him three times
I under the water with the words, ~ baptize