The Republican journal., 1869-03-18

ment of Thomes Paine, next to your heart
read it every day, and believe every worc
you read; and the third is, you are to curse
the Methodists in every crowd you get into.
The preacher looked on during these nov
ell propositions without line of his face
being moved, and at the end replied that
the terms were unreasonable, and he would
not submit to them.
i "Well, you have got whaling to submit
to, then III larrup you like blazes I'll
tear you into doll-rags cornerways. Get
down, you beggar!"
The preacher demonstrated, but Forgeron
walked up to the horse, and threatened to
tear him off if he did not dismount; where
upon the worthey man made a virtue of a
necessity, and alighted.
81 have but one request to make of you,
my friend that is, that you won't beat me
with this overcoat OF. Il was g present
from the ladies Of my last circuit, and do
not wish to have it torn"
"Of with it, then, and that suddenly, you
basin-faced imp, you'll"
| The Methodist preacher slowly drew off
his surcoat as the blacksmith continued his
TRADE of abuse on himself and his sect, and
as he drew his right hand from the sleeve,
and threw the garment behind him, he dealt
Mr.. Forgeron a tremendous blow between
the eyes, which laid that person at full
length On the ground, with the testament o f
Thomas Paine beside him. The Rev. Mr.
Stubbleworth, with the tact of a connois-
seur in such matters, did not wait for his
adversary to rise, but mounted him with
the quickness of cat, and as he bestowed
his blows with bounteous hand on the
stomach and face of the blacksmith, contin-
Ted his song where he had left off on his
arrival at the smithy:
Tongue cannot express the sweet comfort and peace
Ut soul i'll its earliest love-"
until Mr.. Forgeron, from having expert
enced first love-" or some other sensation
equally new to him, responded Justify,
Enough! 'Nough take him off" But
unfortunately, thero was no one by to per-
form that kind office, except the old roam,
and he munched bunch Of grass and look
ed on as quietly as if his master was happy
at a camp-meeting.
"Now," said Mr.. Stubbleworth, ''there
are three things you must promise me before
| let you up."
"What are they" asked Forgeron, eager
ly.
''The first is, that you will never molest
Methodist preacher again" Here Ned's
pride rose, and he hesitated, and the reyer-
end gentleman, with his usual benign smile
on his face, renewed his blows aud song
81 rode on the sky, freely justified |,
And the moon it wAs under my teet.''
This oriental language overcome the black
smith, such bold figures or something else
causing him to sing out, "Well, I'll do it
I'll do it J"
''You are getting on very we'll" said Mr..
Stubbleworth. 81 think [ can make q de-
cent man out Of you yet, and perhaps
Christian y Ned groaned.
''The second thing require Of you is to
go to Pumpkinvine Creek meeting house,
and hear me preach tomorrow"
Ned attempted to stammer out some ex-
-''I-I-that is"
When the divine resumed his devotional
hymn, and kept time with the music by
striking him over the face with the feshy
part OF his hand
MY So, soul mounted 9,3 higher on chariot of fire,
Ned's promice of punctualty caused the
parson s exercise to cease, and the words,
redolent of gorgeous imagery, died away
Ill echoes from the adjacent crags.
''Now the third and last demand I make
of you is peremtory." Ned was all atten-
ton to know what would come next. "You
are to promice to seek religion, day and
night, and never rest until you obtain it at
the hands of merciful Redcemer.' The
fallen man looked at the declining sun, and
then at the parson, and knew not what to
say, when the latter individual began to
raise his voice in song once more, and Ned
knew what would come next.
"l'll do my best" he said in humbled
voice.
"Well, that's a man. Mr.. Stubblc-
worth said. "Now get up and go down to
the Branch and wash your face, and dust
your clothes, and tear up Mr.. Pain'es testa-
ment, aud turn your thoughts on high
Ned arose with feelings he had never ex-
perlenced before, and went to obey the law
atory injunction of the preacher; when that
gentleman mounted his horse, took Ned by
the hand, and said, "keep your promises
and III keep your counsel. Good evening,
Mr.. Forgeron, III look for you tomorrow"
and off he rode with the same imperturba-
BILE countenance, singing SO loud as to scare
the eagles from their eyries in the over
hanging rocks.
"Well," thought Ned, 'sthis is a nice
business What would people say if they
knew that Edward Forgeron was whipped
before his own door in the gap, and by
Methodist preacher, too?" But his musings
were more in sorrow than anger.
CHAPTER III.
The distigured countenance of Forgeron
was OF course the subject of numerous
questions that night among his friends, to
which he replied with stern look they we'll
understood, and the vague remark that he
had met ,0ath an accident. Of course they
never dreamed of the true cause. Forge
ron looked in the glass, aud perhaps COM
pared the changing hues of his "black eye
from recent scufle," to the rainbow in
the shipwreck scene-''blending every col
or into onc." Or perhaps he had never
read that story, and only muttered to HIM
self, "Ned Forgeron whipped by Metho-
dist preacher
His dreams that nivht waro of a confn