National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1872-08-02

ioirted easy going style OF his individuality.
% Lordy massy, boys yis,' said sam, viz
tuously, in view OF some ui Aunt Lois thrusts.
Eye ought never to laugh nor cut up IN meet
in that ares So, bu, then there Is times
when the best on us gets took down. We
gets took unawares, ye see even ministers
does, Yis natur' win git the upper hand
afore they know IT,
"Why, sam, ministers don't ever laugh in
meetin' do they ?"
We put the question with ~ide eyes. Such
suppositon bordered on profanity, We
thought ii was approaching the sin Of uzzali
who unwarly touched the ark OF the Lord.
Laws, yes Why haven't you never
| heard how there was council held to try
Parson Morrel toI laughing out in prayer
| time -
Laughing in prayer time r. we both re-
| peated with uplifted hands and eyes
Ny grandfather's mild face became lumin-
GUS with suppressed smile. which frightened
| ii as the moon does cloud, but he said no
thing
"Yes, yes, said my grandmother, " that
affair did make a dreadful scandal in the
time ont But Parson Morel was good
man, and I'm glad the council wasn't hard
on him.
wall said Sam Lawson, after all, it
was more ike Rabbits fault than twas any
! body's Ye see Ike he was alters for gettin
what he could out o the town, and he would
feed his sheep on the meetn' house green
Somehow how or other, lkes fences alters
contrived to give out Sunday, and up
would come his sheep, and Ike was too pious
to drive EN- back on Sunday, and so there
they was He was talked to enough about it,
cause. We see, to have sheep and lambs a
ha-a-in and n blatin all prayer and sermon
time wa MT the thing. Member that are old
meetin' house up to the north end, down
under Blueberry Hill, the land sort o sloped
down, so as a body he'd to come into the
meetin house steppin' down instead o up.
+ ct was, they said twas put there
cause the land wan good for nothin' else,
and the folks thought putin meetin' house
ont would be clear savin but Parson
Morrel he didn't like it, and was free TO tell
EN- his mind ont that twas like bringin
the lame and the blind to the Lord S sarvice
but there twas.
There warnt better minister nor no one
more set bv in all the State than Parson Nor
rel His doctrines was right up and down
good and sharp, and he gave saints and sin
ners their meat in due season, and for consol-
in and comfortin widders and orphans he
hadn't his match The women sot lots by
him and he was allus' ready to take tea round
and make things pleasant and comfortable
and he had good story for every one and a
word for the children, and maybe an apple or
cookey in his pocket for EN-. Wall, you
know here ant no plea,in everybody, and
ef Gabriel himself right down out o Heaven,
was to come and be a minister, | expect
there'd be pickin at his wings and sort o
fault finding. Now Aunt Jerushy ocran and
Aunt Polly Hokuu they said Parson Morrel
WA II solemn enough. Ye see there s them
that thinks minister ought to be jest like
tht town hearse, 50 that ye think of death,
Judgment and eternity, and nothin' else,
when We see him round and eff they see a
man rosy and clipper, and havin a pretty
nice sociable sort of time. why they say he
an spirtooal minded But in my times I've
seen ministers that the most awakenin kind
in the pulpit was the lveliest when they was
ont ont / re is time tn laugh Scriptur'
SAYS tho son. folks never seem to remember
that are.
- But Sam, how came you to say that it
WIS Ike Rabbits faulti What was it about
the sheep
"Oh. wall, yis ! m a comm to that are.
1t was all about them sheep ! expect they
was the instrument the devil sot to work to
tempt Parson Morrel to laugh in prayer time
"Ye see there was Old Dick, Ikes bell |
wether was the tighten est old crittur that
ever yer see Why Dick would but at his |
own shadder and everybody said it was "A
shame the old crittur should be left to run |
loose, cause he run at the children and scared |
the women half ont of their wits Wall ! |
used to live ont in that parish in them days |
and Lem Sudoc and | used to go ont sparkin |
Sunday nights to see the Larkin galsand we |
1 -. N
50 we used to go and stand by the fence and !
call, and Dick would see us and put down his /
head and run at us full chisel, and come
bunt agin the fence, and then ketch him by
the horns and hold him while Lem run and .
got over the fence t'other side the lot, and
then I'd ct 60 and Lem would holler and
shake a stick at him and away he'd go full .
but at Lem and Lem would ketch his horns
and hold him till came over-that was the
wav we managed Dick-but ef he come sud |
den up behind fellow. he d give MIN a butt |!
in the small Of his back that would make him !
run ol al tours one wnile--he was a great |
rogue Dick was Wall that summer | re-
member they had old Deacon Titkins for tith
ing man. ard tell Won he give it to the bows
lively Thar warn t no sleepin' nor no play |
in for the deacon had ewes like gimlet and
be was quick as cat and the youngsters
had to look out for themselves. 1t did really
seem H. if the deacon was like them four
beasts in the Revelations, that was full of
eyes behind and before, for whichever way he
was standin if you gave only wink he was
down ON you and hit YOU tap with his stick
| know once Lem Sudoc jist wrote two words
in the psalm book and passed to Kesiah Lar
kin. and the deacon gave him such tap that
Lem grew red as a beet and vowed he d be up
with him for that,
We'll, Lord Massy, folks that is so clipper
and high steppin' has to have their come
downs, and the deacon he had to hev his.
THAT are Sunday remember il now Jest
as well rs if twas yesterday. The parson he
give us his gret sermon. .reconcilin' DEGREES aud
free agencv-cverybody said that are sermon
was masterpiece He preached it up to
Cambridge at commencement, but it so hap
pened it was one o them biin' hot days that
come in August, when you can fairly hear
the huckleberries sizzling and cookin' on
the bushes and the locust keeps gratin like
a red hot saw Wal, such times, DEGREES or
no decres. the best of us will get sleepy The
old meetin house stood right down at the
foot of a hill that KEEP off all the wind. and
the sun blazed away at them gret west wind
ers, and there was pretty sleepy times there.
Well the deacon he flew round spell, and
woke up the children, and tapped the boys on
the head. and kept everything straight as he
could till the sermon was most through, when
he rally got most tuckered out, and he took
a chair and he sot down in the door right op-
posite the minister and fairly got asleep him
self Jest as the minister got up to make the
last prayer
"wal, Parson Morrel had way o pray
in with his eyes open. Folks said it want
tue best way. but it was Parson Morrel's way
ANYHOW, and So as he was prayin' he couldn't
held seein that Deacon 1itkins was noddin'
and bobbin' out toward the place where old
Dick was feedin with the sheep, front o the