Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-01-05

| DulleU some DlgnC from somebody.
But when you're initiated it'll be
all right. Sometimes / wish 1 was
out of it. But, you know, Small's
this kind of man. He sees through
you. He can look through a door u
and he shivered, and his voice broke
down into whisper. But Bud was
perfectly cool, and doubtless it was the
strong GOODNESS of Bud that made
Walter, who shuddered at a shadow,
come to him for sympathy and un-
bosom himself of one of his guilty Sc
crets.
"Let's 60 and hear Brother Sodom
preach tonight" said Bud.
No, don't like to-"
He don't scare you?" There was
just touch of ridicule in Buds voice.
He knew Walter, and he had not
counted amiss when he used this lit
tie gOad to prick skin go sensitive.
"Brother Sodom" was the nickname
given by scoffers TO the preacher-Mr.
Soden-whose manner of preaching
had so aroused Buds combativeness,
and whose saddle-stirrups Bud had
helped to amputate. For reasons of
his own, Bud thought best to subject
young Johnson to the heat of Mr.. So
den's furnace.
Peter Cartwright boasts that, on q
certain occasion, he "shook his brim-
stone wallet over the people. Mr..
Soden could never preach without his
birthstone wallet. There are those of
refinement so attenuated that they
will not admit that fear can have any
place in religion. But a religion with
fooT anI1lH ,nax-or hauo oy-annolizQ1
or civilized the West, which at one
time bade fair to become a perditiOn
as bad as any that Brother Sodom ever
depicted. And against these on the
one side, and the Brother SOdoms on
the other, / shall interrupt my story
to put this chapter under shelter of
that wise remark of the great DR..
Adam Clarke, who says, " The fear
of God is the beginning of wisdom,
the terror of God confounds the SOUL"
and that other saying of his: with
the fear of God the love of God is ever
consistent; but where the terror of
the Lord reigns, there can neither be
fear, faith, nor LOUe; nay, nor hope
either" And yet / am not sure that
even the Brother Sodoms were made
in vain.
On this evening Mr.. Soden was as
terrible as usual. Bud heard him with
out fiinching. Small, sat farther for
ward, listened with piOus approval.
Mr.. Soden, out OF distorted figures
pierced together from different passa-
ges of Scripture, built hell, not quite
Miltonic, nor yet Dantean. but as Mil
tonic and Dantean as his unrefined
imagination could make it. AS he
rose toward his climax of hideOus de-
scrciption, Walter Johnson trembled
from head to, foot and sat close to Bud.
Then, as hurley Mr.. SOden, with
great gusto, depicted materialIstic
tortures that startled the nerves of
everybody except Bud, Walter wanted
to leave, but Bud would not let him.
For some reason he wished to keep
his companion in the crucible as long
as possible.
Young mani" cried Mr.. Soden,
and the explosive voice seemed to.
come from the hell that he had Great
ed" young man! you who have fol-
lowed the. counsel of evil compan-
ions "-here he paused and looked
about, as if trying to find the. man he
wanted, while Walter crept up close
to Bud and shaded his face" mean
you who have chosen evil pursuits,
who can not get free from bad habits
and associations that are dragging
you down to hell! You are standing
on the very crumbling brink of hell
tonight, The smell of the birthstone
is on your garments; the hot breath
of hell is in your face! The devils
are waiting for you Delay and you
are damned! You may die before day
light! You may never get out of that
door! The awful angel of death is
just ready to strike you downr Here
some shrieked with terror, others
sobbed, and Brother Sodom looked
with approval on the storm he had
awakened, The very harshness of his
tone, his lofty egOtism of manner,
that which had reused all Buds COM
bativeness, shook poor Walter as a
wind would shake reed. In the
midst of the general excitement he
seized his hat and FASTENED out the
door. Bud followed, while Soden shot
his lightnings after them, declaring
that "young men who ran away from
the truth would dwell in torments
forever"
Buu nau nOt cOuHteu ailiiSS "heH hS
thought that Mr.. Soden's preaching
would be likely to arouse so mean-
spirited fellow as Walter. SO vivid
was the impression that Johnson
begged Bud to return to the office with
him. He felt sick, and was afraid
that he should die before morning.
He insisted that Bud should stay with
him all night. TO this Means readily
consented, and by morning he had
heard all that the frightened Walter
had to tell.
And now let us return to the trial,
where Ralph sits waiting the testino-
ny of Walter Johnson, which is to
prove his statement false.