Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-07-25
A Wedding Gift.


=, A Wedding Gift.
All that have this day IL thine,
A heart whose faith has never falter'd,
love that knew NO other shrinei
Aud through all changes lives uuaber'd.
Thine ali their love aud faith Should bs,
Had ethou1and years "a live ,-~
,1Hshdll bend taes ~ with thss.
THERE. not Joy in all the world
Like that Of love beyond deceiving,
Though bolt on bolt be at 1t hurled
The heart will triumph h,--when believing
. A JOY which but With thee know,
The r1rture ofa first fond love
Which, welded, makes heaven below.
LAUGHING IN AEErlN'.
! 5 f1Ynas. H. D. STOWE.
W. weresinz disgrace, we boys, and
the reason of it was this 5: we had
laughed out in meeting time! To be
sure the occasion was trying one,
even to more disciplined nerves. Par
son Lotlrop had exchanged pulpits with
Parson Summeral, of North Wearem.
Now, Parson Summeral was man in
the very outset, shkely,tos provoke the
fisib1es Of unspiritualized juveniles.
He was o thin, wiry, frlsky little man,
in powdered white wig, black tights,
and silk stockings, and bright knee
buckles, and shoe-buckles, with round,
dark, swapping eyes, and a curious,
high, cracked, sqneaklng voice, the
very first tones of which made all the
children stare and giggle. The news
that Parson Summeral was going to
preach in our village spread abroad
among us as a prelude to something
.unny. It had "a flavor like the charm
of circus acting; and on the Sunday
morning of our story we went to the
house OF God in a very hilarious state,
all ready to~.set of in . laugh on the
slightest provocation.
The occasion was not long wanting.
Parson Lothrop had favorite dog
yclept Trip, whose behavior in meeting
was notoriously far from that edifying
pattern which BELTS minister's dog on
Sundays. Trip was nervous dog, and
q dog that. ;Dever could be taught to
conceal his emotions or to respect con-
ventlonaites. If anything about the
performance in the singers seat did
not please him; he was apt to express
himself in a lugubrious howl. If the
sermon was longer than suited him, he
would cape with such loud creak of
his jaws rs would arouse everybody 8
attention. If the flies disturbed his
afternoons nap he would give sudden
enarls or snaps; or,if anything troubled
his dreams he would bark out in
his sleep in q manner not cnly to dis.
pei his slumbers, but those OF certain
worthy deacons and old ladies, whose
sanctuary repose was thereby sorely
broken and troubled. For all these
reasons, Madam Lothrop had been
forced, as . general thing, to deny Trip
the usual sanctuary privileges Of fami-
y dogs in that age; and shut him, up
on Sundays TO, private meditation,
Trip, Of course, was only the more set
on attendance, and would hide behind
doors, jump out of windows, sneak
through byways and alleys, and lie hid
till the second bell had done tolling,
when suddenly he would appear in the
broad aisle, innocent and happy, and
take his seat as composedly as a mem
Der OF the congregation. -,
Imagine us youngsters ON the qui
vive with excitement at seeing Parson
Summeral frisk up into the pulpit with
all the vivacity OF q black grasshopper.
We looked at each other and gigglcd
very cautiously, with due respect to
Aunt Lois sharp observation.
At first there was only q mild, quiet
simmer,ng of giggle, compressed de.
corously within the bounds of propriety,
and We pursed our muscles up with
stringent resolution whenever we
caught the apprehensive eye of ou,
elders.
But when. directly after the CLOSING
notes Of the tolling second bell, Mas
ter Trip walk gravely up to the from,
aisle, and seated hi msen squarely In
front of the pulpit, raised his nose with
. critical air toward the scene of the
forthcoming performance, it was toe
much tor us-the repression was almost
convulsive. Trip wore an alert, atten
tive all, beftting a sound, orthodox dog,
who smells possible heresy, and
deems it his dnty to watch the per
formances narrowly.
Evidently he felt called upon to see
who and what were to occupy that pull
pit in his masters absence.
Up rose Parson Summeral, and u,
went Trips nose, vibrating with mtens'
attention.
The parsop began in bis high, cracked
voice to intone the hymn:
l. 'tsing t, the Lord a.oud,"
when Trip broke into a dismal howl
The parson went on to give direction
TO- the deacon, in the same voice i,
(which he had been reading, so that tn,
whole effect of the performance wa
somewhat a. follows: T.,
'"siug to the Lord aloud,'"
"Please to turn out that dog)-
"'And make . joyful noise"'
i The dog was turned out, and tn
choir did their best to make joyfu
noise, but we boys were upset for tn
day, delivered over to the temptation
of Satan, and plunged in waves an
pillows Of hysterical giggle, from whic]
neither winks nor frowns from Aun
Lois, nor the awful fear oi the tithipq
man, nor the comforting bits of femme
and orange-peel, passed us by grand
mother, could recover us.
i Everybody felt, to be sure, that her
was q trial that called for some indu
! gence. Hard faces, even among tn
stoniest saints, betrayed transien
quiver of the risible muscles, old IL
! dies put up their fans, youths an
maidens in the singers seat laughe
! outright, and for the moment a gener.
lsnicker among the children was pal
3 d0ned. But was one of the lucklet
3 kind whose nerves, once in Vibration
could not be composed. When til
reign of gravity and decorum had r,
turned, Harry and sat by each othe
9 shaking with suppressed langhte
i Everything in the subsequent exerci
4 es took q funny turn, and in the lor
a prayer, when everybody else was sti
+ aud decorous, the whole scene can
l. over me with such ovcrpowcring for,
t. that exploded with laughter and Il:
n n to !" taken out of meeting and marc.
II ed home by Aunt Lois, us Il convict,
If criminal. What especially moved b
indignation was, the more she rebuk,