St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-04-05
That ..Ministerial Joker"


Mr.. EDITOR: In the CdledOnian of
the 18th of March, under the heading,
"A Ministerial JOKER" you say: 'See-
ing the good Baptist brother told 1t
himself at the ministers meeting, it will
do no harm to notice the sharp joke OF
one of our ScOtchmen in Caledonia
County. Meeting the first mentioned
brother one day in the road he asked,
do you know who were the first Bap-
fists :" and scarcely waiting for Il reply
answered, They were those that ran
violently down steep place into the
sea-, and they would not have done it
if the devil had not been in 'em! -
Now, Mr.. Editor, some of my minis
terial brethren in the county have told
me that | am the .Scotchman" referred
to i'll the above paragraph though am
not Il Scotchman, but Irish and that
Rev. Frost of GrOton is 1.-The Baptist
brother who told the story at the min
listers meeting. Such being the case, |
have been requested to furnish the
interview between Brother Frost and
myself. and state ;iS accurately as pos
Sihlc what was said on the occasion,
and why ''the sharp joke" was given.
This is asked for, because, it is said,
the report you have published places
me in an untavOrahle light as an ag
gresSor, and actually insulting, without
amy cauSe, an innocent and unotfending
brother. | ask You then, Mr. Editor. if
You please, to publish the following, us
Il true statement of what occaSioned
1.-The sharp joke" and which is us fol
lows:
had been appointed 10y the PreshN
terry of Vermont to preach in the |. L.
church at Rlcgatc on the ID Sabbath III
August. I-1O. and declare the pulpit
vacant. aS the former pastor, the Rev.
W. Bruce. had resigned. | did 50
preach, and the next day on my way
returning t" my charge III Greensboro.
met l;rother Frost at West Barnet
going South. i'll company with Il gen
tlcman. and whom he introduced to me
us :. ministerial Baptist brother. After
exchanging compliments, / said, Broth
cr Frost, are you not on the wrong way
to go home ," cat this time Mr.. Frost
WAS pastor at l'a>>IImpsic.) To this he
replied. This brother" meaning the
friend with him. land myself cNchang
ed pulpit> yesterday, and We are now
on our way to Groton. to visit Il sick
brother" | think hc said Il Nh. Wrinkle.
Here. my friend. Mr.. Frost, asked me.
but. Brother Brown. where have Nou
been ," | replied, ''prcachimg ycstcr
day at RNegatc." To this my Baptist
friend. Mr.. F.. broke out in the follow
ing manner: go yes, | believe You have
4 few Prcsbytcrians i'll Rlcgatc, YES, a
mere handful and they think the whole
world of themselves. They think the
whole world should hc PrcShyterians
'''ih> lh'N 'llt al mere Hdnulul
Here, | thought. Brother Frost would
have paused; but no. he ratified on as
follows: when" said he, Il arrived
yesterday ut this brothers. church. |
found the people greatly diSpirited
they are very few i'll numbers, and they
were thinking of breaking up, etc. But"
said he, Il soon checred them up:
told them not to Ice discouraged that
when the Savior organized the Baptist
church, he had only twelve APOSTLES to
organize with. but one of them WAS Il
devil. and he was turned out. hence the
Baptist church was organized with only
eleven, and this soon cheered them up"
Here Mr.. Frost made Il pause. and
replied, ''l}rothcr. ! had different
opinion about the organization of your
Baptist church. supposed the Bap-
fist church WAS organized at the time |
when the herd of swine ran violently |
down steep place 10 get tipped i'll the .
sea- and they never thought of doing
SO. till the devil entered into them"
To this Brother Frost made no reply, |
and :" we parted aS We met. good |
friends, and / hope will ever remain
such. This then is IL plain and true
narrative which called forth the sharp
Joke. as You have called it. and which |.
| have been requested to furnish for the
Cdied0Hidn.
And now leaving the whole of the
affair, doubt not but Nour numerous
readers will say, 'eNactlN So. and just
served him right
Please, Mr.. Editor. give the above Il
place i'll the Cdiciomiun and believe me.
Yours Respectfully,
HuGH Brown.
RlEGATE. March %.
The Cincinnati Convention.
THE OFFICIAL CALL.