The Van Buren press., 1873-01-07
MISCELLANY.
The Trial Sermon,

1t was one thing to the rich parlsh an0
quite another to the poor minister whom
they had sent for to preach on trial He
had gone to his present country home
in the little retired country town among
the rugged and barren New Eng land
Hills, when he frs. left the divinity
school The four hundred dollars salary
they offered had seemed quite salary in
| those DAYS, and when he married and
| brought home his wife, and they gave
him I'd iition, the rent Of the little par
sonsge close by the OLD church, he had
been wslll satisfied, and thought he could
live aud die there. But as the years
passed on and threA children played in
the small rooms-three children 10 b,
warmed and clothed and icd-and then
the war came, and prices doubled, times
grew hard with him. and he knew some
change must be made.
The minister did not blame the little
parish Of his first love Times were hard
with them too They had raised his sal
srv oss hundrcd dollars, and five hundred
a year, besides the parsonage, was as
much A. the, could aTord, for among
the farming people OF the parish money
was not easily made, and none OF them
we're rich. Henry Eastman would have
bsen GLAD to remain with them lie
knew that no other people and n" ether
ace would ever be so dear But it
seemed to him that all his energies were
used up in the single strugg!r to keep ont
Of debt; and every year his children
needed more, were growing more exp,n-
sivs Yes. he must 90; and tn Wood
burn churcn must c"Btent themselves
again with some young man, hopeful asd
uupm barrassea as he was once, who
would be willing 10 come to them for his
ministerial novitiate They understood
it all. and though their hearts cuny to
him, they were unseldsh enough to wish
him God speed
And so it came about. through the in
1uencs OF q cousin Of one Of his Wood
burn peoples lsdv who bad listened to
him in H,apv \ summer visit-that he had
been sent for hy the large and ln6usntia!
parish " Colonore, to preach 4 trisl ser
non in their just then vacant pulpit l.,
was ope trial among many to them. They
were sure of being suited by and by, and
could afford 10 wait To him it was an
vpoch OF the most intense and feverish
interest
Before he left hone he had talked the
whole thing over with his wife. 1t was
a great matter to choose what sermon TO
take, among the eight or ten which lie &C
counted among his best Usually his
wife was the most simple and unworldlv
Of womsn. She seemed almost to forget
that God held cantro in this as in other
concerns of life Her cheeks glowsd,
and hsr hand was fevrrish, Her voice
fairly tremblsd as she said, the very lasl
thing:
80, Henry. don't think OF failing Re
member the chlirsu--how soon they'll
need to 90 to school and collegs-and
how much we Il waut to see them grow
up in the midst Of refinement and cuI-
ture
She had not til ,ught or spoken other
self-Alicc never did. he thought OF
her none the less, however, as he rode
on in the numbering farm wagon. toward
the Gve-mile of station, whore he was to
Get out on his journey to Colonore. How
pretty she had been ten years ago, how
young, how bright!
IIc knew that something more than ten
year. had changed her to the pale hol-
10 ". eyed woman VINO had just bid him
good by, The cares which had pressed
heavily enough on bio, bad fallen with
double weight on her. Hs knew how
she had lost youth aud brightness. Ana
10 what good? he asked himself, in Y
thsnkless, almost despairing mood
As there was to he Sabbath School
concert in the aft-rnoan. he was rot eA-
peeted TO preach bu, hafthe day. and had
chosen al last, from among his sermons,
one from the tpxt-" In my fathers house
are many mansions if it we're net So ]
would have told YOU This WIS \ dis.
course Of The kind which otieads no one,
vet which sll agree by describing Ia one
adjective. beautiful
Mr.. Eastmsn had chosen it because il
e.uld jar upon no ones prejudices. Co.
more, he had heard. aad heard with re-
Krst. was, we'll let us say. \ very eonser.
vative parish. There are 4 few such left
IN Connecticut, low be it spoken. 1t
would not DO ia preach to them that Il.
srv sermon in which, ~ the old deacon
srimly told him. he had proved himself
q very "son Of thunder, from the text ::
BIT he, willing to justify himself,ssid
unto jesus and who is nv nrighb YH''
Sam~tims, perhaps. thst very .e mon.
with its stern dsnuncia,ions Of wrong. its
fervsnt claim uf neighbo rheod and 9th
erhnod for all races and CLASSES. and kin
dreds Of men, might do those Colonore
people good. But that must bs after he
had taught them te respect him and his
faith. and to like him personally ~ well
Jus. now it was all important TO him
TO please thsm-he must treat them to
" smooth things. The discourse h.
had selected would sooths rather than
alarm. In It the river OF life h"wed
through the " living green Of celestial
meadows On peacsftl nights the - ma