Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-08-14
In THE MOUNTAINS.
SUNDAY AT A WATERING PLACE-THE
C1IILDREN's SABBATH-THE WATERS
SOMETHING ABOUT THE PLACE.

&C., &c, &c.
Correspondence Of the stanton Vindicatorl
STRIBLING SPRINGS, August 9.
Strange to say, there is nowhere that
Sunday is SO well observed as at a water
ing place. 1t just takes the vanities of
life by the throat and chokes them square
ly down into good behavior. 1t envelopes
the whist players and the dancers, and the
excursionists, in a pail of piety from
which they emerge good church goer; and
go to church you know. 1t is on the bill
of fare, pretty much as your breakfast is,
and you would be as likely to 90 without
one as the other. And then you go nsuch
neighborly sort of style, Just dropping
into the parlor in a friendly way, and nat
going down. long aisle as if one WAS on
dress parade. And then all the men have
such a look Of having determined to BIZ
good, commencing with this very Sunday
morning. and not minute later tanv
price and that on and after this date h.
will never swear at whist, nor take sin Il.
glass too much, nor fiirt with any living
girl and will hereafter love his neighboi.
as himself, which last-he thinks is one of
the Ten Commandments though it isn't.
But I know it is sinful for me to DO ,st of
my superior knowledge in these matters
And the girls, they look so fresh and pref
ty, in the simple get up of watering place
Sunday morning, that a man feels that
that little commandment about loving
your neighbor rs yourself, and better too
for the matter of that, ism It so hard Il thing
after ALL And he feels encouraged. But
even preaching is surrounded 10y tempta-
ton. One Of our most serious lisi eners
who sat by me, had a gold horse shoe for a
scarf pin. Somehow, to me, there las al
ways been worldly flavor about this or
nament that is irresistible. You feel that
life, been human like yourself, and you
commence wondering il he owns a 230
horse Pm afraid my mind wandered away
among the races I've seen, a good deal ::
but indeed it. wasn't my fault-that horse
shoe and Satan did it all. There is another
pitfall for the serious mind in our Sunday
| services, and that is IL piano accompani-
ment for the hymns. A man may mean
ever so well, but when IL piano strikes up
it is very hard to keep from humming, Il
stave of "Qui la Morte,' OF baritoning IL
little of "Il Balen.'
But there is one place where we've got
Satan completely circumvented, and that is
our Sunday evening singing for the chill
tlren. The children seem to enjoy it so
much. Among the most earnest of the
little worshiIers, | recognized a four year
blonde. who distinctly SAW thrash hoy
her size the day before, and the energetic
little tenor was the son Of Il gentleman
who saw reaching, with a red face, into
! IA peach tree Saturday evening to procure
the implement FOR Furnishing his offspring
| for high crimes and misdemeanors B 1t
| WhN ali the record of the little ones p
Which of us grown people that sit:3o prim-
| ly under the Theological eye, would like
our record to be aired Have not those
monstached lips that are saying so ear
neStIy "and | believe in the Communion
of Saints" uttered words of wrath when
| the wrong card WAS trumped at whist Sat
urday night; and are not those skirts that
have just sailed in SO gracefully, THE same
that rustled 50 tempestuously into the fam
lily dining room. to the terror of the late
Sunday breakfAster All, we all have our
Nittle falings and we are hot SO bad with
Slnem either Perfection is tireseme
I heard the first of the singing last Sun
day, when ttffft:-citharen were led in their
sweet little hymns by tall, graceful girl,
dressed in white. The picture was II beau
tiful one, with such an exquisite sense OF
purity about the whole Of 1.-THE tiny
voices of the little ones, some shrll, but
all IN earnest, the clear notes of their lead
= wording out the simple words OF the
hymns. pure wor,ls from pure hearts: float
ing upwards through tile foliage of the
trees, upward still above the heights of
the frowning mountains, upwards still.
straight TO til throne of Him who hath
said, 'suffer little children tn come mn to
| mt' The pure in heart! That's it you
see. Time may bring us gray hairs. That
don't hurt. He may bring us sickness,
and pain and trouble. We could bear all
these But if he would only leave our
helrts pure! If he would only not splash
from the wheels of his Chariot the mud OF
worldly knowledge into our souls l don't
think the Oldest campaigner ever sees gath
! erings like these that he doesn't wish and
pray that this cup might pass from these
little ones.
| think [ said something before
about the strength of these waters. L
have nothing in the way of Il codicil but
to express my honest belief that if man
were to drink all three-tlle sulphur, alum
and claly beate at nncA, he would blow up
on the spot. A new conner went down to
the sulphur spring yesterday, and came
back with such IL woful ftce | thought his
mother Was dead. AS | went down he
stopped me and said in IL confidential way
"You ain't going to drink that water, are
you?' l was. "Well," said he anHiously,
''you'd better wait till they clean the
spring out. I'm blowed if there amt
something in it, Mr.. Parker Longbow
told me Wednesday while he was splitting
some rails on the road something about
the ehalybeate spring. He said that many
years ago, can't reeollect the year, that
an old gentleman commenced using that
water which has so much iron In it, and
when he died, they made a set of horse
shoes out of his ear. You don't believe
this, do you | don't either, but didn't
tell him 3d. 1t looks like wasting time to
tell man with four foot maui in his
hand that you don't believe what he says.
These springs were once owned by the
Lot In trit 1,E lud