The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1875-10-07
The Boz In Church.

past, and heard his father call out:
"Boy YOU want 10 gallop in here and
get ready for mectIng!'
"Shi T. briefly replied the lad.
SSH! Ill shi you. young man, if yon
don't trot in here lively. You'd be ~
bad az Jesse Pomeroy il left without a
father for three months!"
al would, hey %
enc sass, young man-it's time you
were getting ready for church !"
The minister was giving out his text
when the boy and his father came in.
There was considerable Improvement in
The lads looks. His HAIR bad been
CREASED and cOmbed, he had on his Sun
day Jacket, ana there was u religious
look in his eyes a. he tell into the pew.
ought To have listened closely Ia. the
sermon, bu, did not. The boy and
his father were m the pew next ahead,
and | couldn't help but watch him.
lie got along very well COR the first
ten minutes. Then he asked his father
what time il was, and when the parent
replied with warning shake of the
head the boy cast around hm for some
thing To interest his mind. The preach
or settled down To his discourse and the
boy settled down 10 hls plan of wearing
away The coming hour. He reached
over and got hold of his taIher'S silk
hat, and was trying 10 remove the band
when the parent took it away and bent
over and whispered:
"Boy. if you don't pay attention 10
the preacher I'll break your neck when
we urf nme 20
The lad fixed his eyes on the clergy
man. lie saw that the good man had
auburn hair, blue eyes, fprid complex
ion, and was well dressed. He heard
him make use of such words a. "for-
tultous," "uncxampled," and without
beng able To tell whether they referred
10 new kind of string-bcans or tn
gospel of Christian hight, he reached
out and secured his fathers cane. ii.
punched at several dies, crammed the
suvcr head To his month until he
turned purple in the face, and finally
reached over and jabbed "a women un
der the left shoulder. His father then
grasped the cane, laid il away, and wins
perrd:
young man, III tan the hide Off
You w. en- we get hom"!
The words were intended 10 make III,
boy pay strict attention 10 the balance
of the sermon. lie Strengthened mp,
looked at the preacher again, and tried
hard 10 understand The DISCOURSE. Th'
good man was trying 10 explain the
difference betw cen theoretical and pract
cal Christianity, and in TWO inmates the
lads eyes were fixed on the chandeliers
He counted the rumber of burners oven
aud over again and forgetting himself
for AN instant he began To sing. Hi
father gave him a kick and leaned over
and whispered:
"Uh! boy, III make you hump the
minute we get into the hnnse !" Know
ing chat his father would keep his word,
but yet hoping 10 break the force of The
prospective 'pecling" hy being rea!
good Tor the next half hour, the boy
faced the clergy".an again. lie knit his
brow plainly showed his determine
ton 20 understand and interest himself
in all that was said. The good man was
drawing parallel, and ii dozen Of the
church members were hall asleep. II
was discouraglng, aud after two or three
minutes the boy got hoId of bit of
paper, wadded ii up. stuffed ii into his
mouth, and chewed il awhile. and then
balancing the wad on h thumb, he ele-
waited il ten feet towards the ceiling.
the law OF gravitation applies 10 pa
per wads a. 10 iron weights. This one
came down in "a short time, aud, a.
luck would have il, it struck the bald
plate OF the half-aSIeep sexton. The vie
tim gave start of alarm, whirlcd quick
ly around and the boys father pinched
him ravagely and whispered:
"Oh. I'm fix Won for this Just let
me get you home once"
1 couldn't zee how the boy was {"
blame. He couldn't understand one
word in ten of the sermon; he saw Il
dozen men around him asleep; il was a
hot day ho was a nervous boy and used
TO moving around, and his own father
had been gazing out OF the window ia
an absent way for quarter of an hour.
He made last grand effort. He b arcd
his nerves, shut his teeth hard, and sa,
as erect as n new htching post. The
clergyman seemed To look right ut the
boy as he used twenty big words in sue
cession, and the lad gave IT up. He
opened the pew door. and was trying Ia
eniice n small dog To come in, when his
father awoke and whispered
"You wait-oh, you just wait !"
The exercises closed just then, and
the boy walked home behind his parent
10 get dressing down tor not having
the mental caiber of full grown man,
and for not sitting still and going To sleep
like his falher.-D Detroit Free Press.