New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-08-11
John Randolph's Relisious Services.

Mr.. Randolph was q great Bible reader
and was deeply concerned with religious
| subjects. He employed an excellent and
eloquent man, Mr.. Abner Clopton, to preach
| every Sunday to his negroes, in the large
| chapel he had erected on his plantation.
When at home he invariably attended
these services, taking his seat by the
| preacher on the open platform, from which
| the preacher conducted the services. On
| many occasions, while kneeling beside the
preacher, who was prone to be carried away
by the fervOr of prayer, Randolph would
| slap him on the back and call out loudly:
''ClOptOn. that won't do; that's not sound
doctrine. CiOptOn, take that back" and if
| Clopton demonstrated, Randolph, though
keeping himself on his knees, was ready at
once tor an argument to maintain his point.
No one but Mr. Clopton, who knew the &C.
ceutricity and honest motives of the man,
could have borne with these irreverent in
terruptiOns while in the midst of prayer;
but Mr.. Ciopton, when he found Randolph
determined to argue the point, either grace
fully yielded or proposed to note the point
and argue it at the dwelling house. To
visitors at the chapel, and they were many,
these scenes were exceedingly curious and
sometimes absurdly ludicrOus. But that
was Mr.. Randolph's way.
1t is said that on one cold Sunday, in this
chapel on Mr.. Randolph's plantation, while
giving out the hymn in the old fashioned
way. two lines at the time, and it was being
Justify sung by the negroes, Mr.. Clopton,
the preacher, observed negro man put his
foot, upon which was new brogan, on the
hot stove. Turning tow ard him, he said in
his measured voice, "You rascal, you. you'll
burn your shOe;" as this was rhy me Of the
exact metre of the hymn, the negroes all
sung it in their loudest tones. Smiling at
the error, the preacher attempted mildly
to explain by saying: "My colored friends,
indeed you are wrong; didn't intend that
for the song" but there it was again, an
other rhyme in good measure, SO the negroes
sung that too with pious fervOr. Turning
to his congregation, the preacher said some
what sharply, II hope you will not sing
again, until l have had time to explain;"
but this only aroused the negroes, who sang
the last words with increased vigOr. Mr..
ClOpton feeling that his tongue seemed to |
be tuned to rhyme, abandoned all efforts at |
explanation and went on with his services. |
A Halt in the telegraph Combination.
Mr.. Jay Gould seems to be defeated in
the effort to secure an immediate combina- |
ton of the Western Union and Atlantic and |
Pacific Telegraph Companies. There is, at |
least, no indication that negotiations have |
advanced single step since the scheme was |
brOached some weeks ago, and thus far it /
has amounted merely to stock jObbiDg. |
Whether the requisite power to carry out
the scheme will be gained in the next eIec-
lion remains to be seen. 1t is still currently
believed in Wall street that Gould did have
enough Western Union stock to control the
election.
Reports of another company organized
against the Western Union in California are
low confirmed. Senator Sharon, Michael
Reese, Calvin w. Kellogg and other heavy
capitalists are among the stockholders. 1t
9 declared ON their behalf that they will
lot be willing to sell out under any circum-
tances to the Western Union, and that, if
he Atlantic and Pacific should, they will
speedily to replace the opposi-
ion facilities it now possesses.-Nep York
Tribune.