Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-09-29
Sunday at Elder Jones'.
BIZ AN OLD FOGT.

who is in the commission business asked me
TO spend the Sabbath with him and hear
: the new preacher. Maybe he remembered
what the Bible says about entertaining
strangers. and maybe he wanted To make
sure of getting my wheat But, thinking
1t would be great privilege to visit at
the house of SO good a man. AMI that
could learn something about the best way
: Of making the Sabbath pleasant and profit
able at home, | very gladly accepted his
invitation.
Now. Mason is a railroad town on the
Great Western, and trains are running
through 1t all the time. day and night,
and sundays too 1t is whit we call down
here a very small town. and, of course it
must have Il small preacher / will per
maps tell you about the sermon heard
there some other time. But now want
to write about the Sabbath ut Elder Jone S ;.
We sat talking pretty late Saturday
night, for the Elder seemed to want to
tell me great deal about the crops in
Engiand-how much better they are than
uslr,l,-and to prove that it was wiser to
sell wheat at the present low figures than
TO hold it; that the price WAS more likely
to 90 down than TO 90 up. Sc inc that /
looked a little sleepy, he said: ." We don t
90 TO bed very early Saturday nights. for
Sunday is a day of rest and We have
breakfast late. You needn't gct up. until
You hear the ri>in. bell We have it rung
half an hour before break fast"
| went to bed. anI slept well. When |
woke up in the morning the sun was more
that an hour high Thinks |, that rising
bell must have rung. SO GOT up. dressed
myself, and went down stairs But the
house was rs still as :, grave There was
no smoke coming out Of the kitchen Chin
ney. didn't want to 90 back to bed. so
| went out and took long walk was
busy reading the inscriptions in the grave
yard when | heard the town clock strike
eight. | thought, surely shall be late to
breakfast, So | hurried back As went
into the yard l saw the hired man coming
ont rubbing his eyes. TO feed the horses
sat on the steps half an hour. and then
heard the rising bell, and knew 6y the
sound in the kitchen that somebody was
getting breakfast. At half-past nine the
breakfast bell rang. and the Elder and his
wife came. a blessing was asked, and
We began to eat. The Young folks came
IN one by one. until nearly ten o clock
Breakfast over, there was 4 general hurry
and hustle about getting ready for church.
We started rs the last bell was ringing.
and GOT In just aS they We're singing the
first hymn. The Elder said hat he could
never get his folks to church in time. but
that good many were later than they
We're, and that was some consolation.
didn't see why, but said nothing
After church. the Elder said Il Iet Us
90 around by the post-otfice The Chicago
mail gets in ut hIlf-past ten" Well, we
found that nearly all the congregation
knew about the Chicago mail. They
formed a procession from the church to the
poStotfice. and the clerks. who had been
distributing the letters while we were lis
ttning To DR.. KS sermon. had a lively
time for half an hour giving out letters
The Elder had a lock-bo So he did not
have To wait. He cot half :, dozen letters
and several papers, and a Sunday morning
daily from Chicago. W. Went home. He
handed me some % The rap r. while he
glanced over the | .r> III i'd. There
might be something in them very impor-
tant. YOU know" The letters having beer
!" gianced over pretty carefully. the Elder
took up the papers and READ them. and
comm,nted upon their cont, MS until din
ner time.
The dinner WAS not such lunch of cold
meat. pie and cheese, rs we used to get
between the meetings when | was Il boy.
but consisted of roast beef hroiel chick
ems. vegetables of four or five kinds a hot
pudding, 4 variety of pastTy. and hot cof-
fee. Mrs. Jones remarked that her hus-
band was so hurried week DAYS he could
not enjoy his dinner, so she tried to have a
good one on Sunday. when he hal plenty
of time 10 eat it. She went on To Gi-caSs
that theme OF unfailing interest to housc-
keepers. help. She had tried all sorts.
and had come back To the Irish Catholics
rs the best on the who,c Protestant Girls
wanted to 60 10 church Just when the fam
; ilv Went. and just when the dinner ought
TO be attended 10; but the Catholics would
run over and hear the morning mass while
the flmilv We're at breakfast. and then
tcome sni get the dinner. And she wound
up with the general remark that it was
not best for mistre>Ses and servants TO be-
lonr TO the same church. Ii made the
tservantS too forward aud familiar Il
don't object" She said. Ito the priest max
in pastoral visits in my kitchen; but il
would be embarrassing to have Dr. X dc
50. or have TO invite my help into the par
lor to see him"
Dinner over at la>t-and il lasted a full
hour-we went into the parlOr. Soon the
btpl ibtIl IiIo- stiltl T-tN'I .jtHhInS WIZ
shown in. He was introduced to me. and
remarked that he did not believe in sun
dnv visiting. but dropped in sometime L.
talk over church matters with brother
Elders. The church matters that the,
talked over were not spiritual, but financial
They did not ask each other. what can ",
do to make the praycr-meeting more inter
e>ting; to get more people To come /,
church: 10 secure = revival of religion
, but how can we raise DIR. rs. salary. an,
ray our organi>t and soprano. and othel
; expenses of 4 first class church. withou
putting our hands deeper into our OWL
,, pockets? Tie ability of A. b. and &. t,
l pay more rent WAS discussed. What d'
vou know about that new business that A
is engaged in? Is il gniog to pay?" sal,
Elder Jenkins. at length.
Il don't know. was the reply.
II lie has been 10 me several times TO ge
me TO invest in il. and hesitate to do So
don't feel quite sure about it. How doe
it strike you?"
On this tangent they went of from til
! church and its affairs and spent an hour i
canva>sing the proprietv of taking stoc
in Nh AS factory. With pencil and pa
per they made elaborate calculations. an
!, finally near tca-timc. Elder jenkins aros
u and said. " must 90 now, but | am gla,
that we have talked this matter over.
begin to think that it may be best for us t
; help brother \. l will see You early t.
=. morrow morning;' and turning to me, h
Il added, lyon see, deacon, if we hell one {
; our members in business, we enable hin
. to pay larger pew rent. and so we help th
u church,
: Af,er tea. As the bell rang for evening NEE
ing, the Elder said: Il don't 90 out muc
Sunday evenings DIR. Y. don't care abor
$ having us old folks at the second service
o IS he gets up his dscourses expressly fo
y the Young But as | want you to see ho'
he draws them. | will 20 with you. an
I finish reading my newspapers when
: come back" SO We went To church. hear
L 4 solo from a woman who gets ten dollar
I !, Sunday for singing in the choir, an
heard sermon on 9TH T"ans' o. Venus
The young ,lks brou -Ltc"mpany with the
= Il 4 I L.