The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-11-09
Tom Sawyer I'm Church.

The minister gave out Ms text, droned
along monctonously through an argu-
nent which was so prosy that many q
head by and by began to nod-and yet
il was an argument that dealt in limit
less fire and birthstone, aid thinned the
predestined elect down to company SO
small rs TO be hardly worth the saving
Tom counted the pages of the sermon;
after church, he always knew how many
pages there had been, bat he seldom
knew anything else about the discourse.
However, this time, he Was really inter-
ested tor little while.
The minister made grand and NOV
ing picture OF the assembling together OF
the worlds hosts at the Millennium, when
the lion and the lamb shall lie down To-
gether. aud little child should lead
Them. But the psthos, the logic, the
moral OF the great preacher were lost
upon the b,;; he only thought of the
conspicuousness o. the principal charac-
ter before the on-looking nations; his
lace lit up with the thought, and he said
10 himself that he wished he could be
that child, if 1t was tame lion.
Now he lapsed into suffering again as
the dry argument was resumed. Pres
emily he belhought himself of a treasure
he had and got il oat. 1t was large
black beetle with formidable jaws a
pinch bug" he called it. 1t was in q
= percussion cap box. The first thing
the beetle did was to take him by the
finger. A natural FLIP followed, the
beetle fioundered into the aisle, and lit
on its back, and the hurt finger went
into the boys mouth. The beetle lay
there working its helpless legs, unable to
turn over. Tom eyed it, and longed fot
II, but it was safe out of his reach. Other
people, uninterested in the sermon,
found relief in the beetle, and they ey cd
il, too.
Presently vagrant poodle dog came
idling along, sad at heart, lazy with the
summer soitness and the quier, weary OF
captivity, signing for change. lie spied
the beetle; the dropping tail nI:ed and
wagged. He surveyed the prize; walked
around il; smelt OF II rom q safe dis
lance; walked around it again; grew
holder, ana took a closer smell; then
lifted his lip and made gingerly snatch
nj it, just missing it, made another, and
another; subsiped to his stomach with
the beetle between his paws, and con-
tinued his experiments; grew weary at
last and then Indifferent and absent
minded.
His head nodded, and little by little
his chin descended and touched the
enemy, who seized it. There was 4
sharp yelp, firt of the poodle's head
and the beetle fell couple of yards away
and lit on its back once more. The
neighborlng spectators shook with a
gentle inward Joy, several faces went be-
hind fans and handkerchiels, and Tom
was entirely happy.
The dog looked foolish, and probably
felt so; but there was resentment in his
heart, too, and craving for revenge.
So he went to the beetle and began a
wary attack on it again, jumping at 1t
from every point of circle, lighting
with his forepaws within an inch Of the
creature, making even closer snatches at
1t with his teeth, and jerking his head
till his ears tapped again. But he grew
tired once more, after awhile, tried to
amuse himself with fly, but found no
relief; followed an ant around, his nose
close to the floor, and quickly wearied of
that; yawDed, sighed, forgot the beetle
entirely and sat down upon it.
Then there was wild yelp of agony,
and the poodle went sailing up the
aisle; tho yelps continued, and so did the
dog; he crossed the house in front of the
altar; he flew down the other aisle; he
crossed before the doors; he clambored up
the home-stretch; his anguish grew with
his progress, till presently he was
woolly comet, moving in its orbit, with
the CLEAN and speed of light. At last
the frantic sufferer sheered its course
and sprang into its masters lap. He
flung it out of the window, and the
voice of distress quickly thinned away
and died in the dlstsnce.
Tom SAWYER went home quite cheerful,
thinking to himself that there was some
satisfaction about divine service when
there was bit of variety in it. He had
but one msrriug thought; he was wiling
that the dog should play with his pinch
bug. but be did not think it was upright
TO carry it etf.-Hark TOain.