The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1877-03-09
THE sAuNTED sTUnHnNs.
A WEEP FOR THE GOOD OLD TIMES, BY
AN ORTHODOX TR1N1rARIAN.

Rev. zimri Dobbs, A. NJ, in the independently |
Recently n stranger, an elderly man
Of grave and orthodox appearance,
called on me and requested an inter-
view. As soon as he had taken his
seat he began to shed tears. / set pan
for him to weep into, and awaited an
spray unburden your mind,'' said 1.
Speaking may relieve you."
At last he said:
81 can not express my tears when
think of the sainted Stubblns. Sir, for
nearly halt century we sat under his
ministry. AIethinks l see him now,
with his white locks, his white necker-
chiet, and his benignant spectacles.
And he preached the Gospei-preached
the whole of it in every sermon. If a
body chanced to drop off, he knew that
he had lost nothing-that he had heard
it all the Sunday before, and would
hear it all the next Sunday. He had
no tangled notions. When he
heard people talk about education, and
Sunday Schools, and abolition, and phil
anthropy, and temperance, he always
said: 'The Gospel is good enough for
me- He avoided giving any otfense.
He hadn't an enemy in the place. How
often have heard, as was passing by
a saloon: Such good man Parson
Stubbins is He never interferes with
a body. Here's his health And once,
when we gave him donation to make
up his salary, the saloon keepers sent in
quite little sum; and Col. Bulldoze,
Of Alabama, who was looking up a
fugitive (you know this was in the good
old timesl, begged permission to add a
tritie. He said: Il could sit under
that mans preaching forever. Oh! if
all the preachers would pattern after
him.
"All these things helped about the
salary. But it wasn't salary that he
cared for. l suppose have heard him
say fifty times: Il am not hlreling,
greedy of filthy lucre. It is souls that
| preach for. And when the quarter
came around, if the salary wasn't COL
iected he never made a fuss. You see
he owned farm little out of town,
that used to be worked on shares, till it
was cut up into house lots.
"We loved him because he never
talked about money. 'Salvation's free
he used to say. He never let an agent
come into the pulpit. sIf you want to
give to any of these notions, why, do
so, brethren,' he would say. 4 don't
hinder you.'
SIN those days the young people knew
their place. 1t they came to the prayer
meeting, which they didn't often, they
sat in the tar corner and held their
tongues, not meddling with the singing
or praying. Deacon Fossil pitched the
tune, and | always made the first prayer.
No one ever spoke or prayed out of his
turn"
Here he paused.
/ said: 'sThen / gather from what
you say that this venerable man is no
longer spared to you ?''
"No, sir; he is no more. For up
ward of 25 years he never preached a
sermon but what he said 'Bruthren,
Pm a-winding up my ministry! Here
he always took out his red pocket hand
kerchiet In few days shall be laid
away III the cold and silent grave
And by this time everybody, especially
the females, were in tears. Well, sir.
he died; and we buried him in neat
pine coffin, nicely stained like black
walnut. We took off the plate before
the coffin was let down, and the under
taker allowed us for that.
E'In course of time chow it was,
can't say; whether it was Providence
or not), somehow we got young man
and-oh, dear! you wouldn't know the
place. lie has brought in such lot ot
people-poor folks, some of them factory
people; some of them smell as if they
came out of poor, close houses. And
really believe that he tries to preach SC
as to draw them.
'sAt the prayer meetings, why, whei
l go to my place, like as not it is hare
work TO get a seat. And SO presumins
as the young people have become
Just as Deacon Fossil is clearing hi
throat, they start off with some jig tune
and they all join in as if they woulC
take the roof off. When | make m,
prayer, there are two or three of then
on their feet, and l have hard work t.
get in a word. But when a man go
up "a man that wasn't worth a cent
man that had seen in the gutter J AM
began to tell lin bad grammar, too,
what Che said) the Lord had done 70
him, it was too much. Such sacrilege
right in the house of the Lord!
ssADd then as to preaching the got
pei! Why, whoever heard such things
He talks about saloon-keeping, an
cheating, and fraudulent bankruptcy
and stock gambling, defalcation in bus
ness, and IN office, and wine drinking
/ should like to know, sir, if this is tn
gospel? And he has driven away th
very people that made up the parish fc
, that good man; and we lose all the
they used to give on the salary.
Sand he don't say Gas that dear ma
used toy: SALARY is nothing to m
Pay me what you please, brethren.
preach for SOULS No; he wants
good deal larger salary than he used t
have, and he wants it right on the da,
D and be talks in a way that hurts OF
. feelings, it it isn't on hand. Is that IL
. meekness of the Gospel?
6cA,,d 10 ;s,,1f sofisfSod ,,,;tI, Il, .,,oc,