, 1877-02-25
This work has been going on now for wears,
steadily and earnestly, and with excellent re-


| But it is time to speak OF ttFidLler joss u
| aud the series Of SERVICES lie has inausurated
for tue express purpose of reaching those yht
I are outside tue pale Of all religious services, and
| seldom or never enter a church except through
irreverent curiosity, ur to take shelter from the
rain. While the congregation was waiting for
the preacher with the curious nickname it burst
into hymn-snging on its own account. The
hooks from which, the hymns were taken were
Ira D. Sankey's 4tSacred SONGS aud Solos,'' and
tiny blue-bouud compilation made by Joshua
Poole, 'sFiddler Joss''' himself, specially for
the working classes. About 7o'clock gentle
] man in orthodox black rose in the middle Of the
lower gallery and offered up an extempore
prayer, whicn was extremely feryent and effect
| ivc-albcit, it was spoken with that long
drawn unreal voice that many persons consider
which was joined in heartily by some Of the con-
gregation, and listened to with profound attcn~
ton by all. 1t Jared upon the car to hear such
yulgarisms us ''hannytllink" and "hevery-
think" and to notice the absence OF the easpirate
in such words as heart, herald, and hope;
| but the intention was good, md perhaps this
mode oil pronunciation was more easily under
stood by those vino we're hearkening. 1 hymn,
Whittier, pilgrims, are YOU Eoing' was next
sung by all standing, and If there WAS NOT
b1ameless harmony or most accurate keeping OF
time, there could be no nlistakng the full and
thorough spirit of the performances. The vol
umc OF voice would haye flied the largest OF
our theatres. The fourth chapter Of John ,gas
DEIL feau Dg IuE plStOI WILL u[CH uT4E21LlE
skill. and every word aud tone told, the faces Of
the listeners interpreting every emotion excited
as elouucntly Us would those Of SO many chill
dren. Another hymn was next sung, IS There is
q better world, they say,'' aud then Brother
Joshua Poole was introduced. A squarely-
built, sturdy man Of some 50 years Of agc, with
good forehead aud features that have in them
much brightness and drollery; man that looks
as ii he would be quick at i joke and merry
boon companion; the cast Of coantenance Is that
~ $h1 p~S$$ $rh fnf+ Af
pcaky hair of the ''goatec " pattern OH the
chin gives it, Yankee suggestlyeness.
He reads a few verses from the fifth
chapter OF Romans in q low voice, with dis
tfnct euunciation; the accent is decidedly that
Of Yorkshire, but tho stburr" is hardly to be
noticed. Very homely and straightforward the
style OF the preacher Is; he employs 'slanguaec
that Is un0erstandcd OF the common peoplc,h
but there is in it noEe Of that coarsencss OF fig
ure, none OF that shocking familiarity with sa-
cred things that is to be dcplored in too many
unordained and unclucated teachers Of the Cos
pei. He made abundant use OF illustrations,
and Very ant they were, and there was spon-
taucity in his occasional snatehes Of humor and
made them wonderfully acceptable. At one
period he admitted that be had been ''druuk
i've years, aud had the horrors downright tWo,"
aud added that he was known as q Fiddler joss u
because he lived By going about to fairs and
wakes, but he did not care II the name stuck to
him still; they might cail him IS Fiddler joss"
it they only learned from him to give up drunk
enness and lead better lives. He made q
deeper impression on his audience tnan many
more learned preachers would, and al
though he had recourse to i certain amount
OF theatrical DEVICE such Is hitting the desk to
simulate knocking nt i door, In no one instance
did he outrage the modcsty Vt nature: There
can be no question that Fiddler joss " Is pos
scssed Of q strenuous effort Of his own; te is
we'll worth going to hear; he fills you with a
conviction Of his sincerity, and, il he goes On