The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1877-11-01
TmE FLooDA AND TME ARK.


THE FLOODANDTHE ARK.
lAssHardsheII- A Methodist Sermon
j on Nature and Noah.
In the autumn Of 1880 / ATTENDED
a Methodist camp-meeting in thein
terror of Georgia, and heard a sermon
which l have never been able to for
get or describe.
The speaker had just been licensed
and it washi first sermon. In per.
son he was small, bulletIheaded, Of q
fair sandy complexion, and his coun-
Etenance was indicative Of sincerity
ind hnnastY &c stalking upthe
time in his life, and had gotten as
far as the history of Noah, the ark,
the flood, etc. Besides, "just before
his conversion he had been reading
Goldsmith's Animated Mater and
the two together, by the aid and as
sistance of the Spirit, had led him
into a powerful train of thinking as
he stood at his work bench, day in
and day out" The text was: "As it
was in the days of Noah, so shall
the coming Of the Son of Man be-"
and he broke out in the following
strains:
"Yes, my brethren, the heavens of
the windows was opened-ah, and the
floods of the great deep kivered
the waters-ah, and there shem, and
there Ham, and there Japheth.ah,
alias gwine into the ark-ah
"And there was the elephant-ah,
that great animal-ah, of which
Goldsmith describes in his 'Animat.
ed Nater'!ah what is as big as a house
ah, and his bones as big as a tree'ah,
depending somewhat upon the size
of the tree-ah, a,l-l-a-gwine into the
ark-ah. And the heavens of the
windows was opened-ah, and the
floods of the great deep kivered
the water-ah, and there was Shem,
and there was Ham, and there was
Japheth-ah, a-l-l.a-gwine into the
ark-ah.
"And there was the hippopopta-
mus-ah, that great animal-ah of
which Goldsmith describes in his
..Apimated Mater .ah what has a.
great horn-ah a stickin' right
straight up out of his foreward-ah
six feet long, more or less-ah, de-
pending somewhat on the length of
itah, all a gwine into the ark-ah.
"And there was the giraffe-ah, my
bretherin, that ill-contrived reptile
of which Goldsmith describes in his
Animated Nater'-ah, whose fore-legs
is twenty-five feet long-ah, more or
less,ah, depending somewhat on the
length of 'em-ah, and a neck SO long
he can eat hay off the top of a barn
ah, depending somewhat on the hithe
of the barn,ah, all gwine into the
ask.ah. And the heavens of the
windows was opened.ah, and the
floods of the great deep kivered the
waters.ah, and there was shem, and
there was Ham, and there was ia
pheth-ah, all a-gwine into the ark
ah."
"And there was the zebra, my
brethren-ah, that beautiful ami
NAL of which Goldsmith describes in
his Animated Natre'-ah, what has
three hundred stripes runnln
right straight around his body-ah,
more or less, depending somewhaton
the number of stripes-ah, and nary
two stripes alike-ah, a-l-l-a-gwine in
to the ark.ah."
"And there was the anaconder.ah,
that greatsarpinto of which Goldsmith
describes in his Animated Nater'-ah,
what can swallow six oxens at a
lneal-ah, provided his appetite don't
call for less-ah, a-l.l-a-gwino into the
ark-ah. And the heavens of the
windows was opened-ah, and the
floods of the great deep kivered the
waters.ah, and there was Shem, and
there was Ham, and there was ia
pheth.ah, all a gwine into theark'ah.
"And there was the lion, brethern-
ah, what is the king Of beasts, ac'
cordin' to scripter.ah, and who, as
st. Paul says.ah, prowls around of a
night like q roarin' devil.ah, seek
In, if he can't catch somebody.ah, all