Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1878-03-30

CLEVELAND, o., March l3.-A ro-
nance in real life has just had its Sc
mel enacted in an Ohio village not 800
miles from Cleveland. Thirty years
ago William Good was young black
smith, living in the country town of
H, in Granger County. Anna
Lacy was the young woman whom he
had chosen for his bride, and the day of
the wedding had been fixed for the
balmy MAY, and the time of which
speak was February. A Disciple Elder
named Lilly came to the village to hold
protracted meeting. This was some
thing entirely new to large class of
people They had never before heard
of what was termed the Gospel form of
onversion-without the .'mourning
bench or previous prayers, but simply
confession OF faith and immediate
baptism. The older denominations,
especially the Methodists, who were
quite strong in the village, made strenu-
Gus opposition to the Evangelist and his
doctrine, but the simplicity of the teach
ing, and the earnestness of the preach
er, seemed tie make considerable inn
preston, and a number, especially of
the young people, were converted.
Williams parents are strong Method
lists, and of course opposed to the
meetings. He was too busy to attend
the meetings or care very much about
them, except TO request Anna not 10 go.
AT first Anna complied, but finally, yield
ing to the impulse of curiosity, began to
attend the forbidden meetings. One
...t.s "a Il
young lady of her own age, started, when
the invitation was given to sinners to
come forward, saying:
- | am going, Anna; come along with
me-
IL was irresistible, and the two young
ladies went forward, confessed that they
were sinners, and that very night in the
moonlight went TO the creek and were
baptized
William did not hear of this until the |
next morning, when he was at work as
usual in his shop. A friend came in,
and, after the usual salutations were |
passed, the meeting was casually refer |
red to.
"Thnt consumed preacher is still 60
ing on with his meetings, is hep" asked |
William.
al should say so," replied the friend.
=" But why do you ask? You must know |
all the news, seeing how Anna Lacey |
was dipped last night"
"What?" asked William, with his |
heavy hammer poised in mid-air over |
his red-hot iron. "What's that YOU |
sayP'
loa express n great surprise; didn't |
you know that it was all over town that |
Anna is one of the converts? But You |
needn' t feel So bad about it, added the |
friend, "seeing that so many of the re-
spectacle people here are going i'm
According to the tradition of the time, |
William threw his hammer across the |
shop, INDUCED in a profusion of oaths,
and, washing himself, Immediately start |
ed for Annals home. He found her in
a pensive state OF mind, such rs the pre-
yious evenings confession and the feel
ing of assurance that past sins We're for
given would naturally induce. Exactly
what was said and done by the lovers,
of course, it isimpossible at this late day
to tell. But in a general way it is
known that they quarreled. William
said that if he was confident that she
would always hold out faithful 10 her
profession, he would not desire to mar
ry her, for he could never feel an a;lini-
ty for such heterodoxy, although he
made no profession of faith at all him.
self. She replied that she was glad to
find out how he felt upon the subject;
that if he felt so il would be useless TO
talk of their marriage any longer, for
she should always remain true to her
profession. So they parted.
She soon after removed to Illinois,
where within two years, she married a
sturdy prairie farmer, and proceeded
with the work of raising family and
providing for the wants of the house
hold. She became the mother of three |
children, .all of whom have grown to !