The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1879-02-04
OUR TRAVELLED PARsON.

For twenty year and over our good parsor
had been tolling,
To chip the bad meat from our hearts ane
Keep the good from kpoiliags
But finally he wilted down and went To look
ing slckly,
And the doctor said that something must b,
put mp for him quickly.
SO we Kind Of dubbed together, each nc
cording 10 his notion,
And bought a circular ticket In the land,
across the ocean;
Wrapped some pocket money In it-what We
thought would easy do i'm
And appointed me committee man 10 go and
take IL to him.
found him In his study, looking rather
worse than ever,
And told him IL was decided that his flock and
he should sever.
Then his eyes grew wide with wonder, aud Il
seemed almost 10 blind EN-;
And some tears looked out o. window with
some others close behind EN-.
Then handed him the ticket, with n little
bow of Difference,
Aud he studied quite little ere he got lts
| proper reference;
And then the tears that waited, great unman-
ageable creatures.
Let themselves quite out o. window, and came
climbing down his features.
/ wish you could ha seen him, coming back
| all fresh and glowing,
/ His clothes so worn and secdy, and his face
so fat and knowing.
| I wish you could have heard hIm when he
prayed for us who sent him.
! Aud paid us back twice over all the money we
had lent him.
Twas feast on all believers twas blight
on contradiction.
To hear one just from Calvary talk about the
cruclhyiOn;
/ Twas a damper on those fellows who pre-
tended they could doubt IL,
\ To have a man who'd been there stand and
/ tell them all about L..
Panl maybe beat our pastor In the Bible knots
unrayeling.
And establishing new churches, but he could
nj touch him travelling,
| Nor inhis journeys pick up half the general
information;
| But then he hadn't the railroads, and the
steamboat navigation
And every foot of Scripture whose location
Was now regularly laid out by the different
pOi0ts Of compass;
When lac undertook picture he quite natural
would draw ";
| lie would paint 1t out 30 honest that IL seemed
as II you saw IL
An the way he chisclled Europe-Oh, the way
he scampered through H.
Not mountain dodged ais climbing, not a
city but he knew u;
There wasn't any subject to explain In al ere
alton,
But he could 20 to Europe and brlng back an
Illustration.
So We crowded out to hear him, much In
structed and delighted;
I Twas a picture show, q lecture, and q SER
mon all united;
And my wife would wipe her glasses, aud So
renely pet her Test'menL
Aud whisper. That ere ticket was q very
good Investment,
Now after six months travel we we're most OF
us all ready
To settle down little. sos to live more staid
and steady;
| To develop home resources, with no foreign
cares 10 fret ne,
Uslng homemade faith more frequent; but
the parson wouldn't let US
! To view the self-same scenery time and time
again he'd call us,
/ over rivers. plains aud mountains he would
any minute haul us;
He sighted our home sorrow, and our spirits
aches and aillngs,
| To get the cargocs ready for bis regular Sun
day sAilings
He would take US on a.touring in all spiritual
weather
And II wish TO all that's peaceful, said one
free exprcssioned brother.
/ That the Lord had made one continent, and
then never made another"
Sometimes indeed, he'd take us into sweet.
familiar places,
And pull along quite steady in the good old
Gospel traces;
But soon my wife would shudder, just as II a
chill had gOt her
! Whispering. oh. my goodness gracious! he's
a-takiug 10 the water"
! Aud Il wasn't the same old comfort when he
called around 10 see us;
/ On a branch Of foreign travel be vas sure at
/ last 10 rec us;
/ All Unconscious Of his error, lac would sweet
ly patrOnize n;
/ And with soft-rcpeated stories stlil eudeayor
tO surprise Us.
Aud the sinners got 10 laughing; aud that
finally CALLED aud stung us.
/ To ask him, Would he kindly once more set
tie down among usi
| Didn't he think that more home produce
| would Improve our souls dlgestionsy
They appointed me committeeman TO 20
around and ask the questions.
found him in his garden, trim an .buoyAnt
a. feather;
He pressed my hand, erclalmlng, This Is
| quite Italian weather.
| How IL minds me Of the evenings when, your
] distant hearts caresslng.
| Upon my bcneiaciors invoked the heavenly
blessing"
went and told the brothers, NO I cannot
hear 10 grieye him,
He's so happy in his exile, lt's the proper
place a. leave him.
took that journey 10 him, and night bitterly
rue u;
But cannot take 1t from him; II you want
20. 20 and do IL
Now a new restraint entirely seemed next
Sunday % enfold him.
Aud he looked 40 hurt and humbled that
knew some one had told him.
Subdued like vas bis manner. and some tones
were hardly vocal;
But every word be uttered was pre-eminently
local.
The sermon sounded awkward, aud we awk-
ward felt who heard L.
Twas grief % see him hedge IL, twas q
paid 10 hear him word n.
"Whcn | was in was may bc half dozer
times repeated,
But that sentence seemed TO scare him, aud
wa- always uncompleted
A weeks went on his old smile would occa
sionally brighten,
Bat the voice was growing feeble, aud the
face begin TO whiten;
lie would look of 10 the eastward, with
listful. weary sighing.
And twas whispered that our pastor IN q for
eign land was dying
VI.
The cofin lay mid garland. smiling sad ss I
they knew ne;
The patient face within IL preached . tina
sermon 90 ne;
Our parson had gone touring on a trip he,
long been earning,
} In that Wonderland whence tickets are no
Issued for returning.
O tender. good heart-shepherdl your swee
smiling lips, half parted,
Told Of scenery that burst on you Just th
minute that you started
Could you preach once more amSng us, yol
might wander without fearing;
You could give ne tales of glory We woul'
never tire Of hearing.
wa CARLTON IN H0rpers Magazine for Fes
rudry.
a silent womani
]