St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-05-02

IL chanced that, for full twenty wears
past, Squire Jacks famous game cock
nau been scratching up a long success
SION OF parsons peas, with no man to
chp his comb or cut his spurs for him.
CHAPTER II.
How Squire Jacks Chickens Came Home
to Boost
1t happened about this time, that
there moved into Hickorytown "a new
pastor of the HickOrytOwn church-the
heV; Solomon Sly ; quiet, unobtrusive
klnd of man, with nothing remarkable
ABOUT him but his poverty and a queer
KIND of merry twinkle in the corner of
each eye. With wife and three chill
dfeh lie moved intO-not the parsonage
Tor Squire Jack had set his foot on that
-nut INTO the last house on the village
street, which was to be had at low
rent, partly because it was in dreary
anu unhealthy locality, a common being
on one side of it, and duck pond on
the other; and partly because it was
commonly reported to be the favorite
resort of ''spOOks." Here the Rev. Sol
onon and family lived, or tried to live
| Il hey all came very near dying of fe-
vers before all was over; and though
they saw no ghosts, they got much
ghostly advice and counsel during their
affections, and from no one more than
fIom Squire Jack himself So that it
was no wonder that after years resi-
dence, the Rev. Solomon determined to
seek another field, nor need any rea-
sOnable person be told with what graft
tude he discovered that another field
was awaiting him.
But before making his purpose of
leaving known to the people, Squire
Jacks chicken, the famous, high-step-
ping, long spurred game cock, came
over one day, as he often had done be-
fore, to scratch up the Rev. SOlOmon's
peas. 1t was in the village store, the
scene of many a victory for Squire Jack
that the Rev. Solomon was again as
sailed by the usual eXegetical battery,
winding up with the usual coupe-de-
grace-''nOw, what I'd like to know is,
is preachers nowadays better'n the
apostles was ~
The Rev. Solomon said he did not
think they were; acknowledged there
was great force and much truth in what
the Squire had said. 1t was-he con-
fessed it with shame-a subject he had
never thought much about before COM
ing to Hickorytowu, and which he had
never, certainly seen in this streng
light before meeting with his good
friend Squire Jack. He promised the
good company to examine the subject
carefully and prayerfully, and let them
know the result, if at all possible, in
some way or other. Whereat they were
all right well pleased.
A few days thereafter, all early in
the morning, while Squire Jack was yet
lingering over his pipe in the kitchen,
there WAS loud, sharp rap at the front
door; on opening which the Squire be-
held standing on the porch the Rev.
Solomon Sly with his wife aud three
children. Before the Squire could say
"good morning." and without, indeed,
waiting for any invitation to enter, the
Rev. Solomon, reverently uncOvering
his head, and solemnly stretching forth
his right hand, said, in grave and i'm
pIessive voice-"Peace be unto this
houss, :" land walked in, followed ny
wife aud children. Now, although the
Squire could not help but notice some
thing unusual i'll the manner of his rev.
erend guest, Il strange self-contident
air, rs 1t were, amounting almost to
boldness, yet still he regarded this visit
of the reverend family as only Il matter
of usual occurrence, Il pastoral visit, as
it were, on ii large scale. And such,
indeed, it eventually turned out to be.
Only, before all was over, the whole
occurrence presented itself to the mind
of the Squire rather in the light of a
pastoral visitation than of pastoral
visit.
For the Rev. Solomon and family had
evidently come to spend the day. The
morning was spent in pleasant couver-
sation by the old folks, while the chill
dren played and romped upon the lawn
Dinner came, and right royal dinner
it WAS, tn he sure for the good Squire,
however lie might praise fasting as Il
pious practice heiitting the successors
of the apostles, never once thought of
numbering himself among the herb
eating weaker brethren, but believed
III good beef as profoundly as the best
Englishmau that ever carved roast
After dinner, the Rev. solomon, ex-
cusing himself on the plea of pastoral
work to be done in the parish, left wife
and children to the care of Squire Jack
and family, remaIking as he put on his
hat in the hall, that he would be back
|
stayed, and stayed, and stayed, until il
became seriously evident that the whole
parsons family had come tn spend not
only the day but also the night Such
was the solemn and unavoidable truth.
They did spend the night, and IL right
comfortable night it was, to he sure,
under the roof of Squire Jacks cOmmo-
dious mansion. Prayers and breakfast
over the next morning, the Rev. Solo
mon asked to be shown to some quiet
room, some "prOphet's chamber" where
he might devote the morning hours to
meditation, prayer and study. "To be
sure," said he, 81 have no books or Ii
brary with me; nor, indeed, do / need
any. None of the apostles had libra
ry, nothing in fact but Bible, if even
so much as that; and alter due consid-
Grafton, have arrived at your cOnclu-
sion, Squire Jack, that preachers now
: a-days are not whit better than the
apostles were and it is now my fixed
and settled purpose to follow their ex-
ample to the very last letter." With
which words the Rev. Solomon ascend
ed, with slow and solemn tread, to the
upper chamber of the prophet.
) Squire Jack was too thick skinned
intellectually to see the full drift of all
this at once; and it was not until two,
three, four, five days of pastoral vista
tlOn of this sort had elapsed that he be-
, gan to suspect, as he remarked to Mrs.
J Jack, "that this pastor of Our'n hasn't
got his name of Sly fer nothin' ~ and so,
, wondering what all this strange proceed
ure might mean, and when and where
1T was all pOinC tO end and aftar supdr,,