Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-04-24

village. The old house is occupied by
relatives of Dow Thy marriage), who
came to live with his widow a short
time before her death, few years ago.
Dow was twice married, but he died
without children.
Il don't suppose" said my informant,
''that there's a prominent spot round
here that the old man has not preached
and prayed on more than a half-doZen
times. This is the right kind of country"
the speaker continued, cynically, with a
sweep of the hand towards its stony
fields and pastures, thatched with briers
and bayberry bushes, ito produce re-
| ligiOn hard enough for anybody. No
wonder that the preachers were tough.
No nonsense about 'em. There's mate
rial enough lying round loose here to
turn out hell without any very great
strain of imagination. The old man got
his religion and his mission to preach
direct from here and God. He didn't
belong to no denomination, but set out
on his own hook. He didn't take no pay,
and went about as the apostles of old,
wherever the spirit called him. Lord,
how he used to sail into preachers that
got salariesl. He had ideas of his own,
everything specially fashion. He al
ways wore his beard long when every
body else shaved theirs off, and wore an
old straw hat, summer and winter, with
the brim half torn off. Everybody went
to hear him, and when it was known
that "Old Dow" was going to preach, all
the other meetings were deserted. The
boys sometimes put up jobs on him,
fhnnnh. I raaOllooF fok I,S,, =,
preach in an orchard, and big crowd
gathered to hear him. Well, just before
the meeting began the fellows got him a
great hOgshead to stand on, and filled it
about twO-thirds full of water. They
put in the head rather loosely, and wait
ed for fun. Dow mounted on the bar
rel, gave out his text, got fred up, and
was prancing and humping around on
that barrel-head in lively style, and sud- =
denly in she went, splash, slush, boards,
Dow, straw hat and all. The water was
about up to his neck, and he scrambled
out dripping all over. Jerusalem, how
the people laughed, and how DOW-well,
he went right on preaching ON the
ground, but significantly he had COM
menced on grace, mercy, and peace, but
he wound up on hell fire and eternal
damnatiOn.
''One cold, clustering day Dow was
driving in his sleigh along a narrow
country road that was banked high with
snow. He encountered man who was
driving in the opposite direction. There
was only one path, and that in the center
of the road. One or the other must turn
out. Dow took in the situation at
glance, and rising i'll his seat, whip in
aqnd and with threatening visage and
manner, called out sternly; Turn out,
turn out, say, or I'll serve you as Ibid
a man just back here The stranger,
overawed, neryOusly Obeyed, and he wal
lowed through the deep snow on the
roadside till he could regain the path.
Then he turned toward the retiring fig
ure and asked somewhat angrily: We'll,
how did you serve the other MANI"
Why replied Dow, cOmposedly, 'he
wouldn't turn out for me, so turned
out for him.
"In one of his pilgrimages through the
backwOOds of Pennsylvania, Dow enter
ed rude settlement on the outskirts of
civilization. He was to preach in the
village church in the evening. The man
in whose house he was to tarry over
night had recently lost an axe by theft.
The loss of such an implement was
too serious in those days to be borne
resignedly, and the farmer bitterly be-
moaned his misfortune to Dow, repre-
senting the difficulties of obtaining a
new tool. Just keep quiet said the
preacher, mysteriOusly, and 1 will get
your axe for YOU
'On the way to the church in the eve
ming Dow stopped down by the roadside,
picked up two large stones and placed
them in his pocket. He quietly entered
the pulpit and waited until all the con-
gregatiOn had assembled, and the deep
silence preceding the opening of service
reigned in the house. Then advancing
so the pulpit edge, with stone in each
hand, he cried, in loud commanding
voice, my friend calling him by name)
has lost valuable axe. 1t was stolen
from him. The eye of God is in every
place. / see the thief before me in the
audience, and 1 am about to hufl this
stone (poising the missile in the
air. at his head He accompanied his
words with a quick, emphatic gesture,
and stOut-built, rough man in the
thrOng lodged his head instantly to one
side to escape the expected shot. There's
your thief Dow shouted to his friend,
go and get your axe
"Dow carried ON his journey a medi-
cine that was called 'DOw's Physic' 1t
was an excellent remedy for number
of complaints, and the old man sold it
as he Travelled, thereby realizing suffi-
cient profit to meet the trifiing expenses
of his peregrinations.
"He died in Alexandria, Va, at ripe
age, of the effects of exposure in the dis
charge of his ministerial duties"