The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-02-19
THE ORIGINAL TONGUE.
A CLERGYMAN WHO WAS EQUAL To ANY
LANGUAGE, DEAD OR ALIVE.

When party Of ciergymen get togeth-
er, with not too many laymen within
hearing, they sometimes become as mer-
~ party as SO many members OF any
other profession. The clergymen of
! New York, as rule, are not to be beaten
in the telling of good story. A num-
Der of them were gathered together one
evening last week, when one member of
the party told an anecdote Of minister
III search Of charge that is certainly
worth presenting as a good story, and,
| perhaps, as an example of how such
things are sometimes done. This minis
ter had been invited to preach as a can
! didate in little rural church in northern
| Pennsylvania, where the members, al
though only On a par with most distant
country churches, liked to fatter them
selves that they were ''pretty well post
ed Before starting for the place, the
minister met an old clerical friend, who
had had some experience in the same
neighborhood, and who advised him to
"GIve them some Latin and Greek; it
will tickle their vanity, and they'll set
| you down for very smart man"
There was little difficulty in the way
Of the minister's giving his hearers a
dose Of the Latin and Greek, for he
knew no more of either language than
the people he was to preach to. But he
was equal to the emergency. He was
native of Wales, and spoke Welsh as well
as he did English, though these two
were the only languages he knew any
thing about. When he had got nicely
| into his sermon, he introduced a little
passage of Scripture, and said ''This
passage, brethren, has been slightly al
tered in the translation. It is only in
! the original Hebrew that you can grasp
its full meaning. I will read it to you
in Hebrew, so that you may comprehend
it more exactly" and he gave them the
passage in very good Welsh. The old
deacons looked at each other, and nodded
approval, as though they would say
''That's the stuff; that's the kind of thing
we want"
| Presently the minister who saw by the
faces CT his hearers that he had made
hit, came upon another Scripture pas
sage that could not be correctly rendered
in English. ''This passage" said he,
''has to be read in the original to be APP
preciated. In all the languages, there
| is none know in which tho meaning oan
be SO well expressed as in Greek. / will
read you the verse in Creek" and again
he gave them long Welsh sentence.
Again the deacons nodded approvingly,
and before long the minister found it
necessary to read a verse in Latin, $50
that his hearers might understand it
thoroughly" and gave them little more
! Welsh.
Everything was going along smoothly,
and the minister. as he approached the
end of his sermon, thought he would
| just give them one more taste Of the dead
| languages. 'sI am about to read you, !"
said he, another passage on this subject.
| But it is another of these passages that
have been altered in the translation, and
[ will read it to you in the Chaldaic In
which it was written He was just
about to give them little more Welsh,
when, casting his eye over the congrega-
ton, he saw seated near the door jolly
looking man, who was holding his sides
tight to keep from busting with laughter.
| The minister took III the situation in an
instant Here was man in the church
who understood Welsh, and who was
laughing at the trick that had been
played upon the congregation. But not
feature in the minister's face changed.
Fixing his eyes straight upon the laugh
ing man, just as the congregation thought
he was about to give them the Chaldaic
version, he said again in Welsh:
''For Gods sake, my friend, don't say
@ word about this till I have a chance to
talk with you"
The congregation went home satisfied
that they had listened to one of the most
learned of sermons the laughing man
never told the story, and the minister
was soon settled over the church, the
people believing that clergyman who
could read the Scriptures in five Ian
guages was just the maD for them.