The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-03-25
THE ORIGINAL TONGUE.
a Clergyman Who Was Equal to
Any Language, Dead or Alive.

a Clergyman Who Was Equal to
Any Language, Dead or Alive.
New York World.
When a party of clergymen get
together, with not too many laymen
within hearing, they sometimes be-
come as merry as a party OF so
many members of any other pro
fession. The clergymen of New
York, as a rule, are not to be beat
en- In the telling of a good story
A number OF them were gathered
together one evening last week,
when one member of the party told
an anecdote of n minister in search
of a charge that is certainly worth
presenting as a good story, and,
perhaps, as an example of how such
things are sometimes done. This
minister had been invited to preach
as a candidate in little rural church
in northern Pennsylvania, where
the members, although on a par
with the most distant country
churches, liked to flatter themselves
that they were "pretty well posted"
Before starting the minister met an
old clerical friend, who had some
experience in the same neighbor-
hood, and who advised him to"giye
them some Latin and Greek-it
will tickle their vanity, and they'll
set you down as a very smart man"
There was little difficulty in the
way of the minister's giving his
hearers Cose of Latin and Greek,
for he knew no more of either Ian.
guage than the people he was to
preach to. But he was equal to the
emergency. He was a native Of
Wales, and spoke Welch as well
as he did English, though these
two were the only languages he
knew anything about. When he
had got well into his sermon he in
troduced a little passage of Script
ure, and said: "This passage, breth-
rem, has been slightly altered in the |
translation. 1t is only in the origi- |
nal Hebrew that you can grasp Its |
full meaning. will read it to you !
in Hebrew, so that you may com
prehend it more exactly" And he |
gave them the passage in good |
Welch. The old deacons looked at
each other and nodded approval, as
though they would say: "Thst's
the stuff; that's the kind OF thing
Ve want"
Presently, the minister, who saw
by the faces OF his hearers that he
had made a hit, came upon another
passage of Scripture that could not
be correctly rendered in English.
"This assage," said he, "hss to
be read in the original to be appre
ciated. In all the languages know
there is none in which the meaning
can be so well expressed as in the
Greek. will read you the verse
in Greek" And again he gave
them a long Welch sentence. Again
the deacons nodded approvingly,
and before long the minister found
it necessary to read a verse in Lat
in, $50 that his hearers might un-
derstand it thoroughly" and he
gave them little more Welch.
Everything was going along very |
smoothly, and the minister, as he |
approached the end of his sermon
thought he would give them just
one more taste of the dead Ian
guages. 81 am about TO read TO
you," he said, "another passage on
this subject. But it is another of
those passages that have been al
tered in the translation, and / will
read it to you in the Chaldaic, in
which it was written" He was just
about to give them a little more
Welch, when, casting his eyes over /
the congregation, he saw seated
near the door a jolly looking man,
VINO was holding mis- sides to keep
from bursting with laughter. The
minister took in the situation at a
glance. Here was n man in the
church who understood Welch, and
who was laughing at the trick that
lad been played upon the congre-
cation. But not a feature in the
countenance changed.
Fixing his eyes straight upon the
nan, just as the congregation sup
posed he was about to give them
he Chaldaic version, he said again
n Welch:
"For Gods sake, my friend, don't
Jay word about this until have I
.hance to talk with YOU"
TIE congregation went home sat
SIZED that they had listened to |
-ery learned sermon, the laughing
nan never told the story, and the
minister was soon settled over the G
congregation, the people believing
hat clergyman who could read 7
he Scripture in five languages was !
ust the man for them. !