The Northern Pacific farmer., 1881-10-20
'sIn the Original"

A good story is told Of person who was
preaching as y candidate in little town in
the northern part of this state. The church
folks were somewhat pretentious people,
by no means learned, yet puffed up with an
unwarranted idea of their own attainments
They wanted scholarly pastor. Before
starting for the place, the candidate met an
old clerical friend who had some experience
in the same noighborhood, and who advised
him to Give them some Latin and Greek;
it will tickle their vanity, and they'll put
you down for very smart man." There
was little difficulty in the way of the min
ister's giving his hearers dose of Latin and
Greek, for he knew no more of either Ian
guage than the people he was to preach to.
But he was native of Wales, and spoke
Welsh as we'll as he did English, though
these two were the only languages he knew
anything about. When he got nicely into
his sermon, he introduced little passage
of scripture, and said: "The passage breth-
rem, has been slightly altered in the trans
lation. It is only in the original
Hebrew that you can grasp it's full
meaning. I will read it to you in He
brew, 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. I"
faces of his hearers that he had made hit,
came upon another Scripture passage that
could not be correctly rendered in English.
This passage, said he, "has to be read in
the original, to be appreciated. In all the
languages there is none know in which
the meaning can be SO well expressed as
in Greek. I will read you 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
a little more Welsh. Everything was 60
ing along smoothly and the minister, as
he approached the end of his sermon,
thought he would give them just one
more taste of the dead languages.
Il am about to read you, " said be.
another of those 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 congregation, he saw seated near
the door jolly looking man, who was hold
ing his sides tight to keep from bursting
with laughter. The minister took in 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 tie congregation. But not a
feature in the minister's face changed.
Fixing his eyes straight upon the laughing
man, just as the congregation thought he
was about to give them the Chaldaic ver-
sion, he said again in Welsh, "For Gods
sake, my friend, don't say word about
this till have 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 languages was just the man for
them.