News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-06-08
A LITTLE MISTAKE,
Why the Call was Declined-Mis-
sOuriS Pet,

Rev. Mr.. Curtis, a young Baptist
minister who visited Missouri last week,
says the New York Times, had an idea
of the estimation in which Missourians
hold the late Mr.. James. Mr.. Curtis
resides in Chicago, but as he is search
ing for field of usefulness, he accepts
invitations to preach whenever he re-
ceives them. Sunday, in response to an
invitation from the Baptist congregation
of East Solomon, Mo-, he preached in
that place, and being anxious to receive
"call," he wrote an entirely new and
very eloquent sermon.
About two weeks before Mr.. Curtis's
appearance at East Solomon the Bap-
lists of the western part of Missouri
had sustained serious loss. An aged
preacher of that denomination, who was
widely revered for his p1ety and I'M
selfish devotion, had just died. Mr..
Curtis thought it would be a good idea
to preach a sermon setting forth the
virtues of the dead minister and urging
people to initiate his example. Accord
ingly, he wrote very eloquent dis
course full of beautiful illusions to the
| departed saint, and felt it would show a
great lack of taste if the congregation
did not request a copy for publication.
When the time for preaching his SER
mon came, Mr.. Curtis found the meet
ing-house we'll filed, and the moment
| hn - 1
loss that Missouri had lately sustained
he was conscious that he had the COM
plete attention of his audience. Greatly
encouraged he proceeded to speak with
real eloquence of Sour dear departed
brother" He assured his hearers that
he had known him well, and that a
nobler man had never lived since the
days of the Apostle Paul.
He said that the dead man had been
often misunderstood during his life
time; that wicked men had prosecuted
him, and that there were even those
who rejoiced over his death but that
he had lived truly heroic life, and had
never been driven an iuch from his
course by his enemies. Warming with
his subject, Mr.. Curtis praised the
bravery, the unselfshness, and the
purity of the lamented minister. In
conclusion he urged his hearers to imi-
tate the example he had set before them,
to despise the sneers of a cold and
wicked world, and to leave behind them
regulations as pure and noble as that Of
Missouri's hero and saint.
At the end OF the service Mr.. Curtis
was waited upon by the greater part OF
the congregation and warmly thanked
for his eloquent and fearless sermon.
The elders held an informal meeting and
agreed to give him an immediate ''call, y
with a salary of twelve hundred dollars,
and the boys of the Sunday school asked
him to repeat his sermon to them on
Sunday evening, when-as the Superin-
tendent assured Mr.. Curtis-there would
be collection taken up for the benefit
of Mrs. James and her children.
Mr.. Curtis accepted these compli-
ments blushingly, and said that he was
glad to find that the congregation knew
who was the dead brother to whom he
referred. You bet we know him,
replied the leading Elder. "There
wasn't man, nor boy, nor woman
here this morning who didn't know
that you was preaching about Jesse
James, and didn't admire you for the
plucky way in which you did it.
Mr.. Curtis returned to Chicago on
Monday morning, having declined the
call to East Solomon, and learned that
Missourians are a peculiar people.