The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1882-08-17

ner jest as much, ef he is church mem
Der. e see, wife she alters reads chap
ter to the children, every night; she has
ever sence the first one was big enough
to listen. | used ter 60 to sleep in my
cheer at tust, and | expect she thinks
donow, but ha'n't, this good many year
| got kinder Gurus to see what twas in
the Bible she set sech store by. Well
now | tell We, that Bible beats all for
what folks call common sense ; and it
lays down, plain as daylight at noon
spell, that Christians Is folks that act
like Christ Why, I've got an apple tree
on my hill-lot, a good-lookin', CROWN
tree, thet blossoms out, come spring
time, with the biggest, beautifullest bios
SONS ever ye see the amt another sech
blowth on the hull farm; but come to
bearln' time it ha'nt got n0thin' to show
but the sneakinest kind of natyye apples,
they amt good for cider. Now that tree
amt a good un. How dye know why
by the use ont. Apple trees thets all
blow is like folks thet's all talk and per
ieSShun; you've got to see what it comes
to fore you know if its wuth hayn'
Now, thet'S jest exactly what Scripter
says: a tree is known by its fruits and
long as I've listened to Almiry's readin'
ha'n't never heered nOthin' at all about
believin' in doctrines and maxim perfesh-
uns buin' the way to be saved it keeps a
sayip' believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, ,
and hen Love thy neighbor as thyself
SO fur as sense it, that's gospel. Christ
is the beginmn' and end ont; b'lievin' in
Him to save You, and then tryin' to be
like Him becos' He's ben 50 good to You,
you want materially to do suthin to please
Him"
Mr.. King came at this moment from
the farther end of the store, where lie
had listened attentvely to the controver-
sy. "Mr. Simons," said he, II thank you
heartily for your sermon; it couldn't
have been better: and there is only the
conclusion left which you have forgotten,
can't y0u believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ Z"
The old farmer drew his rough hand
across his eyes, turned his head away
and walked out Of the store. He could
not say anything, but his wife found him
on his knees when she went into the bed
room that night, and though she too was
4 speechess she knclt down beside him
and silently thanked her Master The
\ rest Of that audience in the store dropped
| the subject, and went their various ways
| Squire l'etugreW, when he left them, fin
| iShed bis errunds in the village. united
| his old horse, scrambled into the pung
and went bis way hOmeWard. 1t was Il
| splendid December night the hills about
| Thomson were clothed with dazzling ley
els Of snow, even the road lay white be
fore him, and overhead the dark blue SKY
was set thick with golden sparks: Orion
marched above the eastern hill-tops, and
the bright evening planet Just rested on
the summit of West Ledge a fir crowned
precipiee above the valley where Thom-
sonIesS Village nestled.
But Square PettigreW did not notice
the fair creation about him. He was
very uneasy; never before had his own
conduct been set up before him ii this
| fashion. Like all the rest of us he had
excused his own sins with the sophstry
| of sinners. and smOUthed his feathers bY
contrasting himself with people who did
not even pretend to be good. He was Il
man of small intellect and less heart, but
with an educated conscience which he 0W-
ed to his birth in New England and sub
sequent home education. The economy
necessary to poor farmer had With him
| degcnerated INTO a furious greed for mon
eN; not to spend, not to enjoy, not to
| give to those who had ii not, but to hoard
/ toInVest, to Increase, to plume himself up
on secretly, and to elevate him in the eyes
of the little world about him, that lie
might be called fore handed, thrifty, pros
porous, and perhaps in time be sent to
| tba 1atric . In To- n, :
en-, but he did not see vet that Heaven
would not he Heavenly to him unless it
was a place where he could increase his
| store and lay up treasure that was tang
| ible
As he rode along tonight he felt hurt
and angry; he had for one flashing instant
seen himself as others saw him. and his
selt-love writhcd at the spectacle. But
with all his faults he was honest at heart :;
| he had deceived himself SO gradually that,
like a man losing eyesght, he had long
been unaware of his darkness. As he
| rode on under that solemn illumination
OF God, with bare wastes OF cold and steep
| stretching on either hand. some power
| that was outside OF bis angry cOnci0usness
seemed to say: "Can these things be ?t'
and the awakening integrity within him
| dared not answer Slowly the tired old
| horse logged up the long hillside. The very
| gait Of the creature, his gaunt outline
and rough hide, told of poor feeding and
little care; but the man behind him did
not listen to the creeking SNOW, the dull
sound Of heavy hoots, the intermittent
jingle of the rusted bells. His head was
| full of texts that crowded and sWarmed
into his brain with the celebrity and sting
of a swarm Of bees.
Squire Pettigrew had read the Bible
aloud great deal, officially you might
say. He read it to his Sunday school
class, and held long controversies with
them about the meaning Of Melchsedec
| and his brief history the sins Of job the
Levitical laws; and certain dubious
opinions concerning election; the unpar
donable sin; the duty of Christians con-
cerning the matter worldly amusements,
and whether Paul really knew Onesimus
was black or indeed fhe really was black
He also read it at family prayers every
day. 1t was not for love of its wonder
| ful loVellneSs and lofty beauty, but because
| he thought il was duty but yet he read
it, and now the dull page Of his memory
! gloWeti under such a light us struck down
Saul on the way to Damascus, and show
| ed him such words as these Glove your
enemies; ''Give to every man that ask
eth of thee "a good tree bringeth not
forth corrupt fruit; "Some fell among
thorns and the thorns sprang up with it
and choked it,; $50 is he that layeth up
treasure for himself, and is not rich before
Cod "Nhen thou makest feast call
the poor, the mamcd the lame, the blind";
"They that have done good unto the re-
surrectlon Of life, and they that have done
evil unto the resurrection Of damnation"; ;
"Belcve Me for the very works sake" ;
'Herein is My Father glorifed, that ye
bear much fruit; and it seemed to him
a hundred others of the like sort.
Like one in dream he reached the
door of his barn, put the horse out, fed it,
went into the house, conducted prayers,
and went to bed :; a little more silent than
usual, for he was never a genial or agree
| able man in his home and his wifa thouuht