Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-05-21
MINT1vG A TEXT.

1
The good pastor was known
among his perhaps envious breth
rem as a sensational preacher
One day while be was sitting in
bis study, immersed in thought,
with heap Of crumpled news.
papers on the floor beside him,
Deacon Bullit came in. After a
few preliminary remarks, the pas
tor said:
Built, l want subject for my
next Sundays sermon, and l can t
think Of a thing. Can you sug-
gest q theme:'
Il don't kQow,' said the deacon,
rejecting.
I've been through the whole OF
that pile Of newspapers, telegraph
columns, even the advertising
columns, and there is nothing
striking among them
lets see; you:preached against
the Mormons three weeks ago;
that was the Sunday / was
away.
There's nothing in that. I've
gone for the Mormons twice
since last Fall. Then, you know,
| preached last Sunday about the
big railroad accident at Dunk.
ards Greek, and in the afternoon
l had a discourse about the snow
storm.
Nothing more III the Guiteau
case, is there!'
No, the people are tired of it.
Three sermons on that subject
are as much as they can stand.
DO you think ! could stir things
up with another discourse pitch
ing into City Councils,or, say, the
management of the water works.
I don't know. Maybe you
might. The last time you went for
Councils the church was crowd
ed; all the counilmen came and
tho collection was the largest
since New Years.
But / couldn't repeat that story
about the colored man and the
mule, could l? That was the best
thing in the sermon, I think
1T brought down the house,
that's certain.
Laughed, didn't they? But /
couldn't tell it again, and so l
guess l won't take up the Councils.
/ have half a notion to discuss
the Panama Canal question. DO
you think the people would feel IN
interest in that? ] might preach
about the Panama Canal in the
morning and about the smallpox
epidemic in the evening. The
spread of the smallpox interests
everybody
Yes; but why not devote the
sermon chiefly to the history AID
value Of vaccinationf'
1T might answer. Nobody
knows how hard it is to find fresh
aud interesting subjects. Things
happen so inconveniently. just as
likely as not there will be a big
fire in the city late Saturday night,
after my two sermons arc written,
aud when it will be too late 10
write another with the fire as a
theme
you could extemporize about
| it,
But not 30 well: not so well.
By the way, Built, have you,
heard the rumors that Cashier
Smith of the Tenth National Bank
is q defaulter?'
Il believe there ore reports
Of that kind afloat.
| That would be . lively theme!
Suppose I take it up in q general
sort of q way, and make it ssnsa-
tional? That might do for the
morning, and then l could give
| q blast at the variety theatres in
L
the evening. OrI could devote my
evening sermon to the tariff, aud
the morning one, to the balloon
expedition to the North Pole.
You would be surprised how lit
tie help / get from the newspa'
pers. A man may skim over TIFF
~ without finding q single theme
that will draw . full house and
excite the curiosity Of the con-
gregation.'
Have you looked anywhere but
in the newspapersf'
/ sN.n-no! Excepting in the Re
port Of the Board of Trade and il
: couple of the Reviews
Didn't refer to the Bible, o
course?'
/ We'll, I'll tell ron, deacon, th,
people are tired Of Scriptural sub
iects. They want something
novel and exciting. OF course. I
seems . little queer to throw tn
Bible over; but = man has Z
meet popular expectation aad IN.
theory il, to reach sinners one
way, il you can't reach them tn
other. That's sound, isn't it,
Before the deacon left. thu
pastor had it arranged to preacl
Al AAet>a y