Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-07-09

Saturday night the church assem-
bled again. The cheerful eagerness
was gone from their faces; they
looked downcast, troubled, weary
as the pastor expected. When the
box for ballots was passed about,
each one tore bit of paper from the
sheet placed in the hymn books for
that purpose, and wrote name on
it. The pastor said after he had
counted them, "Deacon Emmons,
the lot has fallen on YOU
aI'm sorry for't,' said the deacon,
rising up and taking off his overcoat.
II ha'n't got the best of records,
Mr.. Parkes, now tell ye.''
s'That isn't what we want,' said
Mr.. Parkes. ''We want to know
the whole experience of some one
among us, and we know you will not
tell us either more or less than what
you did experience"
Deacon Emmons was short,
thick-set man with a shrewd, kindly
face and gray hair, who kept the
village store and had a well-earned
reputation for honesty.
"Well, BRETHREN" he said, 81 dun
no why I shouldn't tell it. am
pretty well ashamed of myself, no
doubt, but l ought to be and maybe
I shall profit by what I've found out
these six days back. I'll tell you
just as it come.
"Monday, looked about me to
begin with. 1 am amazing fond of
coffee, and it amt good for me, the
doctor says it amt; but dear me, it
does set a man up good, cold morn
ings, to have cup of hot, sweet,
tasty drink, and I haven't had the
GRIT to refuse! / knew it made me
what folks call cross and nervous be-
fore night comes; and | knew it
fetched on spells of low spirits, when
our folks couldn't get word out of
me-not a good one anyway; so [
thought I'd try on that to begin with.
| tell you it come hard / hankered
after that drink of coffee dreadful !
Seemed as though l couldn't eat my
breakfast without it. | feel to pity
a man that loves liquor, morn | ever
did in my life before but / feel
sure they can stop it, if they'll try,
for I've stopped, and I'm going to
stay stopped.
"Well, come to dinner, there was
another fight. do set by pie the
most of anything. I was fetched up
on pie, as you may say. Our folks
always had it three times day, and
the doctor he's been talkin' and talk
in to me about eatin' pie. / have
the dyspepsy like everything, and it
makes me useless by spells, and un-
reliable as weather cock. An DR..
Drake, he says there won't nothing
help me but diet. / was reading in
the Bible that morning while / sat
waiting for breakfast, for was Mon
day morning, and wife was kind of
set back with washing and all, and
l come acrost that part where it says
that the bodies of Christians are tenn
Piles of the Holy Ghost. Well,
thinks 1, we'd ought to take care of
'em, if they be, and see that they're
KEEP clean and pleasant, like the
church (nobody can be clean nor
pleasant that has dyspepsy). But,
come to pie, felt as though | could
not and, 10 ye, l didn't / eat a
piece right against my conscience ;
facin' what knew ought to do, l
went and done what l ought not to
do. tell ye my conscience made
music of me considerable, and / said
then | wouldn't never sneer at a
drinking man no more, when he slip
ped up. I'd feel for him an help
him, for see just how it was. So
that days practice give out, but it
learnt me a good deal morn / knew
before.
81 started out next day to look up
my Bible class. They haven't really
tended up to Sunday school as they
ought to along back, but l was busy
here and there, and there didn't seem
to be a real chance to get to it.
Well, 'twould take the evenin' to tel
it all, but | found one real sick, been
bed for three weeks, and was sc
glad to see me that / felt fairly
ashamed. Seemed as though | heer-
ed the Lord for the first time sayin
'Inasmuch as ye did it not to one OF
the least of these, ye did it not tc
me- Then another mans old moth
er says to me, before he comes il
from the she'd, says she, He's beer
a sayin' that if people practiced wha
they preached you'd ha' come roun(
to look him up afore now, but ht
reckoned you kinder looked down OF
mill hands. I'm awful glad yol
come Brethren, so eCas I. / tel
you that days work done me good
/ got a poor opinion of Josiah En-
mons, now l tell ye, but [ learned
; more about the Lords wisdom than
month of Sundays ever showed me.
A smile he could not repress pass
2 ed over Mr.. Parkes' earnest face
< The deacon had forgotten all extern
al issues in coming so close to tn
, heart of things but the smile passe,
e as he said, ssBrother Emmons, d