St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-05-26
THE MINISTER AT sCRAGG END.

Scragg End suddenly awoke to the
knowledge that it was village. Hlth-
.erto it had chung to the skirts OF Ponk-
apawket, and had never thought OF the
possibility of separate existence. The
soil was poor in that part of the town,
and it had been a hard struggle to
wiring a living from it; the place was
unhealthy, too, and ''as pindlin' as
.Scragg- Ender' was household saying
in Ponkapawket. Nobody had seemed
to prosper or to have much ambition:
They were not accused ofbeing s.slack
or shiftless- they were handwriting
people-but they .sneyer seemed to get
ahead Some people thought there
was depressing influence in the name,
and had made a move, to change IT;
there seemed to be no especial propri-
ETY. in retaining it, now that the Scragg
family, for whom it was named, and
who were the first settlers, had all died
off. except Benny Visty,,' the sea-
Captains daughter, who was married
out of the name. But still the name
chung to the place. Although several
romantic names were suggested, such
as Laurel Bank and Primrose Plain, the
inhabitants would call it nothing but
,Scragg End, and Scragg End it seemed
likely to remain until the end of time.
They had a school at Scragg End at
certain seasons of the year, because
Ponkapawket built them school-house,
and appropriated to their use a certain
part OF the school money, but they did
all their shopping in PonkapaWket, and
relied upon that village for those serV-
ants of society generally regarded as in
T .dispensable, the doctor. the lawyer and
the minister. Rather strangely, it was
the want Of the aforementioned OF these
servants that awoke Scragg End to a
sense of its rights.
Old Mis- Crichett, who had been in
i'll health for several months, suddenly
discovered that she had q spine in he1
back, and was not long for this world,
and wanted Gospel privileges before she
died. Miss ANGELA Lawton, who was held
in hieh esteem because her father had
been the minister of PonkapaWket, de,
4clared that she didn't think Mr.. Ericsson,
the present minister OF Ponkap :a''1
who now and then preached in the
<Seragg End sehool-house on a Sunday
afternoon or evening. was spiritual,
because he wore ring on his. finger
and she /" didn't feel to sit under" him
any more. And good old Mrs. Sim
mons, who walked all the way to Ponk.
apawket to church every pleasant Sun.
day. said shes had always known thai
4 .euntil it was watered by. the droppings
of the sanctuary, scragg End would moi
prosper
And Scragg End suddenly decided
that instead Of occasional preaching by
the Ponkapawket minister, it was en-.
titled to "a stated supply No longer
would it 60 without regular Gospe
privileges. "
Adonlram Hewitt, whose father hac
been a deacon, was deputed to make
application to the proper authorities in
fiat denomination to which Scragg Enc
almost universally belonged for min
lister to supply the Scragg End pulpit,
or rather the school desk until church
should be built ~ @
Adoniram Hewitt received an encour
:zaoine answer to his application. A yer,
earnest and talented young preacher
lately graduated from a theological
seminary, would at once be sent Il
Some Of the older people demurred :
little; they 9 didn't think much OF prem
tice hands," but the people generally
thought young minister was mucl
more interesting
Interest and curiosity were at thei
HEIGHT ii Scragg End on the day Whel
Lysander Hewitt, Adoniram's son
drove over to Ponkapawket station t.
a,rino back the new minister. Innum