Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-01-20

49, ANAA NOANAGa W ANNhEls III OAQ
man not noted for piey but for great
kindness Of heart, entered the church
and took his place among the darky
enthusiasts. He paid strict attention
and | could see that my words were
having great effect on him. l de
scended from the pulpit, approached
the old man, and while the negroes
we're bowling around me, spoke d.
reotly to him. His eyes became moist
and tears began to run down my face.
| had reached the end of my sermon,
but | jumped back to the middle Of
the awful harAngue and ratified away
The old man sank upon his knees and
exclaimed:
"Oh Lord, what a wretched sinner
| have been. | have drunk whisky
and played cards within the sound Of
the gospel. Do not send me to hell.
oh, | beseech Thee. Give me one
more chance"
"'You have a son John, | said, re-
ferring to myself, who is wicked.
"'0h yes, Lord, he duplicated, /
have the d-dest son, excuse me, Lord.
in the world
Bear with him, l said, he will
come around all right
"'No, d-di if he-excuse me, Lord
will, for | have tried him hundreds Of
times. Oh, Lord, do what you please
with John, but so far as | am concerned
keep me out Of hell
MY SHINING friend l said, kneel-
ing beside him, you must save your
son, if possible. Have you anything,
any animal-a horse, for instance that
he wants.
Yes, oh, Lord He wants every.
thing I've got. He wants my black
horse
"'Give it to him
81 can't. l wouldn't take 500 for
Kim
"'Then your soul is in danger, for
so long as you cling to the goods aud
chattles Of this earth your soul is sail
ing toward hell
I'D ii-excuse mel allow a
niger to talk to Inc this way be ex>
claimed, attempting to arise. Igently
pushed him back, telling him it was
true that | was a negro, humble and
lowly, but that | was doing my Mas
ter's work aud could spare no man.
Give the horse to the young man and
| will pray for you. Do not ride into
torment on a horse, you are getting
old and according to the laws Of ma
ture you cannot live much longer
1.-The devil | can't he moaned;
I'm not but iity-six and | have
Known men to live a hundred years
But they were good | replied
and their days,it was intended should
be long upon the land Give the boy
the horse and | have no doubt but
that you will live to be ninety years
old and finally escape the terrible jaws
Of hell
"'lll do it, he exclaimed. John
shall have the horse
Give me a written pledge | said,
producing pencil and paper. He did
so, aud | began to pray for him. old
gentleman said l., after praying
awhile, L can see the spirit working
On you. Light is coming. There is 4
glimmer in the east. [ continued.
giving him choice little extracts from
my volume: 'Thesun is rising Soon
its joyous rays will dry up the dew.
drop tears Of a weeping night. Open
the doors Of your heart. Do not let
the spirit knosk in vain. Agonize Tor
the faith. The light i, growing
brighter. | feel that your sins are
forgiven. See the fash from the sun
as it shines over the New Jerusalem.
There it is again
"'AmeDl exclaimed the old man.
Nov you are getting there,'I con-
tinued. Another pull and we are out
of the mire. All together now. The
sun is blazing
"'Whoop-eel' howled the old zen
tleman, arising and grasping me. L
am saved; the devil can't lay his
clutches on me-" and he danced around
with remarkable agility for an old
man. By this time the entire con
gregation was shouting. 1t was
a pandemonium; it was worse than
that. The old man went around
among the negroes. intoxicated
with an excitement which he at the
time firmly believed was religion. It
was with difficulty that | stole away
Black and blue in many places from
the brotherly tbumps and punches |
had received, l washed myself and
went To bed.
Next morning | was awakened by
my fathers voice. He sat 10 an ad-
joining room singing. When l en-
tered the room he said:
John, | have experienced a change
Of heart. You ought to have been at
church last night. We had the
d-dest time-that is, | mean VIC had
a hill Of a time. l don't mean that
either. | mean that l proiessed re-
ligiOn and shouted like church mem.
Der
~ went TO bed very early l re
piled, or | should have been present
By the way, | had a curious dream.
| dreamed that q negro came to me
and told me that you were going TO
give me the black horse. | told him
that l didn't believe it, and | thought
he took out a promise, signed by you,
that the horse should be mine. | put
the paper in my pocket, | thought
what's this2 BY George, father, here
is the identical paper,
The old man examined the paper
and was s~peechless with amusement.
His eyes shone with a strange light,
and putting his arms around me, he
said
"'JOhn, my poor boy, the horse is
yours. Your poor mother wanted
that horse before she died, but |
wouldn't even let.her claim him. Take
him and do what you will with him.
John, you ought to experience a
cbsngei you are getting old enough to