St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-02
SAM JONES.

The attention of all readers of the GLOBE
who desire to become familiar with the
quaint style of preaching of the most sim
guiar and most remarkable pulpit orator
that this country has ever produced is called
to the verbatim report of a sermon deiiv-
cred by the Rev. SAN JONES last Wednes-
day morning at the High Bridge camp meet
ing near Lexington, Ky. SAM JONES, who
is sort of DAvY CROCKETT in ministe-
rial garb, is said to resemble MARK TWAIN
in personal appearance, and breaches like
TWAIN lectures in the most free and easy
way imaginable. He takes the audience
into his confidence, DULLES them, badgers
them, and pokes fun and satire at them in
equal proportions. He can drop humor for
sarcasm in q moment. As an illustration
of how the reverend humOrist can blend
fun, truth and satire at meeting where he
thought that sufficient interest was not
being manifested, he arose in the
pulpit and exclaimed, I'D as soon 90
to a negro minstrel show as to camp meet
ing where there are no conversions. The
one is the devils show and the other is
religious fraud. There are too many relig-
ious frauds around here" When the regu-
lar pastor in charge at the conclusion of the
morning sermon in his address to parents on
the duty of giving their children religious
training. requested all who wished to bring
up their children as Christians to stand up,
and only three responded. he remarked that
the crowd was too hard for him and he
would turn it over to SAM JONES. The
great evangelist was equal to the occasion.
Looking at the congregation in the most
contemptuous way in the world, he eX-
claimed: ''JEsUs CHRIST amt i'm a mile of
this crowd. He hasn't been here, and he
Amt comm unless you change your ways.
You ought TO be ashamed of yourself, every
one of you, preachers and all. Here's big
camp-meetin' been goin' on nearly two
weeks, and you amt done nothin'. Why,
his is just a religious farce. The LORD
forgive us if we keep it up. Now, tell
you, We'll hold special service here at
o'clock in the mOTnin. an / want you all
to come to it. If you can't, just pick up
your skillets and rack out. Buy your tick
cts, an if you amt got the money. come to
Inc an I'll buy 'em for you. If you don't
go, will, as sure's my names SAM JONES'"
When the O'clock service came around
everybody in reach of the camp ground was
there
Notwithstanding his bad grammar there
is a freshness about the Georgia revivalist
which would captivate old LNDLEY MUIR
RAY himself. His solecisms fit gracefully
into his other originaities. lie is originality
itself. and cannot fail to please either
scholar or philosopher. His humor and ee-
centric manner are not the result of affecta-
ton. A correspondent of the Courier
Journal, who has been to hear him preach,
says that he has perpetual flow of spirits
The same correspondent says: I'm the
pulpit SAM JOKES acts as carelessly as he
talks. But, mark you. he can throw off this
Indifference in an instant aud become all
FIRE and elOQuence. Then the thin face be-
comes TRANSPORTED. his form becomes grace
full. and his words have the feeling and
power Of the great actor. On the stage he
would be wonderful. for his ordinary care
lessness is an admirable foil TO the earnest
ness which he always assumes when he
makes a telling point. lie talks slowly, but
he is the hardest man have ever tried TO re-
port, ON account of his peculiar phraseology.
About every third sentence contains curl
Gus idea in a Whimsical setting. To change
the wording takes out all the life. but no
verbatim report would reproduce half the
effect of the words as he delivers them.n