Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-08-21
SAM JONES, WHO is WkkIhG UP
CHURCHES.
His Sudden Change Of Habits-Aban-
doning A Career of Dissipation, He
Goes Into the Church.

plain house not fully paid for, to re.
fuse the gift of a ten-thousand.dollar
house in large city, and yet that
is what Sam Jones did the other
day in Nashville. And who Is
Sam Jonesf
Written on the Conference min
utes it reads :-'Samuel Parkes
Jones, Agent Orphans Home but
nobody writes him reverend and
everybody calls him Sam. He is
thirty.six years old, was born in
Alabama, was brought up in Geor-
gia. His father was a lawyer aud
his mother sensible, Intelligent
and excellent woman. Sam was
prccocious boy. He was always
ready for a lively time, a dog'fight,
a fsticun, fishing frolic or a speech.
When he was five years old he was
booked for a speech at a school ex-
hibition. He ended his speech with
the prophecy:
Some day you'll hear 10 thunder tones
The famous name Of Sammy Jones.
lie went to the best schools and
took in what he learned by absorp-
ton. Nobody saw him study, but
he knew more than any of his fell
lows. The teachers loved him,
laughed at him and lathered him.
He was full of mischief, and was
about sixteen years old when he
began to fall into bad ways. He
was no vagabond, never gambler,
a thief or a coward, but he would
get on sprees, much to the grief OF
his good father and mother.
A BRIEFLEss LAWYER.
His father took him into his Of
fee and Sam soon was IS. 2. Jones,
Esq, Attorney-at Law He had
no practice and no money, but he
met bright Kentucky girl and
married her. He ran an engine
and drove a dray to make living.
One day Sam, who was employed
in running an engine which was
connected with an orecrusher at q
furnace, was much annoyed by
those who fed the crusher putting
| pieces of rock into the hopper and
| throwing the whole of the ma
chinery ont of gear. Sam declared
very emphatically his intention to
knock the head off the next man
who did it. 1t was done directly,
and by a burly Irishman. Sam
seized hammer and knocked the
| Irishman down. Next day as Sam
was coming from his Ecabin and in
an open space, some distance from
every one, stood his antagonist oil
the preceding day.
'Ye struck me Yesterday, said
Pat; mo mon ever strikes me onct
who does not strike me again
'Now, Pat said Sam, 'we are
about even. You did what | told
you not to do, and | knocked you
as said | would; do not bear
malice let's drop the matter
| lATHREAT THAT PROVED BFFEcTUAL.
| But the Irishman declared his
determination to have fight then
and there. The Irishman had only
one eye. Sam looked at him with
perfect coolness.
pat he said, 81 don't want to
fight you. | can't; you could whip
me in a minute; but tell you
what | will do:-you've got but
one eye, and if you lay your hand
on me, sure as you are living | will
gouge your eye out, and you will
| be as blind as q bat
That settled it. Pat knew his
man, and muttering, The man
that will gouge is coward, left
Sam alone.
One day Captain Jones fell SICK
and in a little while the prodigal
Sam stood beside a dying father
He was broken with remOrse. The
father died and a great change
came over Sam. He gave up his
bad habits, and in two weeks he
was getting ready to preach. That
fall | saw him for the first time--a
sallow, thin.faced slouchy little
fellow, with a keen black eye. lie
came to the Conference for q cir
cult; he got one. lie went to 1t
lie did not know much about the
ology then; in truth ho does moi
} know much now, but he knew mel
and he knew their needs, and hi
, began to preach what he knew
He made men laugh and he made
men cry and he made men angry,
and one day he lost his temper and
came very near whipping a black
smith who angered him. lie was
rather unmerciful TO men whose re
! ligion was all mouth or all tears.
: In THE CONFERENCE.
= In two years we took Sam into
the Conference, and settled it thai
he would do. Since then he has
won his way. He can draw larger
au iience in Atlanta to-day then
. Cough could, or Edwin Booth did
He went to Memphis, to Hunts
vile, to Knoxville, to Brooklyn,anu
at last to Nashville. They built
: him a great tent there. They
, abused him, placarded him, threat
,, ened him, and rallied around him
The result of three weeks meetings
, was over 1000 new members t
/. | A. - .I...l.nn a IL D nnn non uarai ON q