The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-15
LITTLE isaac
A Georgia Backwoods Sermon Preached by
Brother Cole.

after the crowd sot down and got sorter settled
he riz and jined the couple. James Madison
Monroe Davenport had axed him to be quick
about it and not keep EN- standin' thar too
long, so he ratified through it without stoppin
to kelch his breath.
will you James Madison Monroe Davenport
take this oman Elizabeth Charity Jane Millen
throGe to be your lawful and welded wife to live
together in peace say do ar, and you Elizabeth
Charity Jane Millenthrope take this man James
Madison Monroe Davenport to be your lawful
and welded husband to live together in peace
say do your dismissed amen ar"
Then he shuck hands with 'em and they tuck
their seats, and he was sweatin' so he jerked
off his coat and onfastened his shirt collar and
let in to preachin' so loud the babies and dogs
all hushed for a minute to listen.
Il come before you my beloved bretherlng
and sistering not to preach no regular sormont
but to relate little circumstances that hap
pened when me and my ole oman lived over IN
the State of Georgy Habbersham county ar. 1t
was hot day towards the latter eend of May ar,
and was seated under the shade of tree
readin over my sarmont | lowed to breach the
Satday fore the third Sunday in juno ar-and
my ole oman came to me she did and says she:
Have you seed anything of IsaacP No
says l, Il haven't saw him, 90 away and don't
bother me now I'm readin up my sarmont,"
Now Isaac was our little son SO high and very
near and dear to our hearts My ole oman went
away, but presently she come back agn wiring
IN her hands and cryin' ''Ohl says she, can't
find Isaac no whars, I've huntedand hunted. and
hunted and cant find him--I've looked in the
corners of the fences, and I've looked ever whars
and can't find him no whars, says she
tell you, my beloved brethering, by that time
rlz--for none Of you know unless you've got
little son SO high ar, what it is to have him wan
der OF ar, and git lost ar, and to think that he
has strayed off to the woods ar, and for all you
know some wild beast or varmint ar, is devas-
tatlng OF him and chawing of him into a fraz-
zle ar. But was shore would find him down
at the horse lot whar he had been in the inhab
ltants OF playing along of little slick mule colt
ar; shore that l would find him all pulled up in
the horse trough asleep ar; but brethering, when
looked over In the horse trough ar, and seed he
wasn't thar, then my heart sunk within me ar
and, "Oh!' says | ar, ''he must be at the straw
pile ar, asleep ar" But went to the straw
pile, brethering. and he wern't thar, but we seed
whar he had been plattin' of his little straws
ar, to make him hat outn ar, and we also
seed his little bow -narrer and passed. of
hickory nuts whar he had been crackin' of
'em on rock ar, and thar lay his little hick-
ory whip with whistle on the eenG of it ar;
and then went to the shuck pen and he
wasn't thar, but we seed his little shucks whar
he had plated to make him horse collar ar,
for his little mule colt ar, and we followed and
followed for him ar, and he never answered
ar, "Oh," says | a wringin' of me hands ar HE
must be in the bottom Of the well ar, and my
ole oman she run to the house and got the pot
hooks and the pillow lines, and we div down in
the bottom of the we'll or. Jist to think brother
the bottom of the watery well ar, brethering it
stirs the foundations of me heart to this day to
think of it ar, but we div and we div az, and
every time we div a leetle grain deeper ar At
last sunni wentker PUNK, ker PUNK ar, then my
heart sunk within me ar, for I was shore we had
him ar, and we pulled or, and it got heavier and
heavier ar, and was shore | would soon look
upon the face of my poor little son Isaac ar,
and as it got higher and higher to the TOP ar
/ was shore l was him ar--and brother
IN al n or1 Nv
it wasn't nothin but ole dead cat ar. 1t was
our house cat ar, that we'd missed and missed,
and missed ar, and that mischee vious boy ar
had flung 1t in the Well ar. We had been a call
in of him ar, and had hollared till my thote
was plum soar ar then my ole oman she set up
a yell ar, her voice was the keenest and she hol-
Tered, Isaac, Isa-ick / sa-eek," loud as she
could scream but he never answered, then she
called agln, Il sa-eek, Isae eek" and when. she
hearn the old hills answer back lisa eek eek
eek she was shore sumpn had him-''Oh,"
says she for all we know he's went over thar
in them woods and some wild varment turned
loose from show, is right this minute achawin'
of him into FRAGILE ar" Here he stopped to
spit the floor and rub his foot over it; took
out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes "Oh"
says |, This won't do, we must hunt ever whars
we must roust the neighbors and git EN- to
help us hunt ar" 'Oh" says ar, to my ole
stones ar, and I'll go to brother
Robertsons ar, and if he amt at
NARY one OF them places may be he's wandered
off over to Jones's ar, playin' longer them
trifin Jones chillun ar. My heart riz in my
mouth brethering at tho bare thought of it ar
for had told him that if | ever kotch him a
playin' longer them Jones chillun I'd beat him to
death ar. HE wTupg his hands and wiped his
eyes Oh, if jst had it back ar, L wouldn't
say it for nothn on the face Of the Twin yeth ar
Jist to think ar, that had talked of beatin' my
po' little son Isaac to death ar; our onlyest son
ar; all the little chile we had ar and puny
chile at that ar, to think had talked of beatin'
him to death ar, when may be right at that min
ute some wild varlnint had ketch him ar. and
was a chawin' of him into a fragile ar. blew
his nose-wiped his eyeg--spit on the floor.l
[ went to brother Higginses ar, and he weren't
thar; / went to brother Barkuins and he weren't
thar; went to brother Davises he weren't
thar, then l went to Joneses and he
weren't thar-but thar stood little Eligy
Jones jist his size, that he had begged and
cried to play with ar, and brethering grabbed
him up in me arms ar, and Rugged him ar, and
he was plum ragged ar, and black as his mann
mys cook apron ar, and old man Jones he come
out and shuck hands with me ar, and me and
him made friends ar and we hadn't spoke IN
gwine on two yeare ar, SO brethering you see the
good that sometimes comes outn evil ar.
All the little Davises and all the little Hie-
gnses and their little fee dogs ar followed me
to the forks of the road ar, and thar met my
ole oman ar, she had been to brother Whet-
stoness and he weren't thar, and Old Miss Whet-
stone and all the little WhetstoneS and their
little flee dog was with her az, AID / seed that
our po little son Isaac wasn't with EN- a. and
quick as my ole oman seed he wasn't with ne
ar, she pitched yell you could er heard 'tother
side of Rohersons clearing ar, and it tuck old
Miss DAVIS and old Miss Higgins, and old Miss
Milestone all three to hold her ar.
All Of a student hushed crying, for sump'n
seemed to tell me to go to the lme-sink ar, whar
he was in the inhabitants Of playin' along of his
little traps and things ar trying to kill birds ar
but brethering if he ever kotch q bird | never
hearn tell of it ar.
tell you beloved brethering and sstering too
ar, hope begun TO rise in my heart started to-
wards the lime-sink, and told EN- all to keep up
if they could ar. seed wee speck in the dis
lance ar, then hope riz in mo heart agin ar, and
as got.nigher and higher to that wee speck I
seed it move ar (clapping his hands, and hope
got bigger and bigger az, in my heart ar, and as
got cioster and closter to it, it got bigger and
bigger, and hope got bigger and bigger in me