The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-01-26
AN OLDTIME STORY.
Why the New Meeting House was
Moved From the Hill.

heard i'm that old house, or t was eve
preached by the good old man.
Some wouldn't call it a sermon
though. an perhaps 'tisn't Jest tn,
word for it. but twill do well enough
I'll tell ye how twas, if ye're in M
hurry. an then ye can jedge for yer
selves: There's good moon jest afort
ten. or Whereabouts. an that's as soon's
yen want ter start. reckon. So pull
around the lounge. Kate; an. Nose,
poke up the blaze a bit. There's
nothin'- like a big fire to tell stories
by. specially when they're old-time
stories, told after the chores are done.
Wen keep the cheers, Cynthia, an
leave the lounge for you young folks.
Set the apples on the hearth. if you
haven't room. an I'll take Joe. He's
poorly big to hold, but then, I never
could talk first-rate about old times
'thout somethin' On my knee 1t sorter
leads my thoughts back. ye know, n
helps bring things to mind
Well, ye see the way twas, we'd
been tryin' ter build new meetin'-
house. The school-house wasn't large,
still it held us comfort bly, most times;
but one way n another we got TO
talkin' up new house, an almost be-
fore we knew it we'd decided ter
build it.
[ s'pose't always happens on such
occasions that there's about half-a-
dozen places where a meetin' house
can be built. an about as many differ
ent ones who think the good twill do
all depends On its bein built where
they say. Twas so with us, only more
SO, for we had more'n half-a-dozen
places.
After awhile. though, we got 'em
down to two, but by that time the
height of the steeple couldn't be de-
cided on, an special meetin' had TO
be called to settle that.
Ears the steeple was concerned, L
didn't care so very much myself, OF
really whether we had any steeple at
all. but it did seems though the build
in oughter be in the trees by the
school-house. You don't know how
poorly twas there in Summer time,
fore the biggest trees bowed down
an winters, too. for that matter. The
trees wus always full of birds n things.
a-singin' an a-chipperin'.
An sich nice place ter tie yer boss
of a hot day. An if baby begun to
fuss an fUmc-;i ~ babies will when the
sermons uncommon dry-why, We
could take 'cm ont under tho trees an
show EN- the birds n things, an fore
ye'd know il they'd begin ter crow an
ter laff.
Well. as rs teilin' We, Manda n |
sorfcr wanted il there. An in fact, all
the old folks did. but the younger ones
thought 'twouldn't be seen much
among the trees, and they wanted it
out on the hill bit.
We felt badly enough about il, we
old folks did, an the little Scripter
they scrsped up. SIGH as "A city that's
set on hilI.'' an somethin' about
goin' up to the house of the Lord"
an so forth, didn't comfort US much
nor make the old trees seem any less
like home.
Well, the long an short ont is. we
let it go, an they built the new house
on the hill. Twas long in the early
fall, an the house was nearly done an
off'n on we'd heard it limited twas
bout time ter hold meetin's in it. So
the fust thing we knew, one Sunday
twas given out that two weeks from
that day-''Providenee permittin'-
services would be held at the new
meetin house.
This was more tryin' than you'd
think. L s'pose, for us older ones.
We'd put off lesvin' the old house so
long that it seemed almost's though
'twouldn't happen. in our day-least-
wise not till spring. An when meetin'
let out that afternoon, we was sober
set, can tell We! Deacon Coleman, 1
remember, took it harder'n most of us.
He'd paid a good deal towards the new
house, an one way an another had
helped it along amazin'ly but he chung
to the trees as hard Is any of us.
After sermon that day, he tried to be
as chippant as usual, but we could
sect be wasn't feelin' right; an when
tried to cheer him up little the
tears came an he couldn't say word.
The next two weeks wus q bustlin'
time. The ones who favored the hill
was busy a-fixin' an a-fnefyin' the
walls n pulpit an a sendin' word
here an there among the congregation.
Twas about all the town talked of, In
fact. an the good feelin' wus so gen.
eral that even we older ones began TO
think that perhaps little good might
come of it, after all.
But all t once the was somethin'
else 10 think about. The minister was
taken very sick. He'd been fsilin' for
some time. but as he kept-s-preschin',
'twasn't much noticed. He'd watched
he thing closely from the stsrs, but
never would say one word either way
about the buildin' spot, an the most
pFyin' old lady in the parish didn't
know whether he wanted us to build in
the trees or on the hill. Manda thought
she knew. nd thought L did. but we
souldn't have told for certain. r..
Well, after the notice the old man