The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-11-24

compliment intended for himself.
"Well, my friend/ you must remem-
Der ne Is but young man and with.
out much experience. We ought moi
to be too critical. We all had to make
a beginning once"
ait isn't that, sir. 1t was the coin.
cidence that struck the people,"
"The what I" exclaimed DR.. Sparkle
a vague sense Of uneasiness creeping
over him.
"The coincidence, sir. He gave ut
The Foolishness of Preaching over
sgain. / mean his text was the same
as that which You 80 ably expounded
in the morning"
"Rather awkward" laughed the
vicar. ~ fear it would have embar-
raised the poor young fellow had he
known about it; but, after all the
thing might easily happen. The
words are in the evening lesson,
though took them for my text in the
morning. You see, the arrangement
for Mr.. Cribber to preach was some
what hurriedly made"
"But it isn't only the text-it is the
sermon itself the people are talking
about, sir. l didn't pay much atten-
ton myself, but Mrs. Grundy will
have 1t that, though the words were
different, the substance, the backbone,
the skeleton was just the same"
"The skeleton !" exclaimed the vicar,
in horror stricken voice.
"Well, that is the word nv wife
used" said the chu -chwarden, apollo
getically. 81 didn't 1uite follow her
myself; for, though I've heard of peo-
pie having skeletons in a cupboard,
never knew of one in the pulpit" Mr..
Grundy laughed at his own smartness,
but q dark cloud settled upon the
broad brow of DIR. Sparkle.
81 think" he at last said, gravelv.
"that the people must have been mis-
led by some passing resemblances and
fancied analogies. Hearing the same
text, the thoughts of those who were
present in the morning would natur-
ally run in the lines suggested by nv
treatment of the subject, and they
would thus read meaning and ref
erence into the, perhaps, confused Ian
guage of young and inexperienced
preacher, which were not really in
tended to be conveyed by him"
Mr.. Grundy who had a profound
respect for the vicar, was duly i'm
pressed by this exposition of the case ::
but, recalling the whitening criticisms
to which the unfortunate Cribber had
been subjected by Mrs. Grundy and
her friends at the supper-table the
previous night, he determined to make
further stand.
ono doubt there is great force in
what you say, sir, and you are well
skilled in the workings of the human
mind, as becomes an able minister of
the New Testament; but there are
some things Mrs. Grundy and those
have heard speak can't get over-heads
and divisions and illustrations all
coming in pat"
Poor DR.. Sparkle was in in terri
BILE fix. So far as words went he had
always been truthful, and he was not
naturally a mean man; but what was
he to do now? There was Grundy
waiting to be gulled, and it was in
cumbent on him to say something.
He gave little sigh, and spoke in his
softest accent:
"Well, you see, Mr.. Grundy, not
having heard this wonderful sermon,
l cannot discuss the matter in detail
nor would l wish to think anything
to the disparagement of q young man
who has been very highly recon-
mended to me. Several partial solu-
tions occur to me, none of them reflect
ing unduly on Mr.. Cribber. Possibly,
we may have looked into the same
commentary"
Mr.. Grundy gave knowing nod.
Possibly Mr.. Cribber may have
read some article of mine in one or
other of the religious periodicals treat
ing on this subject. 1 say possibly,
though I do not at this moment recall
having written anything about it."
Mr.: Grundy gave another yet more
knowing nod.
"And there is another hypothesis
connected with the obscure topic Of
unconscious cerebration and remin-
scence. tell you candidly l have
preached on that text before-at the
Abbey once, and elsewhere perhaps.
Mr.. Cribber may have heard me. My
thoughts my have passed into an i'm
questionable mind. They may have
been reproduced without the slightest
consciousness that they were not
strictly original. There have been
most remarkable instances of this phe-
nomenon."
Mr.. Grundy was evidently. i'm
pressed.
think" he said, ssI can under
stand how it happened now, and the
explanation you have given is very
interesting. But perhaps, under the
circumstances, you might find some
more suitable gentleman for the cur