Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1888-05-19

an off hand manner, with quite the air OF
giving utterance to something entirely his
own AS he began he noticed that the eyes
of the doctors niece We're fixed upon him as
though in anticipation of keen enjoyment.
He is going to get into muddle," they
seemed to say; my attention will add to his
embarrassment, and | am going to be very
nice and attentive"
Halsey spoke f1uently and saw her air of
amused superiority fade into one OF blank
wonder, which said palmer than any words,
II have made a mistaken estimate of this
Young mans Abilities he is not such ninny
aS he looks"
After speaking for twenty minutes, Halsey
apologized for occupying SO much time, gave
out another hymn and called upon the dea-
con and Brother Slocumbe to fill the remain
ing minutes with prayer and exhortation
At the close of the meeting the doctor
shook hands with him, with genuine appro-
baton. "The Lord has committed great
talent to your trust, my son. be said to him
In the dusk, as Halsey helped him into his
conveyance. "Go not out to the battle IL
your own strength Remember the admon-
tion of the King of Israel, Let not him that
girdeth on his harness, boast himself as he
that putteth it off ~ His niece was shyer than
she had been before the meeting. Evidently
sho was impressed with Halsey's superior
abilities, and the young mans heart swelled
with elation. As he returned to the house
the Misses Pearce were Just leaving with their
smoky lantern, and he could do no less than
offer to see them home The way was long
and it was pitchy dark when he returned,
but the eldest Miss Pearce had insisted on his
Of b1,.1 "a n
give it to me at church Tomorrow" she
said, ''and you will rurely fall into
the brook without it." AS there really
seemed soiue probability of this Halsey took
the lantern, at the same time reproaching
himself for lis poGteness. The deacon had
told him SO nElch of the plain and simple
minded character of his hearers that he de-
termined to avoid. all flights of oratory, and
to give his audience, a sermon as full of COM
mon sense as could be- found in his collection.
A lecture by the Rev. Robert Collyer
struck him as most likely to be popular. 1t
abounded in incidents of country boys COM
ing to high positions by unremitting toll and
determination. He read the lecture well,
with much of the hearty manner in which it
was originally delivered, for he was capital
actor in amateur theatricals, and was accus-
sonations" of the different public men with
whom he was familiar. While in the full
flight of successful oratory, while he felt that
every eye in the house was fixed upon him,
and that perhaps no one present had eyer
heard more effective speaking, his eye
which ran before his tongue, discov-
cred a danger in the path. Mr.
Collyer spoke of his own early ex-
periences, of the cottage in Yorkshire with
its floor so white that you might have eaten
your dinner from it, with no harm to any
thing but the floor; and Halsey in his
anxiety to escape this trap fell into q worse
one, for skipping the description of his Eng
lish childhood, he launched inconsiderately
into particulars of his thirst for study and
reading as youth, how Tho Pilgrims
Progress" and one or two other books We're
the constant companions of the forge. Hal
sey's white and shapely hands hardly carried
out the assertion that be had been trained to
a blacksmith's trade but his hearers did not
stop to consider this. They accepted what
he said as true, and listeded to the brave,
earnest words with Eindling enthusiasm.
[CoNCLUEED NEXT WEEK.