Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-12-19
And Mr.. Cribberpn

''And Mr.. Cribberp'
"A most excellent young man, as
believe. sir. Fine voice; made q good
impressions that is, on those who
hadn't heard you in the morning.
The vicar smiled, and looked we'll
pleased ut what he deemed a neat COM
pliment intended tor himself. "a.
'Well. my friend, you must remem-
Der he Is but q young man and without
much experience. We ought not to be
too critical. We all had to make q
beginning once"
1T isn't that sir. twas the coinci-
dence that struck the people,"
ihe whate" exclaimed DR.. Sparkle,
q vague sense of uneasiness creeping
over him.
''The coincidence, sir. He gave us
The Foolishness of Preaching over
again. I mean his text was the same
as that which you 50 ably expounded
in the morning." - --.
Rather awkward" laughed the
vicar. II 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
l took them for my text in the morn
ing: You see. the arrangement for
Mr.. Cribber to preach was somewhat
hurriedly made"
''But it isn't only the text-it is the
sermon itself the people are talking
about sir. I didn't pay much atten-
ton myself, but Mrs. Grundy will have
it that, though the words were differ
ent, the substance, the backbone, the
skeleton was just the same"
''The skeleton!" exclaimed the vicar,
in a horror-stricken voice.
well, that is the word my wife
used" said the church warden, apollo
getically. II didn't quite follow her
myself; for, though I've heard of peo-
pie having skeletons in cupboard,
never knew of one in q pulpit" Mr..
Grunay laughed at his own smartness,
but dark cloud settled upon the broad
brow of DR.. Sparkle.
II Think" he at last said, gravely,
that the people must have been misled
by some passing resemblances and fam
cied analogies. Hearing the same
text, the thoughts of those who were
present in the morning would natural
ly run in the lines suggested by nv
treatment of the subject, ana they
would thus read a meaning and a refer
ence into the. perhaps. confused Ian
guage of young and inexperienced
preacher, which were not really in
tended to be conveyed by him."
Mr.. Gruudy. who had a profound re-
spect for the vicar,> was duly impressed
by this exposition of the case; but, re-
calling the whitening criticisms to
which the unfortunate Cribber had
been subjected by Mrs. Grundy and her
friends, at the supper-table the previ-
GUS night, he ventured to make a fur
Their stand.
mo doubt there is great force in
what you say. sir, and you are we'll
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 CON-
ing in pat"
Poor DIR. Sparkle was in a. terrible
fix. So far as words went, he had al
ways 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 incum-
bent on him to say something. He gave
a little sigh, and spoke in his softest
accents:
'Well, you see, Mr.. Grundy, not hav-
ing heard this wonderful sermon, ]
can not discuss the matter in detail:
nor would I wish to think any thing to
the disparagement of young man
who has been very highly recon-
mended to me. Several partial solu-
tions occur to me, none of them re-
fecting unduly on Mr.. Cribber. Posi-
bly,, we may have looked into the same
commentary" H.. ~
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 Of this subject. say possibly.
though I do not at this moment recall
having written any thing about it."
Mr.. Grundy gave another yet more
knowing nod.
''And there is yet another hypothesis
connected with the obscure topic of
unconscious cerebratlon and remi-
niscence. 1 tell you, candidly, Ihave
preached on that text before-at the
Abbey once, and elsewhere, perhaps.
Mr.: Cribber may have heard me. NV
thoughts may have passed into an i'm
questionable mind. They may have
been reproduced without the slightest
consciousness on his part that they
were not strictly original. There have
been most remarkable instances of this