Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-01-10

well, brethren he said. 81 dono VIII,
! shouldn't tell it. / am pretty wei
ashamed Of myself, no doubt, but ought
10 he, and maybe shall profit by what Nv,
found out these six days back I'll tell you
just as it come Monday looked about
me to begin with. | am amazn' fond OF
coffee, and it amt good for me - the doctor
says it ain't-but, dear me, it does set a
man up good, cold mornings, TO have a cup
of hot, sweet, tasty drink, and l haven't
had the grit TO refuse. | knew it made me
what folks call nervous, and l call cross,
before night comes; and l knew it fetched
on spells Of low spirits when our folks
couldn't get word out of me-not a good
one anyway; so l thought I'd try on that
to begin with. | tell you it come hard! |
hankered after that drink Of coffee dread
full. Seemed as though | couldn't eat my
breakfast without IT, | feel to pity a man
that loves liquor more'n | ever did in my
life before; but feel sure they can stop II
they try, for I've stopped, and I'm goin
to stay stopped.
well, come to dinner there was another
fight do set by pie the most of anything:
| was fetched up on pie, as you may say.
Our folks always had it three times a day,
and the doctor, he's been talkin' and talkin'
TO me about eatin pie. have the dyspep-
STA like everything, and it makes me use
less by spells, and unreliable as a weather
cock. An DR.. Drake he says there won't
nothin' help but to diet. / was readn' the
Bible that morning, while | sat waitin' for
breakfast, for twas Monday, and wife was
kind Of set back with washin and all, and
| come acrost that part where it says that
the bodies of Christians are temples of the
Holy Ghost. Well, thinks |, we'd ought to
| fob ~ &c H.. a.
they're KEEP clean and pleasant, like the
church, and nobody can be clean and
pleasant that has dyspepsia But, come to
pie, | felt as though | couldn't, and 10 We.
| didn't | eat a piece right against my
| conscience. facin' what | knew | ought to
do, | went and done what ought not to.
| tell ye my conscience made music of me
considerable and | said then | wouldn't
never sneer at a drinkin' man no more
when he slipped up. I'd feel for him and
help him, for | see just how it was. So
that days practice Civ out, but it larnt me
a good deal more'u | knew before
81 started out next to look up my Bible
class. They haven't really tended up to
| Sunday school as they ought along back,
| but | was busy here, and there didn't
seem to he real chance to get to it.
| Well, 'twoud take the evenin' to tell it all,
| but | found one real sick, been abed for
three weeks, and was so glad to see me
that | felt really ashamed Seemed as
though heard the Lord for the first time
sayin', 'lnasmuch as ye did it not TO one Of
the least Of these, ye did it not to me.
| Then another mans old mother says to me
before he come in from the shed, SAYS she.
/ He's been sayin' that if folks practiced
what they preached. you'd ha' come round
to look him up afore now, but he reckoned
| YOU kinder looked down on mill hands.
I'm awful glad you come Brethren, so
was L. | tell you that days work done me
| good. got poor opinion of Josiah EN-
mons, now l tell ye. but | learned more
about the Lords wisdom than a month o.
Sundays ever showed me-"
A smile he could not repress passed over
Mr.. Parkes's earnest face The deacon had
forgotten all external issues in coming so
close to the heart of things but the smile
passed as he said
Brother Emmons, do you remember what
the Master said, III any man will do His
will he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God or whether speak of myself "
well. it's so, answered the deacon, its
so right along. Why, | never thought so
much of my Bible class nor took so much
intrest in EN- as do today-not since be-
gun to teach believe they'll come more
regular now, too.
Now come fellowship day Thought that
would be all plain sailin' seemed as though
| I'd got warmed up till | felt pleasant to-
wardst everybody so | went around seein'
folks that was neighbors, and twas easy
but when | come home noon spell Philury
/ SAYS, says she, Square fuckers black bull
is into tn orchard tearin' round and he's
knocked two lengths of fence down fat !!
| Well, the old Adam riz up then, you'd bet
ter b'lieve That black bull had been a.
breakin' into my lots ever sence we got in
the aftermath, and its Square fuckers
/ fence, and he won't make it bull strong as
he'd oughter, and that orchard was young
one Jest comm to bear, and all the new
wood crisp as cracklin's with frost. You'd
better b'lieve | didn't have much feller-
feelin' with Amos Tucker. just put over
to his house and spoke up pretty free to
/ him, when he Looked up and says, says he,
Fellowship meetin day, amt it, deacon =
l d ruther he'd ha' slapped my face. felt
as though | should like to slip behind the
door. | see pretty distinct what sort of life
| I'd been livin' all those years I'd been a pro
fessor, when couldn't hold on to my tongue
and temper one day.
''Breth eren, interrupted slow, harsh
voice, somewhat broken with emotion, I'm
tell the rest ont. Josiah Emmons come
round like man an Christian right there
He asked me to forgive him, and not to
think twas the fault of his religion, because
| twas hisn and nothin' else. | think more
of him today than l ever done before.
was one that wouldn't say I'd practice with
the rest of We. | thought twas everlastin'
nonsense. I'd ruther go to forty nine
prayer. meetin's than work at bein' good
week. | believe my hope has been one of
them that perish hain't worked, and
leave it behind today | mean to begin
honest, and it was seein' one honest Chris.
tian man fetched me round tot
Amos Tucker sat down and buried his
grizzled head in his rough hands.
BLESS the Lord - said the quavering
tones of a still older man from far corner
of the house, and many glistening eye
gave silent response.
"Go on, Brother Emmons, said the min
ister.
"Well, when next day come, got up to
make the fire, and my Joe had forgot the
kindlin's I'd opened my mouth to give
him Jesse, when it came over me sudden that
this was the day of prayer for the family
relation. | thought / wouldn't say nothn'
just fetched in the kindlin's myself, and
when the fire burnt up good called wife
Dear me, says she, I'vegot such head
ache, 'Siah, but I'll come in a minnit' !
didn't mind that, for women are always
having aches, and was Just a goin' to say so
when | remembered the tex about not bein'
bitter against 'em, so | says, 'Philury, you
lay abed | expect Emmy and me can get
the vittles today | declare she turned
over and give me soch look why, it struck
right in There was my wife that had
worked for an waited on me twenty odd
year, most scarf because | spoke kind of
feelin to her. | went out and fetched in
the pail o water she'd always drawn herself
and then MIXED the COW When | came
in, PhiluTy was up fryin' the potatoes, and
the tears a ashnin' on her white face. She
didn't say nothin she's kinder still but
she hadn't no need to. | felt a leetle mean
ern did the day before, But 'twan't moth.
in TO my condition when | was goin, TO-
ward night, down the suller stairs for some
apples, SOS the children could have a roast
and | heerd Joe up in the kitchen say C
Emmy, i do b'lieve pas goin' TO die
Why, Josiah Emmons, how you talk
We'll, | do, he's so everlastin' pleasant an
good natered | can't but think he's STRUCK
with death. / tell ye, brethren, | set right
down on them suller stairs and cried.
did, reely. Seemed as though the Lord haC
looked at me jest as he did at Peter, Why
there was my own children never see me
act real fatherly and prettily in all theil
lives. I'd growled and scolded and prayed
at 'em, and tried to fetch EN- up-just a,
the twig is bent the trees inclined, ye know
but | hadn't never thought that they'C
get right and reason to expect I'd do my
part as well as they theirn. Seemed a
though l was hndin' out more about Josial
Emmons's Shortcomings than was real agree