The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-01
AN oLD-FAsHloNED SUNDAY.
The Sort of Experience That Made
Unbelievers of Boys.
From the Indianapolis RAMS Horn.

From the Indianapolis RAMS Horn.
Sunday was an awful day at home. The
mere recollection of it makes me SILVER to
the present DAY, even in hot weather. We
got up as early Sunday morning as we did
other days, for somehow it seemed to me
there was always more to do in the way OF
chores. l could always tell when Sunday
came without an almanac. never had to
consult the calendar to find out about that.
1t was the day on which l had to be washed,
and every boy knows what that means. As
soon as l saw mother getting ready to hang
a kettle Of water on the crane, knew the
day had come on which | was expected to be
heavenly minded. | was certainly a miser-
able sinner every hour of that dreadful
Sabbath.
At o'clock my father took my hand and
two solemn people set out for Su day
school. After Sabbath school, which was a
long, dismal hour, we staid TO hear a man
preach who had badly misunderstood the
Lord. The Lord had said, "Go and split
rails" but the poor brother, whose hearing
wasn't just right. had understood him to
say, go preacnlS and SO he hoped into the
pulpit and went to pounding the Bible.
From that day on to the close of his ministry
he was faithful in one thing at least. He
never gave the dust q chance to accomplish
lbo pun pOS6 Will Lu6 DlDl6. I16 udu Il VOICE
like the roaring of many waters, and fist
big enough to render a club unnecessary.
He would stand there in'that old-fashioned
box of pulpit and roar and pound, and
pound and roar and SANDER his Heavenly
Father until my young blood ran cold. He
used to try to preach about mercy some
times in a bulldog kind of a way, but he
never had any mercy on little boys. and
talked until their little bones seemed about
raaHu no hraak orH lat fhoir hOJiau
fall on the floor.
After the preacher had tired himself and
his congregation clear out, there was a
change of the misery. Church would be
dismissed, and class-meetlng would begin,
and father and L would stay to that. Pee
pie with long Sunday faces would get up
and talk about what "hard thing it was to
serve God" and could say "Amen" with
every bone and muscle in my tired body,
| though didn't do it out loud. The class
meeting was great mystery TO me. Every
body seemed to be distressed almost to
death, and yet nearly all claimed to be
happy. | had never cried when | was
happy then, and their talk was all Greek.
There was always a good deal said about
making crooked paths and being unfaithful,
aud thought the Lord had hard time in
finding anybody he could depend on in that
part Of the country, but from my own i'm
pressions concerning him l didn't much
wonder at it.
When this dreary class meeting finally
ended | took fathers hand again and went
home in cold sweat, wondering where l
came from and what was going to finally
become of me. / used to ask my father all
kinds of puzzling questions about reli gious
matters, but his way of getting out of a
corner when [ hedged him in was to say
that there we're good many things a boy
could not understand. At home we would
get cold bite, aud then stay in the house
and keep still and look solemn until 3
o'clock, when we would set out again for
another class meeting.
The leader of the afternoon class meeting
was lame in one leg. He had been crippled
SO that his right leg was stiff and his foot
pointed to the south when he faced the east
There were benches all around the room on
which the people sat, and the leader walked
around in the center. He would go from
person to person and stand in front of them
while they spoke. About the only thing |
could do to occupy my thoughts while the
people went over the stories [ knew by
heart was to watch his lame leg while he
swung it around and wonder if he couldn't
walk better sideways. 1 never heard how
he got his lameness, but | would hatch
up all kinds of theories to account for it,
and nobody can prove that that mans lame
leg didn't keep me from going crazy. One
theory L had was that when he was a boy
he had a wicked brother who struck him
with an ak.
AT the close of this class meeting we
would go back home, aud my father would
show me that awful picture of the devil, and
read and talk to me about the Bible until it
was time to go to church in the evening and
hear that noisy preacher pound his book
and SANDER his Heavenly Father as long as |
could keep my eyes open. can never forget
how he used to make the dingy flames in
the lamps fairly jump sometimes whea he
got steamed up on the terrors of the judg-
ment. | used to think l must be one of the
awfullest sinners alive because I couldn't
help but think it would be ever 50 much
nicer to get out of doors and run, and
play, andsmake all the noise | could than it
was to go to church and stay in the house,
and try so dreadful hard to be religious
Sundays. l couldn't understand how it
was, but it seemed as though Sunday was
longer than all the week days put together.
Something seemed to get the matter with
the clock that day. and how dreadful slow
1t did run! And then they used to tell me
that heaven was one never-ending Sunday
Well, to save my life l couldn't feel bit
anxious to get there. And that preacher,
he would tell mo that hell was one eternal