The Russellville Democrat., 1891-08-20
SAM JONES STRETCHED.
Graphic Pen Picture of the Georgia
 Evanrelist.


 EvanRelist.
 This man has been holding big meetings at Staunton. He has the grace of e snake. His eye is as steady and as charming as a snake's eye. He has the velvet tread of a panther and the plainness of an old shoe. Last Sunday he wore a short- tailed, sheep.colored cassimerc coat. It looked like $4 coat. It did not cover the seat of his trousers. His trousers were sskneedn' and looked like they had been slept in. They were haggard and loafed all over his shoes. Ssm's hair seemed grayish about tho temples, and he was thinner and more worn-looking than when the writer last saw him. There seemed to be 5000 present the opening Sunday. The Bodley Wagon Works had been equipped. There was plain pine stand on the scantling railing on which Sam sat and swung his legs and pulled his dropping, thin, black, Turkish mus tache. When the moment came he stood before the people, and, in si- lence, seemed to study them one by one. He prayed with strong sim plicity, brevity, dignity, earnestness. A brother sitting near whispered: "That wasn't so bad" The reply came: ssWait awhiIeI',
 After clearing up the futter and buzz and sending out an old country man with short brooches and . cTy- ing baby, Sam commenced. He was facing strange audience. He de- sceuded upon the PhiIistines. He was like David, only he don't use smooth stones, and uses more than five. He let fly, and the sinners hair began to bristle up on the backs of their heads. They were mad at his vulgarity. They showed fight and went away saying he was a blackguard. But an that sermon he had struck Goliah plump. Sermon followed sermon, each built up diff, rently. Sam gives the sinner blue-mass one day and quinine the next. He let's him down and tones him up, and now and then, in one of his pathetic moods, he takes him by the hand and leads him into green pastures and Dy the side of still waters-and the fellow let's tear fly without knowing it. Sam is man of big heart, and says vulgar things at times; but what he says is bold truth clothed in the language of the low bred man. He talks this way to catch the low-bred felloAs. He fishes at different depthr. For the deep, high-tone fellows he introduces now and then longer line. But he knows low down catfish and blue- blood, stuck-up mountain trout bite best at different baits. In the midst of his black portraitures of life he will now and then let in clear, mellow, chaste bit of rhetoric as sweet ard translucent as a deep, cool pool of blue sky through the ragged edges of circling clouds.
 That panther-tread referred to- he stealthily sneaks his way up and down that pine platform, and now and then even crouches, for sinner he delivers b short scratch to the back of his head, and then it is he makes Q spring, catches some repro bate, demolishes, eats him up, swal- lows him, and then . dry, nonde- script, wide- -mouthed chuckle flickers under his hard, thin, Mongolian mus tache. He feels good, smacks his lips and is kind of touching for awhie with some sad message to heart or he may lift up his hands as he did his second Sunday night in an elo- quent appeal to men to come up higher w. E. Christian in the Basic City Enterprise.