Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-07-17

sh mustache When the moment came he
stood before the people and in silence seemed
TO study them one by one He prayed with
strong Simplicity, brevity, dignity, earnest
ness A brother sinner Sitting near whispered,
THAT wasn't SO bad The reply came ''wait
a while -
After clearing up the 1lutter and buzz and
sending out an old countryman with short
breecies and a crying baby, Sam commenced.
He was facing strange audience. He de-
scended upon the Philistines. He was like
David, only he don't use smooth stones and
uses more than five. He let iiy, and the sim
ners' hair began to briStle up on the backs of
their heads. They We're mad at his vulgarity
They showed fight and went away saying he
was blackguard. But in that sermon he had
struck Goliath plump. Sermon followed ser
mon, each built up differently. Sam gives
the sinner blue-maSS one day and qunine the
next. He lets 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 pastuI es and by the side OF
still watcrS-and the fellow lets a tear fly
without knowing it. Sam is a man of big
heart and says vulgar things at times; but
what he says is bold truth clothed in the Ian
guage of the low-bred man. He talks this
way to catch the low-bred fellows. He fishes
at different depths. For tie deep, high toned
fellows, he introduces now and then a longer
line. But he knows lOWdoWn catfish and
a blue-blood stuck-up mountain trout bite
best at different bats. In the midst of his
black portraitures of life he will now and
then let in clear, mellow, chaste bit of
rhetoric as sweet and translucent as deep
cool pool Of blue sky through the ragged
edges of circling clouds.
That panther tread referred tO-he STEALTH
ly sncaks his WAY up and down that pine
platform, and now and then even croucheS
for a sinner, he delivers q short scratch to
the back of his head, and then it is he makes
spring, catches some reprobate, demolishes,
eats him up, swallows him, and then dry
nondescript wide-mouth chuckle 1ickers UNI
der his hard, thin, Monaghan mustache. He
feels good, smacks his lips, and is kind of
touching for while with some sad message
to the Heart or he may lift up his hand as lie
did his second Sunday night i'll an eloquent
appeal to men to come up higher. 81 do not
feel unkird to you any more than the engine
that throws the cow off the track, but don t
get on the track" lie will follow this by the
story of his own struggle to get higher and
the tone is changed and the heart of the man
comes forth.
He looked tired when the meeting closed
last Sunday night He invited all who want
ed to join different denominations to come up
and shake hands at stated times. Hundreds
came. Come on" he would say plamtively,
in his wonderfully persuasive tone which is
rarely raised ,and they came-children and Wo-
men and old men-rickety old chaps from God
cooperation from the preachers anywhere.
But the crowd that came up will join differ
ent churches by their promises, and the
preachers will either have not to take them
IA OF admit that they, are getting fish from
Sans string. Sam Jones j. a mar OF wonder
ful power. lie handles large bodies OF peo-
pie for good. 1t takes bigness to do this. Ii
he is common i'll speech, he is also Il commo-
ner i'll speech. He gets to the great middle
class--tbat class which is here to average ND
l leaven to the lump, which is to stand be-
tween The highest society depravity and the
lowest rabble depravity and apply the rene
dy OF home and labor and temperance and do
nestle love to either.
Sam was made for q purpose. Suppose
there was no God, he would do 10 harm. A
fashionable novel says mo man is worse
for being like Christi l do not believe God
Almighty would let this man stand up and
pledge sinners to repentance if he were a
fraud. once in a newspaper denounced Sam
Jones as Fakir, because believed he was
do not believe it now. lie called for con-
tributors to his Orphanage. They went up in
scores and delivered up their coin. He got my
trade dollar and | told him / was glad [
didn't have more, because he would have got
it all You don't want to carry more to
Sans meetings than you can afford to give,
for he'll clean you up because you'll think
he's right and believe in him and forget you
have got pot a. boiling at home told him
was not in the church-joining business just
now, being newspaper man, but was very
wealthy for the same reason and my ScadS
were his. He replied, God bless your
believe he left Staunton with the tGod bless
you !" in his heart for sinner and Christian
alike.
Sam Jones is doing great work. Why ?
Because he is making some people better.
apologzed to Sam for bIaclguarding him
and the preachers should stand by him as
long as his arm is strong and long enough to
reach down and lift the depraved to better
living and to reach up and drag the exquisite
ly debauched to a normal level.
Basic City, july It'll.