Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1892-06-23
THE DEACON'S MEETING.
How Soul Received New Light
and Inspiration.

now d 0Oul fS0C0lV0u NEW A1SQC
and Inspiration.
"There, there! Somebody's a-knock-
in, lothian. Do you hear? There's
somebody a-comin' in
'Let 'em come, blast it all! Don't
you suppose I've got ears as well as
your"
There was heavy foot on the
scraper, then a vigorous rustling of the
braided husk door-mat and Reny's Sec
ond appeal was in whisper.
''Oh, lothian! Don't! I'll have it put
back; I'll do anything, if you'll take
that thing off and not make yourself
ridiculous"
mind your business" growled the
man addressed. and he drew up still
closer around his shoulders the faded
print bed-quilt in which he had wrapped
himself, and tucked the buffalo robe
tighter still into the arms of his rock
ing-chair and about his knees.
There were only two seasons in Mrs.
Dea Crabbe's household. The transition
of summer to winter was marked by
domestic rather than solar movements.
On the first day of May, unless that fell
upon Sunday, the good woman's
kitchen stove was moved into the shed,
the rag carpet, which had hung sus-
pended on apole in the attic all winter,
was tackled down in it's place, chairs,
tables and lounges crossed over and ex-
changed partners, and after a lively
dance settled themselves down into
their regular summer relations to the
points of compass. After that warm
weather was in order. If belated
chill ventured to make itself felt in the
atmosphere, it was stoically ignored so
far as the old lady herself was con-
cerned. Her husband, who had always
been, in his private home life, some
what inconveniently left-handed in his
disposition, grumbled out a few en-
phatic denunciations from his secular
vocabulary he was a church dea-
con, and had his prayermeeting phrase
ology as well-and then quieted down
into summer routine, and knew from
the transition that it was time to plant
corn, beans and cabbages. He never
had taken on in this fashion before.
Perhaps he was getting rheumatic.
Reny was just thinking over the re-
spective curative properties of the
herbs in the attic when the visitor
entered.
1t was the round, weather-beaten
face of Sam Tooley, the stage driver,
that appeared in the door. He took out
the red Gotten bandanna with which he
was wont to mutf1e the trumpet blast
from his nose, and after this little cere-
mony of salute he careless]y diffused
his loosely-hung members on the near
est chair.
"Well, Deacon" said Sam, surveying
the old mans wrappings with quizzi-
cal air, ''be We to hum, or be ye gone to
bed, or be ye out ridin'? I hoped, for
the prosperity of Zion, that should
find we to hum. cause you've got ter
preach tomorrow. Dea Turner says
SO. He wanted me to tell We that Par
son Peters didn't come up tonight"
Sam was one of the most righteous of
sinners. He was as upright as a saint
in his dealings and as fippant as
scoffer in his speech.
$50, you see, you'd better be a castin'
off the robe of your own righteousness
kind o patchwork, amt it?''- and
Sam drew up nearer and caught hold of
the corner of the bed quilt FOR closer
inspection-''and a putin on the whole
armor o. God. You must anoint yer
feet and wash yer head and take the
shield Of faith and the sword of the
spirit and go at 'em, hammer an tongs.
Tell 'em they're wicked and perverse
generation, and it's the Lords marcy
they amt consumed. Reel off list o.
their sins to 'em. 'Twon't hurt 'em
none. Tell 'Bijah Davis that he'll pray
like all possessed in the prayer meetin,
and he's been OWN me for hay nigh
on ter three years and can't git cent.
An Joe Joslyn1l grind out texts O.
Scripture as he grinds out corn in his
mill, but he'll go right home and take
three times the toll he'd ought ter.
And the women'll whine out pray
ers, as women allus will when they
pray in meetin', and end up with a
pious shuttle, an then on their way
home they'll tell a stream of lies about
their neighbors big enough to carry
SOW AAAAAs@ ! eSAA ~ We ouS AV GS1 udVC d
few more deacons appointed to go round
and look into the private lives o. these
church members
Sam paused with look of serious
concern on his face as he meditatiyelv
twirled his thumbs. The old clock never
licked SO loud.
AN then there's Christy Jones she'll
squeal out sky-splittin' psalm about
the Lords marcy bein' everlastin' an
to all generations, when she's sent her
old bed-ridden mother off to the poor
house sos't she can be free to spin street
yarn. Wilbur Brown, he's another of
them church fellers. Every body knows
that he starved them two-year-old crit
tiers Of his'n till they couldn't stan up,
he's so 'fraid he'd have to buy hay fore
spring. An then the young folks they
take to the creed an covenant mighty
easy when them revival fellers come
round, but they're an awful ungodly lot
for all that.
Now that's the way I'd preach to
'em, deacon. I'd tell 'em what's what,
and say amen and .everlastin' and git /
of the benediction and the doxology to
wind it up with, strong, and then I'd let
'em 60 home and think on t. -
And Sam began to collect his scAt-