Blue-grass blade., 1892-09-03
RRRN To EEhR
Sam Jones at High Fridge
Camp Meeting.

/ am just back from hearing Sam
Jones at the High Bridge Camp Meet
ing.
Took my youngest boy; my wife
won't go to them: she draws the line at
camp meetings and circuses She don't
60 much, but when she does she goes
to Cincinnati, and takes in Lohengrim,
with such folks as Patti and Albini and
Nicolini in the caste. But there's moth
ing stuck up about me. | would not
go TO one ring, two clown circus, nor
to an ordinary Methodist camp meet
ing. think they are demoralizing, and
that Christian people ought not to pat
ronize them; but a man or woman
who never saw Barnum, nor Jumbo.
nor sam Jones has not seen all of the
world by large majority.
had heard that story that old Horace
Greely got off about elders at camp
meeting time, for at least five years be-
fore ever caught on to it. One day il
just happened TO strike me, rs l was
walking along by myself, up by the
custom house in Lexington, and l just
thought in my soul it would kill me.
laughed for week. It's TO tough TO
put in a newspaper, but any newspaper
man can tell you about it.
I am no prude nor Puritan, if am a
Quaker. have no respect for any man
who will tell me story that is simply
filthy. The dirtiest man in the world to
me is dirty story teller; but if jast 4 lit
tie smut is necessary, like the shading, in
the back ground of picture, to point
q moral or aiorn tale" avn not scan
e&Aesd Sz is I used 10 ss II tas
preaching trade pyssif, ana kxvr
their ways Whenever 1 hear oao OF
these old sanctifcation Methodists,
getting off that amen" gag they have
among them, l always think about old
Greely's story about camp meeting
elders.
suppose a thousand of these old
time religious liars and hypocrites, who
think the main part of religion is to be-
lieye those old jew, Snake and Fish
stories, have said to me that they did
not object to my having my peculiar
religious notions if would only keep
them to myself. That's exactly
what l say about any religion. |
don't mind how much of it man has
just so he keeps it to himself. But
when You hear a man claim that he is
''sanctified," and he gets to doing that
amen racket, and praise the Lord
business, if you have anything valuable
about you you had better watch it.
That fellow is fixing to steal something,
or run off with some woman the first
time he gets chance.
The first three or four hundred times
/ read how Sam Jones had picked out
one of these sanctifed coons in his au-
dience and called him a damned old
beet nose s-of-a---, | enjoyed il
very much; but after that it got to be
somewhat monotonous.
l can't say exactly that l was so
much impressed with the rhetorical
finish of the expression, bat / was
powerfully impressed with the great
amount OF Gods truth IN it.
If man, purely from an admiration
of the heroic characte er OF Jesus Christ,
wants to initiate and emulate his life
and character. and goes along through
life honest and kind and doing any good
that happens to come into his way, and
Is jolly as long as he can be, and is sad
when he is in trouble and can't help
himself, and you never hear him say
anything about religion any way, ex-
cept when some body wants to tall, to
him about it, that man will do to tie to
But when You come across one OF these
sanctifcationists that packs Il bible
around with him, ani cLils &Inlay
sabbath" and IS always asking you
il you can't drop in some night around
At his prayer meeting it viii pay yog
to watch that fellow.
He's got some scheme on hand, aaI
he's going to swindle You the frs. ;i.n
he gets a chance. Nearly all praye.
meeting going and church going
that is done these days, By men in town,
is done for business a ivertisement In
tine country they go 10 talk politics
and gossip about farming The
women go to show their clothes, and
the young people 80 to see each other.
Tae sermon Ia ~ least nine c>ses on:
Of ten, is : perfect bore 70 every huay
aad they all go home and lie sboas how
they enjoyed it. But when you po 10
hear Sam Jones there is something just
as really enjoyable, in it, as in going 10
a good circus
know that what am now saying
abou. sam will sound strange TO those
who have read any of my many previ
Gus utterances about him.
went TO hear him this time, it being
the second time, expecting to say, in
doubted whether he was any good TO
the Prohibition cause. Of course the
methodist part of his religion IS al pop
py-cock TO NE, but / naturally felt .all
prejudice in favor of his prohibition
politics had actually chosen the first
line of the article that was going 20
write about him. was going
to say that Sam Jones, Sunday, he'll,
tariff and base ball We're five American
institutions that made me tired 70 read
about; but am going to take Sam Off
that list.
have always thought it strange that
/ SO radically disagreed with some mcn
that liked, when we came to talk
a bou Sam Jon -. met, at the nat
ional Prohi bition convention a Cincin-
natl, Editor Arnistead OF the Nashville
Issue He is nice man and :. clear
cut gentleman, a man after my own
heart, and edits Il Prohibition paper
that wish / could make one like as a
general thing, but sometimes he fills
his paper with the durndest rot about
Sam Jones that ever read; and yet.