The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-02
HORNETS INTERRUPTED.
Deacon Rogers Exhortetion on Bap-
tism Cut Short.
Db.T.J.T.bs-.

tism Cut Short.
From the Philadelphia Tin, es.
No. - vary many years ego, in the days
when | was farm. had fer my nearest
neighbor devout, good Cn..-.'an man,
Rev. Joseph Rogers, Baptist preacher, On :,
rather, exhorter. OF the hardshell persuasion
Now, Brother Rogers was bra my and deep
thinking man, aud we'll up in religions lore
but he was not what could be called CLASH
ca scholar, even in his own language
thouRh no could express himself sufficiently
clearly to be understood when he undertook
to explain how John the Baptist "remorsed
Jesus In the river Jurding," and withal was
very entertaining.
While engaged in the dull routine Of
teamwork it was quite "a treat 10 me to have
Brother Rogers lead cff with one Of his dis
sertaticns on the birth of "Samsing - or ex-
plain how David went upon his housetop OF
an evening. Ii acted as seasoning to the
monotonous dish that was served up every
day for my deectation-cutt sprouts,
thinning corn and the like as my early
days had been shaped pretty much after the
city fashion OF doing things, aud, OF course.
as tho parson would frequently remark.
farming carney ''sorty onhandy" to me-
My own farm was mostly seeded to grass ;
consequently, the first year | had 10 rent
some land, and as Brother Rogers had So
acre field in the bottom which had been
pastured for several years in order to get
rid of that terrible pest, the cockle-burr,
pernicious weed that infests the wonderfully
fertile valleys Of kentucky, proposed TO
the pastor to rent IL from him for one third
OF the produce.
The parson would not agree to rent me the
whole field. but offered to tend it on halves,
paying him oDe-thlrd OF one-half of the
produce OF the field as rent, and tend it to-
gether. That suited me, and we raised as
fine a crop OF corn as ever saw. But myl
my! what time we had with the cookie.
burst Every turn of the piow seemed to
bring to the surface seed that had been
buried there perhaps for twenty years,
only to sprout and grow and flourish worse
than a green bay tree. We kept upa con-
slant war all summer on those burrs, AMI
when we laid by our corn We did it with the
satifled feeling that we had seen the last of
the "Mohicans.
What was our establishment when, in
examining the fields I'm the early fall with
the intention of seeding it to wheat, we
found the burrs there as thick as ever and
nearly ready TO form new seed pods. They
must come down, the parson said, the last
one of them, before the seed matured or
our summers hard toll would be in vain.
By that time had become an expert In the
use of she hoo, ana we could always hire
sufficient help at any time Of the year In
the neighborhood, and We soon had the
pests out of the way again.
There was high ''staked and ridered"
cross fence between this field and large
clover pasture, and | had noticed while
walking along it few days before huge
hornets nest attached to one Of the stakes
that leaned over to an inside corner of the
worm fence INTO the corn-feld. l said
nothing b. any one ABOUT it. The following
Monday morning we marshaled our forces
and marched on the enemy the cookie
burrs) like the brave soldiers that we were,
and by ii O'Clock we we're near enough the
hornets nest TO reach it In another round.
When we started on the return trip TO-
ward the nest managed 80 as to have the
psrson take the row which ended right ct
the corner the nest was In. He was very
particular about having the fence corners
cleaned, and never failed to attack them
when they came his way. just before
s. lrting out on that last run before dinner,
| took particular paths in drawing the par
son : 1t on his special hobby, baptism, and
managed, by pretending 90 contest some Of
his points, 10 work him up to high pitch
Of excitement by the time we reached the
other end where the hornets were, and he
was 80 warmed up on his subject. aud 30 in
tent On cleaning out the fence corner, that
above bis head, but raised his hoo pretty
high TO annihilate very large burr stalk
that stood right under the nest.
He cut the nest in two without noticing
it, and as he ierked his hat off to wipe the
perspiration from his extremely bald head
for he had only a narrow ri3g Of hair
around the base Of his skull-the hornets
darted at that exposed spot Just as he
reached that part Of his discourse, when
John she Baptist ''romersed Jesus in the
river Jurding.n
Now had been watching closely for the
denouement, and when it struck the nest,
threw myself prone upon the ground, and
there lay, as still IS clam and as close to
the ground as l could, until the hornets had
become calm, when l slipped noiselessly
away.
The parson fought his foes vigorously
with his old SLOUGH hat for a few seconds,
but was forced to retreat, and plunged into
the standing corn yelling Hornets" at the
top of his voice, with a perfect swarm OF
them in hot pursuit. stabbing him IN every
available spot. This of course has the ton
dency to stampede the rest of the force. who
we're soon out of the reach Of the hornets,
and were oven heartless enough to laugh at
the parsons nlisfortunes; as for myself, |
felt heartily ashamed of myself, for the
parsons head and face were a sight to be-
hold, more like a haunch of raw beef
trimmed from the bone and ready to hang
up to dry.
But he had bis revenge-on the hornets
for when he went out to the field again
after dinner he was armed with long
fishing-pole. to the end of which he had
tied a sheaf Of dry straw, and, provided
with matches, be crept up close enough to
the nest to reach it with the pole. and setting
the straw on fire he soon had peck or more
Of roasted hornets lying in heap in that
fence corner. He looked a moment et the
dead insects with satisfied and triumphant
air. and then picking up bis hoo resumed
bis work and the unfinished discourse on
baptism, and, as IL nothing had happened,
he began where he had left off.
What will simmons Liver Regulator dOl
Cure dyspepsia, blliOusness, sick headache
ami indigestiOn.-Ad.