The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1894-02-01
CHAPTER Z,
VICTORIOUS AT LAST-''A BEE" IN MY FA-
THEIRS BONNET"

able an impression that he was invited 10
become the pastor Of a church in the
neighboring village Of Weenipsit. As
he had now become reimbued with the
spirit Of the true and earnest Christian
soldier and teacher, he felt it his duty to
makea full and humble confession to the
bishop in authority and beg to be rein
stated. In this my father and l lent
our assistance, and the story of Jepson
was made known to only few discreet
persons. In his preaching he is said to
be doing good work. The pictures he
draws in his warnings to young men are
go realistic that his hearers wonder how
the good old man is able to so faithfully
portray the many evils of this wicked
world, Of none Of which he can possibly
have had any personal experience.
My fathers example caused many iron
ratings and handsome monuments to be
erected by his neighbors, and. the Pason-
agessit cemetery is not only the pride OF
the village, but also is the model for all
the neighboring villages, in nearly every
one of which the work of improvement
is in progress. Rev. Nantucket Sperm
is always loud in his praise of my father
for his inauguration of the good work
which is now being carried on with SO
much pious enthusiasm.
But that which gave my father the
greatest pleasure was the following Incl
dent, which he was never tired Of relat-
ing: One day as he was coming in from
the cemetery he was stopped by wom-
an apparently about 80 years of age,
who, cane in hand, stood before her cot
tage. "Mr. Johnson" said the venera-
bic dame, II want tew thank you. I've
been a-holdin back for years all knew
heow jist to keep from bein stuck deown
out there among the weeds and briers,
but now I'm willin tew go whenever the
Lord calls. The homes of the dead Of
the village are meow as bright as the
homes Of it's living, and changin from
one to the other don't seem dreadful
like it used tew. I've always been tidy
in my home among the Twin, and I'd
like to be tidy in my home among the
dead" "a st
!. It is my fathers delight to accompany
my sisters when they go forth to strew
fresh flowers on the tombs Of our ances-
tors. On such occasions he favors them
with long extracts from the genealogy.
He never tires of discoursing of the ca
reer of the Johnsons of England, and in
speaking of the trials and tribulations of
Sir Archibald his face is at one moment
flushed with righteous wrath, and at the
next he becomes pathetic, and tears roll
down his cheeks. He has now not only
fully adopted our imported ancestors,
but has also so fondly studied their his
tory that he has come to firmly believe
them of his own flesh and blood.
was made aware of this the day after
our grand funeral ceremonies when l
said to my father, $50 ends the grim
NEST. most protracted and elaborate
practical joke ever perpetrated on the
soil of New England"
"Joke, sir!'' sternly cried my father,
staring at me as, though he thought me
losing my wits. "Do you call that which
has been wrought by the hand of Provi-
dence joke? Let me never again hear
you speak in that light manner of what
the Lord has brought about. lam as
certain as that live that Sir Archibald
johnson was my great-grandfather. The
proofs are so many and so strong that /
cannot doubt them. Not man in Amer
lea doubts them. My son, what has
been done may have been commenced in
I spirit less serious than was BETTING a
work of such great gravity and impor-
lance, but all the time unknown to us
God was guiding us Alright. By his hand
you were led to the tombs of our ances-
tors, and in all we have since done we
have had his aid. Thus has our work
been made to prosper and bring forth
good fruit.
..How you can doubt that those whose
remains we have so dutifully honored
are our ancestors cannot conceive, es-
pecially in the face Of all the proofs you
have brought home from the mother
country In the Bible we read that the
patriarchs of old experienced certain in
ternal physical connections termed
.syearning of the bowels when brought
into the presence of those to whom they
were united by ties of consanguinity.
Formerly I could not understand the
phenomenon, but now never approach
the tomb of Sir Archibald that I do not
experience similar internal sensations in
the region of the diaphragm, which / &C
cept as sign given me from one now tn
the other world"
My father, being thus curt and decided
with me, his own son and fellow con-
spirator, convinced me that had any
stranger dared to even SO much as hint
suspicion that our imported ancestors
were not all we claimed the old gentle
man would have belabored the doubter
with his cane.
AS had no desire to detract from the
family enjoyment, ever thereafter kept
whatever light thoughts may have had
to myself. Indeed it was to me always
9 great pleasure to observe my sister
Eleanor strewing fresn flowers with pi-