The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1894-12-13

ST. ed us. The CON
versation took n
wide range at first, but approached IA fo.
Gus when one of our party, the old
lady with black mitts, referred to the
generally prevailing drought. She
mentioned, in this connection, recent
newspaper report of church meeting
in some arid section of the Northwest,
where general prayers for rain were
offered with such immediate effect
that the congregation, who were un-
provided with umbrellas, were
drenched on their way home.
purely coincidence" hippantly
suggested Manton, recent importa-
tion from the efIete East.
''i regard it IA most striking illus
tration Of the efficacy of all sincere
and earnest prayer" reprovingly re-
marked the old lady with the mitts.
"What do you say, Mr.. Calkins?"
inquired Manton, unabashed. "Tm
sure you'll agree with mel"
Our host stirred up the fire before
expressing himself. you're dead
right, ma'am !" he Mt length replied,
ignoring Manton. There's nothin'
prayer won't do, if you're in earnest
aud pray hard enough, and don't pray
for too much nor too little. and stop
right there. But you can handicap n
good, strong, willin' prayer, same as
you can anything else, and then it's
bound to balk and make trouble"
81 fear i do not quite grasp your
meaning, Mr.. Calkins," said the old
lady with the mitts, laying down her
knitting and regarding Calkins with
look of puzzled inquiry.
W. az %asn cry clear, ,mS'sldi,..
but / had in mind 6 queer experience
of my own in the earnest prayer line,
some years ago, way up north in
Trinity, which'll illustrate my meanin'
better'n any explanation i can give. >"
Caikins settled himself again out of
the line of the sparks and smoke,
which his late attention to the fire had
provoked, and began:
at was in the winter of rs, and /
was carryin' mail from Gorman's-
over to the Brown Bear and Roundout
camps-and made the round trip once
u week on snow-shocs. When / was
at Germans, which was four days in
the week, | stopped with a Frenchman
named Prot, who worked drift claim
on the river. We bunked in shake
cabin, back of the hotel corral, and
got along middlin' well for the first
month We was together. Eyonin's
we'd generally turn up at the hotel,
and after sittin' by the fire with the
rest IN the saloon for n while, we'd
finally drop into old man Germans
private parlor and listen to Kitty Cor.
man piayin' on the parlor organ. /
always liked mCbic, but | hadn't no
faculty at producln' it, so III Just sit
and listen while Kitty'd play aud Prot,
who had big, throaty yoice, would
now and then sing TO Kitty's accom-.
panlment.
''This was all well enough at first,
but, after two or three weeks, / found
it dull and uniuterestiu', Just sittin'
there by myself on the cold, slippery,
black hair-cloth sofa, with never u
word nor II chance for one with KITTY,
who seemed all took up with Prot ana
the music, and only's speak TO me
when she wanted another stick on the
fire. Then, after a while, ! stopped
Foin' into the parlor, and would sit in
the saloon till bedtime, ieelin' mad
all through 10 hear Prot singin' and
Kitty piayln' away for dear life TO
keep up with him on the gaspin' old
organ IN the next room. Then | grew
bitter, because / knew that while,
naturally, Kitty liked me best of the
two, at tine sumo time she was worldly
minded like her father, old man Cor.
man, and felt Prot was better match
on account OF his river claim, while |
wasn't much account, from ready.
money point Of view. Then, of
course, | had a fallin' out with Prot
about nothin' in particlar on the sur
face, as l can recollect Of | did
pretty much all the quarrelin', I'm
free to allow, for Prot said nothin',
but just laughed in way that made
me madder, and / moved ont of the
snake cabin TO an old adobe higher up
the hill
''NeXt day ! started Off before sun.
up o I my regular trip with the mail
ior Brown Bear and Roundout. / al
ways got the best start | could, sos to
geI well M the range while the crust
was hard and before the sun had been
up long enough TO mellow things up
aud make IL AWKWARD for me, for
wasn't very handy even yet with them
louS Norwegian suowshoes. never
stopped on the trip for nothin', being
Always more anxious to get through
than to rest; but this partic'lar morn.