Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-11-22

still sparkling with enthusiasm over
the triumphs of the Sunday School. l
asked, '.Is there not a person called
Jesus whom men praise for all the
blessings of this place?'' 30, yes sir.
he answered. '.there is such a person
here somewhere, but he is not entitled
to much praise from US; they say he
did die once on earth, but that would
never have saved us if we had not been
good, and we would not have been
good if We had not gone to Sunday
School. So look at it as you may, sir,
it was the Sunday School that saved
US. So we do not praise him. we
praise the bridge that carried US over"
The procession had by this time pass
ed far into the distance. the fluttering
banners had almost disappeared from
view, and the last echo of the words,
The Sunday School Army is March
ing" was dying upon the breeze.
The feelings of dissatisfaction which
came over me after my interview with
the infants had increased continually,
until now they were grown into an in
tolerable burden. / now turned to my
right and ascended a little hill; upon
reaching the summit, discovered hid
den away in a secluded place a curious
little temple, such as the traveller is
likely to come upon in the country
districts of India. Within the temple
a number of people were kneeling be-
fore two shrines, all kindled with the
most ardent and self-sacrifcing devo-
ton. Upon inquiry found that one
of the shrines contained simply small
American coin, and the other a few
leaflets of paper; these constituted the
supreme object of the worshipers'
praise. l stood for awhile in sore
amazement; my heart wasted away
under a deadening thrill OF hopes
blighted. Idolatry and idolators in
heaven! In my madness of despair l
touch one of the company and asked
him who they were, where they came
from and the meaning OF their strange
devotion. All this time the worship
ers were kneeling around both shrines.
some kissing the coin, others pressing
the little leaves of paper to their bos-
SONS, and all muttering vows and
chanting their wild, wierd hymns OF
praise. In reply to my inquiry the
man said, 1--WE are Hindoos and have
lately arrived from India. Some OF us
worship at the shrine of the coin, be-
cause we are sure that if it had not
been for American money we would
never have been here. We have pre-
served here in this shrine the first coin
ever contributed toward saving men
from torment; the very identical pen
ny, sir. Those whom you saw cross
ing the little bits of paper at the other
altar were cherishing the instruments
which brought them here. These
bits of paper, held SO sacred by them.
are called by the English speaking
people, tracts. They were furnished
by the American Tract Society. Those
who taught us in India told Us that we
would praise God through Christ when
we should live here, but then they
said that without the money and the
hits of paper we never would have
heard of this place, and consequently
we never could have come here. Our
motto in the world from whence We
came, sir, was: Honor to whom hon.
or is DUE and we have had no cause
to change it since coming here, SO we
built temple upon this hill, as it was
our custom in India, and yield our
selves to the undivided honor and
praise of the power that saved u.s."
slowly descended the hill on the
opposite side from where had ascend
ed. l at length found myself in the
midst of most charming. luxuriant
valley. The place was filled with the
music of flowing waters, the smell of
ripening fruits and the fragrance of
blooming flowers. My feelings were
soothed and quieted by the sweetness of
the place. l unconsciously dropped
into a reverie which was soon broken
by coming suddenly upon small.
select group of men and women. They
carried an air of culture and refine
meut, and seemed to be keeping aloof
from the general tbrong of Inhabitants.
Their small appearance and aristocra-
tic behavior awakened within me a
curiosity to hear their story. l ap-
preached them very respectfully and
after a polite apology for my intrusion
| I made bold to ask them who they
were. and how they gained admission
there. One of their company volun-
teered to unfold the following short
but suggestive account of their good
fortune: ..Before we came here, y
| said he, ..we lived in the world. There
we belonged to the elite, to the upper
| four hundred We are about the first
! of our station in life that ever came
here. For long time all the preach