St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-11-09

leader that night was regular old
time, befo'-the-war nanny, and good
ness fairly beamed from her counte-
nance.
"'I bin h-ar so long, 30 long
So long, SO long,
Ibin liar SO long,
she chanted in weird. pathetic voice,
and every person in the congregation
who was able to lift his or her voice
chanted the refrain at the end OF every
three lines:
"tGin me little time ter pray
EVERY one was in motion. Some
swayed their bodies backward and for
ward, some shufled their feet in time
to the music, and the very happy ones
c1apped their hands and shouted:
Glory. my Lawdr This kept up for
hours Several PROSTATE forms were
carried out, and a number were left IN |
the church, where they lay until next
day. When ] got tired and went away |
that night the little preacher, utterly
worn out, had curled herself up in
splint-bottom chair, and was enjoying
the sleep of innocent childhood.
could hardly sleep that night for think
ing about that meeting ! tell you,
boys, was impressed"
~ always thought you were above
such superstition, squire remarked
some one, as the squire stopped to refill
his s.lds9 pipe ,,+ h.,,, .ha next
night, {" resumed the squire, "and for
the first time got a good view OF the
little preacher. She is perfect child
in looks and ways. Her complexion is
about the color of an old mustard
ground ginger cake, her teeth white
and even, the whites of her large,
mournful eyes prominent, and she
doesn't weigh more than sixty or seven
ty pounds There were a lot of white
people in the congregation, but she
took no notice of them. Curiosity
prompted me to go to listen to her, but
interest held me there. She spoke
right cut in the most earnest way, as
If her only thought was preaching the
Gospel Her delivery and gestures
were easy, and, in fact, what she said
and the way she said it beat nine
tenths of the preachers-especially
these .evangelists-w white or black.
"She opened service with avery good
prayer, and read, or rather recited, a
chapter from the Bible, which did not
bear on the sermon in the least. Her
one thought seems TO be to prepare for
the Great Beyond. which she desig-
mates as way over yonder.' She talks
about the hereafter in most pathetic
way. and remember on that particu-
lar night her text was: Business in
Heaven
's'I'll meet you there, sinner she
said, for / got business with Capt.
Jesus. must tend to it. must go
where partin' is no mo-. I got to put
on long white robe, starry crown,
silver slippers, and sit at my Masters
feet. I'll meet you over yonder, way
over yonder, for we all got to cross
Jordan stream dry shod and go over
| yonder I'll meet you there, sad
hearted mothers. I'll meet you there,
wicked fathers I'm going to get In
side those pearly gates. Are you9 Are
your Sinner. you must get right
Learn it now. Now is the time. Way
1 over wonder may be too late for you.
and so on. Night after night went
and each time she had new sermon
each one containing sad strain.
''She made pathetic figure, always
clad in deepest black without the
slightest touch of color, that children
/ love SO well, or the faintest suggestion
| of an ornament. When occasion de
1 manded she rebuked thoughtless per
sons for bad behavior in q few clear
| cut, kind sentences, and went right OF
with her sermon. If the Gospel grind
ers would only learn that 1t isn't thes'
1 staggering truths, which cannot b
grasped by the average mind, but
4 doctrine of simple, earnest faith tina
arouses people to better living. Blu
they never will, Now 1t was the sin
cerity of the little niger, and th
earnestness Of her followers, that i'm
pressed me, and, while can't say tina
she converted me, she certainly set IN
q to thinking, and Iconcluded to leav
off doing certain things
II wanted to give her something, an
couldn't make up my mind what t
buy her She reads poorly, and ca
scarcely write at all, but somehoV
she didn't seem like child that woul
care for toys. Finally, in a sort {
desperation, settled on large wa
] doll with highly colored cheeks and
mass Of yellow hair. Ii you coul
have seen her antics of delight Whe
she found that it was all her own. 81
i clasped it to her as if she would neve
let ii 90. and then she told me that ST
> used always to preach sermons to he
dolls, and that the people who owe
3 heard her persuaded her to preach
: people, which was the very thing 81
a had always longed to do.
Everybody agrees that she is wol
der. and / tell you she is. Many whi
t people think her inspired, and I'll
D blacks believe that she is sent direct
t from God as warning, and that Il
n i Judgment day is coming soon. dor
r know, because I've never thought
/ great deal about such things. But
!. do think she is entirely different fro
d any little child that I've ever seen, al
n / shall never, never forget her. wi
4 her solemn ways and her unceasii
e warnings about what we must do al
]. must not do if we want to meet ea'
d other when we get home. way ov
It yonder.'" :"
h There was a great shufling Of fee
h coughing and clearing OF throa
e among the squire's visitors as ne co
{. cluded. and the clustering gentlem
q from Kentucky began to denounce t
o excise law in loud tones But {
squire looked at the rings OF smoke
s. A. - xr-.., ,,-1yard from his r0T