The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-12-26
SIN AND RELIGION.
Arp Mixes Circuses and the
Preachers in His Essay.
Both Here to Stay Awhile RobinsOn'o
spangIes and DR.. wilson's Sermons
Are Old Friends Of Bartow's
PHILOSOPHERS.

some OF the g~ranQelluFeu ana turned
them over to a friend. They had never
seen one and were happy. Now they
have something to talk about for a
month. What a revelation it is to the
youthful mind. / remember it we'll,
My father took me to one when /
was seven years old, and it still seems
like that was the best one. Away back
in those days menageries and circuses
were not combined. They did not
travel together nor come at the same
time.
When old John Robinson first started
out he didn't have any animals. The
menagerie was orthodox; the circus
was heterodox. Christians could go to
the one and sinners to the other. But
by and by the circus was attached to
the menagerie and together they
caught all kinds and colors. 1t is like a
Sunday excursion train to a tabernacle
meeting. The devil knows how to mix
up frolic and fun with prayers and ser
MONS.
Yesterday 1 travelled with a SCORE or
Two of preachers and elders who were
going to Athens to attend the synod.
They re- bright and genial and had
on their best clothes. They are good
company. They wear a subdued
Christian hilarity and have a fund of
orthodox anecdotes to tell each other
on the way. About four times a year
the preachers go somewhere to a re-
ligious convention, and each one is ex-
pected to bring with him a fresh sup
ply of wit and incident-some pepper
and salt TO add 7est to the religious
feast. In the old solemn times of
DR.. Wilson and DR.. Patterson and IA
ther, say, wit and humor were under
the ban. If they were not sin they
were on the verge of it. Sidney Smith
was considered almost a hereto and his
clerical wit as un-Calvinistic, if not
something worse. Igrew up under the
solemnities. of old school Presbyterians
and had a good time on Sundays, listen
ing and nodding assent to DR.. Wilson's
sermons on predestination and original
sin. If the good old doctor was living
now he would attack DIR. Robins and
his book with all the accumulated
weapons of a century of study and then
seek to knock him down with Calvin's
Institutes.
But u modern clergy are more like
human beings; more like human ma
ture; more like ourselves. They are
not so austere and solemn. They are
social and some of the younger ones
will go a-ishing or play ball and the
older ones tell anecdotes and smile
quite audibly. We were talking about
the circus yesterday and one Of them
told how he attended a synod onee at
Thomasville, and it was circus day
and there was a grand street pageant
with music and banners, and all the
animals were on dress parade. The
synod was in session, and as the in
spring strains OF the martial music fell
upon the synod's ears a lay brother
couldn't subdue his feelings. He rose
forward timidly and said:
"Mr. Moderator, it will be impossible
for us to transact any business until
that music passes by, for we can't hear
anything that is read or spoken. Imove
you, sir, that we take a recess for ten
minutes"
Whereupon an old Calyinistic preach
er bounced him and squelched him
with indignant sarcasm:
"Recess, indeedl Recess for q circus
to pass by; recess because the devil
with his satellites is in sinful process
sion at our doors. No, sir. We will
talk louder and draw nearer, but no re
cess"
Nearer and nearer came the band,
and when the lion gave an unearthly
howl preachers and laymen began tc
tiptoe out until there was nobody left
save the moderator and the old man
In due time the music died away in the
distance and the delegates tiptoe6
back TO their places.
A layman whom everybody loved
then told how one of these old-time
solemn preachers squelched all tht
hflarity out of him. Said he:
II was born with a lively ems of th'
ridiculous, and sometimes have hart
work to restrain my risibles. One day
our good old preacher asked me to rid
out with him to see a man who wai
partially paralyzed and was likely tx
die impenitent unless it was the Lord
will that he should be saved. So W.
visited him and after the usual prelimi
naries the old preacher said:
"sMy friend, would it please you 70
me to read a chapter from the Hol,
Scriptures and have a prayer in you
} behalf?'
"sWell, l don't mind. I'm willin' Il
oolige you if it will do you any good,
: said he.
"The manner and tone in which h,
said it excited me, but I bit my Iii
and suppressed any unseemly emotions
) So the chapter was read, and tn
old preacher said, in solemn az
cent: My impenitent friend, did yor
3 ever hear that chapter read before;
{ Not exactly said he, but it appears t
me that Tom Garner writ somethini
/ scrter like it in a letter from Texa
D once That nearly upset me, and tn
old preacher noticed it. After the praye
we said good-by and got into th
! buggy. For half q mile the old ma
never said a word; neither did I. Sue
denly he gave a side look toward N
q and slowly said: Brother Williamson
: are you right sure that you have in you
! heart the evidences of being q Chri.