The San Francisco call., 1896-12-25

I be forthcoming, provided the cnurCu
would give him the claim after this in
debtedness was expunged. The more he
| reflected on this proposition the more
| favorable it became, SO much so that after
few DAYS he concluded to call his unruly
flock to another conference. The sum-
mons went out, and every body came, as
| everybody will come when there is a fair
prospect of fight.
| The meeting being called to order and
| the fighting blood being warmed, the audi
ence waited till the parson should throw
the first stone. But herein the people
were disappointed. In mild and dispas-
sionate tone he repeated the foregoing
proposition, and scarcely had taken his
seat before the old elders jumped from
their chairs and moved that the proposi-
ton should be accepted by the church.
The motion was seconded by the young
men and in less than an hour the agree
ment was ratified and the war cloud sud-
denly dissipated, nobody knew how. The
meeting adjourned after singing ThanKs-
giving hymn as long and loud as it ever
was sung before.
The parson was highly gratified at this
triumph of peaceful measures, but as he
re turned home he was seriously disturbed
from the consciousness OF not having a
dollar toward the payment of the impend-
ing assessment. A thousand gloomy
specters crossed his mental vision as he
reflected on the immense responsibility he
had assumed without means to meet it,
for, as already seen, he was strapped"
in the lanr uage of the day, and he had
not wherewithaI sufficient to meet family
necessities. There was one source of world
Iy com fort LETT on which one can always
RELY IN the dark hours of life-that was his
wife. To her he poured out the troubled
emotions of his soul, and she, with
womaniy sympathy, instead OF asking for
a divorce, ave him loving kiss and bade
him remem Der the promises which are
given IN that gospel which he expounded
to others.
Now came one of those remarkable cpl
soaes which occasionally develop rain
bow on the dark clouds of life. While
this trouble wes agitating the church a
temporary mill OF small capacity was sub
stituted for the arastra and run made of
picked rock. To the surprise and Joy of
every one, when cleanup" was made,
a golden bar was turned out of such value
as rendered it unnecessary to call in the
assessment which had produced so much
disturbance in the church.
In few days after the aforementioned
occurrence. and while the parson was at
his wits end TO resolve some plan of re-
lief, notice of this fact came from the
mine. This unexpected information razed
the mount tain from his mind, which at
one time threatened both spiritual and
temporal EN- EMBARRASSMENT and with light
and grateful heart he became more
jealous than ever in his ministerial mis-
sion.
The little mill continued to prosper un-
der judicious management and Yielded
monthly dividends, which, in the course
of events, enabled the parson to pay off
the Indebtedness of the church, and this
fact brought again into the field of activity
the same venerable elders who in times
past had been so painfully exercised at
he idea of the church gamb bling in quartz
lodes. They now maintained that their
minister was only the appointed agent of
the church to pay its Indebtedness, and
this fun ction having been performed the
property in the lode should rightfully re-
vert to the church. They urged wonder
fully profound arguments to sustain their
position, and even appealed to the con-
ference to deprive their m mister of his
just rights. Public sentiment was in his
favor, and the committee appointed by
the conference to investigate this matter
confirmed the parsons right to the pos
session OF the property. The young di-