The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-20
hMOntdnd Divorce Suit



the rear platform of the express when
she went through here this morning?''
said the Jericho station master Hes
the Athensyille Baptist preacher, and
he's on his way TO Chicago to give his
testimony in the great divorce suit.
What l never told you about any di-
vorce suit? Well, You surprise me, for
that there divorce suit is just the big
gest thing of the kind we have ever had
IN this section Of the country.
"That Baptist preacher hasn't any
thing to do with it except to swear that
he married the plaintiff and the defend
ant. There's nothing crooked about the
Rev. Mr.. Humphreys. He's as good as
they make 'em, though say it myself,
and don't think much of Baptists as a
general thing, having been brought up
Methodist, though l resigned from
them when l was made conductor,
which is a berth that a man can't do
anything with unless he can swear a
blue streak when the occasion arises.
''This hyer preacher took charge of
the Athensville Baptist church matter
Of five years ago, and, being a wonderful
man for managing church and max
ing it attractive TO the general public,
it wasn't long before he had the largest
congregation of any preacher in the
place. The Presbyterian minister felt
that he had TO do something to main
tain his position, so he preached Sc
ries of sermons on baptism, proving, as
he thought, that sprinkling was the on
~ authorized way of baptism, and that
immersion was all a mistake. In one of
his sermons he made pretty good
point by showing that on one occasion
John the Baptist baptized so many peo-
pie in the course of day that he must
have averaged three to the minute.
This, the preacher claimed, would have
been impossible if he had done it in any
other way than by sprinkling. Mr..
Humphreys only laughed when they
told him about this sermon and said,
Just wait till we have our regular
spring baptiZing season.. So the next
spring, when there were about 40 peo-
pie young and old waiting TO join the
Baptists, Mr.. Humphreys, he takes the
whole lot down TO the creek and i'm
merses every one of them in less than
ten minutes, breaking the record and
beating John the Baptist's best time
This made him more popular than ever,
and that year the people built him a
new church twice as big as the old one.
1t stands on the hill about mile out
of Athensville, for when it was built il
was cal'lated that the town would grow
s., hot Il s,,
hasn't done.
Il tell this just TO show what an en-
terprising man the parson was. He in
sisted on having the tallest steeple TO
his new church that could be found
anywhere i'll Montana territory, and
b'gosh he got it. People used TO come
from miles away TO climb up in that
steeple and see the view. There wasn't
any view TO speak Of, the country being
too hilly in those parts to have much
scenery, but for all that people were anx-
ious 10 say that they had been to the
top Of the steeple.
There was an old maid in Mr..
Humphreys congregation who was
more determined TO get married than
any woman you ever saw. She was one
of those thin, persevering looking wo-
men, and a mighty dangerous sort they
are. Miss Payson, which was this lady's
name, was bound to marry young man
by the name of Halsey, who had never
done her any harm and was about as
sensible and well behaved a chap as
there was in all Athensville. OF course
he didn't have the least idea of marry
ing the woman, but he was one of those
good tempered chaps that are always
afraid 10 say no when woman asks
them TO do anything. Good temper is
the ruin Of lots of folks. It's kept me
down. l know that. If I'd been one of
these crusty, rampageous fellows that
never do a kind action if they can help
1t, | should have been superintendent
Of this road instead OF being only a sta
tion master at one Of the smallest sta
lions IN the territory. Never you be too
good tempered. OF the two it ruins
more men than whisky.
lone day Miss Payson she gets young
Halsey to take her up in the steeple of
the Baptist church. You see, visitors
were always going up that steeple be-
tween the hours of 10 and 3, during
which the sexton staid at the church to
attend to things and see that they
conducted themselves as they should.
AT O'Clock he locked up the door that
led to the steepie, and then he locked
up the church door and went home for
the night.
Miss Payson and her young man
went up the steeple about O'Clock in
the afternoon, but she said she enjoyed
1t so much that Halsey was prevailed
upon to stay there with her good deal
larer than he had intended to stay. She
kept him pointing out all the houses in
the town and every hill and valley in
the whole neighborhood, and when she
finally asked him to look at his watch
and tell her the time she was, as she
pretended, dreadfully alarmed to find
that 1T was half past 8. Halsey ran
down the stairs and found that the door
was locked, and nobody was within
hearing. The sexton had forgotten that