The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-11-24
The Parsons Sdfdrv.
The Church Was Too Poor to Pay
It, and He Went without It.

The Rev. John Sopor tried hard to do
his duty when he became pastor of a
church at Windport, down on Long Is
land. 1t was his first charge, and he
soon began to think that, when he was
called to the ministry, either the wrong
John Sopor answered the telephone or
the message was a fake one. One OF
the first things he found out was that
the church was In debt and willing to
become more so. For a month or two
he got the whole Of his miserably
small salary. Then he got only part of
it, and finally he found it necessary to
speak about the condition Of things.
Deacon SITTER was the chief man In
the church. He had the reputation Of
being we'll to do. He was the principal
]storekeeper in the village and lived
away from his business in IN old fash
Toned dwelling, facing on the main
street. His daughter Rachel was a
very charming girl Of 10 or 20. All the
young men around We're anxious Tor
her acquaintance. But Rachel had re-
ceived a good education and was,
moreover, sincerely pious and had no
taste for the boorish manners, uncouth
speech and careless habits Of most OF
the young men around. The new pas
tor was a very different man from the
natives in all respects. He was tall,
strong and erect, with a manly face
and gentle methods. He was we'll In
formed and knew how to talk and
didn't assume an air of superiority, as
some young pastors do. I think that 1t
IL best to say at onc that he fell IN
love with Rachel and that she was
willing and glad. Neither Is 1t neces-
sary to say that he visited the deacon's
house oftener than any other In Wind
port.
have said that the pastors salary
was miserably small. So when 1t came
in regularly 1t was barely enough to
pay his living expenses. When 1t ceas-
ed to come In, he was taken aback.
So he went to the deacon and had a
long talk with him, and the deacon
said he would see about 1t.
II hope you will as speedily as pos
sible," said the pastor, "for, you see,
I nm a poor man and possess no other
income"
The deacon and his wife after this
laid their heads together. They had
noticed the pastors liking for Rachel
and felt rather flattered, taking 1t for
granted that a young man who had
spent years ut college, always dressed
we'll and had accepted the charge Of so
poor a church must have a good in
come apart from his profession. The
result was that husband and wife
agreed that the pastors visits must
be discouraged, as they expected their
daughter to marry a man Of means n
not a pauper. no matter how good he
might be. OF cours 1t devolved on
Mrs. SITTER to let the pastor under
stand in an offhand way the views Of
herself and her husband as to their ex-
pectations about Rachel.
So when the pastor called soon aft
erward and al having a pleasant con-
~versation with Rachel In the parlor her
mother hustled In and greeted Mr..
Sopor with much fervor. She sat down
and talked about the weather and the
crops and the Sunday school and the
hard times. Then she suddenly re-
membered that she wanted something
from the store and supposed that
Rachel wouldn't mind fetching 1t.
Rachel at once rose, excused herself
and departed on her mission.
"See how readily she goes" said her
mother. "She's a real good girl, and
I'm so thankful that, In spite Of her
fine education. she is always ready to
help me. You see, some people thought
we was sp'iling her when we sent her
to college. but she was u only one,
and we were anxious that she should
be n fit wife for a good man, no mat
ter how high up he might be. We've
seen n many nice girls make up with
young men and marry them, though
they hadn't more than $40 or $40 a
week, and In most cases when any
thing out Of the way happened they
Ind to fall back on their parents for
help. or course we've got a little
something laid by, but don't intend u
daughter to depend on that when she
gets married. Better stay single and
bide at home than do that"
There was only one Interpretation
which Mr.. Sopor could find for this
speech. including the $40 or $12 a
week allusion, and that was that the
deacon and his wife had seen his liking
for Rachel and wanted 1t understood
that they would strenuously object to
him as a son-in-law.
A few days later in the evening a
church meeting was held, and the pas
tor spoke very plainly about his salary
and the failure Of the members to at
tend the services and subscribe. He
was always a plain speaker. In the
pulpit he used simple language and
homely illustrations and talked
politics or lectured on novels, but kept
close to his text.
~ won't be in debt for the food !
eat" he said, '''and so you must either