Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1900-09-14
CLERICAL STORIES.
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS NOTED BY AN
ENGLISH CLERGYMAN.

Dit of Irish ReDnrtee Tbnt neator-
ed Good Humor--Thc Cause of
General Laugh In IA Dublin Cnthc-
dral-An Interrupted Sermon.
IAN Irishman of the full blood can
not resist an opportunity for repartee,
no matter how solemn the occasion or
what his surroundings" said an Eng
fish clergyman, n visitor in Washing
ton. the other day. when the conversa-
ton turned on the funny experiences
of clerEymen and the humor that
crceps into matters connected with the
church.
81 was assisting an old friend of
NINE the rector of a church In Ireland,
one Sunday, and before the service we
were in the vestry room putting on our
robes, with the old sexton, Il shriveled
up Irishman of the perfect type, as
sisting. My friend. who was some
what old, was a little testy that morn
ing, and somehow the sleeve of his
surplice got mixed u7. Notwithstand-
Ing the assduOus efforts of the old sex
ton to direct his arm to the right hole
B l.
losing patience, my friend said sharp
ly: oh, the old boys in the thing
"The old sexton frightened up and,
looking over at me- with a twinkle in
his eye, said as quick as lightning Not
| yit, your riverince.'
1t restored the good humor of the
1 situation, and the yestment was proper
/ L. adjusted
I'll only time I ever heard a conEre-
CATION laugh unrcstralacdly during the
| regular services in a cathedral was
, back In the eighties. when | was
resilient Of dea,, dirty Dublin. On one
/ Sunday morning the bishop of Cork
! preached He was a splendid man, an
Irislmau 10 the backbone and POSSESS
| ed of as fine Il broguc as ever distin-
| guishc1 n son Of Erin. His congrega-
ton was made NJ of the very essence
of fashion in Dublin, which, in those
| Gays, was one Of the greatest social
cen.ers of the world. VIGOROUSLY. pco-
pie were living beyond their means, for
the income from the landed estates Of
ireland had taken II big tumble. But
that uHde no difference. and good
dressing went as a matter of course
and was one of the smallest of the eX-
travagances. The bishop preached on
the subject of extravaganza and spoke
particularly of overdressing. His ser
mon vas n bitter arragnment of the
sin of debt ana the wickedness OF set
ting the heart on fashion and dress.
Iie attacked the oVcrIressed woman
and wound up this particular reference
this way:
Now, suppOsng every one of ye-
overy one, man and woman-should
stand up in this church. take off the
clothes We have not paid for, just walk
in out with the things on your back ye
scarecrows ye'd be-
There was "A pause until the real
Significance Of the suggestion had per
colated through the members of his
congregation, then some one snickered
Every one was picturing to himself and
herself the real scene that would occur
should the bishops idea be carried into
effect, while wife looked Mt husband
and members of each family nudCed
one another. The ludicrous side WAS
irresistible and the laugh was general.
81 once attended church at Whaley
a little village on the borders of Ian
cashire and Yorkshire in England. Tho
church, which had been a part Of tn,
old abbey, WIS built in the year 1OGt
and is today one OF the most interest
ing sacred cdilces IN Great Britain
! The rector WAS q Mr. Whitaker very