The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-11-17
THE MINISTER'S FILTRATION.

First Presbyterian church Of Homer
vile, was young man of about rs.
It was his first call, but it was agreed
that his sermons were the best ever
delivered before that congregation.
He was also popular in social way,
and, taken all around, he had a
standing that few young ministers
could boast of. When he had been
in bonneville six months, he had
made just two enemies. These were
an old maid named Angelina Harris
and her father Neither was an open
enemy, but Angelina was piqued and
provoked and somewhat imbittered
because the minister had kept clear of
the matrimonial net she would have
thrown about him. She would have
been willing to make match of it
with almost any one, but it was the
ambition of her soul to marry clergy
man. She struck the young rever-
ends trail at an early date, and she
followed it with ardor and persistency
until he was obliged to give her the
cold snub. AS she was one of his
flock, and as her father was a would
be pillar of the church, the snub was
not ice cold or full of carpet tacks,
but he made his meaning plain never
theless.
From that hour Angelina Harris
had it in mind to do that good man
up. She didn't give her hand away
by throwing out little slurs and in
nuendoes, because she would have
found no one to listen to her, but she
set herself to watch and bide her
time. He who watches and bides
finds an opening sooner or later. As
Angelina was keeping tab on current
events a widow named Moreland
moved to bonneville from Chicago.
She was young, rich, vivacious and
took her place at the head of society
at once. She occupied the house ex-
actly opposite the one in which the
minister lodged, and it was also next
door on the left to that occupied by
Mr.. Harris. She hadn't got settled
yet when Angelina made up her
mind that hsr, Sfueen Was YaIe ia tGrw watGiAP far
and the minister. She sized the
widow up for firt, and though she
had never seen the Rev. Peters in
dulge in anything of the kind, there
was no telling what he might do if
coaxed on by designing woman.
A couple of weeks had passed when
one hot afternoon the Chicago widow
sat down at an open window to read
and fan herself. She hadn't been
there ten minutes when the Rev.
Peters sat down at one of his second
story windows to do the same thing.
The widow didn't see him, and he
didn't see the widow, but Angelina
saw them both. She saw the widows
fan waved in way that said, "Glad
to see you," and the reply was wav-
ed back. "Many thanks" Then the
widows fan began an outrageous
Irritation, and the minister's fan kept
company with it, and even when she
waved that she thought she could
love him for himself alone he wasn't
driven off the field. The snubbed
girl had watched and bided, and in
day or two a social thunderclap shook
the town.
The father of Angelina, would be
pillar, etc., had not found the Rev.
Peters as clay in his hands, as he had
hoped for, and his effort to run things
connected with the church to suit his
own ideas had not proved successful.
He had put up with defeat as meek
ly as possible, but, like Angelina, he
was on the watch and the bide.
That his only child and favorite
daughter should have failed to make
a sentimental impression was another
thorn in his side, and a smile of sat
isfaction lighted his face as she call
ed him to witness the last five min
utes of the Irritation. With his own
eyes he saw those fans working as if
driven by steam power. He wasn't t
man to stand anything of that sort
even if he hadn't had a grievance.
He drew the line at minister riding
the bike or playing croquet and
thought he was overliberal at that.
Within day he and Angelina had
taken care that about so different
members of the church had been post
ed on the filtration. 1t is needless to
say that people were dumfounded
and that the Rev. Peters wabbled
about and almost fell down in a faint
when he heard the gossip. AS for
the Widow Moreland, she was more
than astonished, but of course she
had to giggle over it. When the
elders of the church doubted the san
ity of Angelina's father in spreading
such a yarn, he vigorously replied
"I'll show you whether I'm crazy
or not Call meeting of the vestry
and I will be there to make my state
ment and prove it /! When l see {
Irritation with my own eyes, I CUES:
I know it from a ton of coal |"
A meeting of the elders was called
1t had to be. The minister wanted
| it as we'll as Mr.. Harris. When al
was ready to take up the charges, i
was Elder Spooner who asked in hi
slick, sauve way:
"Now, Brother Harris, how loni
since you firted with a woman :"
"Never in all my life p was th'
indignant answer.
"Then will you please tell us hcy
you knew this was a Irritation 7"
"Why-why, they were wavinI
there fans at each other"
''But we have seen plenty of fan