The Republican journal., 1902-01-02
Gle BROWN AND ELDER IoNrs,


Nrmon that was preached so years ago
~ one of the back towns Of Maine, and
q not yet forgotten. The preacher at
was vigorous and strong. He had
,.I Fen in the ministry 40 years, and began
~ preach when he was 40 years old
nv He was farmer preacher. When he
aAplJ call to preach, he prepared himself
resy self-culture. His study was in the
.XFpen air while at work on the farm, and
we had habit of talking his sermons
10 himself while he was hoeing corn
~hills. His mind was so concentrated on
Shis sermon that he did not always see
Fall the weeds in the corn, and at night
Nthe boys would move his hoe back where
q he began in the morning, and he would
& hoe the same ground over the next day,
. every Sunday.
\ Elder Jones was we'll TODD man for
the times. When he was ordained some
4 of the people objected because he was
one of the largest taxpayers in the
town, and the property of ministers of
the gospel was exempt from taxes. He
was ordained all the same, and joined
the Baptists, but his life belied the creed
of Calvin. His creed was industry,
activity and the golden rule
One year there was cold season and
short crops. Many suffered for bread
and corn ''riz." Elder Jones had corn,
but he sold corn only to the poor, to
those who had no money, and was paid
in the next years crop, bushe for
bushel, when corn had dropped in the
market more than one-half
In his sermons he had little to say
about the kingdom come, but lie had
much to say about heaven we could
T. ,,f ,l.,t,
around which he built his sermons was,
1--WE are commanded not to eat the
bread of idlenesS." He preached from
the heart to the heart and without
compensation, if need be, but he was a
preacher who "Wore Well,' and the
people contributed literally to his
support.
His Sunday service was communion
of heart to heart, and the people were
SO filled with the theme of the sermon
that they preached it over among
themselves. The theme of his sermons
was the JOY and comfort of living
righteous lives in this world, and that
was all that was needed to open the
portals of heaven in the hereafter.
That kind of religion is just as good
now as 80 years ago.
Uncle Ezekiel Brown and Elder Jones
We're lifelong friends and neighbors, and
lived Oh adjoining farms. In their
Younger days, before the elder had d
cell to preach, they changed work and
did their farm work together At so
they We're so happy and cheerful and
vigorous of body that it seemed they
would slide into 100 without growing old,
but Uncle Zekiel while in apparently
good health, dropped dead i'll the road.
iNbI. I dow ,n
ncle Ezekiel had yoked the oxen to 90
with the children into the woods after a
Christmas tree He had long body on
the sled, and % girls and boys piled on.
AS the team started off the children
sang songs. The dog took the lead, and
Uncle 'Zekiel was in his kingdom come.
After a haif-hOurs drive in a logging
road the dog stopped and barked at a
place where there were plenty Christmas
trees.
While the children were picking out a
Christmas tree Uncle Ezekiel and the
larger boys made a bed in the body of
the sled of fir boughs. They covered
the floor of the sled foot deep with
fir boughs. Uncle Ezekiel cut the limbs
off the fir trees and the boys and dog
carried EN- to the sled. The place where
they stopped was a rabbit swamp. The
children's talk and laughter scared the
rabbits, and the rabbits jumped and ran
to get away from the noise The dog
took no notice of the game; he had
Christmas tree on the brain.
! Each of the children had picked out
a Christmas tree, and each wanted
t Uncle Ezekiel to cut their tree. AL
We're good trees, but Uncle 'Zekle
selected a tree that had not been picked
| out by the children, and they all sale
that Uncle 'Zekiel's tree was the best
| Christmas tree in the woods. The
Christmas tree was piled upon the sled
and the children crawled into the bed
of fir boughs, their heads sticking ul
through the branches of the Christmas
| tree like the young ones i'll birds
nest As the team got under way
1 homeward bound, the dog barked al
the houses SO that the women folks
! could come out to see the show. All the
logging teams got out of the road and
. gave Uncle Ezekiel the right of way
and all of the people came out of theil
houses and followed in his wake.
l AS Uncle Ezekiel said Whoa, hish.
at the end of his journey, and looked
into the happy faces of the BOYS alb
girls on the Sled, half buried in the bee
n of fir boughs and the limbs of the
:. Christmas tree, look of heavenly JOY
beamed from his countenance tnd ne
dropped dead. He had come to the enc
of his journey on this earth. tie had
? lived long, useful and happy Ute, and
died without pain at a momelt when
he was supremely happy.
h The Christmas tree was hung Uncle
/, Ezekiel had cut his last Christmas tree
on this earth, and from that tree the
r children received their presents. That
tree was cut up into pieces which are
d priced and preserved to this dy. Elder
Jones said Uncle Ezekiel hads5one to a
d sweeter and better life, WIRE every
day in the year was ChristmS day.
The people came to the fu.eral from
all the countryside. So may had to
stand outside during the s'Fvlce that
2, they trod the snow down c ear around
l. the house as hard as paverent. The
deeds of Uncle Ezekiel wet bright
page in the history of the cSmmunity
Uncle Ezekiel needed no funettl sermon.
His funeral sermon was inthe wind
Elder Jones knew that everybody
s, was preaching Uncle Zekifss funeral
|. sermon, and he made the seVlce short
The coffin was banked WITH hr boughs
that Uncle Ezekiel had cul to make a
5, soft bed for the children IN the sled
80 ,Cbo dor had a caat with tE mOurnarS