The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-02
STORIES OF CLERGYMEN
LITTLE NONSENSE NOW AND
 THEN RELISHED BY THEM.
Bishop Latane's Joke-The Famous St. Jezebel Narrative of Balti-
 more Cleric-Dr. Henson's ,e "Bull"-Neat Conundrum.
Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Sun. ssr
 At an informal ckrgyncn's dinner giver the other night some excellent sto- ries current among the local clergy wero -. One of the most enjoyed was told of tts late esteemed Bishop, Latane, who was sufficiently broad min led to enjoy joke even at his own expense.
 The Bishop was once making series Of visits to the then scattered parishes of Canada. It was Summer. and the clergy snan, worn down from his Winters work. resolved to take advantage of this apror- trnity for mental relaxation and to preach the same sermon at each of the several churches visited So he wrote one sermon--a good, strong, stirring ser mon, and without another line of manu- script started on his Journey. It was preached at first at St. John. N. B.. and received the appreciation 1t deserved, but of embarrassment. The vestrymen of several parishes thought the sermon too good to be lost, and in turn besought the Bishop to allow the whole or portions of it to be published in their local papers. ]sBooked to preach in thirteen parishes be- fore he concluded in Ontario, the clergy man warded off. with one excuse or an- other, this threatened exposure of his one and only oratoric Il effort but when the last parish was req ,hed and the last ser mon delivered he yielded gracefully to persuasion and committed the manuscrip. to the publishers hands. Alas. for the Bishops precautions. It had been his un- varying custom to jot down at the end of a manuscript the places in which that special sermon had been preached and the dates of it's delivery. Tie Canadian man. uscript had proved no exception to the rule The editor of the local newspaper published the sermon in full with the addition of preached at. followed by the dates of delivery and the names of the thirteen parishes of Canada.
 The famous St. Jezebel narrative is one of the ch, ,ice stories of a present. Bishop of Baltimore It was just after the Civil War and one of the church bodies was endeavoring to establish colored churches with colored pastors in the South. There was q lack of men qualified to be or dained. In this emergency the church. men decided to ordain several colored men who were recognized exhorters among the colored parishes. and known to be men of piety. Some slight preliminary exami- nation was deemed advisable, however. and they were questioning a candidate to learn what qualifications he possessed Of Moses he knew that he had led the children of Israel through the wilder ness. David had been king who played a harp, Paul wrote epistles. hut vague ness of detail accompanied each.
 In despair the examiners asked the can didate to tell them something of his own accord that he did know fully and in de- tail. He said he khew the story of St Jeza Belle. and told tsomewhat as fol- lows: St. Jeza Belle she sat at an upper window of the Palace of Samaria looking , out, and King Ahab he came riding along and he mighty bad and he say: Throw her. down. and they threw her down: times." and they threw her down seven times And he say. Throw her down seventy times seven"' and 1t was done. And the dogs came and licked her sores, and of the remains they gathered up twelve baskets full and whose wife shall she be in the resurrection?
 Bishop John H. Vincent of Buffalo once head of the Chautauqua Circle was in- troducing Dr.. Henson of Chicago. H., who was to deliver a lecture to the Chau- tauoua audience on Fools The intro auction was after this fashion: Ladies and gentlemen, the lecture to be delivered tonisht is upon fools, by one"-here RIshop Vincent was attacked by & vio- lent ft of coughing and when he re-