Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1902-01-30

more book and spiritual knowledge
than his parishioners; he must know
at least enough about farming and log
ging and the tanbark industry to dis
cuss these matters intelligently. Above
all, he must appear to believe that he
knows nothing at all.
But when the Muskoka residents do
take a minister to their hearts they
are loath to lose sight of him; apt,
| also, to take it out Of the man who
succeeds him, slightly. Which was
the reason why Archer Gallupin, the
young man who assumed the spiritual
care of about twenty-eight square
miles of territory when Providence and
the Bishop saw fit to remove good old
Father" Andrews to Toronto, won
dered why the Muskoka country peo-
! pie had been described to him as so
hospitable and warm-hearted and
kindly.
Everything went against the young
minister from the beginning. He was
| just out from England to commence
with-a delicate younger son sent out
| to Canada for the sake of the weak
heart which bore testimony to the
failing health of his mothers family;
he had a positive manner, for second
| disadvantage. For a third, the light
trotter and lighter cart which he in
sisted upon purchasing, against the
unanimous advice of his scattered par
ishoners, utterly failed to meet with the
dire disaster predicted for its first en-
counter with the mud of the rainy sea-
sons; fourthly-but the list is too long
for recounting.
The inevitable happened to the
young minister, of course. He found
| the first winter so exhilarating that,
| following the usual course of the
green Englishman," he declined to
protect himself sufficiently, and ac-
quired a severe chest trouble, two froz-
en- ears and a frosted nose which
cleaned brilliantly all the next sum-
mer as a result of his foolishness; he
gloried in the first summer, shivered
| through the first autumn, and only
nerved himself to face the second win
ter by sheer courage and dreams of
| the second spring. He fell in love
with the belle of the Rippleville CEN
ter and was snubbed and tormented
and detested by all the young men of
that locality in consequence. He ap-
preached the goodbye season." when
all the hardy young fellows go off to
"the camps" for the winter, with sad
heart and a bitter sense of failure. He
was not invited to attend a single
goodbye party" and when he told
some of the prospective campers that
he should probably visit them before
| Christmas, since he regarded the Nc
Inness logging camp, at least, as with
in his spiritual boundaries, they
laughed at him openly.
Ride forty miles to visit with us
'shanty-men,' jeered Bill Hardness
brother of the sweet girl whom the
young minister longed after; when
see you I'll expect you. Mr.. Gallupin,
an not afore!"
Still, the time came when the min
lister proved his pluck and prowess
and when, from a logging camp peg
to hang jokes on he was transformed
to a logging camp hero. The manner
of his apotheosis was as follows:
1t was the week before Christmas
and the young minister, making his
Christmas visits to his parishioners
had traversed many miles of hard
packed snow in the light cutter which
had replaced the debated cart He
drove up the side road" to the Hark-
ness farm just about noontime. He
had promised himself to accept the in
evitable dinner invitation and to gel
thoroughly warm. During the second
winter the unfortunate "greenies" are
usually bone cold" perpetually. and
Archer was proving no exception tc
the rule. But the young minister was
not destined to warm himself at the
Hardness fire that day.
The barnyard was deserted. The
kitchen, into which he presently lei
himself, after repeated knockings, was
empty as well. From the front room
opening out of it came a sound of sobs
and troubled feminine voices. Stretch.
ed out on the big bed in the corner lay
Ben Hardness, the youngest son Of the
household, white and unconscious from
the force of the wrongly felled tree
which had fallen upon him at his worl
of taking out logs from the family