The Teton peak. [volume] (St. Anthony, Idaho) 1899-1904, 1904-02-04
THE DEACON'S f..
ONE TIME THAT THE COED Il
BROKE HIS WORD.
It's True That "Boys Are Their
ers Born Again, and Precept Is
gotten When Example ! Us
Eyes OF Men,"

And his freckefaced boy, Johosap.a
And the terrible snow that fell one
| Till it covered the house tops, pretty
And starved the sheep and froze the
And haven't you ever heard tell of t
And the flakes, of a most remark.
They came a-futtering out of the
Till they filled the fields and leveleG
lanes
And drifted against the window panea
And banked the houses snug and riga
Till they shut out just about all the lis
And folks burned candles day and MI
To hear this story as one should
1t must be thoroughly understood
That Deacon Pratt was of Puritan stoc,
With a faith fixed as the Plymou,
Rock
And he never had met force or shoe.
That swerved his will the merest mite
For black is black and white is whit
And wrong is wrong and right is rigAs."
sad the Deacon: Keep that thought
sight
And you'll find your way bv dav o.
night
though in all things else so circumsDc
Inc Deacon owned one grave defect:
but where is the man who is quite cor
rect?
lis moro than a mortal dare expect
Ana some are candid enough to say
II is better that men are made that way
tor somewhere meanness must get out
and one good weakness. without doubt
Makes the rest of the moral structure
stout
ne loved tobacco, the Deacon did.
And never was found without his uuid.
But he tried his best to keep it hid.
For the Deacon clearly reasoned that
me sly, keen-eyed Jehosaphat
on seeing the sire take his chew.
Might some time dare to try it TOO.
W men the Deacon vowed would never
do
20 me boy was made to understand
re would have his packet soundly tame
II ever he dared to taste or touch
ne thing the Deacon loved so much;
ana as far as the w0~ld had seen &
heard.
me Deacon never broke his word.
Is | was saying. the snow came down
~ the beacon, who'd planned to DIR,
to town
nat very day, was quite shut in,
tnd. as a punishment for his sin.
he hadn't so much as a single chew.
50 what in the world was the man 10 doo
lie was all of a trenble his nerves pyo
long
We're quite unstrung. and the worl
seemed wrong
ne outward sign of an inward grace
nat sometimes shone on the Deacon
eemed gone forever, and in its place
Vas a sorry look of deep dismav
ma those who got in the Deacon's ~
Nere quite surprised at the things he'd I
say:
ma once he kicked at the old house ~
n fact' did several things IN Char.
men dldn appear exactly right
2 one who posed as a shining ijgnt
he Deacon. in seeking a substiii,te
or the noxious weed, chewed ba~lo.
root
nd cinnamon, lioorice, sassafras.
loVes boneset, peppermint-alas,
e nave willingly chewed pltch-Y.lis
= anything else. no matter what
Weet, sour, bitter. cold or hot
only it would have touched the sno, >"
ne snow kept coming more ard more
. I the Deacon. fear. he almost svore
o. ne TUNED and fretted ana said BY
his is worse than the suffering at Val
ley Forge:
othes "iio
here's e,so. something :. dearer than both Of
oys are their fathers born again
lu precept is forgotten when
fills the eyes of men.
IKE sire Ike SON the youth had
use the weed he should have spurned
own in his heart the Deacon's how
ell knew he held the KEYS TO ioy
1t, all he dare not rouse tbe ro
lie herce, the all-consumng fire.
lie laying-on- of-hands desire
that stern Puritanic sire
saying to him. You shall share
stock, since | have some to snare"
,e Deacon verged upon collaDse
men a wondfous thing occurred nar.
haps GU per,
r when he rose up from his cba,. {
joyous spectacle, lying where
think w you
e Deacon saw, and quick as a wink
ppeu INTO his pocket? Twas a twist
tobacco half as big as his fist,
u the Deacon saying his last "Amen ),
We one swift glance at the how a.,
then S anu ,
reason of instinct, clearly knew
rum and knew that his boy did t
he trounce that youngs4er ,oro a., a
good us anu {
a stiff-necked, true-bIue p,rita ,
should? Titan
no: Ills drawn face beamed and ;,
smiled anu
childn' aS YOU
ms trembling knees resought tho eoo. t
ne said; Let us all give thanLs O
once more,' 'i''hhs =
4 mat Is how, so l have heard n
IL the Deacon came to break his u,on, .,
Boston Globe. =
Ills years crop of potatoes in Idaho p
ne greatest ever known. Already s.