The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-05-08
PREACHERS OF AULD LANG
SYNE AND POULTRY YARDS
Some Entertaining "reminiscences by Dr. Whta-
ker. Demand Arising for His Sketches
in Book Form.

| fard, VINO preached 10 lHe people ett
! the old Red Meeting House." GIol-
! lands church,, in the ante-bellum
days
Rev. John Rich baptized by INNER
son some persons at Simeon Utley's
mill, and going into the water in his
stocking feet, snagged his foot, which
wound gave him great pain at the
time, and, if | mistake not, finally
brought about his death.
What reverence | used to have for
| preachers, When the circuit rider
came, dismounted at the gate and with
saddle bag on his arm, came towards
| the house, the spinning wheels in the
| kitchen ceased their hum, the children
at play Spake in subdued tones, the
| father hurried from the work shelter,
where he was helving a hoe or mend
ing n pillow, while the mother made
haste to SmoOthe her hair. put on a
clean apron and q pleased counten-
ance to meet and welcome the preach
er. Even the plowmen and the hoe
hands in the field felt the thrill of
the event; and in few minutes the
chickens began to run for their lives
the turkeys yelped and gObbled, the
ducks quacked, the guineas pot-rack-
ed, the geese Kissed and the peacocks
flew upon the fence and screamed.
Methodist preachers from time i'm
memorial have been called chicken
eaters, and many are the stories that
have been told at their expense about
their proverbial fondness for them. |
suppose all the readers of this paper
have heard how. on more than one
occasion, the fowls have taken to the
woods The old guardian rooster
would fly upon the wood pile and crow
g, l,nr 10
and another down in the lot would
| flop his wings and ask: How long IS
| he gwine to "s-a-a-y ?''-and one
nearer the kitchen would say: Wed
better get aw-a-a-y!" Whereupon the
guineas would cry out: Make tracks,
make tracks, make tracks. and the
old muscovey would ask: Where you
| gwine ?"-and the old rooster would
| answer: "In the woods to staa-y!'
Yes, the coming of the circuit rider
was a big event, in a country home,
| sixty years ago, and chickens had to
| be sacrificed upon the altar of our
| high esteem for the man of GOD, VINO
| generally came hungry and ate hearty
| l expect come to think OF It, that the
| children started the report about the
| preachers loving chickens so Well The
| children, in my boyhood days. had TO
| wait until the grown people ate, ana
| it not unfrequently happened that, az
| ter the preacher left the table, chicken
| was scarce, which fact would bring
| forth the remark, from one of the
| brats, "dey amt no chicken mere,
| hardly Thereupon the biggest boy,
| in a sort of spiteful way would say:
ITS wonder he didn't eat the feet
and sop out the dish. l do believe
preachers love chicken better'n they
| do preaching" You ought not to say
| a thing like that, my son, about the
preacher" the mother would say. Its
very naughty" Il want the gizzard,
! said the little girl The gizzard's
not here, daughter" answered the
the baby boy" 81 believe the liver is
| gone, but here's a drum-stick for
| mammals little boy The mother
/ speedily helped all the hungry chill
| dren, dextrously dividing the remnants
and giving to each little one what she
said was ''the very incest and sweetest
part of the chickens But the chill
| dren talked it all over when they got
out to play, and their conclusion was.
| preachers can eat more chicken THAI
! other folks" and, as / have already
| intimated, it may be that the chill
| dren's observations, and especially
| their experience in gnawing the bones
| the preachers left, started the report
! that Methodist preachers ARE mighty
| 1Dllu VI CllChclls AZ cllIy idNN, tiiN
report is out and if, when the preach
er comes, a chicken can be had the
| good sister will wiring it's neck sure,
| and bake, stew or fry it for the occa-
| sion.
Bishop Haygood told this chicken
story in which he figured before he
| became a bishop. He stopped on one
| occasion at the humble bone of
widow who lived on the roadside,
| IL. l.. Il al 10 III
ner with her, as she had often re-
auested him to do so some tine NJ en-
| passing There was tj1c ':haGe tree
| in the yard, and, Aft ar aWiN .. ne
| moved out under it, ut The WIDOWS
| suggestion, the widows !itCIe ;On So
| ing with him When tie hi2r"p a'as
not talking with the little hoy ne
j would play around un5"r tn tree. ard.
| ever and anon, 30 ir;O The i.cd@c to
see his mother, and how the dinner
| was coming on. After one of those
I visits to the house the bishop noticed
| that the little boy wore very trout q
| look on his face and did not Seen TO
be quite so friendly as at first, but he
| concluded that a mothers ScoII-ng
| had produced the change of coEtcn-
ance and bearing. Finally the dinner
| was done, and the widow, with the aid
of her little boy, brought a table cut
| under the shade tree, and there The
dinner was served, and sure enough,
| there was chicken, nicely baked
| hen, with plenty of dressing and
gravy and other good things to match.
| The little boy made his dinner of the
dressing, gravy and other things; he
would eat no chicken; but gazed at
| the dish on which it was served with
almost fearful eyes. Dinner over, the
| table was removed, and soon the
widow as we'll as the bow took seats
| under the tree to hear the preacher
| talk. While sitting there a dozen lit
| tie chickens, without any mother,
| came under the tree picking up the
crumbs, and when they got near where
| the little boy sat, he could stand it no
| longer, but with tears in his voice as
! well as in his eyes, he said: You
| needn't come around me crying;
! there's the man that eat your man.