The daily Alaskan., 1905-08-31
The Rev. John Scott

to S20.OG0
 On one occasion l had a railroad jour. ney Of a hundred miles to make, and I would arrive home before o'clock in the evening It had always been that way. and the watchman was Instructed to let me Into tie office in order that 1 might deposit the money In the safe. ] took a glance at my fellow passen- gers as I entered the car. and | found no cause for suspicion. Indeed. In my car there wee only half dozen peo- pie, and thrtl of them were women. One Of the tbucc men was au old man, and ! spotted hlm for clergyman at once. He hnd a scat quite a distance away, and after about half an hour took a second look at him. and De beck oned me Co come over. He made a place for me to sIt beside him and opened the conversation by asking.
 Young man, ! want Co ask you if you are a resident of BlankvlleT
 T am. sir" I replied.
 Then you can do an old man a fs- vor, lf you will am not only an old man, but very lame Co boot My name Is John Sc5tt-the Rev. John Scott although I retired from active work some years ago. I presume you are well acquainted with your city"
 Fairly well. sir, and shah be glad to obllge you In any way [ can
 Thanks. knew I could not he mis- taken In you. IL ls this want To ask: How far Is Butternut street from the depotg"
 "Only two blocks away"
 And about where would No. 224 beg'
 "Not over three blocks away" I re piled. after a little thought
 That Is well. The street as | have been told. Is rcSpcctsblof"
 "Oh, yes. The residents are mostly working people. but lt ls a nice street
 You don't happen Co know a ms chinist living at 224-a man named Barrowy'
 "No. sir"
 Well. no harm done. don't know him, either, but shall make his ac. qUaIutnnce this evening. had a son die in South Africa three years ago, and this Mr. Barrow vas w.;h him and has written Uc that l0 e a give me full particulars. Ec Is to I 'e; me at the depot and put me up Tor the night To1r Harry. f-r w-Bty only . son. sir Hc went or fhgrr tD .ek his fortune, and was kilicl by the natives. You are not a father uuj you don't know what It means for one 70 lose his only child.
 I assured him Of my sympathy, and as matter of fact l did feel sorry when l saw hls chin quIvering
 "Oh, well, it Is a cross ! nm called upon to bear" he said after a time. The Lord gives and the L0rd takes away. Are you a member of any church, may nskI"
 Not as yet, sir"
 But you believe In the Christian doctrine, l hopcT'
 q certainly do"
 well. let me trust that in time you will see your way clear Co ally your self to some church. Religion asks nothing of any mn be cannot grant. and you do not know what a consola- ton it is in time of trouble
 Later on he told me something of his history, and learned that he had been great exhorter in his time, and had been the means of leading thousands into the true path. We fell Co discuss ing Biblical questions, and I was sur prised and pleased at the extent of his knowledge and the keenness of his arguments offered Co withdraw sev. eral times. thinking I might weary him. but De oveTTulcd me. and % I rode the whole distance In his con- pany. He dId not ask my business or other impcrtincut questions. but seem- cd perfectly satisfied with what I told him.
 When we at last reached the end Of our journey I felt it no more than common roliteness to offer my arm to help him out of the car. He accepted it. and when hc rose up he placed a crutch under the other and moved painfully along. He had already tod me that his complaint wac sciatic rheu- matlsm and that hc was just now suf- ferfng from @ periodical attack. He had said that NIT Barrow was to meet him. No such person was there When we were satisfied Of this the reverend gentleman said;
 He may have made a mistake about the time or something has happened to detain him. Would it be asking too much of one who has already favored me to ask that you walk to the corner with me2 I shall bc indeed grateful"
 Why not? Any man would have done 60. We set out at a slow pace, and I afterward remembered that an the hacks were gone before we left the platform, nor did I notice a policeman about The two blocks Co Butternut street were occupied by lumber yards and factories which were closed at that hour. In going a block and a half we did not meet a single person. Then we halted and tho Rev. Mir Scott said:
 q will change the crutch under the other arm. please"