The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-10-10
lj;l|Dl}}|jN WHO SAW JOKES
Hunor in Clergyrnan's Work
in Country Parish.
MOSES, POPULAR PERSON

MOSES, POPULAR PERSON
Geography Far Afield-sad Cases OF
Drunkenness in an Aged Woman
What People Understand by War
FEEDING an Infant Mamma Because
Angels Eat 1t.
The country clergyman, in visiting
and talking to the poor, has an un-
rivaled opportunity Of gaining an IN
signt into their way Of looking at
the world. says a writer in the Ma
tiool Review.
It is not easy. suppose, for educat-
ed people to form any idea OF the
yagueness Of the rustic mind with re-
gard to the world outside its own i'm
mediate surroundings. Board schools
are making change, and the men IN
village reading rooms look at illus
trated newspapers, but for the female
portion Of the rural population the
rest of the denizens of space and time
outside the circle of the local news
papers are included in the alien
bracing they"
"Ain't it awful when they cut taelr
heads OFF," will be the comment OIL
an engraving Of the execution oH
Charles l. at Whitehall. or a Daily
Mirror" illustration Of some cor. en-
porary horror in Armenia or the
Congo State.
I remember being asked in a North
Country village-some naval ma;leu'
yers were being carried on at the
time in the North Sea-"Tne war is
getting very near now, isn't it?'' "The
war was conceived as great natural
force always raging over the face OF
! the earth, now in this direction, now
| in that. There has been more news
| paper reading since the South African
war, though many Of US will synipa-
thize with the good lady who told
me, "I can't feel the same interest IN
this japanese war as | did in the
South African one, the names are SO
much harder
| But the outside world is very little
realized. The wife Of a village builder
told me one day that she had son in
Rome. Seeing, I suppose, that gave
a start of involuntary interest, she
added, in an explanatory tone, "On,
mean Rome in America-not Rome IN
Paris"
I have often found that works Of
fiction are regarded as literal trans
crtpts Of fact, though it is sometimes
suspected that the story may have
been a little embellished in the tell
ing. ~ daresay, if the truth were
known" was once told, "a little bit
Of romance goes down as well as the
strict facts" Print is a very sacred
thing to the rustic mind. 1 have
sometimes received the pathetic as
surance-perhaps Of some miracle of
healing wrought by patent medicine
well, it's i priat."
In the gray monotony Of the lives
Of the poor, it is the most genial and
expansive, 1 think the klndliest Ia
tureas who are the predestined vic
tins Of drink Drink is SO often the
adventure Of the artistic temperament
seeking brighter and kinder world.
''Drunkard" is, perhaps, too harsh a
term for another old woman, this
time in south country parish, who
was certainly too fond Of her cups.
In spite of everything her husband
had retained his first affection fer. her,
and, apart from the wife's fondpess
for drink, they were as decent an
old couple as one can well imagine.
Late at night he would go out and
patiently look for her, and. like a
good shepherd, bring her home.
One summer evening I met the pair
coming along steadily and quietly in
the twilight I stopped to speak to
the worthy old people, and to inquire
after their daughter, who was i'll. But,
alas! no sooner did they stop than the
old lady fell to the ground, from
which all her husbands efforts to
raise her were in vain. 81 was so
overcome by the clergyman speaking
to me that sudden" she explained
from her recumbent position.
On another occas;on-I hope no
reader OF these anecdotes will suspect
me Of making light of drunkenness
she fell on a spittoon in a public
house and split her skull. The YER
sion OF the incident she gave me vas
as follows: II went to the circus,
and when I saw the elephants come
prancing in was that alarmed that l
fell and knocked my head against one
Of them circus poles"
In the Middle Ages the conscious
| sharing In a world wide tradition
bound the local to the universal life,
and through art and ritual the minds
Of the poor were familiarized with the
facts of the Christian faith. BY our
own poor I fear these facts are very
6imly realized. I have been shown a
picture Of the Nativity with the flute
playing angels and the shepherds
bringing their lamb, and have been
told that it was Moses when he was
a baby" Moses at all times occupies
an enormous place in their spiritual
world.
One ia sometimes startled by the
evidence Of very naive faith. Only
the other day a mother told me she
had been feeding her baby on some
preparation called Mama" 1T ought
to do him good" she added patheti-
cally. "You see It's what the angels
lives on"