The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-07-26


! his feet, while the parsoh continued
to sing in splendid tenor voice.
Ten thousand foes arise.
Never was lion more aroused t.
frenzy than was Bill Jones. With his
powerful arm he made at Old sledge
as if to annihilate him with one blow
and many horrid oaths but the par.
son Tended off the stroke as easily as
a practiced boxer, and with his left
hand dealt Bill a settler on his peep-
ers as he continued TO sing:
Oh, watch, and fight, and pray,
The battle ne'er give Ger.
But Jones was plucl1y to despera-
ton. and the settlers were watching
with bated breath The crisis was at
hand. and he squared himself
and his clenched fists flew thick and
fast upon the parsons frame and for
a while disturbed his equilibrium and
his song. But he rallied quickly and
began the offensive as he sang:
Meier think the victory won,
Nor lay thine armor down
He backed his adversary squarely
to the wall of his shop, and seized him
by the throat and mauled him as he
sang:
Fight on, my soul, till death
Well, the long and short Of it was
x1yni 7,
humbIed him to the ground and then
lifted him up and helped to restore
him, and begged thousand pardons.
When Devil Bill had retired to his
house and was being cared for by his
wife, "Old Sledge" mounted box in
front of the grocery and preached
righteousness and temperance and
Judgment to come to that people
He closed his solemn discourse with
a brief history of his own sinful life
before his conversion and his hum
BILE work for the Lord ever since, and
think" Stop, poor sinner stop and
think" he cried in alarming tones.
There were a few men and many
women in that crowd whose eyes, long
unused to the melting mood, dropped
tears of repentance at the preachers
kind and tender exhortation Bill
Jones's wife, poor woman, had crept
humbly into the outskirts of the crowd,
for she had long treasured the mem
cries of her childhood, when she, too,
had gone with her good mother to
hear preaching. In secret she had
pinned and lamented her husbands ha-
tired for religion and for preachers,
After she had washed the blood from
his swollen face and dressed his wounds
she asked him if she might go down
and hear the preacher. For a minute
he was silent and seemed to be dumb
with amazement. He had never been
whipped before and had suddenly lost
confidence in himself and his infdel-
ity.
GO long, Sally" he answered, eff
he can talk like he can fight and sing,
maybe the Lord did send him. It's all
mighty strange to me, he groaned in
anguish. His animosity seemed to
have changed into an anxious won
dering curiosity, and after Sally had
gone he left his bed and drew near
to the window where he could hear.
''Old Sledge" made an earnest, soul
reaching prayer and his pleading with
the Lord for Bill JOnes's salvation and
that Of his wife and children reached
the window where Bill was sitting and
he heard it, His wife returned in tears
and took a seat beside him, and
sobbed her hearts distress, but said
nothing.
Bill bore it for a while in thoughtful
silence, and then putting his bruised
and trembling hand in hers, said:
Sally, if the Lord sent old Sledge'
here, and may be he did reckon you
had better look after his horse" And
sure enough "Old Sledge" stayed there
that night and held family prayer, and
the next day he preached from the
piazza to great multitude and sang
his favorite hymn:
Am I a soldier of the Cross?
And when he got to the third verse
his untutored but musical voice seemed
to be lifted little higher as he sang:
Sure must fight if l would reign,
Increase my courage, Lord.
Devil Bill was converted and be-
came changed man. He joined the
church and closed his grocery and
helped to build meeting house, and
1t was always said and believed that
odd Sledge' mauled the grace into his
unbelieving soul, and it never would
have got in any other way-Biu Arp
in Atlanta Constitution.