Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-06-12
THOSE CHURCH
SPIRES .
--.-E
By NJ QUAD
By NJ QUAD
copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erlry Press.

house Of worship with cupola ana
hung a bell there. The Baptist edifice
was also 10 have a cupola and bell.
but the funds ran short at the roof. II
was the intention TO wait year or SO
aud then finish up. but five years had
passed and nothing more had been
done. Meanwhile one bell pealed for
all, and both sects dwelt together In
unity. There was no envy, no Jealousy.
no criticism.
Then the blow fell. IL came Ike a
thunderboit. Deacon Wheeler or the
Methodist church and Deacon Ames or
the Baptist leased ten acres OF land In
I partnership and planted 1t 10 corn.
Each furnished half the seed and was
TO do half the work. One day when
the corn was tail enough for the first
/ hoeing and the two deacons were
Working side by side Deacon Wheeler
pointed to IA patch of grass and Cd
served:
Deacon, it strikes me TINT that Is Il
good place for bumblebees' nest"
Eyes, kinder looks that way was
the reply.
"Bumblebees orter be rooted out"
"waal. dunno. The Lord made
! EN-"
but they are pesky things. We
shall be blowing this corn with horse
next time. aud s'pose they pitch into
| him? reckon I'll root 'em out"
But don't XIII any more'n need be.
It's wicked to take life II you don't
have to-"
Deacon Wheeler found bumblebees
there. They also fcnnd him. They re-
scented his intrusion at once. They
likewise resented the near presence or
Deacon Ames. They went for the two
men hot foot and got In their work
and chased them from the field. II
was after the bees had given up the
pursuit that Deacon Anes turned TO
the other and exclaimed:
Now see what we've got by your
meddling. IL you wasn't an old fool
you'd have let them BUNDLES ,aloDe"
"Old fool? Why. Deacon Asnes, you
are six years4oider'n be!'
but toldtyou to let 'em alone."
"Say, Deacon Ames. you are talk
Ing mighty sassy
But I've got n right to-"
Eyes. talking mighty sassy for a
Baptist"
"And what about the .BaptistsT'
"Waal. you can see your meeting
house from here Does II look like d
meeting house or a cooper shop!
guess more'n one stranger has had to
ask to find out"
Are you digging at me because We
hain't got cupola or belle"
I'm a-saying thm II more humble
bees had been stirred up mebbe your
folks would have finished the build
Ing"
1t was all oversbetween the deacons-
Deacon Wheelertwent home TO tell his
wife abou, II. and Deacon Amcs
walked straight to the parsonage and
said TO the minister:
"Parson Jones. something has got
to be did I've been irNulted, our old
building has been insufed. and now
II we can't go at 1t and finish 1t up
I'll sell out and move away.
We don't want no cupola nor bell
Cupolas are for schools and bells are
for factories What we want and
what we are going to have is spire
"a thing shooting up in the air about
sixty feet-something that can be
seen for FIVE miles around. Cooper
shoH Wen show the Wheeler crowd
whether we've got a cooper shop or
church That ERE spine shall pierce
tho clouds on the one hand and the
hearts Of the Methodists on the other
It'll be before their eyes night and
day. They'll have to walk IN its
shadder TO get TO their' own church
Cupolas and bells? Wig. they hain't
had nothing of the kind IN New York
city for fifty. years past Our build
Ing is goingjto be fright up tos date.
even IL we have to put in bahtubs
and electric bells"
OF course Deacon ,wbeeler and his
sect heard Of these, things. and the
deacon winked with This left eye and
replied:
Going to have a spire, eh? Going
70 be seen for five miles around. Is Il,
Waal you Jest wait little. Mebbe
there'l be two spires tofbe seen"
And so there was. The Baptists
had no sooner begun work on theirs
than the other sect started in and
sold the bell. demolished the cupols
and began on spire- Then &c was a
race 10 see which spfre should be the
highest Each one tealously guarded
its secret. AS a ms1ter OF fact. as
measurements afterward proved. the
Baptist spdre was just three quarters
OF an inch the longest. but one rubber