The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-11-07

|IN
he extended hlr af.st iasvlnel, ssa
cfrfylno mne l1rflhCf 4 dln0l ia
mrrhanltaHy f0nhl mrsalf singing
Nriefr ! tnfa TO- Va was nf 1Uaifainn
ut ny emotional Hntufc that had
ituNnhi dead bctAusp it bad been snn.
pressed so long Right thuic and ihca
! believe q fefolnii0n took place in NV
e,nl fcll q gfuat pity Tor the human
dercliets about me. 1piiied myself.
it was moi until the hymn was ended
and We had vat down that was struck
with % remarkable fact-Smoky had
Joined IN the singing. too. lie had sung
Ing deem baritone voice, resonant
above az The others about us. ] had
not thought Il incongrhuus at che
moment. lut wien No sat down ]
wondered.
Whore did you learn that hymn.
SmokyG' / whispered.
In Oh orphanagc," he replied
briefly. 'Thoy used I mako us sing
our IN heads OF. ="
There was no opportunity to talk
with him right then--it was against
the rules-thongh I felt it was what is
known rs u psychological moment. ~
] determined 70 stay with Smoky after
we got outside aud try to learn some
thing OF his early life. The moro ] saw
Of him the moro ] felt drawn and the
more I realized that he was n flower
which had been choked by weeds.
knew his life should have been differ.
ent. I also knew that il was going TO
be- different All he needed was
chance.
But all had felt, all the preparation
for the "seed that had taken place
within me was ruthlessly banished a
moment later when the chaplain started
to talk. As soon as he opened his mouth
felt rs if some one had exposed n
raw nerve and were operating upon 1t
with horseshoer's rasp.
! frequently find myself associating
persons l meet with animals or flowers
Reverend" August brahms always
reminded me of a toad couldn Z help
it. Still, there is no raneor or hate in
my thought of him. He couldn't help
it, either. We should never condemn
man for being blind. But we all know
that blindness b an awful thing.
He read text from the scriptures
i We FORGOTTEN what it was-and then
delivered his discourse. He spoke in
jerky fashion, biting Off his words
something like the final sounds made by
n dog which has been aroused IN the
night. First the dog banks loudly and
rapidly, then with pauses, finally half.
heartedly, suhsiding with gulps and
growls and little snarls. That was the
way the chaplain s talk impressed me.
I shall never forget that sermon.
Ibarn - IL,
tone of sympathy in il. We sat there
and squirmed while he digressed for a
moment to tell MS it was for our
good that we were in prison and
that it was for our "good' that we
had assembled to hear him say so.
After he had finished there was an.
other hymn, not nearly so effective as
the first had been.-the s'sermon" had
deadened response-and then the chap
lain called for Testimony"
Quite a number of men responded,
and Smoky kept up running com
mentary,
"a fakir," ga hypocrite,' e'He'd
steal tn rings off his dead mother g
fingers" "That guys on tn square,
He d cut y'r t'roat in minute, ~
were some of his expressions as differ.
emit men arose.
Finally an unprepossessing man, with
sensual face, got up and talked for
ten minutes, chiefly about himself and
how much better he felt since the Lord
had singled him out as particularly
worthy. He finished with, "-but
there Is one thing above all others that
j m thankful for. Praise the Lord IN
not here for stealing.r
Smoky squirmed in his seat and
clinched his hands, and l knew he was
very much wrought up, especially when
the chaplain arose and offered prayer
in which he recommended the last
speaker in particular to the watchful.
ness and favoritism of the Almighty.
When we got outside took several
breaths of fresh air. was conscious
of conflicting emotions.
"That last man who spoke" / ven
tured, as Smoky and reached the
yard what's he here fort He
thanked God he wasn't here for steal
ing
Smoky turned so abruptly that /
thought he was going to hit me. His
eyes were flashing and his shoulders
heaving. He spat vigorously and bit
off chew of tobacco before replying.
"D'y'r wanter know what that guy 3
here fri" he asked. "D'y'r really
wanter knowf"
OF course, that only served to make
me more curious.
"Well, III tell y'r. You an me is
angels, milk-white angels, alongside O
that stiff. All he did was f'rget that
Oh little 15-year.old girl was his own
that s all. An that hatchet-
faced CRATER gettin up an askin Al
miehty God t single that kind Of
yeller-tail outer tn herd an save him
2 reserved seat when we all bumps of.
BAH 1t that's Christianity, thank Gel
IN an honest crook. "
YOUNG ATTORNEY WEEDS