Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-12-25
THE DEACoN's BACKsLInING.

Hbn'I HlSsSI, tUl II poor Sill
rer, saved by grace. am prone TO
do evil AS the sparks are to fly up
wards. | do the things | should not
should have done. Oh wrechcd man
that am
Uncle John sat down before the hot
lire III The office, took out his pipe
and while ,ii.ing ii gave utterancc to
the above snntchos of scripture. !
asked, "Unclc John, what on earth is
the matter? What are you talking
about?" lie gave out short
chuckle, and II broad smile broke over
his face. lie said, 81 was thinking
about something that happened in old
Jerusalem, when was II boy. 1t was
funny and serious, too, for it liked to
broke up the church,"
! asked him To tell me about il. 1t
may be necessary to explain, for the
information of new readers of this
paper not acquainted with "Unce
john" or familiar with his peculiar
and interesting stories, that he has
been Il member of the Baptist church
Tor many years, and most of his life,
a deacon. Al the time of this story
he was small boy. His people were
all members of Old Jerusalem, an
old-fashioned, low, broad country
church, situated IN Il grove of large
oak and chestnut trees, about mile !
from the little country village. The
church had quit II large membership
of plain, good, country people, and in
his boyhood and young manhood he
was n regular attendant ut every
service, held once month with n
regular church meetn' on Saturday
before. When he got married, which
he did early in life, he moved away
from the old neighborhood and Old
Jerusalem, and settled in our com
munity, joined the Baptist church in
town by letter, and, was soon elected
to the Office of deacon, and at the time
of this writing is head deacon in the
church. He owns good farm and is
prosperous. His wife, "Aunt
Martha" is a fine, fat jolly soul, the
mother of three boys and two girls,
and looks almost as young as her
daughters. Uncle John calls her
"Ma" when at home, but when he
comes to town, or there is company
in the house, he calls her "Marthy."
lie is robust, tall, straight as an In
dian, wears number 10 boot, full
whiskers, except as to his upper lip
his beard, covering his shirt front
is slightly grey, and parts in the
middle when the wind blows, has q
big broad mouth and laugh that
can be heard whole square away
He is, in short, n fine old man, u
member of the old school, uneducated
as TO the sciences, but well informed
and "plain as an old Shoe"
| The above brief and imperfect de-
xT IL, Ia l.
viii serve as sort of introduction Ia
Uncle john" as everybody calls
him. On this occasion he brought
in his double seated, light spring wa.
Headed greys. He drove down main
street at swift gait. The wind was
blowing, and his ,whiskers were way.
ing back over his shoulders. He held
a tight rein, his right foot was press.
ed against the rubber bar, and the
hind wheels of his vehicle were locked
and sliding on the ground. Aunt
Marthy was holding to the seat with
one hand, and with the other grip
ped her hat to hold it on her head
The greys "run oil" once, and Aunt
lMarthy has been "skeered Of 'em", she
says, ever since, specially in towr
where there's so many automobile,
and things to skeer abody's horses,
but Uncle John knows how TO han
die 'em. Nevertheless, Aunt Marthy
breathed easier when the team drew
up at the hotel, where she and the
girls alighted. While they were shop
ping and the team was being caret
Cor, Uncle John called in, as he al
ways does when in town, took a prof
fered chair, and let out the scriptura
effusion noted at the beginning ol
. this article.
When his pipe was filled and light
ed, l asked him to go on, and tell m,
tho story he had in his mind. A.
. near as could keep up this is abou
what he said, in nearly his exac
words:
"Old Jerusalem was an old-fash
, ioned Baptist church, like most o
E the churches of that day. We h;.,
D preachin' onct month, and churcl
n meetin' on Saturday before. Our pas
: tor was an old man, who started lif
as blacksmith, and afterWard