The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1925-01-08

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the pastors of his grandfather's time.
Outside of the Friday evening
prayer meeting, which Andy always
attended, his religious principles gave
him no concern from one Sunday to
the next. He did not consider them
rule for his human conduct with his
family or in his dealings with his
fellowman.
When Andy was forty years of age
he married a beautiful girl of twenty
five-Jenny Warren. She was the
daughter of a well-to-do neighboring
farmer and her family belonged to
the first quality old New England
stock. She had received a liberal ed
ucation at Wellesley, was delicately
refined and cultured. In face and in
form she was ideal-a dream-vi-
brant with vitality and exuberant
health and her joy in living emanated
from her gracious smiles and kindly
acts.
She never Joined Andy's church;
she did not believe in man-made ritu-
ais and ceremonials that were not
made practical and beneficial in hu-
man conduct. She was very charita-
bic and loved to seek out the i'll, the
poor and needy and aid them and the
money she spent in this way was very
grievous to selfish Andy.
She was ambitious but never vain:
wanted to educate her only daughter
and wanted many needful things
which the penurious Andy objected to
from financial grounds. This caused
much friction and unhappiness for
her.
Andy and | had frequent talks on
religious subjects. He was always
trying to convert me, thinking that
1 was heather and intidel. Andy
never read anything but the bible and
the old Farmers Almanac. He knew
no more about histology, biology, ge-
ology, chemistry and astronomy than
one of his steers. So finally | said.
Andy, your religion is a curse to
you. 1t has dwarfed your intellect
and deprived you of the power to rea-
son. You live with the Chaldeans in
the dark ages when they made God
INTO an anthropomorphic monster.
vlndlctive, cruel. When they believed
that the earth was fiat and that hell
was a fiery pit in the bowels of the
earth and heaven a paradise of bliss
made only for the churches sanctifed
souls.
'You utterly fail to connect YOUR
religion with your conduct to YOUR
family or your fellowmen, and until
you learn to do that it is only a cere-
monial farce. Mans fear of hell has
been the bugaboo of the human race
and you like thousands of others
have nolens-volens subscribed to
church rituals as one does to fire
insurance policy. Through the church
you think you have bought your pro-
lection from the eternal fires and Sc
cured a passport to a realm of ever
lasting bliss. Fire insurance is based
on fear and selfshness, while life in
surance for the good of others shows
a benevolent and altrusistic spirit:
but you have neglected that very i'm
portant thing which could benefit
your family"
Andy's cider mill was the bane of
his life. His religion did not save
him from an actual hell on earth.
which was Of his own creation. At
the age Of fifty-two he was found un-
conscious on the barn floor and his
little boy said that soor papa died
with the "delirium tremendous"
After year of wearing the con-
ventional widows weeds Jenny, still
under forty and buoyant with an ex-
cess of life and spirit, married her
first, her true love and schoolmate.
So she became Mrs. Royal Upham
and her husband had prospered until
ne was the largest mill owner and
manufacturer in Sleepy Hollow. The
balance of her life was supremacy
happy because she spent it freely in
life of service for the good Of
others.
But l always felt sorry for poor,
benighted Andy, who would not seek
for truth as revealed in all the Gre
ator's works for fear that it would
spoil his biblical faith. FIG.
Oakland, January 1, 1925.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS