"Uncle Jim was the first one to speak. He was so anxious to begin, he
could hardly wait for Parson Page to stop; and anybody would 'a'
thought that he'd been up to heaven and talked with the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost and all the angels, to hear him tell about the
sort o' music there was in heaven, and the sort there ought to be on
earth. 'Why, brethren,' says he, 'when John saw the heavens opened
there wasn't no organs up there. God don't keer nothin',' says he,
'about such new-fangled, worldly instruments. But when a lot o' sweet
human voices git to praisin' him, why, the very angels stop singin' to
listen.'
"Milly Amos was right behind me, and she leaned over and says, 'Well,
if the angels'd rather hear Uncle Jim's singin' than our organ,
they've got mighty pore taste, that's all I've got to say.'
"Silas Petty was the next one to git up, and says he: 'I never was in
favor o' doin' things half-way, brethren; and if we've got to have the
organ, why, we might as well have a monkey, too, and be done with it.
For my part,' says he, 'I want to worship in the good old way my
fathers and grandfathers worshiped in, and, unless my feelin's change
very considerable, I shall have to withdraw from this church if any
such Satan's music-box is set up in this holy place.'
"And Sally Ann turned around and whispered to me, 'We ought to 'a' got
that organ long ago, Jane.' I like to 'a' laughed right out, and I
leaned over, and says I, 'Why don't you git up and talk for us, Sally
Ann?' and she says: 'The spirit ain't moved me, Jane. I reckon it's
too busy movin' Uncle Jim and Silas Petty.'
"Jest then I looked around, and there was Abram standin' up. Well, you
could 'a' knocked me over with a feather. Abram always was one o'
those close-mouthed men. Never spoke if he could git around it any way
whatever. Parson Page used to git after him every protracted meetin'
about not leadin' in prayer and havin' family worship; but the spirit
moved him that time sure, and there he was talkin' as glib as old
Uncle Jim. And says he: 'Brethren, I'm not carin' much one way or
another about this organ. I don't know how the angels feel about it,
not havin' so much acquaintance with 'em as Uncle Jim has; but I do
know enough about women to know that there ain't any use tryin' to
stop 'em when they git their heads set on a thing, and I'm goin' to
haul that organ over to-morrow mornin' and set it up for the choir to
practise by Friday night. If I don't haul it over, Sally Ann and
Jane'll tote it over between 'em, and if they can't put it into the
church by the door, they'll hist a window and put it in that way. I
reckon,' says he, 'I've got all the men against me in this matter, but
then, I've got all the women on my side, and I reckon all the women
and one man makes a pretty good majority, and so I'm goin' to haul the
organ over to-morrow mornin'.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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