Further Adventures of Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason Corner FolksPidgin, Charles Felton
General
Further Adventures of Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason Corner Folks
Pidgin, Charles Felton
New England -- Fiction
“That's no argument at all,” said Quincy. “But my principal reason for
wishing you to go is so you can see the people that your hospital is
going to benefit one of these days.”
“But these preachers use such highfalutin' language, and so many
'firstlies' and 'secondlies' I lose my hold on the text.”
“Mr. Gay is a common, everyday sort of man, does not pose when out of
his pulpit, and never talks over the heads of his audience.”
“How do you know all that?”
“I sit with him at table, and I've studied him. Then he told us not
to expect a city sermon for he used simple language, and they have
congregational singing.”
“Well, I'll go--this once,” said Uncle Ike, and Quincy assisted him
in making his preparations. On their way to the church they passed two
couples--Alice and Mrs. Hawkins, and Maude and Mr. Merry. Mr. Jonas
Hawkins could not leave home for he was afraid the cats would carry off
his last brood of chickens. Some fifty had been hatched out, but only a
dozen had survived the hot weather, heavy rains, and the many diseases
prevalent among chickens.
When Mr. Gay arose to give out the first hymn, Maude said to Mr. Merry,
“Why, he looks like a different man. His red hair is a beautiful brown.”
“It's the light from the coloured glass windows,” commented Mr. Merry.
“Then it must be the curtains in Mrs. Hawkins' dining room that colour
his hair at home,” retorted Maude.
How grandly rose the volume of tone from scores of throats! Even Uncle
Ike's quavering voice joined in.
“All hail the power of Jesus' name,
Let nations prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.”
The organ creaked and wheezed somewhat, but so many fresh, young voices
softened its discordant tones.
A short prayer, and Mr. Gay began his sermon, if such it can be called.
“MY BRETHREN: My text, to-day is, 'The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God.' All nations have a God, even if all the people do not
believe in him. The majority in each nation does believe in a God. Are
those who do not believe all fools? Unhappily, no. There are many highly
educated men and women who deny the existence of God. They claim man is
a part of Nature, and Nature is all. They forget the poet who wrote
“'Man is but part of a stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul.'
“Remember, God is the Soul. Each of you has a soul, a spark of the
Divinity.
“I can best support my argument by a story--a true one.
“I once knew a young man whom we will call Richard. He had a well-to-do
father and was sent to college. When he graduated, his father, a pious
man, wished him to study for the ministry. He objected, saying his
health was poor. He wished to go into the mountains, he lived in the
West, and his father consented.
“He drifted into a mining camp and whatever regard he may have had for
religion, soon disappeared. He was not a fool, but, in his heart, he
said there was no God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account