Miss Dividends: A NovelGunter, Archibald Clavering
General
Miss Dividends: A Novel
Gunter, Archibald Clavering
Latter Day Saints -- Fiction
And the man driving away, they mingle with the crowd, and are scarcely
noticed again, as Miss Travenion, thoughtful of the place to which she
has come, has dressed herself in her most unpretentious gown, and has
covered her bonnet and face with a veil so as not to attract attention
by any contrast of toilet with the surrounding congregation. The hall is
already almost filled, and they only find seats in the back row
unoccupied. On these they sit down, and Miss Travenion's eyes go
wandering over the assemblage searching for Mr. Kruger.
But they only see a very plain meeting-room, filled with the average
hard-featured men and women of this Mormon city, dressed in their best,
which means for the women gowns that would be a horror to a French
dressmaker, and for the men, clothes that would be a nightmare to a
Broadway tailor--and children--lots of them--most of them white-headed,
but happy. The stage, moreover, is filled with them, dressed in the best
their mothers can put upon them, chiefly bright calicoes and ginghams;
some of them looking quite pretty in these, for youth is nearly always
beautiful, and Mormon tots are generally as happy as other children.
Over their heads hangs a piece of white calico in festoons, bearing this
peculiar motto: "UTAH'S BEST CROP IS CHILDREN."
Miss Travenion has just completed her survey, when the man she is
looking for comes from a side door on to the platform, and makes the
stereotyped Mormon address for such occasions, but says: "There is a
better talker coming after me. I refer to the bishop of this ward, the
Counsellor of our President, Bishop R. H. Tranyon, who, after the
children have sung a hymn, will hold forth on what is the duty of the
up-growing generation of this Sect and people, in order to become true
Mormons, in the faith of Joseph Smith and Hyrum, his brother."
But all the time Kruger is speaking his eyes rove around the assembly,
as if seeking some one, and finally, lighting upon the graceful form of
Erma, he appears satisfied, and triumph and joy coming into his voice,
his audience think it is the glory of Zion inspiring him, and applaud
him as he sits down; a Mormon girl, just in front of Miss Travenion,
remarking, "Bishop Kruger seems to have his talking-coat on this
evening!"
After that there is music from a melodeon, and the children sing the
Mormon song,
"I want to be a Mormon,
And with the Mormons stand,"
and give it with as much fervor, Erma cannot help noticing, as the
Sunday-schools in the East sing the beautiful hymn, "I want to be an
angel," on which this is an awful parody.
Then stillness falls upon the audience, for the big gun of the evening
is coming--the man who stands upon the right hand of the prophet and
obtains his inspiration from him; the man who has expounded to them
during a number of years the doctrines of their creed, revealed by the
Almighty to Joseph Smith, their founder.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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