“The next day the boy went out to see his old grandfather, a man whose whitened head was blossoming for the grave, and whose feet were taking hold upon the shifting sands of eternity. ‘Grandfather,’ said he, ‘won’t you go to church with me to-night and hear that preacher?’ We always feel kindly towards those who are afflicted, you know, and are willing to please them; so the old man agreed to go. “That night I saw the boy and the old man sitting away back by the door. When the sermon was finished, one of the members of the church arose and said: ‘I have a request to make. We have with us tonight, Mr. Blank, one of our oldest and most respected citizens, but he is out of Christ. I want special prayer offered for this my special friend.’ With that he laid his hand upon the head of the old man, down whose furrowed cheeks the tears were streaming. The next night I saw the old man sitting about half-way down the aisle. When all who wanted to accept Jesus were invited to come forward and give me their hands, I saw the half-idiot boy coming down the aisle leading the old man by the hand. “That little boy’s father kept a saloon. The following day the child went there, and climbing up over the high counter, he peeped down upon his father and said: ‘Papa, won’t you go to church with me to-night to hear that preacher?’ ‘You get out of here, child,’ said the father; ‘go out of here; don’t you know you mustn’t come in here?’ Strange, strange, how fathers will keep places where their children cannot go! ‘But, papa,’ continued the boy, ‘won’t you go to church with me to-night?’ ‘Yes; I’ll go, but you get out of here.’ “That night the man came with the half-idiot boy, and sat about where the old man had sat the night before. When I asked all who would accept Jesus to come forward, he walked down the aisle and gave me his hand. He asked if he could make a statement, and when I said ‘Yes,’ he faced the congregation and said: ‘My friends, you all know me, and I want to say that so long as I live I will never sell another drop of whiskey, for I have given my heart to God to-night, and from this day forward I propose to serve him.’ “The meeting warmed up at last, the town was set on fire for God. Every saloon keeper was converted and every saloon was closed. The feeling spread and a saloon seven miles in the country was closed and the keeper was converted to God. “At the close of the meeting I sat on the front seat and saw the pastor lead three generations into the baptismal waters, the old man in front, his son behind him, and last in line the little half-idiot boy. The only mistake that was made, to my mind, was that the boy who had led the others to Christ should not have been first in line. Where is the little half-idiot boy now? He has grown much brighter within the last few years, and is now going to school. He says he wants to be and will be a missionary.