AS OTHERS SEE US.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4080, 19 August 1884, Page 4

AS OTHERS SEE US.

"This," said the returned missionary to the Poor Heathen Avhom he had brought over, " is a church." And the Poor Heathen greatly admired the church. By-and-by bo asked : " Who is the fat man Avith the big Avatch seal, avlio looks at the church as though ho thought some of putting on a §50 bay window, and raising- the rent §500 a year ':" "That is a trustee," said the returned missionary. '' Ho does most of tho praj ing, I suppose P" said the Poor Heathen, avlio, in his blindness, knows very little about the way avc do these things. "No," said tho returned missionary, "lie doesn't believe in praying; he is a Bob Hversoll man and believes that nobody doesn't know nothing, and that they know that, he knows that they knoAV bo knows they don't. Ho is not a menibor'of the church, but ho is a good, clear-headed business man, good manager, strong on real estate deals, and so he's a trustee. Doesn't take very much of a Christian to be a trustee except in the country. In town a church only wants a good business man for trustee." " And avlio is the man avlio stands in the door and glares at the people as they j'nss in and fries to k'-ep them oufr" asked. tinPoor Heathen. "That is the sexton," replied the missionary. "Ho doesn't believe in opening the church for religious service at all. He says the church was built to have swell weddings in, and that for preaching and prayer-meetings and other side shows of that nature the trustees should hire a hall.'' "Who is the very young man avlio pushes people out of the Avay that he may have room to pass in, and stoops very low as he enters the twenty foot door and sits directly under tho steeple lest he should strike his head when ho stands up ?'' " That," said the returned missionary,

is the new superintendent of the Sundayschool. They are all that way at first. By and by, when ho has forgotten every line of bis beautiful speech, Avhen there are distinguished strangers present, when he has started the Avrong tune to an entirely strange hymn, and corrected himself bystriking the right tune on a key so high that the chimes of Normandy couldn't ring second bass to it: when he has flunked, fair, square, and outright on the first ten questions in his question-box, he Avill know less by a ton that he does uoav, and bo a good, useful, earnest, and humble superintendent. He's only young and new, like an August persimmon.''

" Here comes the owner of the church," the Poor Heathen said. "He looks as though he had decided to make pommienn of the sexton and trustee, and not hold any service to-day."

"No, that is not exactly the owner of the church," the returned missionary said ; " that is the loader of the choir."

"Who is that meek, timid, little man who is trying to creep in without letting the sexton see him, and who has just taken off his hat to tho leader of the choir r"

"Oh, that is only tho pastor of the ■jhurch," the returned missionary replied. " Will you go inside ?" And tho Poor Heathen said he would, because ho rather guessed from their looks the sexton and the leader of the choir had made up their minds to settle that morning Avhich of the two should take the church and run it.—•American Paper.