SITTING DOWN WITH A PREACHER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1334, 16 March 1887, Page 5

SITTING DOWN WITH A PREACHER.

In a Western town dwells Elder R , a clergyman very well known throughout his estate for ability and shrewdness. It is pretty generally believed, on account of his evident knowledge of the ways of the world, that he was rather "rapid" in his youth. Among his sceptical neighbours is a botelkeeper of jovial disposition and liberal heart. Whenever the elder has a specially convincing and sweeping discourse prepared he is wont to give special invitations to his doubting friends to be present, and these are sometimes accepted with the proviso that the dominie and his lady shall meet the party at the hotel at dinner on an appointed day during the week, so that they may have an opportunity to defend themselves. On these occasions dinner often lasts the whole afternoon, and the elder is obliged to parry the combined blows of the position. On one occasion mine host found his matcb in the clergyman in a worldly way, and it was this circumstance that I set out to relate. The landlord returned on a certain Saturday evening from a trip to the far West, and next morning found him with his wife seated in a front pew. When the plate was passed, he felt in all his pockets, but could find only a comb, jack-knife, and a circular piece of ivory marked "5," which is supposed by poker players to represent value. This latter was dropped in the plate under the vigilant eye of the pastor, but unnoticed by the sexton, whose eyes had been dimmed by age. On receiving the collection the pastor missed the " chip " and asked the sexton for it. The latter had thrown it away, supposing it to be a mark of disrespect from some scoffer. Elder R knew his man, and caused the representative of value to be recovered. Next morning, as the landlord was dilating upon his trip to a crowd of friends in his office, Elder R appeared, and advancing to the counter, placed the chip with the click so familiar to connoisseurs, and asked, " Can you * redeem ' that this morning, Brother S ?" Of course S. could not do less than hand out a five-dollar bill, and the elder departed, after expressing the hope that he might always be as lucky. Mine host says he shall not " sit down " with a preacher again.