AFFAIRS AT THE CORNERS.
By M. B. Duffie
SEVERAL years ago a lot of us church folks, of whatsoever creed, persuasion, or denomination, formed what we called a union church here at the Corners, or something which a lot of scoffers up at the corner grocery called a theological trust, or combine. We put up a neat little church building at our own expense, for the purpose of carrying on the work of the gospel in the unity of the Spirit, or as much so as we could be expected to, considering the diversity of opinion held by its occupants. For instance, there was always more or less friction among the Baptist members whenever a Methodist minister came along and said, while immersion was valid baptism, perhaps, it was all right to sprinkle people out of a bowl. I have no doubt in the least but it was just about as galling to the feelings of the Methodist brethren when a Baptist minister hitched his horse to the railing in front of the church and came in and stated that immersion was the only valid and scriptural mode. Then, again, an occasional believer in the view of life only in Christ would come along and deny that people have natural, or inherent, immortality. While such views struck some as being entirely logical and scriptural, others manifested an emphatic, a lively dissent. One of our best members, or attendants, rather, for she never would join us, and she never was urged to do so very strongly, old Mrs. Wilson, almost lost her influence among us when she said that she was not exactly satisfied that Sunday had a very good right to its title, "Sabbath." Her husband, Squire Wilson, is a lawyer, and, lawyer like, he has been prying into the subject. He says he has been examining the records, and finds a flaw in the title. He thinks he can't keep it himself, on account of his business, but what he has had to say about it has caused his wife to study into it so much that now it is simply impossible to get her out again. Though several persons side with her in her views, she is looked upon as a sort of thorn in the flesh by a great many, and the various ministers who have visited the Corners, though their attention has been called to her views, have none of them seemed to manifest any particular burden to get "the poor old soul" out of her "delusion," as some of them have called it. We have had a good many different ministers "on trial" since we started, but we have either weighed them in the balance and found them wanting, in some respect or another, or the echoes of a "call," however faint, have been wafted to their ears from some other and more lucrative Macedonia. In this way we have several times been left without a shepherd, and exposed to the ravages of time, and dangers from whatsoever heretical prowler might approach to scatter and tear. We were precisely in this predicament, wandering in the foggy highways and byways, so to speak, when the Rev. Mr. Splurgin appeared in town with a magic lantern with which to illustrate a pleasure trip he had recently made through various foreign countries, under the auspices of some other denomination. After several nights thus spent, and as Mr. Splurgin for some reason at the present time was without a charge, and would be glad to come to anyone on six months' trial, we told him to come along. He immediately started a revival effort, and some for whom our previous pastors had long and patiently angled, were caught and safely landed, while others, so to speak, squirmed off the bank and were lost. We felt that we had captured a prize in Brother Splurgin, and more than ever when it became known that he had come to us from those people who keep Saturday for Sunday. That wouldn't stand in his way the least mite. With us, though, all we cared to know was that he had left them, and joined us. That was a good enough recommend for all practical purposes.456After the days of his probation were finished, he was joined by his wife, a sweet-faced lady, and a manly little son, Tommy, of some fourteen summers. It was not long till it was noticed that Mr. Splurgin's wife and boy did not enter very zealously into his church work. In fact, she had several times been seen through the window, by Sunday passers, with knitting or needlework in hand, while Tommy had horrified the feelings of certain members of his father's flock on the several occasions he had been seen strolling along the edge of the trout stream early of a Sunday morning, with fishpole across his shoulder and bait box in hand. One Sunday morning good old Deacon Thomas met him, and, laying his hand upon his head in a fatherly manner, exclaimed, "Don't you know that this is the Sabbath, my boy?" "No, sir, I do not," Tommy respectfully responded. "If I thought it was, sir, I certainly would not wish to break it. My Bible says the Sabbath comes on the seventh day of the week. What day of the week is this," he queried. "Why,—this is, the,—the,—the,—ah—there is the last bell,—I must hurry along." "Ask pa about it," called Tommy, and the deacon ambled along, querying to himself, "How in the world would Brother Splurgin be able to quiet the nerves of an anxious inquirer concerning this Sunday business if he isn't able to take such quirks out of the heads of his own wife and boy?" Some of the good sisters, noticing the absence of the minister's wife at the Sunday morning services at the sanctuary, formed themselves into a committee and called upon her. She received them kindly, and, with the open Bible upon her knee, gave the reasons for the hope within her with meekness and fear. As a result of this and other interviews, and the literature placed in their hands, several of the most intellectual and spiritual-minded women of our society said they would rather attend the little meetings at her house, where the Bible was searched, than to go to the church and hear Brother Splurgin speak so often about that trip of his through Mexico, Central America, Brazil, etc. With great joy old Mrs. Wilson heard of the views held by the wife of the pastor. She had never before felt entirely at home in any meetings she had attended since she left "York State." So many hard questions and knotty problems were being submitted to Elder Splurgin, which he could not, or did not, answer to the entire satisfaction of the querists, that he thought the best thing he could do was to drop the work, which he could not carry forward much longer with credit to himself or satisfaction to his people, and accept the position of superintendent of village schools, an office lately made vacant by the grim hand of the destroyer. His wife, faithful to her conscience, continued her work until such an interest had been awakened and a desire kindled to hear the living preacher that a corps of evangelists and Bible workers were assigned to duty at the Corners, and a series of meetings began right in our church. Would you believe it? At the close of the meetings, which lasted about two months, all were invited to arise who believed away down in their hearts that what they had heard was the truth, and that it was, furthermore, their intention to obey it. Brother Splurgin had only attended a few of the meetings along towards the close, but then he began to attend quite steadily with his wife and boy. When the request was made to stand up, some were somewhat surprised to see him take an erect position with the rest of us, and, with the tears streaming down his manly face, acknowledge his past shortcomings, and express a desire to be reinstated in the hearts and confidence of his former brethren. While there was great rejoicing in that household that night, we have the right to believe, and base our belief on the divine word, that there was greater rejoicing among the angels of heaven over the one penitent returned than over the ninety and nine who went not astray.