It wuz a sweet song of thankfulness and peace, filled with gratitude for all the blessin’s of the year. A sweet song full of love to God and man and that would be apt to inspire the singers and hearers with forbearance, justice, mercy, sane living and thinking. In another part of the hall they wuz practicing some pretty pieces to speak at this celebration, but when Elder White went in they all met him joyfully as a beloved father is met by his children, and they bestowed a loving greeting on Waitstill too.
These young men and women wuz ready to look through the magnifyin’ glass of love at any lesson Ernest White should set before them to fit ’em for life’s battle.
The meeting that night wuz a sort of a social, where the young and older folks met to get better acquainted with each other, and had a good time visitin’ back and forth and comparin’ notes and bein’ introduced to Waitstill and the new library. One attracted just about as much attention as the other, both wuz exceedingly interestin’ to ’em and beloved.
Elder Cross wuz there, he sets store by Ernest White, though he is so different from him. He is good natered and a Christian, I believe, though Arvilly said he would have to be fixed over quite a good deal before he got into the Kingdom.
And I sez, “Well, we all shall, Arvilly.”
“Ernest White won’t,” sez she, “all they will have to do to him will be to tack on a pair of wings and pin his crown on. He’s a saint on earth now,” sez she.
Well, Elder Cross come up to Arvilly and welcomed her home and said a few words about Ernest White’s overwhelmin’ success, which he considered a mericale, and he couldn’t understand it.
“Well, I can understand it,” sez Arvilly, “I have always said that no power could stand before the Church of Christ 460 when it is fully awakened to the enormity of the sin it is encouraging by its indifference and neglect, and bands itself together to fight against it. The saloon votes solid,” sez Arvilly, “they are faithful to their cause, they are fiery hot with zeal, the church a good many of ’em are lukewarm, some like the Laodocians, and some like dish-water ready to be emptied down into the drain. America is ruled by her cities, and they are ruled by the saloon and unrighteous trusts and political bosses. Foreigners from the old world slums flaunt the banner of independence in the face of American womanhood. And the church of God that might remedy the evils lets ’em go on.”
Sez Elder Cross, “I know well that the saloon is a mighty power for evil, it ruins our youth, soul and body, and I know that Monopoly is the thief that steals the rewards of labor. But I pray, sister Arvilly, I pray without ceasing that the Holy Spirit will come down, and smite these offenders.”
Sez Arvilly the dantless one, “You don’t depend on prayer alone in your church services, in taking up collections, etc., or in worldly affairs,” (Elder Cross is real rich, he keeps a hen dairy).