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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IX, Issue 443, 3 January 1867, Page 1 (Supplement)

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TEE “LEEK-SEED” CHAPEL. [St. James’s Magazine.] Soon after the promulgation of Methodism in England, it spread -with great rapidity over the counties of Devon and Cornwall, and especially among the miners and lower orders. For a long period after its introduction the clergy and higher orders of society in the West of England manifested a degree of dislike to the new doctrines which can scarcely bo imagined in these days of modern toleration. It was thought by many young gentlemen good sport to break the windows and nail up the doors of a Methodist Chapel. The robbery of a Wesleyan Preacher as a spree by two young gentlemen became the subject of judicial investigation, and the frolicsome young men had to pay dearly for their joke. Among the uninstructed Local Preachers was one known by the name of the “ Old Gardener.” This old man was no common character; indeed he was quite an original, and by far the most popular preacher among the disciples of John Wesley in that vicinity. He kept a small nursery garden about two miles from the town of St. A , working hard at his occupation as a gardener by day, and praying and preaching to his fellow-sinners, as he called them, in the evening. He lived in the poorest manner, giving away all the surplus of his earnings in charity, distributing Bibles, and promoting to the utmost of his ability the extension of Methodism. His complexion was a sort of dirty dark iron-grey, and his whole appearance lean and grotesque. Although extremely ignorant, he possessed no small degree of cunning, and great personal courage. Of this, the following incident affords ample evidence.

The “ Old Gardener” was once subjected to a burglary and an attempt at robbery. Ho lived, with his wife in n. small and somewhat dilapidated cottage not far from the high road. Three young “squires” ■who bad just finished their studies at the University, who all despised and hated Methodism, having heard that the old man had been recently making a collection to build a Methodist chapel, thought it would be a good frolic to rob him temporarily of the proceeds of his collection. The result of the frolic is best related in the words of one of them.

“ We set out,” said he. “ upon our expedition with blackened faces, on a dark night a little before twelve o’clock. We had dined late, and ail of us had Dutch as well as Cornish courage; yet 1 confess, when it came to the point, I felt myself a coward. I began to reflect that it was but a dastardly frolic to frighten a poor old man and his wife in the dead of the night.

“ The clock struck twelve. ‘ Now comes the witchiD" time of night.’ exclaimed Tom.

“ ‘ Don’t let us frighten the poor couple out of their wits,’ said I. “ ‘ No,’ said Ryder, ‘wo will be gentle robbers —gentle as Robin Hood and Little J ohn.’ “ I said that I would rather travel hack than proceed. * Recollect,’ said I, ‘ the old fellow is an old soldier as well as a saint, and fears nothing human.’ "‘Nonsense,’ exclaimed Ryder, ‘hero goes.’ “ He pressed the feeble door of the cottage in which the old man resided; it immediately gave way and flew open. We entered and found ourselves in a sort of kitchen. To our great surprise there was a light shining from an inner room. This m.Stifl us uGcitatv. "‘Who is out there at this time- of night?' 1 exclaimed a hoarse voice from within. I knew it to fee the unmistakeable voice of the * Old Gardener.’ “ * Give ns jour money, and no harm shall befall you,’ said Tom, ‘ but we mn*t have your money.’ “‘The Lord will be my defence,’ rejoined the ‘ Old Gardener.’ ‘ You shall have no money from me. All in this house is the Lord’s—take it if you dare.’

«‘Wa must and will have it,’ said we, , as we entered the inner room, after taking ; the precaution of fastening the chamber ■ door as we entered. * “"We Boon wished wo had suffered it to 1 remain open, as you will see. J “ Now consider us face to face with the 1 "Old Osrdenft?i* and a pretty sight we * presented. Three roSlans (ourselves,) I with white wagoners’ frocks and blackened I faces. Before us ike ' Old Gardener,* i sitting on the «d« of hja bed. TTe wore a red worsted night cap, a check shirt, and < n flannel jacket; bis iron-grey fe,,. fringed 1 with a grizzled beard, lacking as calm and i undismayed as if be had been in the pulpit- i preaching. A largo deal table was by the i side of the bed, srnri immediately in front i - of him, on the table, was an open Bible, i close to which we observed, to our horror, * a heap of gunpowder, large enough to blow J up a castle. A candle was burning on tbo > table, and the old fellow had a steel in one hand and a large flint in the other. We were all three completely paralyzed. The wild, iron-faced, determined look of the : ‘ Old Gardener,’ the candle, the flint, and the steel, and the great heap of powder, absolutely froze our blood, and made cowards of us aIL The gardener saw the impression he had made. 1 “ ‘ What! do you want to rob and murder ?’ exclaimed he, ‘ You had better join with me in a prayer, miserable sinners that you are! Repent and you may be saved. You will soon be in another world!’ “Ryder first recovered his speech. “ * Please to hear me, Mr Gardener. I feel that we have been wrong, and if we may depart, we will make reparation, and give you all the money we have in our pockets.’ “We laid oar purses on the table before him. “ ‘ The Lord has delivered you into my hands. It was so revealed to mo in a dream. We shall all be soon in another world. Pray, let us pray.’ And down ho fell upon his knees, close to the table, with the candle burning and the ugly flint and steel in his hand. He prayed and prayed. At last ho appeared exhausted. He stopped and eyed the purses: and then emptied one of them out on the table. He appeared surprised, and I thought gratified, at the largeness of its contents. We now thought we' should have leave to retire; but, to our dismay, the ‘ Old Gardener’ said — “ ‘ Now we will praise God by singing • t t J j.l. ) me lIUUUICULU Aoaiuj. “ This was agony to us all. After the Psalm, the old man took up the second purse; and while he was examining its contents, Ryder, who was close behind Tom and myself, whispered softly—- “ ‘ I have unfastened the door. When you hear me move, make a rush.’ “The ‘Old Gardener’ then, pouring out the contents of the second purse, exclaimed — “ ‘ Why, there is almost enough to build our new house of God. Let me see what the third contains.’ “ He took up the third purse. “‘Now!’ whispered Ryder, ‘make a rush.’ “ We did so, and at the same moment heard the old fellow hammering away with flint and steel. W© expected to be instantly blown ftito fragments. The front door, however, flew open before us ; the next step we found ourselves in the garden. The night was pitchy dark. We rushed blindly through the nur-cry ground, scrambled through brambles and prickly shrubs, ran our heads against trees, then forced ourselves through a quick-set hedge. At last, with scratched faces, torn hands, and tattered clothes, w r o tumbled over a bank into the high road. “ Our horses were soon found, and we galloped to Ryder’s residence. Lights were procured and we sat down. We were black, ragged, and dirty. We looked at each other, and, in spite of our miserable adventure, roared with laughter. “ ‘ We may laugh,’ exclaimed Tom, ‘ but if this adventure is blown, and wo are found out, Cornwall will be too hot for us for the next seven years. We have made a pretty night of it. We have lost our money ; been obliged to pretend to pray for two long hours before a great heap of gunpowder; while that iron-faced, ugly, red-capped brute threatened us all with an immediate passage into eternity! And our money, forsooth, must go to build a Methodist meeting-house! Bah: It is truly horrible. The fellow has played the old soldier on us with a vengeance, and we shall be the laughing stock of the whole country.’ The affair was not yet ended. Reports were spread that three men, disguised as black demons, with horns and tails, had entered the cottage of the ‘ Old Gardener,’ who had not only terrified them, but frightened them' out of a good sum of money, which he intended to devote to the building of a new Methodist meetinghouse. It was given out that on the following Sunday the ‘ Old Gardener’ intended to preach a sermon, and afterwards solicit subscriptions for the meeting-house, when he would relate the remarkable manner in which he had been providentially assisted with funds for the building. Our mortification was complete. Tom, whose hatred of Methodism was intense, declared that he would blow up the meeting house as soon as it was bniit. Our curiosity. ■ however, was excited, and we all three determined to bear our adventure of the 1 night related by the 4 Old Gardener,’ if we could contrive to be present without bei ing suspected. Sunday evening arrived. The meeting-house w«.» crammed to suffocation, and with the dim lights then bam- ■ ipg, we had no difficulty in concealing i ourselves. Tbo sermon was short, but the > statement of our adventures was related most minutely and circ ams! ant ially in the

old rasn’s quaint, homely, and humorous ; phraseology. This eyening he seemed to i excel himself, and “as csultisgly Jbumor- ] Gus. The old fellow's face glowed with i delight and sstistaotioa. ‘I never. 5 said f ho, ‘ saw L-i-ci laces pray with greater do- j votioa. I hare some doubt, however, 5 he j r-h’iy observed, * if their prayers were quite i heavenward. They sometimes turned 1 towards the door, but a little lifting of the 5 flint and stool kept them quiet. 5 “ He then added, with a knowing shake [ of the head, and an exulting laugh ; 5 Hut , they hod sot smelt powder like the Old i soldier whom they came to rob, Ho, no, < it was a large beau.—ay. largo enough to ! ! frighten old General Olivo himself. The i caudle was lighted, the flint and steel was ready. You may ask, my friends, if I myself was not afraid. Ho, no, my dear , friends,' shouted he, * this largo Leap of ( apparent gunpowder was—it was my stock ] —my whole year’s stock of leek-seed, ■ p i “The whole congregation somewhat irreverently laughed; even the saints al- 3 most shouted; many clapped their hands. I was for a moment stupefied by the an- ] nouncement, but at last could hardly sup- , press my own laughter. “"We subscribed to the fund to avoid suspicion, and then left the meeting. • After the sermon we joined each other, 1 but could not speak. We could barely chuckle ‘Leek-seed,’ and then roared with laughter, “ It was a good joke, though not exactly to our taste. It has, however, more than once served for subsequent amusement. “ The chapel was built with the money collected by the gardener. Time and circumstance now induce mo to think that there has been no detriment to morality or religion by the erection of the meetinghouse which the High Church party named ‘ The Leek-seed Chapel.’ ” A PRIESTLY GAMBLER. [From " Sketches of Russian Life.”] “Where is the Pope, Vassilia ?’’ I said. “Yonder,” pointing to the room I had so lately left. “ Playing still ? It is too bad.” “ To bo sure ; it is nothing. I have known master play two days and nights at a stretch. But it is now time for service, and I must tell him.” I pushed past him into the room. It was Sabbath morn, half-an-hour before Service cXncL tlic men xviio were to cfiiciste sat round a table with flushed faces, eager looks, dishevelled hair, and ruffled attire. Candles were burnt down in their sockets, daylight streamed in through the shutterless windows. The brandy and wine bottles were empty. A great jug of “ phuass” was on a side-table, old cards littered the painted floor, and tho atmosphere was reeking with the fumes of tho “ papeross for smoking was slid going on. I saw at a glance that the tide of luck had left the Englishman. The priest was buoyant; he was flat. “They are winning it back,” he said to me as I entered ; “ I have had three hundred, now have but fifty.” “Ay,” said the tall priest, “and this game will get that back also ; it is for fifty, is it not ?” Then the clerk entered, and advanced with as little show of concern as if the exhibition was a fit and usual preparation for church rites, and after reverentially crossing hiniseli, intimated to the priest in chief that in half-an-hour it would be his time to go in to commence the services. “Very pood, Vassilia, my son. Don’t disturb me now, but listen. Come back exactly three minutes before eight.” “ 1 hear, and obey,” said Yassilia, and vanished. I cannot say t hese men were drunk; on tho contrary they seemed snore sober than they had been at two o’clock, but the demon of play held them in ids grip; they were as fresh for it and as absorbed as if they had only played two or three hours. My remonstrances and expostulations were thrown away, and in indignant curiosity I sat down to watch the end. The priest and his partner lost. Pins and his partner won another fifty. The next game was to be double or quits, the deal made with a fresh pack ; and, as I sat in full view of the tall priest, I could see his face brighten up, and a look of intelligence pass between him and his partner. At the same moment the decchock again entered. “ Three minutes to eight o'clock.” All but the tall priest threw their cards on the table and rose, saying, “A fresh deal after service.” “No, no,” he said, “keep your hand, partner: I shall keep mine, it is a good one ; and we shall play the game after our return. Here, Vassilia, give me a towel, wet, that will do. Now my robes—there —that comb : and now go every one to your posts. I shall be there presently.” Thus saying, he proceeded with a firm step ! to the church by the private entrance already mentioned. As he ieit the room I ■ saw him place the good hand of cards within his sacred robes, under the inside ■ fastening. He was evidently determined s not to lose eight of his trumps, and car- [ ried them off on his person into the church. I ran round to the front entrance, and was , just in time to vtiliiiSi the commencement • uf the service - It is s wonder judgment i did not fall on the chief priest. And it ; did in a way. At one part of the service, - just as ho was stepping on the platform, , he put his 'lend inside his robe to pul! ont • his handkerchief, and, as he drew it out, - the cards cams also unbidden, and fell ; scattered over the altar floor. This would 3 have paralysed any ordinary man; but I that priest never winced for a moment, a lie looked coolly at the cards, then steadily

at the people, as much as to say, “You all see that; take notice of it. I shall tell you about that by and by.” He then continued the services. At tho close he pointed to the cards—then beckoned a little peasant boy, with a white shock of flaxen hair, dressed in a shirt of coarse linen and t-rowssrs to match, not very clean, who had been OiO&siiig uud bonding betide a poor peasant woman, his mother. “ ‘dome here boy! 55 The boy went Turning to the congregation, he said: “ I shall ;ive you a lesson you. will net forget j for some limo. ion see those cards lying on the floor. Do you think I put them there for nothing ? VYe shall ese.—What is your nstnc, my hoy ?” “ Peter retrovitch.” “Well, Peter Petroviteh, go and pick up one of those cards you see on the floor, and bring it to me. There, that will do. Now, tell me, Peter Petroviteh, what card is this?” “ The ace of spades,” said the boy, with ready knowledge. “Very good, Peter Petroviteh; bring me another. That’s a good boy. What card is that ?” “ The queen of spades,” said Peter. “ How well you know them, Peter Petroviteh! bring another. And what may that one be ?” “ The ten of hearts.” “ That will do, Peter, the son of Peter. Now turn round and look at this picture. Can you tell me what saint it represents?” The boy scratched his head, then shrugged his shoulders, lifting them up to his ears, then scratched his bead again, and said: “Ye naes nigh.” (I don’t know.)

“Now look at this one. Who is this?” The same answer. “And this?” “ I cannot tell.” “ That will do, Peter, the son of Peter, You may go to your mother.” Turning to the people, he continued: “ Do you know now for what purpose I put those cards on the floor ? Do you not think shame of yourselves, tell me—say, is it not disgraceful and scandalous that that nice white-haired boy can tell me in a moment the name of every card in tho pack, and yet he does not know the name of one of the blessed saints ? 0, shame, shame on ye, so to bring up the young, after all the good teaching I have given ye! Go away, and learn the lesson I have given you this blessed day. Don’t forget it, and don’t force me to bring cards into this holy place again.—Vassilia, nick the other cards

up, and keep them for me.” So with solemn step he left the church, to play out his interrupted game for a hundred roubles.