A ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERMON.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2035, 23 July 1885, Page 4

A ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERMON.

[By John L. Dow, Ml'] Tim i., Sunday ; locile, Loadville, Colo ratio; ant\ soeno, .\ ii.bsiu>us seiviuj being hehl in that liveliest ot Western American mi mut,' towns. The building was used .11 .1 \.mcty theatre dm ing the week, but on Sunday it was swept up .mil put in onlev fm tin- purposes of achuioh. A 'rude plattorm, made by l.iymg some lumber Along on thu headi of several whisky bands, stood for a pulpit, and pWn *wiod<n forms furnish' d sitting accommodation for a unmiegition mule up of individual*, the majoiitj of wh.»m came undi r tho denomination of w h.U the Aineiiuins know as " hard titi/<Mis " They, hovv<vei, all assumed an an of grave and * lious attention I'ieseiitly, a liard featured looking man, whose weather-beaten exterior be tokened the arduous life of the placer minei, entered, walked gravely along the passage, mounted theplatfoim, deposited » Bible and hymn book on a desk constructed out of two brandy cases set on end ; and then gave out a hymn entitled A Day's March Nearer Home. The style in winch this hymn was read would Srobably have driven Lindley Munay, ad lie been present, to the verge of distraction, yet withal the meaning of the woids was biought out with peculiar force md clearness. At the conclusion of the reading, there rose to then feet, immediately in ftont of the platfoim, what proved to be a well trained vocal and inatiumcntal orchestra, coinprnins,' twenty persons ; and the harmony pioduced in the interpretation of the music lttaclied to the simple hymn was something to remember. Rough looking mcii and working lads formed a double quintet of voices, whose rich quah tv md musical accuracy contrasted stiangely with the rough appeaiaoce of the Miigers; and the instrumental portion of the band, which included a first and second violin, a violoncello, a cornet, a flute, picolo and banjo, can be refeui-d to in equally complimentary terms. Listening to this orchestra., one was compelled to acknowledge the overwhelming power of music, and to account for the main reason why so peculiar an audience had m^t together ostensibly to take pait in a religious service. " Music," indeed, " hath charms to soothe the savage breast," one was impelled to say while glancing round this stiange church. Here, you could mark the reckless professional gambler ; there, the lough but honest miner ; on the one hand that peculiar combination of geneioaity and meanness, of daredevil coinage and superstitions ignorance, the cowboy of the western plains ; and, on tho other li md, the pitifnl drink wrecked loafer known in the States as a Bummer. At the conclusion of the hymn the preacher iobo and said : Friends.— The leg'lar pieichcr, as you arc aware, has gone down to day among the boys w-ho aie woiking the new carbonate rpincs at ("Summon, and I have been appointed to take his hand {and heave it for all it's woi th. To many of you present, it wont be necessary to tell you that I'm kinder new to this business, but I don't believe there's a rooster in the camp mean enough to take the advantage of my ignorance, and cold deck roe on the first deal. I have been reading in this yer book that yam about the prodigal con, and I ~^#ffl try to tell you the story. The Book don't give no dates, but I guess it happened a considerable spell back in history. It seems the prod's father was pretty tlush with the stamps, and a real good aoit into the bargain, as he always shelled out freely when tho kid struck him for a stake, and never bucked at the si/o of the pile neither, so long a3 the boy heaved in heaity on the ranche, and generally behaved hi&self hnmlstim. But by-and-bye the kid began to get restless, anil wanted to rustic out on the tt.ivul, -so lie got the old man to ante up in advam/' of the death racket, and let him go. He no sooner got his divy in his fist than he shook the lanchc, and spread himself out to take in some of the fai-olf camps. Wai, according to the Book, he had a way up time at first, and slung his coin around as if he owned the best paying lead within a thousand miles of Demt l But, my friends, thii game didn't last for ever. Hard luck struck him at last, and the prod i«j found in one of his sober interval-) icmaiking in a confidential way to one of his chums, "I say, old pard, I'm burst on* clean dow n to tho bed rock, an' thi m's the cold-blooded f.icts." The book don't say what the piod went broke on, but piob'ly he steered up against «otnc bi.icc game He that a-, it may, however, he was sfi beautifully cleaned out that he hadn't a two-bit piece left to go eat on. In this condition he stiuck a ranche belonging to an old granger, who, taking pity on the poor busted prod, gave him a job of hut ding hogs. The granger wasn't a bad old sample in a general way, but he wai inclined to be kinder mean on the feed, and so it cime that the prod got sc frightfully fchupset for a meal he had to go wlmcUa in tho hog trough. You bet, the kid w ho, in his tltiali times had been boosing round among the best of everything, like a silver king or big railway monopolist, had now plenty of time on his bauds for doing a tall lot of thinking, and one day he baid to himself, " I'll just din? this business. Why, even the meanest help in my old governor's hired service is living on square grub, and plenty of it, while I'm worrying along hero on a shook lunch I know what I'll do. I'll just skip back home to the old man, and ask for a ne.v deal. So aw ay he w ent, but he had a hard time reaching the old lanehe, and don't you forget it. When yon hay c plenty of coin, my friends, ev< lybody's pleasant, but when you're on the borrow you don't find it u <» yood. Finally, he did strike the familiar trail leading down to the old li'iuic. and while crossing some open lots the old man, as tlw Book puts it, saw him a coining "afar off." Vis, my h lends, that old mnn'a eyes were very dim, but he did not fail to spot his boy " afar ofl"." And what d'ye suppose that prod's father did ? Did he whistle the dogs up to chase him off the ranche? Yon bet he didn't. Did ho go and take down his shot gun, and wait till lie got him within range, so as to get a good diopon him ? You bet lie didn't. No, but I'll tell you what he did. He just w ilt/ed n»ht out of the gate to meet hinri, and fio/f to that poor scarecrow right on tho spot, and fell to kfc&ing of him, and w coping over him, and calling of him his poor long lost boy, until the prod got broke all up, just like a sluice dam when tho miow comes down off Pike's I'oak under a July sun. The old man then took him n»ht away to a clothinp store, and ripged him out in the ( o-,th< st suit to bo had for coin, put an I'lcgai-t img on his finger, oi tiered the fatt< st steer on the ranche to I.e. blatightucd, mvit'-d all the ncighhouis in, and had the bi^cst-blow out that camp had ever seen. Now, it appeals that the prod's elder brother was out at woik with the teams, and when he came in he asked some of the helps what was tin* meaning of the pii'iiic they were having inside, and when he was told the reason he just got real mad. The old man hearing of this went out to him and said, " Come in lad ; your brother's come back, and we're having a regular old-fashioned jubilee, now you come right along like a gootl ft How and take a share in the breakdown." Hut the brother wouldn't budge, and slid to his father, "Look here, dad, I haw >-tuck to the ranche, and have i.evt i font; back on your mdei.s, but it m>\> i htiiiLk you to have ;i piuiiu of this kind, until you give it to a hoollurn who ha-< <li«grac«'d our namo." But, my fiicnd you make your bets onit, that old man bad a level head, and wa^ not to be easily bluffed. - Ffe says, " My son, you cay you have never gone back on my orders ; but are you quite nun- that'- «o ' I tell ym tint you hnve gmii" I'i'k on me it.il mean by join mi brotherly and uncharitable bt hu\ ioui. You may count that ) our service is square up

c.i. tlie °tii( t UMituet, but I ttll you it don't (ill the bushel worth .1 cent -so f.u .is brothei ly spirit is consumed. The "■pint you ,ue showing, my lad, is the one tint li ids to n.u row -111111(11 dnt.ss, to bigotry, to uitolei.uice, and a fooling round and burning folks because they don't fk tlnii voi-hip up pist leoirdin' to your pcrticlcr notion." An now, fiit'iid-,, it i-, to the ciedit of the hiothei tli;»t bo took his old father's sijuuc tnlk m good part, iind you l-et tli.it old man v.m .i real thorouglibied, aid don't for it.