Show r r I i 1 sm a I P T I I I T il ilP I d r I ID IA I ever tell ten you of the most memorable memorable able visit isit to Arapahoe asked the g 0 bishop looking up from magazine the with which he be had bod beguiled the last lost hour of the journey I No I replied that was before my time I believe believer I r was a newcomer in the diocese comparatively speak speaking ing ins ingI I Yes answered the bishop Something in this I paper fI per recalled it to me This notice of the Irving Terry performance of Macbeth in New York with the pictures you jOU know he added handing me the book What connection is s there bishop between your most memorable visit to Arapahoe and an the Irving Terry performance of Not any said the bishop except that it reminded me of another theatrical performance which I attended in Arapahoe I am not one of those clergymen who join in the clerical hue and cry against theaters he continued reflectively In fact fad I think the theater 1 and that thit a t good play is is may ma be a means of grace up upi i lifting mung and elevating de tins f I 1 w wI religious party of the tIle town which I am happy to say turned out to be Jn in a considerable majority the con congregation congregation congregation or the opposition was forced to leave its guns with the ushers and we got through all right They used to say it was Sunday Sunda only when the bishop came around But I have changed all that continued the old pioneer as a of satisfaction on over oyer overspread overspread spread his Ius face But about the theater bishop Im coming com ng to that I became so popular in fact that there was not ashow a show that could rival the church so the boys put it it On church nights which were only once every three months and perhaps that accounts for their popularity everything else shut up shop and an anthe the services were crowded I always preached to them the very best I knew how I remember one of the ex expressions expressions expressions of appreciation of my efforts which came camerom from rom the city marshal II Wot we like about you Right Reverend he lie said s id using the quaint form of address is that you yOi dont never play your congregation jer ier a fool we may maybe mayhe be he but we dont like to be told of it You allus seems seem to give g e the best you OU kin to us the best you oU got in the deck dede he added Ay f w 11 barrier between them quite perceptible I to a close dose observer and both appe t to be bc supremely miser miserable miserable miserable able My Iy loquacious friend the thc manager confided to me that Mr lr Montague l nta ut which his real name is Henry Pearce and he is a young man of very re respectable respectable family is in love loc with Miss Sylvester which her real name is is Mary Bates Dates and its her as is talked about for something or other the rights of which I 1 dont know but I stake my m life on her honor and amI honesty She looked like an m honest girl and mcl I would have backed up the thc managers confidence myself Well V the day dragged along somehow A funny little thing happened h at where we ate By this time I 1 was W S one of the thc party p and dined at the thc same table with the rest of them at t the railroad eating house I finished my meal before the others rose walked walled over ocr to the cashiers c desk and handed him a ten teu dollar r bill You know I very cry strong s rong on cleri clerical clerical cal C 1 costumes in that th t day and I was dressed in an ordinary ordinal business suit very dusty and much the thc worse for wear As the cashier took the bill I was aston astonished astonished astonished to have him ask Arc you payin ply n for yourself alone or for your our whole party sir sid In the eyes of the thc cashier I was the manager ger of the party so o much for my episcopal air ir and authority I IA A few miles from Arapahoe Ar the manager man ger of the local Opera House who was also the Warden Varden of the Mission fission and the City Cit Marshal boarded the train in in great perturbation He was in hard luck hick for it was church night and he told me the manager of the tra lIl rl cI I t ty f fi i r t e i if f n l c C c w c 1 t I t fi q r I t tJ J I IJ I l I t rG J r I f 1 1 I i ir r I t t r rI I 1 I r I I I I 1 a 9 11 P l ll l o a ti v I Imm n nt t c l 1 vAND Ati AiD YOU WILL IU TAKE ASE T ME AS S I AM SHE CRIED rr YOU SOU WILL FORGIVE ME NE AND AAD LOVE LoE ME dE IK m It SPITE OF I I rDo Do you spell speak SP K from experience ri neer J I asked l k d x I Well VeU no that is not exactly Of course when I Iwas Iwas Iwas was a young man I remember going to theaters more or less but since since I have hac been ordained I think I have only been twice Once when I was taken by my host and md hostess in New York to sec this performance a few years cars ago and the other time at Arapahoe But these two visits convinced me that the theater can sometimes teach leach a needed lesson Arapahoe continued the old man and now that I T I had him fairly started I breathed softly so as not to interrupt him or check the current of his thoughts hoping that I should get one of the stories we young oung youngsters sears prized so much from this veteran Arapahoe ahoe used iS d to be one of the toughest est places on the tit border When I first decided to start services there th re I wrote to the only man m in in the town whose name I knew and andi i announced my intention He said I could come along and that they would fix things up for me in good shape f The railroad ra built there in those days and the last ast thirty miles of the journey jo had to be bu made by wagon over the th trail I was astonished when I reached the station to find some or thirty horse horsemen horsemen horsemen men portentously armed and picturesquely costumed gathered about the wagon which had been provided for tor me site who declared that they constituted themselves my escort I r learned c at f route from irom my communicative ve friend who drove the wagon that there was some little an antagonism to holding religious services in the town and as the opposition had organized a church party art had bare been gathered together to see sec fair play ply and as ast t 1 they icy phrased it They The goin to see sec no done agm ilgin the minister they cd ed take a hand handl i Youma You ou may imagine continued the bishop smiling at the recollection that I did not feel very comfortable even when I looked at my m stalwart defenders How Flow However However ever in ill accordance with regulations re la ons prescribed by the 4 Well that being the th case in n Arapahoe you can imagine that the managers m of various wandering the theatrical theatrical theatrical enterprises as were likely to visit isit such places were careful to avoid church nights One day clay how however however however ever on this very verj railroad after alter it was built into the town I fell in with a traveling theatrical company cOmp n headed for Arapahoe I made friends with them of course They Thc seemed to be respectable people enough The manager a 3 veteran player assured me mc I dont allow any immoral plays plas in my show Were Vere poor and have to do bum towns Im trying tring to quote his elegant phrases but I try to be respectable myself and to have hac everybody in my company He confided to me mc in secret that there was only one member of his present troupe about whom whon people talked and he ho assured me mc that he believe belice what was said about her herI I made the acquaintance of all nIl of them and they talked freely to me about their experiences and ad adventures adventures ventures and certainly they the had a difficult life and a ahard ahard ahard hard one Almost as hard as being a peripatetic missionary I suggested Oh much harder than that said the bishop cheer cheerfully cheerfully fully II I enjoy that so far as I am concerned but the two who interested me mc most mo t were a l young man whose whoso name was teas Victor Montague at least that was his hia theatrical name and a young oung woman who was introduced to me as Miss Carlotta Sylvester She had been a charmingly pretty girl although she looked tired and faded and somewhat some haggard hag r J as if there was WilS something on her mind which preyed upon her herand herand herand and rendered her life miserable It appeared to me that Mr Montague was ryas very vcr much in love loe with Miss Sylvester and by b all the signs and you know I am nm ama a past post master in such affairs laughed the old man mantor for tor I have had so many m Y young couples on my mX hands that she reciprocated his feelings but there was a aI I cling company that th t he and Ind his h s troupe would w uld have no show against aga the bishop that he had tried to head them off but had failed to do so and he did not know what to do The two consulted in in the end of the car and finally came back to where where I sat Right Reverend said the thc warden were up agin it hard haid You know bein a religious an a town we c allus gives Fives ies the church a hearty support an m there aint an nobody as is more welcome in these yore yere parts than you be We Ve shuts down the saloons which wieh the barkeeps says they wants to go to church as much as anybody Its anus allus Sunday when you comes around But weve made a mistake in inthe inthe inthe the dates somehow or nother an weve got a show billed fer tonight Now this yore yere man pointing to the thc manager youve been to him durin the thc day an he youve been him hint wite you allus does docs everybody I told him tint Hes down on his luck he which hes been bee II in breakdowns an wrecks an washouts an has hs had ha poor houses an mobs an now no now hes run up agin the church He wants to make a proposition to you an Ive t told old him hint you oud d deal fair with him if any an man would Mr r Bishop said thee the manager what he hc says is all true Weve cc had a terrible time This is the last of our season the thc company compan is goin to disband as soon as it gets back to Kansas City an if I dont get some receipts tonight and tomorrow as to tomorrows tomorrows tomorrows morrows Saturday were goin go n to have a matinee matin e I 1 dont see how I can pay the salaries to those poor people due them there or get them back to civilization Were goin to give a clean moral moral show No affair doctor but its re rc respectable respectable table an In anyone can see it with wilh pleasure Ve We hear from Bill mil here that there aint no show for us in in Arapahoe Arapaho unless you help us out What I pro propose propose propose pose is is this If have your show I mean me your services a little earlier well have our services I COPYRIGHT 1903 mean our show a little late Say you have yourn your at It quarter past seven an well have ourn at quarter quark to nine And well do more than that he added hastily lest I should decide before I had ha heard a all that he lie had to offer Well Vell all come to your our sho services I mean if you come to ours and well give give you ou a part parl of the proceeds tonight to help the church What did you do bishop I asked Well Well Vell answered the old man I 1 promptly accepted two propositions and rejected the thc third I said that I 1 take any of their money mone From the looks of things they needed it all and m lilY my friends in Arapahoe were so generous that the thc church churchin churchin in that particular section lacked Jacked nothing The church churchin in Arapahoe has always been more or less unique un you ou see sec I 1 think that one reason renson I decided ed si so promptly was because I intercepted an appealing glance a piteously appealing glance I 1 might say from fron Miss Sylvester Sylv ster when she heard the proposition She Shi came C me to me after the two managers had retired t to discuss their arrangements and clasped cJ ped my hand impulsively im impulsively Oh 1 J she said I am so glad you arc are going t to have church I been to church for years i it seems to me and you have been s so 0 kind to us and have treated us so much like re respectable people that I Wanted anted to go to your services so much to tonight tonight tonight night I 1 am very glad I replied that you arc to have havethe havethe havethe the opportunity About this time the train pulled into the station and the townspeople informed of the change in the hour of services and delighted at the prospect of ot s a 1 double treat or as they phrased it two 10 shows in one evenin immediately busied themselves in spreading the news throughout the settlement The Thc place was smaller in those days than it is is now and it was not nol difficult to advise adise everyone I had of course a lot of sermons with me m in in my head that is j you know the first thing you learn in the V cst is to shoot without a rest so they say which is their euphemism for preaching without notes and I had previously selected a theme for the evening but something I did not know what unless it were Providence turned my thoughts in another direction and I chose that text of Scripture Neither do I I condemn thee go and sin no more And I deter determined determined determined mined to preach upon forgiveness as exemplified in that exquisite incident cited by St John as the very first lesson Jesson in Christian practise You see sec the first thing a man expects is forgive forgiveness ness although it is usually the last thing he lie wishes to bestow There has been much discussion about that chapter said the bishop and it is believed you know to be bc an interpolation but whether it is or not notI I for one am convinced that it represents a true incident and I bless the interpolator whoever he may have bave been There was something in the girl Miss Sylvester to call her by b her stage name which wh ch kept recurring to me when hen I thought over the points of the sermon Not that she looked bad only troubled Beneath her indifferent hardness or her forced pleasantry there was an undercurrent of agony such as ns only comes from great sorrow and too often in to a womans case cas the sorrow is based upon well at any rate I thought hard over the sermon and when the services came off I think thick I never preached better in my life The thoughts were very old as the story stor itself is old but I pointed out in sit a way oa which was told me afterward was vas very convincing the duty dun of forgive forgie forgiveness ness and howl Jesus Himself m in i touch u h with the gross grossest gro grossest s sest est sort of aberration forgave it The theatrical people were all nil there although to keep his promise the manager had been compelled to togo togo togo go without his supper he had been so busy bus ing for the performance The most interested listener in the congregation crowded into the was the young woman On the other side of the room from her Mr Montague gue followed the sermon with scarcely less eagerness You know when you arc are preaching sometimes s without volition you direct your arguments to one or two in in the congregation and my appeals and exhortations seemed seemed to be aimed straight at nt those two young persons Well Vell after the services I went to the play pIa as asI asI I J had promised Sed and the thc whole congregation did like likewise likewise wise for the manager had kept his promise faithfully As I remember it was rather a poor play but very respectable Miss Liss I Sylvester played the leading part and though I suppose ordinarily she would be considered an in indifferent in indifferent different f actress yet when she confessed the thc past in which she had been more sinned against a than sinning and the hero of the thc play depicted by Mr Montague Save gave her up her acting was a marvelous surprise So o real and natural did it seem that I almost felt that they were not playing parts but speaking the truth There on that stage There was such agony such heartrending appeal to her lover for mercy in iii the woman voice that |