Show HOW DEVIL BILL WAS CONVERTED I Grace GIace Was Mauled Into Him by Frontier Poison Known as Old Sledge BEEN TOUGH MEN OF CIRCUIT RIDING IN N NEARLY EARLY DAYS A Atlanta Constitution Uncle Toni Tona wa much ot o a aman aman man lie Fe had been wild and reckless arid and not God nor regarded man but ono dB day ut at a camp meeting while BIshop Gaston was wa shaking up the sin sinners ners nU scorching them over the in infernal infernal fernal pit nit Tom got alarmed Iud ind he be before fore the meeting was wa over he religIon and became a outspoken en convert and declared his intention or of going forth Into the world orld and preaching the gospel He was wa terribly in for he aid ho had lost n a power of time and must make Jt it up Tom loom was a rough talker Jut ut he was wag wasa waga a good one and know knew right mart marL oi of and n a good many of the old I fashioned by heart Th con conference conference ference thought he was a pretty retty good goodfellow fellow to send out Into th the border coun country try among the settlers and so 50 rom tra lit hio oki fl n gray and In Ue tIme was circuit rIding n North MissIssIppI Became Noted In course couve of time Tom acquired noto notoriety and from hIs strong lan an and stronger er gestures and his muscular el they called him old Sledge SledgeHammer Hammer antI and after awhile old Sl Sledge gc for short A Away way town down in one rower or of his territory thel theia was a blacksmith shop and Rud a wagon hop and anda amla a whisky shop and a at Bill J Iones on as crossroads s and Bill kept aI aa of them and was known fur and wide us as Rill Bill Tones so as to distinguish him from Squire Bill the magistrate Devil DeU Bm Bill had sworn that no prea h her er should ever toot a 3 horn or sing n a hymn In the thc s settlement and 1 If any of the cussed hypocrites ever dared to stop stol at the clos crossroads roads hed make him dance dancea a hornpipe and sing at hymn and whip him besIdes And nd Bill Jones n nant ant Just what whal he said ml l for tor h had n a hate mr fOI th mon men of dod 06 It reasonably sup gui supposed posed that Bill do what I he said trado at the hud had made him st ong aril e th that t lie he had 5 much muon brute brut was wa o Uncle Tom rom wits was to take tak e and never lW I 1 the H He R UI this S for br a time and left the eole to the bad or of D IJ Bill but mit it tt to tn him hp h YOS not the tho will vill and er he thought If n 1 lt livin living in I Ind growing glowin up in iii Infidelity p ph h lu would nuie grow groan On night b be prayed over OYer It with great s and tu to In 1 the h It if the LOl Lord would give gho him ilIn light it seemed med to him a he rose from his k krees p that the ther was IS no longer longeran an any doubt lie he must go Uncle Tom ne nePI nev PI dellied anything l his mind was made uy up He vont right nt at ft like kIllIri iM d sn next ne morn mom momin in lag as a nabor J oft cli his way to Bills shop rein said Sent Message to Bill Jones My ly friend will you crry i t message to TonES Jones for me Do you him him than If Lord Lorl is I 1 will vIlL e t l the to preach ny at 11 sand Aud I am un shore 1 he is to pease U It In he about and tx th women and children to come fell Bill Jones I will tar at his hou house e God GOi and I nm am he md and Ill Sundays too lC IC get along Bill J Jones got the me message n e he hetu WItS tu sU t pd n 1 und hIs indig nUon atlon knew no bounds lie He raved and n d fit at the m S he called It the In me Rage of old Sledge and he be swore that he would hunt him up UI n nd whip him for fOI he that h 11 cure lareto to come to the cross ron d ds But the tho nabors whispered it 1 hAt 01 1 would come for h hW he hev W v never known to make an ment nn l bre 1 It and there was nn an old oki horse 1 thief who used Sod to run iun with ls gang whO said he used to Tom Barker when he was a sin sinn sinner n ner r and had bad seen him fi fight ht and he mu b oI of a man manHot manHot Hot Time Expected So o It like wild fire that old Sledge was coming rind Devil f ill was WiS to him an and make malte him d dance nce Ing a and treat to n a ngu gu gallon of If brandy besides Devil Bill had his hI enemies ot of course for he was a hard man and one way ay or another lad had gobbled up all of the sur surplus surplus plus of the thc and had given nothing in exchange but whisky and th these se enemies had long hoped for some somebody body hody to come and turn him down rho too circulated the astoundIng JIE WS and without committing them themselves selves to either party said that hll hIl would break brenk on Saturday at the crossroads and that Old ledge or orthe the he devil would have to go under On Friday the settlers began to drop into the crossroads roads under I pretense ret nse of business but really to get the bottom facts ot of the rumors that were ele afloat 1 Devil Bill knew full futI well what they came for and he talked and more furiously than usual and swore Vore that anybody who would come ing to see e Old Sledge tomorrow was an Infernal tool fool for ho he acorn acom lag Ing He laid bare his strong arms and shook book his long hair anti and said Id he wished t the he lying deceiving h would fl for It had been nigh on to four fourteen teen years since no had bad made nade a preach preacher fr er dance Great Gathered Saturday morning Lt it 9 the iet ix bt ui n to gather guther They came on fo S I td d on horseback and in carts n and and before U 11 UL L l 1 k th there le wore were more people at the I than had ever been there be ber nf r Bill Tones was mad at their cred but he had an eye to business kept behind his counter and sold more wh whisky Isky in an hour than he had old oId In a month As the appointed hour drew near the settlers began to look Iowa Iown the long straight road that Old Sledge ledge would come come If he came canie tt at aU all aUnd allind nd ind every man whose head came in just over the rise or of the distant hm was closely scrutinized More than once they said sald Yonder he heto heS to r S S come th ts But no it him himme rome me half a had old ld bullseye silver watches and they tiley compared d time and imd just at l 1055 the old horse thief exclaimed I see Tom Barker a of the bill hUl hUlI billI I seed him for eleven years but that art ar him or Im a liar And It was him Bill Was Howling Mad MadAs MadAs As ho he got nearer and nearer a voice seemed to be coming with him and some said Hes to himself another said Hes to God Almighty another said In Ill be if h he aint but ver very soon it was decIded that he was sing In of a hime bime Bill Jones was soon advis advised d of all this and coming up to the said Darned If he aint singing before I Ia a ed him but Ill mal make e him sing an another other tune till he is tired Ill pay him for tor his message Im not to kill him boys bos Ill leave leae life in his rotten old carcass but aU all If any on youn oun want to hear Old Sledge lave to go ten mlles miles from the roads to do It Slowly and solemnly the preacher came As he drew near he narrowed down his tune and upon the crowd He was a massive man in frame irame and had a heavy suit of dark brown hair but his face was clean shaven and showed n a nose and lips and chin hIn of firmness and great determination tion I Look at him bo boys s and mind your I eyes said the I Where Thore will I find my friend Bill Jones inquired Old Sledge AU All round they pointed him to the tho theman man Riding up UI close he said 1 My Iy and brother the tle good Lord has sent me meto I Ito to you and I ask your hospitality for mys myself and m my r beast and lie he slowly dismounted and raced faced his foe as though expecting a kind reply Tile rUe crIsis had come and Bill Jones met it Slapped the Parson You infernal old hypocrIte you cussed old scoundrel you know that I had an oath that I would make you sing and lauce and whip you besides If you ever dared to n these crossroads with your shoe tracks Now sing you sing and dance as you sing and lie emphasIzed his command with a ring ing slap with his open hand upon the parsons face Old Sledge r recoiled with pain and surprise Recovering m a l lie said Well Ven Brother Jones I did not ex expect expect so o warm a welcome but if this be your our crossroads manners manner I suppose I must sing an as Devil Bin Bill gave him another SlAP on his other jaw aw heb he began gan with 11 My soul be on thy guard Handed Bill One And with his long arm suddenly und and swiftly gave Devil Bill an that nearly knocked him off his feet while the parson continued to sing In Ina a splendid voice Ten Tel th ns nd foe arise Never was a lion more ar d to frenz frenzy than was Bin Bill Jones With his powerful arm he made at Old Sledge I as if to annihilate bim him with one blo blow and many horrid oaths but the parson fended otT of the stroke as easily as a practiced boxer and with his left hand dealt Bill a settler on his peepers as he continued to sing Oh watch and fight and pray pra The battle neer give oer But Jones Jone was pluckY to desperation und and the settlers were watching with bated breath The crisis was at hand nn and brief history of his own sInful life Ufe before he squared hImself and his clenched fists flew fiew thick and fast upon the parsons frame franie for n a while dis disturbed disturbed his and his song But be rallied quickly and began the offensive as he sang Neer eel think the victory won Nor 10 lay thine armor down He backed his adversary square squarely to the wall of his shop and seized him by bythE bythe thE throat and mauled him as lie he sang Fight on my soul un till death Well Veil the long and short of it was that Old Sledge whipped him and humbled him to the ground and then lifted him up and helped to restore him and begged a thousand pardons Delivered d His Sermon Devil Bill had retired to lila his house and was being cared for b his wife Old Sledge mounted a box in front of the grocery and preached righteousness and temperance and judg judgmEnt judgment mEnt to come to that people Hp closed d his solemn discourse with a Inlet brief history of his own sinful life Ufe be before fO fore hi conversion and hIs humble work for the Lord ever vel since and he be besought besought sought his hearers to stop and think Stop poor sinner stop and think lie he cried in alarming tones There were a few men and many mariy wo women women men in that crowd whose eyes long unused to the melting mood nood dropped tEars of repentance at the preachers kind and tender exhortation Bill Joncs wife poor woman had crept humbly into the outskirts of the crowd for lor she had long treasured the memo memories memories ries of her childhood when she too had gone with her good mother to hear pre ching In secret she had pined and lamented her husbands hatred for l religion find and for preachers Aft After r she had washed the blood from his swollen face and dressed sed his wounds she asked him if she might go down and ana hear the preacher For a minute he was silent and seemed to be dumb with He had never been whipped and had llad sU suddenly denly lost confidence in himself and his infidelity Go long bug SaU Sally he answered if he cnn can talk like lie ho can fight and sing ing maybe the Lord did send him Its aU all mighty strange to me he groaned in anguish His animosity seemed to have changed into an anxious wondering curiosity r and after Sally had gone lie he left his bed bd und and drew near to the win window dow where he could hear Devil Bill Converted Old Sledge made an earnest soul reaching prayer and his pleading with the Lord for Bill Jones salvation and that of his wife and chIldren reached the wIn window ow where Bill was sitting and he beard it HIs wife returned in tears and tool took a seat beside him and sobbed her h hearts arts but said nothing Bill bore it for a while in thoughtful silence and then putting his bruised and trembling hand in hers said Sally if the Lord sent Bent Old Oki Sledge maybe he didI reckon you had after atter his horse And sure ure enough Old Sledge stayed there that night and held family prayer and the nl next day he preached from the plaz piazza plazza za to a great multitude and sans sang his favorite hymn Am I a soldier of the Cross And be got to the third verse erse Fis untutored but musical voice oice seemed to be little higher as he sang Sure I fight if I would reign Increase ny courage Lord Devil Bill wa converted and became a changed man He joined the church and closed his grocery and helped to build a meeting house and it was il l wa ways s said and believed that Old Sledge mauled the grace into bla bi un unbelieving Unbelieving believing soul and It never would have hac got in any other way II |