# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1882_S23 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 23 EE eee ee ee Sam, the Fiddler. The poor Christian departed with a grateful | astonishment and contempt he held up the heart, thankful to God that he had escaped | piece of wood and said: with nothing worse than angry words, and be-| ‘‘‘ How can this speak? Has it a mouth?’ gan to think what more he could do for his|I desired him to take it immediately and not good and gracious God. His owner possessed | spend so much time talking about it. other estates, and had from a thousand to two} ‘‘On arriving at the house he gave the chip violin, and was accustomed to play that instru- | thousand colored folks upon them. Sam turned |to Mrs. Williams, who read it, threw it away, ment at the merry-makings of the colored|his attention to them. When his hard day’s|and went to the tool-chest whither the chief, people and the balls of the Europeans: He|work beneath a tropical sun was finished, he | resolving to see the end of this mysterious busi- was brought, however, to listen to the Word of | would steal away to one or other of these plan-| ness, followed her closely. On receiving the Life. It reached his heart; he embraced the | tations, to talk to those slaves about his Sav-|square from her he said, ‘Say, daughter, how Gospel, and became a decided Christian. Fear-|iour, and invite them to go and hear the mis-|do you know that this is what Mr. Williams ing that his musical instrument might now|sionary. Sometimes he did this as often as| wants?’ prove a snare, he broke it; for he thought if | two or three nights in a week. Atothertimes,| ‘‘‘Why,’ she replied, ‘did you not bring me he sold it, he might be tempted to buy another} when the Saturday came, which was allowed |a chip just now?’ with the money. One day his master told him | for himself, he would embrace the opportunity| ‘‘*Yes,’ said the astonished warrior, ‘but I that he would soon be wanted to play his fa-| thus afforded and visit a plantation, and invite | did not hear it say anything.’ vorite instrument. He replied, ‘‘ Fiddle broke, | the colored people to go with him and hear| ‘‘‘If you did not, I did,’ was the reply ; ‘for Massa.’’ ‘‘It must be mended, Sam.’’ ‘‘Broke | Massa missionary. Thus he persisted in this|it told me what he wanted. And all you have all to pieces, Massa.’’ ‘‘Well, we must get a|course of benevolent zeal, till he had brought | to do is to return with it as quickly as possible.’ new one, Sam.” ‘Me tink dat be no good, | about five hundred persons to become regular} ‘‘With this the chief leaped out of the house, Massa—be soon broke.’? The master began to | hearers of the Gospel. and catching up the mysterious piece of wood, - suspect that this breaking of fiddles must have| While thus zealous for’ the salvation of | he ran through the settlement with the chip in something to do with religion, to which, un-| others, he knew where, in the time of trial, to}one hand and the square in the other, holding happily, he was no friend. ‘I hope you do not} look for strength and grace. The missionary | them up as high as his arms would reach, and go to pray, and go after those mad-headed | being obliged for a time to leave his flock, ex-| shouting as he went, ‘See the wisdom of these folks, Sam?” ‘‘To tell the truth, me gone, | pressed to this poor Christian his fears that| English people! They can make chips talk! Massa.”” His owner now threatened him with| when the shepherd was gone, the flock might | they can make chips talk!’ punishment, and told him he should be flogged. | suffer. Sam, however, reminded him that the| “(On giving me the square he wished to Sam, however, was firm. ‘Dat no good,|chief Shepherd is forever very near. ‘‘Massa | know how it was possible thus to converse with Massa; whip no’ flog the Word out.’”? His | missionary must go; Massa Christ no go; poor| people at a distance. I gave him all the in- master then declared that he should be turned |Sam all weak; massa Christ all strong.’’ At|formation I could; but it was to him such a out of his comfortable situation and sent to|another time the missionary overheard him ex-] mystery that he actually tied a’ string to the work on the plantation. He, however, had | horting some of his acquaintance to exert them-| chip, hung it round his neck and wore it for counted the cost and remained immovable, so selves to bear the expenses of that station, that | some time. For several days after we fre- that his owner's threat was executed. the Society, thus relieved, might send the Gos-| quently saw him surrounded by a crowd, who Dismissed from a situation of comfort, to toil | pel to some of their poor brethren elsewhere. | were listening with intense interest while he in a field of labor, under the burning sun of | Thus was Sam, though poor as to the world, told them of the wonders which the chip had Jamaica, he felt for a time dejected; but soon | rich in faith and in good works. performed.” — ei perceived that an opportunity for doing import- ———+ +2 o> : That place is now a Christian land. It has ant good was now before him. In his master’s The Chip that could Talk. its churches and Christian schools, and 18 ZOv- family he mingled with a few domestics, now erned wisely and well by ‘*Isaia, * a native he was in the midst of three hundred slaves.| John Williams, a missionary to the South chief. He never forgets in his laws and plans He began, therefore, to tell them about his|Sea Islands, was engaged oné day hewing tim- for the good of une people, that “‘righteousness Saviour, and to invite them to go and hear his | ber for a chapel, surrounded by many wonder- exalteth a nation. minister. Many of them yielded to his invita-|ing natives. It was when thus employed that SU ne aay tions; and in a little while of these three hun-| the incident occurred of which he thus tells in Jessie’s Advice to Grandma. dred, about a hundred and fifty became regular | his ‘‘ Missionary Enterprise’’: hearers of the everlasting Gospel. “As I had come to work one morning with- “What would you do, if I were to be blind?” His master heard of this, and felt still more | out my square, I took up a chip and with a cried grandmother, rubbing her eyes. : incensed. He called for him, and addressed | piece of charcoal wrote upon it a request that| ‘‘I'll tell you what to do, grandmother,” said him with severity: ‘‘ How dare you trouble my | Mrs. Williams would send me that article. Jessie, jumping up from her playthings. slaves? I will have no praying slaves.’ ‘‘Me|I called a chief and said to him: “What?” asked grandma. ; no tink they are troubled, Massa. Do they| ‘‘‘Iriend, take this, go to our house and ‘Go, and tell Jesus,’”’ said Jessie; ‘‘that is work much worse, or are they more saucy, | give it to Mrs. Williams.’ what I would do.” j Massa?’ ‘That is nothing to you; how dare} ‘‘He was a singular looking man, remark- “Perhaps He would not cure me,”’said grand- you trouble my slaves?”” ‘‘To tell de truth, j ably quick in his movements, and had been a| mother. ; ; Massa, me tink dat de bread dat is good for my | great warrior; but in one of his battles he had upubeny He would help you to say, “Thy will soul, is good for my brother; and me tink dat | lost an eye. Giving me one inexpressible look | be Aner auee en you wong ne mind it, if it isa good ting for me to escape hell, it is] with the other, he said i grandma,” said the sweet little girl. good for brother; and if heaven is a good place “