Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 November 1889 — Thought It Was a Brother. [ARTICLE]

Thought It Was a Brother.

Says a clergyman: “I had been asked by one of our out-country brethren to take part in a service at his church. I was to preach the sermon, and came prepared with one of my most elegant jjixnbs. Just as I was mounting the pulpit steps, however, the pastor whispered in flay ear: ‘I thought you ought to know that this is a funeral service.’ You may imagine my feelings. -They must have been something like Dr. Depew’s when, at the commeucerqent exercises of a Western college, he found himself expected, on ten minutes’ notice, to deliver the historical address. However, I had a little time to collect my thoughts. It was a memorial service, not a funeral, and I .must do the deceased justice. I started, and talked my best for a quarter of an hour; then I stepped down. As I did so, the brother who had informed me of the nature of the service approached me. He seemed somewhat embarrassed, but he shook my hand warmly. “ ‘lt was a good sermon, sir,’ he said. “ ‘Yes,’ I replied; for, to tell you the truth. I thought so myself, considering the circumstances. “ ‘lt was a good sermon,’ he repeated, ‘but—but ’ “ ‘Well?’ I asked. “ ‘But it wasn’t a brother that died; it was a sister.’”