.

It was a strange service that Sunday morning. The son introduced the
father, and the father, looking at his son, who seemed so short a time
ago unlearned in the ways of the world, gave as his text, "A little
child shall lead them."

He spoke of his own conceit and vainglory, the pride of his age and
experience, and then he told of the lesson he had learned. "Why,
people," he said, "I feels like a new convert!"

It was a gentler gospel than he had ever preached before, and in the
congregation there were many eyes as wet as his own.

"Robbie," he said, when the service was over, "I believe I had to come
up here to be converted." And Robbie smiled.

_Six_

THE RACE QUESTION

Scene--Race track. _Enter old coloured man, seating himself._

"Oomph, oomph. De work of de devil sho' do p'ospah. How 'do, suh? Des
tol'able, thankee, suh. How you come on? Oh, I was des a-sayin' how de
wo'k of de ol' boy do p'ospah. Doesn't I frequent the racetrack? No,
suh; no, suh. I's Baptis' myse'f, an' I 'low hit's all devil's doin's.
Wouldn't 'a' be'n hyeah to-day, but I got a boy named Jim dat's long
gone in sin an' he gwine ride one dem hosses. Oomph, dat boy! I sut'ny
has talked to him and labohed wid him night an' day, but it was allers
in vain, an' I's feahed dat de day of his reckonin' is at han'.

"Ain't I nevah been intrusted in racin'? Humph, you don't s'pose I been
dead all my life, does you? What you laffin' at? Oh, scuse me, scuse me,
you unnerstan' what I means. You don' give a ol' man time to splain
hisse'f. What I means is dat dey has been days when I walked in de
counsels of de on-gawdly and set in de seats of sinnahs; and long erbout
dem times I did tek most ovahly strong to racin'.

"How long dat been? Oh, dat's way long back, 'fo' I got religion, mo'n
thuty years ago, dough I got to own I has fell from grace several times
sense.

"Yes, suh, I ust to ride. Ki-yi! I nevah furgit de day dat my ol' Mas'
Jack put me on 'June Boy,' his black geldin', an' say to me, 'Si,' says
he, 'if you don' ride de tail offen Cunnel Scott's mare, "No Quit," I's
gwine to larrup you twell you cain't set in de saddle no mo'.' Hyah,
hyah. My ol' Mas' was a mighty han' fu' a joke. I knowed he wan't gwine
to do nuffin' to me.

"Did I win? Why, whut you spec' I's doin' hyeah ef I hadn' winned? W'y,
ef I'd 'a' let dat Scott maih beat my 'June Boy' I'd 'a' drowned myse'f
in Bull Skin Crick.

"Yes, suh, I winned; w'y, at de fini