Madison Times

Preaching Differs from Whitewashing. Albany Argus.

I met the Rev. William Henry Augusta yesterday. His former dressy hat was replaced by a demoralized plush cap of yellow, his sometime Prince Albert coat by a blue army oversack, buttoned with a wire, and his face, which formerly wore a look of peace and calm resignation, was sicklied o'er with drops of dry whitewash.

"Have you abandoned preaching for the whitewash brush?" I inquired.

"N-no, sah, not 'zackly. Yo'see, sah, at dis season o' de y'ar dar er a greater call fo' w'itewash dan fo' speer'tooal labah. I do bof, sah—bof."

"Well, Mr. Augusta, which pays the better?"

"Oh, jis' now, whitewashin's ahead—w'itewashin' by a large piurality."

"It is harder to whitewash than to preach I should assume?"

"By no means, sah—by no means. I spose de majority o' people labah undah de same error dat yo' am strugglin' wid. Dar's a good deal o' work in han'lin' a w'itewash brush, ez it needs ter be dun, ef yo'er consienshus ez ter de quality ob work yo' do, sah; but preachin'am faa mo' laborious sah,—faa mo'."

"Why?"

"Well, sah, in w'itewashin' vo' kin relieve yo' min' by t'inkin' o' suthin' else, an' yo' body by restin' now an' den. But preachin'sah, er a nebbah-endin', raslin'-match, ketch ez ketch kin, wid de debble."