Sunday, October 22, 2006

The Real 1870s Story: the correction

"A Clerical Humorist

A friend relates to us the following anecdote: -
"Stopping over Sunday with a brother minister in New Hampshire, who lives near the Connecticut River, and being ourself a clergyman, we were naturally invited to preach for him. Just before the sermon, he said to us it was their custom to close with the Lord's Prayer, and as he should have a notice to give he would attend to the closing of the meeting. At the conclusion of the sermon we stepped aside and the pastor entered the desk and said: "Next Sunday I shall exchange pulpits with Brother B, of S., and, as congregations generally like to know something of strange ministers that they are to hear, I will say that Brother B is called the handsomest man in the State of Vermont. Let us pray". The oddity and ludicrousness of the remark about his Brother B. so distracted our thoughts that we could not command our attention in season to engage in the prayer that followed."

If Brother B. of S, Vermont was Universalist, it would be B. M. Tillotson of St, Johnsbury, Vermont.

Story from the Universalist Register 1875, written by one of the Rev. Skinner(s).

So, now that I ran the real story; anybody got a picture of the Rev Tillotson so we can see if he was indeed the best looking guy in the state of Vermont.

No comments: