A SHARP REPROOF
Reading edition
A preacher was much annoyed by the whispering and laughing of some young folks in the rear of the church. Stopping in the midst of his discourse and looking intently at them until all had become still, he said:
“I hesitate to reprove those who are inattentive and noisy. I will tell you why. Some years since, as I was preaching, a young man sat before me who was constantly laughing and making queer faces. It annoyed me very much, and I gave him a very severe rebuke. After the close of the services a gentleman said to one, ‘Sir, you made a great mistake; that young man is an idiot.’ Since that time I always hesitate to reprove those who misbehave in church, lest I should again find myself in the error of rebuking an idiot.” There was order during the rest of the service.