Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

personable."er."The Editor's PageA Foursome InterviewIt was the noonday before Thanksgiving whenmy wife and I entered the Pennsylvania Railwaydining car and were assigned seats opposite a muchyounger couple of strangers, and immediately theinterview began. It was silent at first as such interviews usually are, but an interview nevertheless. Forwhen strangers meet strangers, their minds are in aquestioning mood, though no words may pass between them, and the mental pencils are busy makingnotes on the mental tablets. Pardon our ill manners ifwe glance over their shoulders to see what they havealready written about us, for as it appeared later inconversation, they had immediately recognized us asthe people who had sat diagonally in front of them inthe coach. The identification cards? Our matchinglocks snow-capped, though many winter winds andsummer suns had either drifted mine or evaporatedthem, so that the plateau was noticeably bare, ormade the snow barely noticeable in spots.But to return to our own notes, what did welearn about them? Our five senses are our waitingnews-scouts quick to answer any summons. Our eyesare quickest to report, though superficially, and oftenmistaken in their judgments, but certainly fast informing them. Eyes, what did you learn?"Well, the man is a tall brunette, passably handsome, with a keen, lean and hungry look, in his latetwenties, well dressed and groomed, apparently prosperous. The lady? In her twenties (early), easy onthe eyes, cultured, well matched with him in attire,not gaudy, make-up if any not overdone,Ears, any report? "Not yet, not yet. We haveneither heard nor overheard anything on which toreport."base aMeanwhile the waiter is cleaning up the debrisleft by the previous occupants of our chairs, andoverlaying the soiled linen veneer. A drinkingglass, off-standard size and emptied to all but thelast drop, is on about the 35 yard stripe in our territory, and my nose being rather nosey, asked me tobe allowed to interview it, and reported that it wasnot a connoisseur of cocktails or unmixed drinks butthe test was positive; it was not aqua pura.About that time the man opposite me withdrewit across the fifty yard stripe, apologizing for the offside play, and all penalties were declined.Now the ice was broken, we introduced ourselvesKansas,"as the "Taggarts from Topeka, and theyrevealed themselves as P from Pittsburgh.The man suggested that we must feel far from homeand the prairies among the hills of Pennsylvania, butwe were able to assure them that we were neitherdizzy nor homesick, since years of my youth had beenspent in Beaver Falls and my wife was from Muskingum County, Ohio. In an aside to him his wife askeda question and getting a nod she put it to me, "Isn'tBeaver Falls the location of a Covenanter College?""Yes,"I replied, "and we are Covenanters." She wasof Covenanter stock with a name very familiar, aMc "Do the Covenanters still hold to the404old custom of cooking all the food on Saturday for thefollowing day, and many like things they do?" Andwe had to hang our heads and acknowledge that theseburdens had become too greivous to be born, but westill have at least a recollection of the Sabbath as aday set apart from other days of the week. She informed us that such an observance was commonamong all churches. I think she learned that frompersonal contact with a church, though it mighthave been taught in some of her courses in Pittsburgh College for Women of which she was a graduate. He being a graduate of Pitt in Civil Engineering,did not betray any deep interest in ecclesiastical matters.She smoked mildly and culturally while hetopped off his meal with dessert which she declined.Her meal was noticeably simpler than his, fewer calories and lower money bracket (like ours) ; was thather Scotch bringing up or her fear of avoirdupois, orlack of appetite ? It was not necessity for the waiterwas given a ten dollar bill, and some folding moneyfor his own use from the remnants that came back.Thus ended the first inter-view, or perhaps better to say hinter-view, the view behind the coastline.Too inquisitive? Well, you read it, didn't you? Ihave only tried to describe your unconscious mentalprocesses when you meet a stranger. But there is asecond chapter, a sequence.CHAPTER IIStanding at the head of a very steep anddangerous ski slide I looked down and saw the prostrate forms of some helpless victims who might never walk again. Here at the top was a young woman,evidently inexperienced, naively fastening on herskis. I could not restrain a word of friendly caution.From Modern Parables.* * *When Wife and I boarded the train at Pittsburgh the Red Cap put our luggage on the shelf inthe rear of the car just back of the diner where weshared separate seats with strangers. Later wemoved ahead of the diner and found seats together,leaving the luggage undisturbed. In the afternoon Ireturned to the luggage to get reading and work material and was disappointed to see our new acquaintances in the diner with their beer cans and smokingparaphernalia in front of them. As pleasantly as Icould I tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Don'tviolate your Covenanter traditions." Just as pleasantly and as triumphantly as Paul must have said, "ButI was free born" she replied, "I am not a CovenantBut isn't she? How often it has been said thatevery true Christian is a Covenanter. They havemade their Covenant with Christ and He has madethe Covenant of Grace with God the Father. We arein the Covenant of the Second Adam, our representative.But those that are not in the Covenant of Graceare still under the Covenant of Works "This do andthou shalt live." They have never been released fromall the obligations of that first Covenant. So theyCOVENANTER WITNESS