Four 1910 Post Cards tell the story of “The Volunteer Organist”

“The preacher in the Village church one Sunday morning said:
‘Our organist is ill today, will someone play instead?’
An anxious look crept o’er the face of every person there,
As eagerly they watched to see who’d fill the vacant chair.
A man then staggered down the aisle whose clothes were old and torn
How strange a drunkard seemed to me in Church on Sunday morn.
But, as he touched the organ keys, without a single word,
The melody that followed was the sweetest ever heard.


The scene was one I’ll ne’er forget
As long as I may live,
And just to see it o’er again
All earthly worlds I’d give;
The congregation, all amazed,
The preacher old and grey,
The organ, and the organist
Who volunteered to play.


Each eye shed tears within that church,
The strongest men grew pale,
The organist in melody
Had told his own life’s tale.
The sermon of the preacher
Was no lesson to compare
With that of life’s example
Who sat in the organ chair.


And, when the service ended,
Not a sole had left a seat
Except the poor old organist
Who started toward the street;
Along the aisle and out the door
He slowly walked away,
The preacher rose and softly said,
‘Good brethren, let us pray.’ ”

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I saw these 4 postcards for sale in my daughter and her husband's antique shop, "Bowen Barn", in Stanfordville, NY. They are printed by Bamforth..."Life Model Series"...circa 1900. The poems were written on each card but when I scanned them the writing was too small to read...so I cut them out of the picture and re-typed the applicable poems after posting the pictures.