Billy Sunday’s impersonation of the leper Naaman, entering the waters of
the Jordan river to dip seven times, given Thursday night in his sermon on
“The Moral Leper,” in the language of the vaudeville press agent, was a
“bell-ringer.”
Billy, in the role of Naaman, made things so realistic that his vast
audience could almost expand their imagination enough to see the muddy
waters of the river, the slippery bank and the frightened and shivering
Naaman, endeavoring to bolster up enough courage to plunge in and take
his seven dips to be cured of leprosy.
Billy cautiously approached the water’s edge, stuck one toe in to
ascertain the temperature of the water, drew it back with a shiver and an
“U-u-gh, but that’s cold!” Then he stopped to explain that Naaman was not
accustomed to such surroundings, but was used to a porcelain bath tub at
home and to a “crooked-handle dingaramus” to rub his back with. With this
Billy went through the contortions of a man trying to reach the hollow of
his back with a brush or sponge.