Paul Denton was a fictionalized account based on the life of John B. Denton, a pioneer Methodist preacher from Tennessee who went to Texas in 1837 and became a lawyer. In 1841 he went on to engage in Indian fighting; but unfortunately he was unsuccessful in this endeavor as he was the only Texas resident killed in the battle with the Indians. The city and county of Denton, TX bear his name. This small sermon (attributed to Paul) exalting the virtues of cold water was published in many newspapers of the era. I transcribed it in Centennial Gregg for the blog.
Attachment: a-glass-of-cold-water.pdf