Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-06-19

4 - PCeS~t446 OtGA 6uGA luel1
70 nifcant writers as Emerson. The
d will at length land you on the blen
!. cliffs Of subversion. Christianity ha
o been assailed by rude Ignorance ere
r since its birth, and II has weathere
l. the storm nobly. Look at its humbl
rise among the fishermen Of Galilet
k and note its progress. Itfiitted througl
q pagan darkness, and lit the world witt
r its golden promises. 1t tflung aside III,
e murky draperies of infdelity, and il
an assaulted horizon it hung its star
? Impoverished destiny was freed anC
equipped, and Immortality was crowned
with chaplet of light. They cal
, never crush it. 1t is a conquerinG
creed. The barbed arrow of skeptic.
ism and SANDER may enter its perse.
euted banner. but it will only make
anO'her Ioop-hole through which the
precious truths may penetrate and
GUIDE. L sanctions social pleasure.
and is compa*iblewith every ennobllng
design of life. Yes, Willis, l once
fiattered myself that 1 could cure Won
of your dire mental affliction but I
tind l am most egregiouAy mistaken
The root of faith is deep, Or else NV
remedy is too shallow. 1 have prayed
for you, Willis prayed fervently and
without ceasing, and the Master, who
notes even the sparrow's fall, heard nv
petition, but from some unknown
cause, all wise and good, L know, He
has denied my supplication. He
paused moment, and her emotion
was plainly visible in the quivering
lips and brooding tear. "Ahl Willis,
from the night l stood with you beside
your dead mother, | have felt an un-
usual interest in you. We were alike
orphaned, and your loneliness pleaded
at my heart. | have watched you close
ly from that time to this. feared
when you returned from school that
you were troubled mentally, but oh
child, never dreamed that your bright
intellect was seduced by Atheism's
frail logic. | wished to question you
and offer my aid, but you repulsed my
every effort. Your pride disdained
assistance, and you rebuked interroga-
ton hence l was unaware of your
deplorable condition until our drive to
the country. Since that time, | have
labored faithfully to disabuse your
mind of the false ideas, but you cling
to them relentlessly. Oh! Willis,
could your dead mother know that the
little creature she had reared up in
love and reverence for her Maker was
now stranded on the complicated waste
of philosophy. her heaven would be
heaven no longer. You have wander
ed from early and holy influence, you
have strayed from reasons fertile fields |
down into the dust and gloom of spec
ulation. | pity you, Willis, | sym
pathize with the cravings of your iu-
satiable heart, but | will tell you now /
that satiation will never come until
you have placed your feyered lips to
the cooling fount of eternal truth.
You are chasing spectres; you are
worshipping Nonsense wrapt with
darkness till it seems profound. Your
life is utterly joyless because the king
nf -L- H. :-~;osins VVvr yUuI near
with pomp and gloom. No ray of con-
tentment or light can ever fit across
the now blackened portals until you
Danish this grim spirit. | do not mean
to satirizc, but to warn, to reclaim, to
redeem.
He bowed his proud head and bitter
tears chased themselves rapidly down
his cheek. Willis did not reply. There
was a leaden weight upon her soul, a
dread tugging at her heart.
She was just beginning to realize the
intensity of his interest. She saw now
how she had, by her willfulness, re-
jected his precious love. He had
prayed for her. All those words sank
into her accusing heart, and made it
to throb with acute anguish. She had
by her perverseness wounded and re-
pulsed him, could she ever forget it =?
Could she ever Danish the thought that
she had refused his kind counsel? She
arose and walked to his side. Her
heart for the moment seemed to have
hushed it's beating, her very pulse
quivered in emotional fire. He was
soon to leave her, and she must tell
him ere he went that she grieved that
his prayers and efforts had been so
fruitless. Yet how could she do it {?
TIE proud woman shivered at the
of bowing. Velyet-shod pride
had stolen softly inand purloined from
reason her sceptre, and dainty eonceit
was about to usurp the place of re-
pentanee when she glanced up. That
moment was the test of her life. The
steeled, passiOnless woman ofthe world 1
was fearfully agitated. Her vital
strength seemed melted down to chains
tlat bound her firmly to the spot. Her 1
v,ice was stilled in some rare, rich
mites of melody, her eyes were riveted
Oh the form before her, and her senses
seemed in a golden dream, enchained,
ertranced. What caused this thrill
iny sense2 Had some fairy stepped
in and by magic breath freighted
th, air with this potent essence? Or
die their guardian angels for moment
fling about them the dream wreath,
anc Kolus with his charmed wand
kiss their brows by one sweet zephyr
from the Eolian isles? No; twas the
encIantment of tear. When she
LOOKED at him, large tears hung in the
true, blue eyes, and the mystic influence
of hiny drop filled her with contri-
ton ald exquisite jOy-an odd blend
ing ofbliss and grief. He was weep
ing for her, while she herself was un-