Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1878-07-25
Felicia GreatAcart:


haNe EoI traced her gcnealOgy; but
}, nave fancy that she must be a desCendan,
OF that noble, chivalric, courteous Grea..
heart who conducted Christiana and Mercy
from the interpreters House to the Celes.
tial City. and valiantly slew the giants and
biavcd the lions that threatened them with
destruction as they press trembling thro'
the perilous places in their rolixh and toll
some way. When you look into her clear.
serene cyes-the crystal windows of her
soul-you feel as You may sometimes when
you gaze up into The infinite blue expanse
|, above, rs if an illimitable world of divine
J. night and beatty were opening to your
=, view, and that eniymatical saving of
Emanuel Swedenborg. An angel is a
heaven in its least FORM comes to mind
with new force and significance; for the
blessed Felieia, with her angel wings vet
folded in the flesh, seems a sweet sugges-
!. ton of what the visionary old Iheolovian
: and philosopher might have called heaven
in ''ultimates.' She is purely and divnely
=. good, but her goodness has not that on
pressivc and repellant quality so common
to the many excellent people whom YOU
ly in your face; she does not seem to sus
pect that She is better than her neiehbors.
and she does not set her opinions and her
practices in opposition to yours with that
insufierable selfrighteous air which saws
"Behold how good l am, and behold how
vile yOu are If you are vile, she does
not remind you of it, but she seeks ten
derly after that which is best and p,tfest in
you, and generously hides her eyhs from
your evil.
You can't tell how it is, but there are
persons enjeying the reputation of great
piety and devotedness who stir up and call
out all the wicked forces Of your nature.
TO hear them oracularly lying down the
law and pronouncing judgment on sinners
is sufficient 10 excite you to the express
ION of the most leretical sentiments, and
nothing delights you more than to see tie
whites of their eyes displayed in holy hor-
ror at your iniquity. They work such
disorder to your mental machinery that it
entirely slips your control and runs with
perfect crazincss. and you not only say.
but you do things in their presence which.
remembered afterwards, ill you with as
tOnishment and sorrow. OF course yoE
are wrong; nevertheless, you hold secret
grudge toward these people who persist in
looking mt the worst side of you.
But Felicia Greatheart brings out your I
best possibilities. She approaches you as {
if you were in sympathy with all that is {
good and lovely, and for the moment. at $
least, it appears to yourself that it is so. /
All your evil qualitiee are quiescent, incap- s
able of action thu ouar tack of recognition.
and you ieel as thohgh they were not {
you are free, you are strong. you are full l.
of light; you glow. ard iadiatc, and ex- a
pand with pare and holy aspirations; you J
burn to speak grand words, to do great b
deeds, to bear up the weak, to help up the h
fallen, TO comfort the sorrowing. to ease C
the oppressed. Life is glorious, divine D
gift. and in the eXultant JOY Of possession t
you run into solitude. fall on your knees, n
and in speechless ecstacy adore the Infinite t
Giver. d
Mcurnful Straightlacc, coming upon yon fl
in such mood, and seeing your glorified
face, would think you had got religion" d
No, you have not got religion, you have t,
simply got glimpse df it. h
Alas. could Brother Straightlace analyZc y
your emotions, he would tell you prompt u
ly you had not got even that. He would D
distrust the medium through which sucl, S,
light pours wonderfully in upon your soul. cl
He would begin to question the certainty "
of your election and adoption, and become
solicitOus concerning your convictions on e,
the subject Of justification, redemption, II
freewill, good works, predestination, and a,
1amnatien. He would charge upon you h
with full brigade Of melancholy books "
IN mourning uniform, illustrative and ex- m
,ianatory of the aforenamed doctrines. ri
ind he would bring up the rear with a de- OF
of heart-rending biographies, lu
depicting the Christians life In such sad 81
,olors, that you would involutitarily shud-
der and turn away, not daring to face its ct
pains, end sorrows, and prosecutions, and r.,
iery temptations, feeling God tiikind to ~,
20 atilict the children of His ltte; y,
But all these gloomy influe:,tes would To-
work on you; vou would gEow moody. N
norose, detected; lose your interest in the II,
,fiairs of life; neglect your daily duties O,
forget the kindly Offices of love and friend nf
ship; weep great deal, brood and bewail II,
norbidly over your sins; refuse innocent an
,leasure; long unutterably for some mex Sc
,erienccd and inexpressible good, you IN
scarcely know what; give yourself over all
o wild paroxysms of entreaty and self lio
bhorrence; press thorny pillow, and in in
,alf- sleeping, halt waking visions. see OF,
Yourself marched to Judgment between wi
wO files of ghOstly spectres. Election. In
doption. justification, sanctification, free sin
will, vicariOus atOnement, and all that SOL fla
mn company, each bearing in its hands lo
me of the mournful black bound volumes on
which afflict your mind as the heavy, undi- ac
ested food does the dyspeptic's stomach. p.
{ Iou would go out sorrowfully into the nj,
eautiful world of singing birds, and lee
lughing waters, and radiant sunshine, and Ell
-fowers,g but you would Fe
nd there no help, for the God OF all these frc
Gems other than the God of those mean. i'll,
holy tones which aim to teach you His ey,
ature and interpret His meanings, and lii
Ihich picture Him as stern, awful Being. ers
those wrath can be appeased only by liv- m:
,g sacrifices. whose immutable laws are be-
uch that He can not, it he would, save sct
lis wayward children from destruction. its
Iature, kind mother, would teach yon SUI
but the tones reject Nature and 4
on dare net accept ber1 1patiently-urged1 We
ruths; SO she whispers and chants and te,
hunders to you in vain. dc
Happy for you ii, in this state of con- VI
ict, the serene Felicia, whose soul is an Sb
hored above the storms, shines in again Cd