The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-03-03

heard that voice agaln saying, IN
tones of wounded love and agony,
( Behold tie hand Of him that betray-
/ eth No is with No on the table
i turned and said to Him, Surely,
4 Lord he went TO bis own place. but
again the voice repeated in still more
grioyod and agonized accents. The
haud OF him that bctraycth Ne Is
with Ne on this table
Il ioOk,l ont upon the men and
women before ne; suddenly one veil
fell of and showed me the dark brow,
the evil eye. tie scowl with which
men have SO long depicted lscariOt; /;
1t WAS but moment. the aspect van
ished like cloud, and / saw the face
of an elderly man, clothed in gar
m2nts OF responsibility, with closed
eyes and an ar Of reverence. / was
conioundcd, and drew my hand
across my eyes; tho voice said. Look
again
Ard by some marvel, that yet |
did not wonder at, | saw into that
mans heart 1t was full Of greed:
hard. pitiloss greed. / saw the love
Of money rule there, cruel as death !;
! saw that neither mercy, compassion,
nor tender pity, found place in that
iron precinct | perceived, rs il it
had been writ in fiery letters upon
the hardness. that this man had come
into the church Of his betrayed Mas
ter because it was eXpedient, respect
able, crcditablr TO profess religion:
( not from one thought OF love 10 God
or man; and | saw snoor on faces
OF men and women that iiOatcd va
guely about him, and heard far of
whispers say, If that man is q Chris
tian we want no Christ. Cruelty
HIM. cruelty Him"
"Brcthren. ! hid my face in my
hands; | could neither pray nor weep,
bat that touch aroused me. and again
/ saw the Judas look, the fallen veil,
the open heart in-oh, NY friends,
this time in woman.
"r5he had come to the supper with
a heart full Of this worlds gaud5 and
rollics; her children were cared for
by hirclings, her husband driven TO
fraud and crime by her reckless
spending, her old mother left 10 neg
lect and poverty; and the tongues Of
men scorned at her pretence Of god
illness, Kissing in whispered bitter
hess. This, then Is the outcome Of
religion. away with it. give Us Bar
Ghbasn
Then another veil fell; ii was
from the heart OF a husband and
father. man upright in business
50 fan a. ,hn ,nnrli knew -cnnrtrouS
OF speech. lib"ral 10 all good objects.
but a terror in his home There
heart broken wife shrank from his
entrance, his stinging speech, his
hard tyranny; fair young girls and
sturdy boys dreaded TO hear his voice
or step; cruel, undisciplined tenn
per, seltishEcss cold IA the grave, q
domination Us arbitrary as an East
ern deSpot's made their home more
rcpolIant than a Russian prison; and
heard baby voice sobbing, i don't
want to go to Heaven if papa's going
there too The little one he had of,
Tended. tied with unconscious hands
this milestone about his neck, who
should have stood to her in Gods
stead; and as again i shuddered
away from the sight, / heard the
voice say. with divine and awful sad
ness, 1t had been better for thaf man
that he had never been born
Next it was woman's turn. Gray
hair- were smOOthcd above her fore
head She was one who never missed
q meeting in church; who was always
al hand. ready TO dictate, to rule, to
order III every charity, prominent in
all external duties. and loud, long.
frequent in public exhortation and
prayer; but how bitter and mercilcss
was her tongue. How hard her heart
toward the errlag or the sinful. In
her home neither order nor comfort
rcgned, her children were illfed, her
husband shabby and lonely, her house
chcerlcsS; no one loved her. and she
loved no one, but she thought herself
perfect in holiness; and the jeering
whispers said, Better a lovely, low
able sinner, than such an unlovcly
-aint,' while behind me the growing
Master uttered the old words that fell
ike blood drops from His sorrowful
lips in that dread hour upon the
Mount of Olives, 'Betrayest thou the
Son of Man with kiss?'
Then | saw the inner soul OF
man whose outward piety was blazon-
cd abroad as one of his recommenda-
tons for high office; q man whose
I hand was ever open to give and ready
to greet. but within, what was there
within? A chaos Of fraud. Of poiti
cal chicancry, of unscrupulous ambi-
ton; will resistless IN its energy.
and Il brain of wonderful power
gifts that might have done long
days work in the vineyard, hut were
allturned to his own aggrandizement
| saw cxpediency. pride, vainglory.
@.ting out this mans heart, a. worm
gn1ws and defiles the sweet kernel of
a'smooth shelled nut; even in the
house Of God | could see his shrunk-
Ell soul concerning itself with the
probabilities of next days election,
and calculations as to the money he
must lavish in bribes end the offices
he must promise to secure his end,
though before him lay the memorials
of that Master who was sold for thir
ty pieces of silver; and loud enough
for him to hear. the voice said, in stern
sadness, 1t is the price Of blood
Brethren, / have said enough. The
dream had more Of these awful reva-
lauous, bat l shrink from repeating
them. | heard aud saw that which
might wither the heart in my bosom
and break my bones as with the ham
mcr Of the Lord. l seemed to faint