The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-04-11
Copyrighted by c. II. Miller, 1884.
Printed in the Refo'mer By Special Arrange-
ment cih the .4uthor.
CHAPTER V,
THE GRAVES OF THE DEAD SEA

lhE thiN ES VI ihb 'l-AD clsA.
The Book of Mormon is OF prodigous size
and tlnexampled Stiffness. One marvels that
any one ever had the persistence to write down
Its endless round of repetitions Of biblical words
and phrases. Processing to give, in the style
and language of the Bible, the history of the
Tribes from the time of their disafection till
they possessed America and became the
mound-buiders, it is simply intolerable as
piece of artistic work. Yet as it was found in
all mining-camps, where in the snowy fastness
we often had nothing else left to read, it thus
fell to my lot TO read it through not unfre-
quently. Fl ON title-page to colophon there is
not one lofty or inspired or Inspiring thought,
like those filling the volume it affects to follow.
A dreary, weary book it is. And yet it answers
the Mormon's purpose in this that where he
cannot find an excuse for his actions in the
real Book, he can surely find it in the forged
one.
After this huge man with the book and the
deep hollow eyes had eXhorted and preached
and read for hours and hours, hating now
and then as he read devouring the whole
camp and all that circle about him with his
hungry eyes, the girl drawn even nearest of al
and right under his eyes and right by the side
of her ignorant exhortation begged to baptize
his listeners in the faith of the Latter-Day
Saints.
No one answered or moved. Many a long
breath was drawn, many deep sigh was
smothercd, but no one spoke. The missionary,
as he announced himself, looked straight and
hard and earnestly at the girl. She lifted her
weary black eyes to his once more, and tried
hard to read if there was any help or any hope
at all in them. But she did not speak. The
man arose, went down to the bank, drank a
cupful of water, came back and began to read
and exhort and explain and endeavor to pro-
selyte once more. And so this strange man
kept on till the day was spent.
No one had spoken save himself. No ono
had tasted food Some Of the children had
slept. their heads in their weary mothers laps,
as they sat in circle aud listened and listened in
silence, that long, long day, under the vast blue
sky, by the dark and desolate lake of death.
And now mark. When that man was done
reading and the sun was going down, there was
not weary and overcome man or woman there
who was not awed or terrified or fasciI-. ted
into some sort of half belief
Again the man arose up and pleaded for con-
verts to his singular faith. lie stretched his
hands over the darkenIng lake as the sun went
down; he lifted his long arms 70 the mountains
of snow beyond the young city; he appealed TO
nothing low, TO nothing bad, but to much that
was noble in man and sublime in nature. His
lips were dry, his eyes were deep and hollow
and wild, but he kept on until the sun had fall
en- behind the steep hill that rose in our road
before US. Surely the man was mad. And
vet as typical. as true a Mormon elder was he,
as photograph would print. He made a last
appeal TO the weak and now PROSTATE girl.
Some one Of the party, wiser than the rest per
haps, beckoned her to comply.
She put out her two hands helplessly, and he