Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-05-06

HE ADVANCED AT ONCE TO THE TABLE.
turned and was standing far up the mountain
side above Hartman's house. BE was look
ing downward when some strips OF cloud at
the zenith began to glow from the great con.
flagration rising in the east, and the cabin
rose slowly out of the shadows.
Tho same reflection Lit upon his face; it
was like the visage Of . swimmer who,
through whole night, had fought the sea,
and had lain hands thousand times upon
the solid shore only to be drawn struggling
back. For long time he stood there, bag
gard, hollow-eyed and weary, looking down.
Presently thin curl of smoke began wav-
ering upward from the roof his eyes were
resting upon, then a human figure emerged
from the porch and passed down into the
little meadow by the ford. A horse was
grazing there, and the man upon the mount
ain staggered and turned about like one
beaten by.1a invisible tempest.
HE is going to the mines to-day" he
cried. "Oh, Father in Heaven, tell me
what to dol"
What was the nature Of tho storm in
which he had been wandering all the night
A tempest of conflicting forces, battle Of in.
fluences, which, like clean and unclean
birds, had fought all night over the ruler
ship of his spirit. He had been commanded
to commit murder. The man whom he be-
ieved Gods repres entative on earth, whose
feared and worshiped, had laid this awful
duty upon him. And the blood he was to
spill o bitterness perfdyi it ran sweet
and warm with love for the woman he him
self lovedl What propulsion and repulsion
| lay in the thought It seemed to rend him.
But his vows Had he not sworn in the
| Endowment House an eternal obedience to
| the counsels of Gods holy Priesthood or
| fort cit his own life9 Had he not sworn to
| defend the institution of which he was an
| ordained member against all encroachment,
| even to the shedding Of bloodl Had not this
| stranger lifted his hand against it, But
| ,nurderi The dismissal of sweet conscious
ness from another's heart, leaving silence
and blaclness and oblivion in its stead !
| The putting out of eyes in which the green
earth and blue sky, and a face that he loved,
had been reflected, and had seemed dear
| and beautiful The DETACHMENT and batter
| ing down of a living and comely image OF
| God, and it's burial forever from the eyes
that loved it! The agony through all that
sensitive, throbbing image itself as death
was inflicted, and her suffering, and the an
| guish of a mother and a weeping father
waiting in the East for one who would never
comet The thorn-ike suspense, the mys-
terry, the dissipated plans, The fallen hopes,
the blight, and wrong, and injury of it all
| These and thousand other shades and
aspects of the deed at times swept over him
| like an engulfng wave and well nigh
crushed him to the earth.
But he rose again. Was not his duty be-
fore hint Were not his vows on record both
| in earth.and Heaven? Would not the guilt, if
any, rest with God or His Priesthooda Might
not she love him at last? love him! and after
such deedl This thought was more con-
founding than all the rest; it beat him
about the mountain side like a material
weapon, its every recurrence striking him
/ an -avoSp,ciat m o J,low
To be contlnue&. --..--