The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-10

| stepped tor Il
into the fsggy darkness. His parisl
was not, either in point of situation o
in point of erlolument, desirable one
and it looked more than usually cheer
! less on that chill November night; blu
| Rev. Clement was in pretty goot
spirits, because he felt that he hat
done his duty. Dreading and dislikins
the subject Of eternal punishment, h
| had more than once shirked preaching
upon it, in defiance of the behests o
| his conscience: but this evening, will
all the impassioned eloquence that hat
| drawn crowded congregations to lister
to him, he had laid down the orthodox
| doctrine-the doctrine which who
soever will be saved" must needs &C
cept.
THAT was a fine sermon OF yours,
remarked a tall and very seedy-look ing
old man in battered, greasy hat, who
had apparently been waiting for him to
emerge from the vestry and who now
joined him without ceremony.
81 am GLAD you liked it," answered
the preacher.
1t was no new experience to him to
be accosted in the street, and the only
thing about his present interlocutor
which aroused his curiosity was that
the mans intonation was a good deal
more refined than might have been ex-
pected from his extremely disreputable
appearance.
"Oh, l didn't like it; no human being
could like Z sermon of that kind. But
it was scholarly and well put, and you
spoke as if you were in earnest. / was
wondering whether you had really edu-
Gated yourself to believe in endless tor
ment-that was all"
eve are bound to believe in it. We
are bound to believe in much that we
cannot understand"
Yes, TO be sure-the Trinity in
unity, baptismal regeneration-etern
ty itself, if you come to that. Still,
there are cases which bring the alb
surdity of this particular dogma home
to man; my own case, for example.
"Once upon time had an only son
who went to the devil as straight as he
could go. Personally, l have always
been a bad lot-drunken, unprincipled,
absolutely without belief in any form
of revealed religion, so that [ didn't de-
serve to have good SOD. 1 am not go
ing into the details of the story, but |
may mention that | was fond Of the fel-
low, that he was ungrateful, and that
he practically ruined me.
Now, supposing that, after the lapse
of some years, l had met with that son
Of mine under circumstances which
placed him at my mercy. have, or
had, great muscular strength: and sup
posing that l had fallen in with him in
some lonely spot; that he had crawled,
exhausted with fatigue and hunger, to
my camp fire; supposing that had said
to him: Now you shall be made to suf-
fer little of what you made me SUI
fer supposing that | had bound him
hand and foot and thrown him upon
the top of that fire to roast slowly to
death, with nobody to rescue him from
what he had well earned. What then,
Mr. Wright?"
Il cannot believe that any mortal
man would be such monster!''
Well, You needn't believe it, because
nothing Of the sort ever took place l
was merely making use of parable"
MY dear SIR" interrupted the cler-
gyman, eagerly, you are falling into
the common error of applying human
experience to what is superhuman. |
should like to talk this matter over
more fully with you, and if you Will
come and eat supper with me"
DO | look like the kind of person
who could be taken home to supper in
respectable house? No, no, Mr..
Wright; you are welcome to your
creed, since it makes you happy. /
didn't wait outside the church in order
TO discuss theology with you. l began
as did partly because it wasn't bad
way at opening a conversation, and
partly because my little allegory has
foundation in fact which may interest
You. | daresay you haven't forgotten
that You once had an uncommonly ras-
cally uncle, Alfred Warren by name,
whom your people were compelled to
disovn."
Il had supposed that my uncle was
dead" Mr.. Wright answered, with
somewhat uneasy glance at his
questioner. Il sent him little money
once, in response to an appeal which
reached me from America; but that
was good many years back, and l
have heard nothing of him since"
Don't be alarmed; / am not about
to reveal myself as your long lost rel
alive, What l wanted to say to YOU
was this. l knew Alfred Warren out
in Nebraska, and assure you that he
had his good points. Perhaps you
never heard that he married a widow
in Nebraska shortly after circun1-
stances had rendered ii advisable for
him TO quit his native shores? Well.
he did; and the result of his marriage
was an only son, who grew up 10 rob
him and ruin him. Now. Mr. Wright,
Will frankly confess that. If ! were
poor old Ali, / couldn't bring myself to
forgive that young prodigaL But
take II that your religion commands
you to exercise a good deal more
mercy than you asccibe TO its founder,
and Il you knew that Your nephew was
III and almost starving within a
stones throw Of you, l don't see how
you could reconcile it with your con-
victions 10 pass by on the other side"
rs this the case?" asked Mr.. Wright.
If so, / will go TO him at once and do
what can for him"
1T IS the case. / CHANGED upou the
roung man in n filthy lod~inr-house
where slept last night. and, knowing
his history. thought l would try 10 DO
him good turn, little rs he deserves
to be befriended By any friend OF his
fathers