The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-09


from Sparkle Brooke. at least until he
had gotten away. When composure had
partly returned, he replied:
Yes, that is true, Sparkle; / am
bankrupt, and for that reason, in part,
/ wanted to leave. Since I can pay you
for nothing for all your trouble and eX-
pense why should 1 remain? If were
not crippled / could likely regain some
of my property, but the legal parasites
are soulless lot; judgments are easily
obtained against the weak, absent and
afflicted. Courts generally turn an ear
to the popular clamor. 1 am powerless
now"
81 am sorry for your loss, Mr.. Bran
don, yet, while I am sorry / am SC glad.
By being helpless and afflicted you are
now placed on an equal footing with
thousands of our race. You now, per-
haps, can learn to feel You can see the
helpless condition Of a lone girl You
can now take another view of the world.
l am truly glad you are bankrupt; 1t
Will do you good. It will make man
of YOU; it will give you a stout heart,
something you seem to have been living
without, born without. Moral reforma-
ton has never been known to come
through the avenues Of wealth and ease.
The need of it is only felt when every
thing else upon which we have relied
is swept away. Poverty will not always
soften the heart; il requires suffering as
we'll The good Buddha left palace
and princess to make his heart ten
der and to reach the Nervana through
seven long years of begging and desti-
tuition, clad in the yellow garments OF
a pauper The patient Nazarine. with
lowly heart, sought a lowly life, and
whispered in the ear of misery and hlled
the world with light. These two great
est beings the world has ever had, or,
perhaps, ever will have, through all
the coming and going of ages, were only
great, because wise and meek. The
greatest religious bodies. the Buddhists
and Christians, built upon the teachings
of these unselfish leaders. Their fol-
lowers are hero wOrShiperS, with the
two human deities as the heroes As
they became immortal and divine by be-
ing unselfsh and wise, you may become
likewise good and patient by passing
through the door that now opens before
you. Through suffering and poverty rise
to the sublime realization of a pure, I'M
selfish life. If you are ready to COM
mence this journey, If you are ready to
begin this Network I am ready 10 help
you out Of your poverty you can grow
rich; out of your misery you can md
ineffable Joy. The gold, which you have
fortunately lost you could not nave
taken to the other world with you, any
how. You could not even keep ii while
here. AS our virtues are all that We
can carry across the star-lit valley that
sinks between these hills, whore hateful
cunning arts for gain and lust, and
that fair Nervana which Buddha saw,
the Paradise the GalIilean found"
Carl Brandon had been struggling for
a better life. but the old. evil man that
had lived within him would break out
and take violent possession. His finan-
cial and physical conditions became his
weakness: now his weakness became
his strength. He was born into the
world again, helpless, crippled, desti-
tute. Whatever moral and intellectual
growth he could make would be under
entirely different conditions than those
which he had made. He realized all
this. and felt sincerely sorry that he
had not been killed on the night of the
runaway, instead of being crippled. AS
he could not go away nothing to go on.
no person would help him, even the vii
layers were delighted to hear that he
was bankrupt and crippled. though he
had done many kind acts for them, and
often. he was hated by all because he
was proud.
To Sparkle Broolxe's little speech. or
exhortation. Carl Brandon could make
no reply. For the first time for twenty
wears he felt the presence Of tears in
his eyes which was n gentle invitation
for Sparkle to withdraw and leave him
with his grief and meditation. AS she
arose to follow that suggestion, she
could not leave his presence without
tenderly stroking his hair back. and
whispering to be brave, she would take
care of him. As he watched her walk
ing away from him he was almost
tempted to laugh at such a promise
from such a creature. What could she
10 more than TO wash his face and give
the baby some catnip tea.