The advocate., 1894-04-18
[COPYRIGHTl
The Dead Line.
TCoPYRIGHT.l
By GIDEON LAME, D. D.

harder than usual on Sunday in order
that Mrs. DIR. Darlington might be en-
abled to keep "holy" that sacred day;
so Kate had never been inside a Cob
den church. While at college she had
attended religious exercises in the col
lege chapel, but had seldom gone to
church. All the preachers she had
ever seen were of the early-Weakling
variety, and it was, therefore, with a
true Woman's admiration for manly
bearing that she looked at Mason in
the pulpit. His every utterance left
upon his hearers the conviction that
there was a man behind it; man who
might be expected to calmly act out
the precept Of Euripides:
Fear not to die, but fear towards death;
a man who could neither be bought nor
terrified, but would at all hazards do
what he conceived to be right, and Sc
renely await the consequences. Even
his bitterest critics had observed that
while they were under the spell of his
eloquence they unhesitatingly agreed
with everything he said, and that it
was only after getting out of doors
again they were able to reflect upon the
wicked heresy of what he had been in
ducing them to approve. He knew of
the slanderous misrepresentation in
which his congregation had INDUCED
during the past week, and his very text
was vigorous rebuke: "BlesSed are We
when men shall reprOach you, and per-
secute you, and say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Re-
jOice, and be exceeding glad; X Il
for so prosecuted they the prophets
which were before you" "a disciple
is not above his master. X X 1t is
enough for the disciple that he be as
his master. If they have called the
master Of the house Beelzebub, how
much more shall they call them of his
household" His sermon was a review
of the trial of Christ before PLATE, and
the accusation of the church people of
that time that he was seditiOus person
not only hereto but an extremely
dangerous demagogue. / leave the
reader to judge what kind of sermon
such preacher could, under such cir
cumstances, preach from such text.
The effect may be imagined from the
remark made by the president of the
Valley National bank: "He roasted us,
didn't hep" Indeed, this discourse
produced a greater sensation than that
Of the Sunday before; and it perma-
nently won over some of the most Or
thodox Of his opponents.
When the congregation had been dis
Mrs. Mason, all aglow with a
mothers pride in her sons preaching,
came at once to where Kate stood wait
ing. The pastor was shaking hands
with scores of people, mostly nOn-mem-
berS Of his congregation, and it was
several minutes before he was able to
make his way from the pulpit to Kate
and his mother. Mrs. Mason had asked:
"How did you like the sermonp"
''It was grandl l have never heard
such an eloquent preacher. He is won
derfulg
Can you blame Mrs. Mason for re-
peating this to "Marshall" when they
were alone? And do you suppose it
made him think any less of the fair
speaker of the, relishable compliment ?
Then you have never been an eloquent
preacher and you know little of a
pride in the success OF the boy
she has even taken in washing to help
educate.
The three walked to the pastors
modest residence, and once there, Kate
was surprised at the remarkable differ
ence between the Rev. Marshall Mason
she had just seen in the pulpit and Mrs.
Mason's boy "Marshall' as he con-
Quoted himself at home. He rohped
with the dog, played the plano, al
though it was Sunday, and was as gay
as a boy just let out of school, yet all
he did was done with manly air. He
had read and thought much; he had a