The advocate., 1894-04-18
CHAPTER XXIV.


Defeats his own hearts dearest purpose then.
No truer truth was ever told to thee
Who has lOUed most he best can LOUe again.
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
During the week, and, especially
after the publication Of the sermon in
the Evening News, there was much
"caucussing" among the members OF
Brother Mason's congregation; for so
general was the discussion the dis
course excited that those cautious
Christians who had stayed away from
church to avoid the danger Of hearing
the wickedness, found themselves
obliged to read it in order to know as
much as their neighbors.
The "gent' s-furnishing goods mer-
chant, who stood high in society, de-
clared, "I don't want any preacher
that says God never existed to preach
in ma church." The president of the
Valley National bank said it was "the
most incendiary anarchist harangue"
he had ever heard. The fashionable
druggists wife, who was zone of our
charitable ladies'" declared, "It is just
awful to have that scandalOus sermon
printed dis coming from the pastor of
our church, The owner Of "The
Twin lumber yards" said the
preacher seemed to be zone of these
here socialist fellows that wants to
divide up other folks property" and
expressed the pious opinion that she
ought to be bounced right Off" "Why,
he don't even believe in hell, norm
anything religious at allp' exclaimed
the county clerks wife to another de-
yout sister. Two or three struggling
lawyers, too poor to have "a stake in
society,"" and whose opinions were,
therefore, not worth considering, de-
Tended Mason; but the bulk of the con-
gregation was everlastingly down on
the gospel. Nor was the criticism
limited to the congregation. The Y.
M. G.. A., the Y. W. G. A., the w. c..
r. u, and the Ministerial union were
all shocked at the dreadful "infidelity"
of Mason's sermon. Apparently it did
not occur to single person among all
these pious critics to look into the New
Testament and see whether the preach
er's views were correct; whether he had
really preached the true gospel OF
Christ: which was, one might be ex-
cused for thinking, the one important
question for Christians to consider.
However, it was the cOncenSuS of opin-
ion of the members Of the church, rich
enough to be entitled to enjoy such
luxury as an opinion, that as Mason's
time was so nearly up anyhow, it
would be best to let him alone and not
have a scandal in the church.
Meantime, the edition Of the News
containing the sermon was exhausted,
and it was reprinted and then put into
pamphlet form to supply the demand,
which was no longer limited to Rising
ton alone. But this bit of enterprise
came near getting Dan Glass into
trouble, not only with his republican
advertisers, but with the republican
county central committee as we'll,
which went so far as to threaten him
with the loss of the county printing!
very desirable thing for a Risington
newspaper to have and retain. Dan,
however, having already done all the
mischief that could be done, apollo
giZed, and promised to refrain in fu-
ture from conduct so injurious to the
party as publishing the truth about
social questions interesting to the
masses, and was thus enabled to eS-
cape serious business injury.
The next Sunday the Congregational
church was packed-the other churches
were nearly empty, circumstance
which did no. tend to make the Minis
terial union look with more favor upon
"the irreligious rawlings" of Brother
Mason. Kate was there, as she had
promised t. be. She had not been
frequent church-goer. People who
live on farms generally have to dis
pense with Che gospel along with other
luxuries. While she lived at DR., Car.