The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-12-16
HIS MIRACLE.
photographer Won From Aenos.
ticism by II Lovely Voisc.
FELL IN LOVE WITH TIE SINGER
And Attended Church TO Hear ti.s sweet
Tones Impressed with t'r Voice nni
Songs n Miracle Is Wrousht.-lIe ASKS to
join thr Church, aud Then for the Eirst
Timo lirhaids ~. unianown Slayer.

''NN "a ~ -
mans box. red of hair and frcckled
OF face, offered TO show him the way
to the church. but he declined the prof
fcred courtesy. prcfcrring 10 walk up
the railroad track until he should get
tired OF the JOunt. when he would stop
by Il cattiC-Iuard and rest. ind then
return In time for dinner. Church going
had been an unknown quantity with
him In the city, where there were
great cathCdrals In half a dozen DIFF
Tercnt parts OF town, and he hardly
saw the ueca sion for departing from
custom simply because his exile in the
little country town was 10 nnintcrcst-
inEly evcnticss. He started with n
swinging. athletic-club stride M the
line OF gravel, therefore. and the Sec
t!on turernan's bog. paipably starchy
and awkward In his Sunday clothes.
went hurryinG down the street from the
station. his red hlic crims0nly sig
mailing hts approach to the little frame
church while he was yet q grcat dis
lance away.
Kennedy was tie new telegraph op-
orator. lie was an aspiring fellow and
an Intelligent one, and some day he
hoped 10 BE- a train dispatcher. and
possibly, after reasonable lapse of
time, the superintendent OF telegraph.
He spent the long and lonesome nights
In reading on social economies and lie
knew more about the history OF strange
and peculiar thiags associated with
government than almost anybody
whose name or Zane Is nov suggest
ed to mini. He was the chief ieicg-
rapher or his division OF the telegraph
crS' labor union, which met In the
city thirty miles away. and he n the
man who made the best speeches on
Tuesday nights. when lodge proceed
iags had got as fa= along as the good
OF the orde-." The others OF the divts-
ion thought highly of him. and usually
they sent him as their lodge delegate
10 the sessions Of the International con-
ventioR. He could argue s%pleudldiy and
he said he was an agnOstic.
AS he walked up the track this Sun
day morning the Sabbath feeling SEEM
cd TO rise up n though TO offend
against his reasoning and reasonable
uSnoS,ici5rn. Across the fields came
the mellownCss OF a church bell. on!
seeming far. far. far away. It's sound
was the swectcr for the distance. Over
to the right n farmers WACO was
creeping along che sectioa-linc road as
the sleek brown horses dragged the
family toward the place of worship In
the town. Around the curve ahead OF
him there rose L quiet rambling, and.
looking to see what unexpected train
was bearing down upon him. he re-
ccIved the hal! OF Michael Doolan. fore
man OF section No. 40. several miles up
the parallel line OF rails, who. with his
men and their women and children. was
whirrsnE along In the direction OF the
little parish church toward which the
~red-headed boy had sped several min
utes before. The men were on q hand
car. to which a little fiat had been at
tached. and this Hat accommodated the
women and children.
81 suppose Il Is all right for them"
Kennedy murrnured. as the twin cars
disappeared around the other bend OF
the curve. but that Isn't for me, Re
ligiou Is n good enough ~thinE-an IN
dispensable thing, indeed. but Il hasn't
got aTound to the yet, and IL never viii.
Its n good. handy thing 20 AVE for che
purpose Of swearing people IN courts
and inpressing Ignorant persons whose
characters require sOtne sort OF ballast
OF mysticism. no; only for thoi: own
comfort. but Tor the safety OF the pub
lie. Such people. without 4 weight %"
anchorage o; some kind. would rattle
around annOyinglT and even hafmfnNy
20 others. I wish | could bci!cr" MS
ihcy 10. Doubtless It Is Il comforting
thing to b" AZ they arr. bull
And he closed his siaPc=ncnt or 0pia-
ton by PICKING up 4 ston" and throw
Ing II at 4 rabbit.
re walked TO the cattle-gulrd. and.
resting. returned. anil found he had
vastly m!sca!cui5;cd distance and time.
and that Il was SIN very early in n"
day. t:e IooKed about ami saw the
l!and-"ar on n siding. md II suggested
something to him. Kennedy pridcd
himself on being n liberal SOFT OF per-
sor. and the thought am TO him that
II would be 4 fair and r~ensonlbl" thing
for him TO drop Irso the little church,
Just To show that he had really no feel
ing against religion. He found the
whitc-piinted structure with the cross
over its queer little Cup0lI, and. Cn-
tc:iDS. toOk the rca-most seat. The
services we're nearly closing. II" looked
forward, owe the heads Of half 4 hun
bred devout wOTshiT"rs. n; the rrlcs:.
In vcstments Thich-nlthuuSh Ken
ncdy did no; know it-ic had brought
Nl rGF1N ltDul llulll AI' ivy wa ''S
parish was too poor to support II rest
lent pastor. He noted that the wor-
shippers seemed to consider every
movement OF the b~"E0Tncd man "a of
some especial import, n Geanilect-
ed and crossed themselves and mur-
INJURED unintclliSIbic u~tterunCcH, which
he took for prayers. 1t was very In
teresting. and IN his heart he wished
that reason might show him how to be
rs happily satisfied with the priests
teachings as We're these.
III Il miracle could be enacted In
those old days. why should not one he
performed now" he Inquired Inward
". 'Oh. no. Il Is all opposed 10 sense
and science. T'ulth?'-for he had arriv-
Cd In time 10 hear enough of the SER
mon to Know that the priest had dis
cOurScd on fnith-"YcS, by Il miracle |
could have faith, but
His gclG-Cpmmunion was Interrupted
by the SOUND OF a silvcry voice coming
from the gallery above his head.
20. saiutarig!" the hail rose pure and
swcct-gnch u yOlCc as the ngnOSlic
had never before heard, 20, salutariS!'
and the church WAS filed with the
wonder % Il music which caused him "a
think TINT an angel sung. quite iE-
norirE tho fact that according to his
philosophy no such thinH na m angel
could exist. He listened as u Cntranc-