Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-04-06

| There We're the wife and children of this
prodigal young man. The fact was he
had come home and driven them ont
He said: 'sOut of this house AWAY
with these children I will dash their
| brains out Out into the storm % The
mother gathered them Cp and fled. The
next morning the brother the young
man who had staid at home, went ont
i to find this prodigal brother and son,
and he came to where he was and saw tho
young man wandering up and down in
front of the place where he had beer.
staying, and the young man who had
kept his integrity said to the older broth
er: "Here, what does all this mean?
What is the matterovith you? Why dc
you act in this way?" The prodigal
looked at him and said: "Who am T.
| Who do you take me to be?" He said.
"You are my brother. "No, | am not
! am a brute. Have you seen anything
of my wife and children? Are thew
| dead? | drove them out last night il,
| the storm. 1 am brute. John, do yoa
| think there is any help for me? Do yen
| think will ever get over this life of dis
sipation?" He said, 'John, there is one
thing that will stop this. " The prod
! igal ran his fingers across his throat
and said: ''That Will stop it, and I Will
stop it before night. Oh, my braini [
can stand it no longer. - That prodigll
never got home. But will tell you If
a prodigal that did get home. In Eng
land two young men started from their
fathers house and went down to Ports
mouth have been there-a beautiful
seaport. Some of you have been there.
The father could not pursue his children
for some reason he could not leave
homeland SO he wrote a letter down TO
Mr.. Griffin, saying:
''Mr. Griffin, | wish you would go
and see my two sons. They have arrived
i'll Portsmouth, and they are going to
take ship and going away from home.
I wish you would persuade them back
Mr.. Griffin went and tried to per
suade them back He persuaded one to
go. He went with very easy persuasion,
because he was very homesick already.
The other young man said: 81 will not
go. I have had enough of home Ill
never go home.' "Well," said Mr..
Griffin, then if you won t go home. I'll
get you a respectable position on q re-
spectacle ship. " "No, you WON'T" said
the prodigal. "No you won't. / am 60
ing as a private sailor, as q common
sailor; that will plague my father most,
and what will do most to tantaliZe and
worry him will please me best. " Years
passed on, and Mr.. Griffin was seated III
his study one day when a messenger
came to him, saying there was q young
man in irons on a ship at the dock-a
young man condemned to death-who
wished to see this clergyman Mr.. Grit
fin went down to the dock and went on
shipbOard. The young man said to him,
You don't know me, do your" emo,
he said, 81 don't know you" "Why,
don't you remember that young man You
tried to persuade to 60 home and he
wouldn't go?" ooh, yes" said Mr..
Griffin. ''Are you that man?" Eyes, L
am that man, said the other. 81 would
like to have you pray for me. ] have
committed murder, and / must die.
But don't want to go out of this world
until some one prays for me. You are
my fathers friend, and would like TO
have you pray for me-
Mr.. Griffin went from judicial au-
thority to judicial authority to get that
young mans pardon. he slept not night
nor day. He went from influential per-
son to influential person until in some
way he got that young mans pardon.
He came down on the dock, and as he
arrived on the dock with the pardon
the father came. He had heard that his
son, under q disguised name, had been
committing crime and was going to be
put to death. So Mr.. Griffin and the ia
-l, I,o
very moment Mr.. Griffin offered the
pardon to the young man the old father
threw his arms around the sons neck,
and the son said: Father, L have done
very wrong, and 1 am very sorry.
wish had never broken your heart.
am very sorry - ooh, +" said the father
'tdon't mention it. 1t won't make any
difference now. 1t is all over. 1 forgive
you, my son. And he kissed him and
kissed him and kissed him. Today /
offer you the pardon of the gospel-full
pardon, free pardon. I do not care what
your crime has been. Though you say
you have committed crime against
God, against your own soul, against
your fellow man, against your family,
against the day Of Judgment, against
the cross of iJhrist-whatever your crime
has been, here is pardon, full pardon,
and the very moment you take that
pardon your Heavenly Father throws his
arms round about you and says: "My
son, forgive you. 1t is all right. You
are as much in my favor now as if you
had never sinned. - Oh, there is joy on
earth and joy in heaven. Who will take
the Fathers embrace?
The Speakers Lamented Magnitude.