Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-12-07


Sunday morning sermon. He had beer
interrupted several times and wa
growing nervous as the morning wor.
away and the sermon grew very slowly
toward satisfactory finish.
Mary, he called to his wife as h
went up stairs after the last intcrrCp
ton. If any one comes after this
wish you would say that | am very
busy and cannot come down unless i
is something very important -
Eyes, Henry But l am going ovel
to visit the kindergarten, and you vii
have the house all TO yourself
The minister went up into his study
and shut the door In a few minutes
he heard his wife 90 out.
He settled himself at his desk with q
sigh of relief and began to write. Hi.
text was from Peter ii, 81.
For hereunto We're ye called; be.
cause Christ also suffered for you, leav
ing you an example, that ye should fol
low his steps.
He had emphasized in the first part
of his sermon the atonemcnt as per
sonal sacrifice, calling attention to the
fact Of Jesus suffering in various ways,
in his life as well as in his death. He
had gone on to emphasize the atone
mont from the side Of example, giving
illustrations from the life and teaching
of Jesus 10 show how faith in the Christ
helped to save mon because of the pat
tern or character he displayed for tn iT
imitation. He was now on the third
and last point. the necessity Of follow
ing Jesus in his- sacrifice and example
He had jast pat down. "(3) Steps
what are thcy?' and was about to
enumerate them in logical order when
the bell rang sharply. 1t was one Of
those clockwors bells ana always went
off rs clock might 90 if it tried to
strike II all at once.
Henry Maxwell sat at his desk and
frowned little. He made no move
ment to answer the bell. Very soon it
rang again Then he rose and walked
over to one cf his windows, which com
manded view of the front door
4 man was standing on the steps. lie
was young man very shabbily dressed.
Looks like tramp, said the min
lister. ~ suppose I'll have to 90 down.
and
He did not finish the sentence, but
went down stairs and opened the front
door
There was moments pause as the
two men stood facing each other Then
the shabby looking young man said
I'm out of job, sir, and thought
maybe You might put me in the way Of
getting something.
uUu rI-Uw uf anything. Jobs are
scarce, replied the minister. begin
ming to shut the door slowly.
81 didn't know but you might per
haps be able to give me a line to the
city railway or superintendent of the
shops or something. continued the
young man. shifting his faded hat from
one hand to the other nervously.
"It would be of no use You will
have to excuse me. l am very busy this
morning. hope you will find some
thing. Sorry can't give you some
thing to do here. But l keep only a
horse and COW and do the work my
self. -
The Rev Henry Maxwell closed the
door and heard the man walk down the
steps. As he went up into his study he
saw from his hall window that the man
was going slowly down the street, still
holding his hat between his hands
There was something in the figure so
detected, homeless and forsaken that
the minister hesitated moment as he
stood looking at it. Then he turned to
his desk and with sigh began the
writing where he had left off.
He had no more Interruptions, and
when his wife came in two hours later
the sermon was finished, and the loose
leaves We're gathered up and neatly tied
together and laid on his Bible, all ready
for the Sunday morning service.
ga queer thing happened at the kin
dergarten this morning, Henry, said
his wife while they were eating dinner
"You know, | went over with Mrs
Brown to visit the school, and just aft
er the games. while the children were
at the tables, the door opened, and a
young man came in, holding a dirty
hat in both hands. He sat down near
the door and never said word, only
looked at the children. He was evident
ly tramp, and Miss Wren and her as
sistant, Miss Kyle were little fright
ened at first but he sat there very
qnietly, and after a few minutes he
went ont.
Perhaps he was tired and wanted
10 rest somewhere. The same man
called here, think Did you say he
looked like trampY'
Eyes, very dusty, shabby and gener-
ally tramplike-no more than 80 or 33
years old, | should say"
"The same man, said the Rev
Henry Maxwell thoughtfully.
"Did you finish your sermon, Hen
ryT' his wife asked after n pause
Eyes, all done 1t has been a very
busy week with me. The two sermons
cost me a good deal Of labor -
They will be appreciated by a large
audience tomorrow, l hope, replied
his wife, smiling. "What are you go
Ing to preach about in the morning?"
Following Christ | take up the
atoncment under the heads Of sacrifice
and example and then show the steps
needed to follow his sacrifice and ex-
ample.
II am sure it is good sermon.
hope it won t rain Sunday We have
had 80 many rainy days lately.
yes; the audiences have been quite
small for some time. People win not
come out TO church in storm. " Tho
Rev Henry Maxwell sighed as he said
it. He was thinking of the careful, Ia
borious efforts he had made in prepar-
ing sermons for large audiences that
failed TO appear.
But Sunday morning dawncd ON the
town Of Raymond one Of those perfect
days that sometimes come after long
periods of wind and rain and mud. The
air was clear and bracing, the sky was
free from all threatening signs, and ev-
cry one in Henry Maxwell $ parish pre-
pared to go TO church. When the service
opened at fl clock, the large building
was filled with an audience of the best
dressed, most comfortable looking peo-
pie in Raymond
The First church of Raymond be
lieved in having the best music that
money could buy, and its quartet choir
this morning was a great source Of
pleasure to the congregation. The an
them was inspiring. All the music was
in keeping with the subject Of the SER
mon. And the anthem was an elaborate