The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-12-08

mate work. What could even such I'M
selfish Christian discipleship as vir-
ginia's and Rachel's do to lessen the
stream of vice so long as the great
spring of vice and crime flowed as deep
and strong as ever? Was it not prac-
teal waste of beautiful lives for these
young women to throw themselves into
this earthly hell when for every soul
rescued by their sacrifice the saloon
made two more that needed rescue2
He could not escape the question 1t
was the same that Virginia had put to
Rachel in her statement that. in her
opinion, nothing really would ever be
done until the saloon was taken out of
the Rectangle. Henry Maxwell went
back to his parish work that afternoon
with added convictions on the license
business.
But. if the saloon were factor in
the problem of the life of Raymond. no
less were the First church and its little
company of disciples who had pledged
themselves to do as Jesus would do
Henry Maxwell. standing at the very
center of the movement. was not in
position to judge of its power as some
one from the outside might have done,
but Raymond itself felt the touch of
this new discipleship and was changed
in very many ways. not knowing all
the reasons for the change.
The winter had gone, and the year
was ended. the year which Henry Max
well had fixed as the time during
which the pledge should be kept to do
as Jesus would do Sunday. the ami
versary of that one a year ago. was in
many ways the most remarkable day
the First church ever knew 1t was
more important than the disciples in
the First church realized. The year had
made history so fast and so serious that
the people We're not yet able to grasp
its significance. and the day itself
which marked the completion of
whole year of such discipleship, was
characterized by such revelations and
confessions that the immediate actors
in the events themselves could not un-
derstand the value of what had been
done or the relation of their trial to the
rest of the churches and cities IN the
country
1t happened that the week before
that anniversary Sunday the Rev Cal
win Bruce. D. D., of the Nazareth Az
enue church, Chicago. was in Ray
mond, where he had come on visit to
some old friends and incidentally to see
his old seminary classmate, Henry Max
well He was present at the First
church and was an exceedingly atten
tive and interested spectator His ac-
count of events in Raymond. and espe-
cially of that Sunday, may throw more
light on the entire situation than any
description orrecord from other sources
DR. Bruce's statement is therefore here
given.
Letter from Rev Calvin Bruce. D
D., Of the Nazareth Avenue church
Chicago, to Rev Philip S Caxton. D
D.. New York city
my DEAR CAXToN-It is late Sun
day night. but | am so intensely awake
and SO overhowing with what have
seen and heard that feel driven to
write you now some account of the
situation in Raymond as have Eeen
studying it and as it has apparently
come to climax today So this is my
only excuse for writing so extended q
letter at this time
"You remember Henry Maxwell in
the seminary. | think you said the last
time visited you in New York that
you had not seen him since we gradu-
ated He was a refined, scholarly fellow,
you remember. and when he was called
to the First church OF Raymond within
year after leaving the seminary said
to my wife Raymond has made a
good choice Maxwell will satisfy them
as a sermonizer He has been here 4
years and | understand that up to
year ago he had gone on in the regular
course OF the ministry. giving good sat
isfaction and drawing a good congrega-
ton to his morning preaching service
His church was counted the largest,
most wealthy church in Raymond All
the best people attended it, and most
of them belonged The quartet choir
was famous for it's music, especially for
it's soprano Miss Winslow, of whom
shall have more to say, and. on the
whole, as | understand the fact. Max
well was in comfortable berth, with a
very good salary. pleasant surround
ings. not very exacting parish of re-
fined. rich. respectable people. such
church and parish as nearly all the
young men in the seminary in our time
looked forward to as very desirable.
But year ago today Maxwell came
into his church on Sunday morning and
at the close Of his service made the
astounding proposition that the mem
bers OF his church volunteer for year
not to do anything without first asking
the question. What would Jesus dor
and. after answering it. to do what in
their honest Judgment he would do, re-
CARELESS of what the result might be to
them
THE effect of this proposition as it
has been met and obeyed by number
OF the members of the First church of
Raymond has been so remarkable that,
as you know. the attention of the whole
country has been directed to the move
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