Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-10-12

by my bed when | was lad. Father
camo in one night drunk and kicked
her while she was kneoling there by
me, but l never forgot that prayer of
yours that morning You prayed for
me Just as mother used to, and You did
not seem to take count If the fact that
! was ragged and tough looking and
more than half drunk when | rung your
dOorbel. My God what a life I've
lived Tho saloon has housed mo and
homcd me and made hell on earth for
me But that prayer stuck to me all the
time My promise not TO drink was
broken in thousand pieces inside of
two Sundays. and | lost the job you
found for me and landed in police sta
ton two days aftrrward but | never
forgot yOu or your prayer. l don t
know what good it's done me, but l
never forgot it, and | won't do any
harm to you nor let any one else. SO
you re free to 90. That's why"
The bishop did not stir Somewhere
church clock struck l. The man had
put on his hat and gone back to his seat
on the stone. The bishop was thinking
hard.
GLOW long is it since you had work ?"
he asked. and the man standing up
answered for the other.
"Morc'n six months since either of
us did anything to tell Of unless you
count holding IN work. | call it pretty
wearing kind of a job myself, especially
when we put in a night like this one
and don make nothing.
Suppose | found good jobs for both
of you. Would you quit this and begin
all over?"
"Whats the useY" The man on the
stone spoke sullcnly I've reformed a
hundred times. Every time 90 down
deeper. The devils begun to forcelose
on me already. It's too late.
"No' said the bishop, and never be-
fore the most entranccd audience had
he felt the desire for souls burn mp in
| him SO strongly All the time he sat
there during the remarkable scene he
prayed: 80 Lord Jesus, give me the
souls of these two for thcel | am hun
CRY for them Give them to me,''
'Nol' the bishop repeated. "What
does God want of you two men! 1t
dOesn t so much matter what ] want,
but he wants just what l do in this
case. You two men are Of infinite value
to him. " And then the bishops Won
dcrful memory came to his aid in an
appeal such as no one else on earth
among men could make under such cir
cumstances He had remembered the
mans name in spite Of the wonderfully
busy years that lay between his coming
to the house and the present moment.
Burns" he said, and he yearned
over the men with an unspeakable long
ing for them both, "if you and Your
friend here will 20 home with me to-
night ! will find you both places Of
honorable employment. | will believe
in You and trust you. You are both
comparatively young men. Why should
God lose you? 1t is a great thing to
win the love of the great Father, 1t is
n small thing that ! should love you,
but if you need to feel again that there
is love in the world you will believe
me when | say. my brothers, that | love
you, and in the name of him who was
cruciiied for our sins | cannot bear to
see you miss the glory Of the human
life Come BE mem Make another try
for it, God helping you. No one but
God and you and myself need ever
know anything of this tonight. He has
forgiven it, The minute you ask him to
you will find that true. Come! Well
fight 1t out together, you two and l.
Its worth fighting for. Everlasting life
Is. 1t was the sinner that Christ came
to help. I'll do what | can for you. o
God, give me the souls of these two
mem"
! The bishop broke into prayer to
God that was a continuation of his APP
peal to the men. His pent up feeling
had no other outlet. Before he had
prayed many moments Burns was sit
ting with his face buried in his hands,
sobbing Where were his mother s
prayers now? They were adding to the
power of the bishops. And the other
man, harder, less moved, without a
previous knowledge of the bishop leaned
back against the fence, stolid at first,
but as the prayer went on he was moved
by it. What force of the Holy Spirit
swept over his dulled brutal, coarsened
| life nothing but the eternal records of
the recording angel can ever disclose,
but that same supernatural presence that
smote Paul on the road to Damascus
and poured through Henry Maxwell s
/ church the morning he asked disciples
/ to follow in Jesus steps and had again
broken irresistibly over the Nazareth
! Avenue congregation now manifested
/ hipself in this foul corner of the mighty
city and over the natures of these two
/ sinful, sunken men, apparently lost ia
/ all the pleadings of conscience and
memory Of God. The bishops PRAYER
seemed to break open the crust that had
for years surrounded these two men and
/ shut them off from divine communica-
ton, and they themselves We're thor
! oughly startled by the event
The bishop ceased, and at first he
himself did not realize what had hap
| pened Neither did the two men. Burns
still sat with his head bowed between
his hands. The man leaning against the
fence looked at the bishop with a face
in which new emotions of awe, repent
ance, establishment and broken CLEAN
of JOY struggled for expression.
The bishop rose.
Come, my brothersl God is good.