Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-11-02

The bishop rose from the table the
very figure of divine wrath. He had
opened his lips to say what seldom
came from him in the way of denuncia-
ton when the bell rang and one of the
residents went to the door.
"Tell DR.. Bruce and the bishop I
want to see them. Penrose is the name
Clarence Penrose. DR.. Bruce knows
me-
The family at the breakfast table
heard every word. The bishop exchanged
significant look with DIR. Bruce, and
the two men instantly left the table
and went out into the hall.
"Come in here, Penrose," said DR..
Bruce, and he and the bishop ushered
the visitor into the reception room.
They closed the door and were alone.
Clarence Penrose was one of the most
elegant looking men in Chicago. He
came from an aristocratic family Of
great wealth and social distinction. He
was exceedingly wealthy and had large
property holdings in different parts Of
the city. He had been member of DR..
Bruce's church all his life
This man faced the bishop and his
former pastor with look of agitation
on his countenance that showed plainly
the mark of some unusual experience.
He was very pale, and his lip trembled
as he spoke. When had Clarence PEN
rose ever before yielded to such strange
emotion of feeling?
"This affair Of the shooting you un-
derstand. You have read it. The family
lived in one IF my houses. 1t is a terri
BILE event. But that is not the primary
cause of my visit. He stammered and
looked anxiously into the faces of the
other two men. The bishop still looked
stern. He could not help feeling that
this elegant man of leisure could have
done a great deal to alleviate the hor-
rors in his tenements, possibly have pre-
vented this tragedy. if he had sacrificed
some of his personal ease and luxury to
better the condition of the psople in his
district.
Penrose turned to DR.. Bruce.
doctor" he exclaimed. and there
was almost q child's terror in his voice,
Il came to say that have had an ex-
perience SO unusual that nothing but
the supernatural can explain it. You
remember was one of those who took
the pledge to do as Jesus would do.
thought at the time. poor fool that
was, that l had all along been doing the
Christian thing. gave literally out Of
my abundance to the church and char
ity. | never gave myself to cost me any
suffering. Ihave been living in a per-
/ feet hell of contradictions ever since
took the pledge. Ny little girl, Diana,
you remember, also took the pledge
with me. She has feen asking me, Q
! great many questions lately about the
poor people and where they lived. was
obliged to answer her. Two of her ques-
tons last night touched my sore. Did
own any houses where those people
lived? Were they nice and warm like
Ours? You know how child will ask
| questions like these. / went to bed tor
| .nented with what now know to be
the divine>arrows of conscience. Icould
not sleep. / seemed to see the Judgment
lay. l was placed before the Judge.
was asked to give account of my deeds
done in the body. How many sinful
FOULS had Visited in prison? What had
| done with my stewardship? How
about those tenements where people
froze in winter and stifed in summer /
Did | give any thought to them, except
to receive the rentals from themf
Where did my suffering come in?
Would Jesus have done as had done
and was doing? Had / broken my
3
the culture and the social influence I
possessed? Had | used them to bless
humanity, to relieve the suffering, to
bring joy to the distressed and hope to
the responding? / had received much.
How much had given?
.'All this came to me in waking
vision as distinctly as I see you two
men and myself now was unable to
see the end CT the vision / had con-
fused picture in my mind of the suffer.
ing Christ pointing acondemning finger
at me, and the rest was shut out by
mist and darkness have not had sleep
for "a hours. The first thing saw this
morning was the account Of the shoot
ing at the coalyards. read the account
with feeling of horror have not been
able to shake off am guilty creature
before God"
Penrose paused suddenly. The two
men looked at him solemnly. What
power of the Holy Spirit moved the
soul of this hitherto self satisfied, ele-
CANT, cultured man who belonged to
the social life that was accustomed to
go its way, placidly unmindful Of the
great sorrows of great city and prac-
tically ignorant of what it means to
suffer for Jesus sake?
Into that room came breath such as
, before swept over Henry Maxwell's
church and through Nazareth Avenue,
and the bishop laid his hand on the
shoulder. Of Penrose and said: "My
: brother, God has been very near to you.
Let us thank him."
"Yes, yes, sobbed Penrose He SAT
, down on a chair and covered his face.
The bishop prayed. Then Penrose quiet.
ly said, "Win you go with me to that