Middletown transcript., 1899-12-16

markable interruption. 1t would b
difficult to indicate the extent Of the
shock which this interruption measured
It was SO unexpected. SO entirely con
trary to any thought of any person
present, that it offered no room fol
argument or. for the time being. Of re
sistance.
The sermon had come to close The
Rev. Henry Maxwell had turned tht
half Of the big Bible over upon hi
manuscripts and was about to sit down
as the quartet prepared to rise and
sing the closing selection,
All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
All my beings ransomed powers,
when the entire congregation was star.
tied by the sound of q mans voice. II
came from the rear of the church, from
one of the seats under the gallery. The
next moment the figure Of man came
out Of the shadow there and walked
down the middle aisle.
Before the startled congregation real
ized what was being done the man had
reached the open space in front Of the
pulpit and had turned about. facing
the people.
"I've been wondering since / came
in here"-they were the words he used
under the gallery, and he repeated them
eff it would be just the thing to say
word at the close of this service. I'm
not drunk, and I'm not crazy, and I'm
perfectly harmless But If I die, as
there is every likelihood shall in a
few days, I want the satisfaction Of
thinking that I said my say in place
like this, before just this sort Of a
crowd +"
Henry Maxwell had not taken his
seat, and he now remained standing,
leaning on his pulpit, looking down al
the stranger. 1t was the man who had
come to his house Friday morning, the
same dusty, worn, shabby looking
young man. He held his faded hat In
his two hands 1t seemed to be ia
vorite gesture. He had not been shaved,
and his hair was rough and tangled II
was doubtful if any one like this had
ever confronted the First church within
the sanctuary. It was tolerably familiar
with this sort of humanity out on the
street, around the railroad shops. wan
dering up and down the avenue, but 1t
had never dreamed of such an incident
as this so near.
There was nothing offensive in the
mans manner or tone He was not ex-
cited, and he spoke in low but dis
tinct voice. Henry Maxwell was con-
scious, even as he stood there smitten
into dumb establishment at the event,
that somehow the mans action remind
ed him of person he had once seen
walking and talking in his sleep.
No one in the church made any mo-
tion to stop the stranger or in any way
interrupt him Perhaps the first shock
Of his sudden appearance deepened into
genuine perplexity concerning what
was best to do. However that may be,
he went on as If he had no thought Of
interruption and no thought of the un-
usual element he had introduced into
the decorum of the First church service,
and all the while he was speaking
Henry Maxwell leaned over the pulpit,
his face growing more white and sad
every moment But he made no move
ment to stop him. and the people sat
smitten into breathless silence. One
other face, that Of Rachel Winslow,
from the choir seats, stared, white and
intent, down at the shabby figure with
the faded hat Her face was striking at
any time. Under the pressure Of the
present unheard Of incident 1t was as
personally distinct as If it had been
framed in fire
"I'm not an ordinary tramp, though
I don t know Of any teaching Of Jesus
that makes one kind of tramp less
worth saving than another. Do youi
He put the question as naturally as if
the whole congregation had been
small private Bible class. He paused
just n moment and coughed painfully
Then he went ON.
~ lost my job ten months ago. l am
q printer by trade. The new linotype
machines are beautiful specimens Of
invention, but ! know six men who
have killed themselves inside of the
year just on account Of those machines
Of course don't blame the newspapers
for getting the machines Meanwhile |
what can a man dot know | never
learned but the one trade. and that's |
all | can do. I've tramped all over the
country trying to find something. There |
are good many others like me. I'm |
not complaining. am II Just stating |
facts But was wondering. as I sat |
there under the gallery. if what you
call following Jesus is the same thing |
as what he taught.
What did he mean when he said,
Follow me1' The minister said here
the man turned about and looked up at |
the pulpit that it was necessary for
the disciple of Jesus to follow his steps.
and he said the steps were obedience,
faith. love and imitation. But / did
not hear him tell just what he meant
that to mean. especially the last step.
What do Christians mean by following
the steps Of Jesusf I've tramped
through this city for three days trying
10 find job. and in all that time I've
not had word of sympathy or comfort
except from your minister here. who
aid he was sorry for me and hoped II
would find job somewhere. suppose
t is because you get SO imposed on by
'he professional tramp that you have
ost your interest in the other sort. I'm.
lot blaming anybody. am Z just stat
ng facts Of course understand you
ant all go out of your way to hunt up
obs for people like me. I'm not asking
7ou to. but what feel puzzled about is
what is meant by following Jesus Do
You mean that you are suffering and
ienying yourselves and trying to save
ost suffering humanity just as un-
Jesus did2 What do you mean
" itf see the ragged edge of things
j good deal | understand there are
more than 500 men in this city in my |
,ase. Most of them have families. Ny
wife died four months ago. I'm glad
he is out of trouble Ny little girl is
tayfng with printers family until I
esIfthe Cap Fits, Wear Ir.a