The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-12-13
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By Charles M. Sheldon.

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Rachel Winslow went up to her room
and faced her evenings experience with
conflicting emotions Had she ever
loved Jasper Chase? Yes-no. One no
ment she felt that her LIES happiness
was at stake over the result Of her ac-
tion: another, she had a strange feel
inc of relief that she had spoken as she
did. There was one great overmasterlns
feeling in her. The response Of the
wretched creatures in the tent to her
singing, the swift, awesome presence OF
the Holy Spirit, had affected her as
never in all her life before. The mo-
ment Jasper had spoken her name and
she realized that he was telling her OF
his love she had felt sudden revulsion
for him, as if he should have respected
the supernatural events they had just
witnessed. She felt as if it were not the
time to be absorbed in anything less
than the divine glory of those conver-
sions The thought that all the time
she was singing with the one passion OF
her soul to touch the conscience of that
tent full of sin Jasper Chase had been
moved by it simply to love her for him
self gave her a shock as Of irreverence
on her part as well as on his She coald
not tell why she felt as she did; only
she knew that if he had not told her to-
night she would still have felt the same
toward him as she always had.
What was that feeling2 What had
he been to her? Had she made a mis-
take? She went to her bookcase and
took out the novel which Jasper had
given her. Her face deepened in color
as she turned to certain passages which
she had read often and which she knew
Jasper had written for her She read
them again. Somehow they failed to
touch her strongly She closed the book
and let it lie on the table. She gradual
y felt that her thought was busy with
the sight she had witnessed in that
tent Those faces, men and women,
touched for the first time with the
Spirits glory What a wonderful thing
life was, after ALL The complete regen-
Grafton revealed IN the sight of drunk
en-, vile, debauched humanity kneeling
down to give itself to life Of purity
and Christlikeness-oh, it was surely a
a witness to the superhuman in the
worldl And the face of Rollin Page by
the side Of that miserable wreck out of
the gutter-she could recall as if she
now saw it Virginia crying, with her
arms about her brother, just before she
left the tent, and Mr. Gray kneeling
close by. and the girl Virginia had tax
en- into her heart bending her head
while Virginia whispered something to
her. All these pictures, drawn by the
Holy Spirit in the human tragedies
brought to a climax there in the most
abandoned spot in all Raymond, stood
out in Rachel's memory now. memory
so recent that her room seemed for the
time being to contain all the actors and
their movements
seNo, nol'' she had said aloud 'sHe
had no right to speak to me after all
that! He should have respected the
place where our thoughts should have
been. am sure Go not love him. not
enough to give him my life. "
And after she had thus spoken the
evenings experience at the tent cane
crowding in again. tErusting out all
other things 1t is perhaps the most
striking evidence Of the tremendous
spiritual factor which had now entered
the Rectangle that Rachel felt, even
when the great love Of a strong man
had come very near her. that the spir-
itual manifestation moved her with an
agitation far greater than anything
Jasper had felt for her personally or she
for him
The peopls Of Raymond awoke Sun
day morning to a growing knowledge
'<s s. events which were beginning to rev
olutionize many of the regular custom
ary habits Of the town. Alexander Pow
ers action in the matter of the railroad
frauds had created q sensation. not only
in RAYMOND br throughout the coun-
try. Edward Norman S daily changes
of policy in the conduct Of his paper
had startled the community and caused
more comment than any recent pollt-
ical event Rachel Winslow's singing
at the Rectangle meetings had made a
stir in society and excited the wonder
of all her friends Virginia Pages cen
duct. her presence every night with
Rachel. her absence from the usual cir
Gle of her wealthy, fashionable ac-
auaintances. had furnished a great deal
of material for gossip and question. In
addition to the events which centered
about these persons who We're SO well
known. there had been al through the
city. in very many homes and IN husl-
ness ard social circles. strange happen
ings Nearly a hundred persons IN
Henry A1.1well's church had made the
pledge to DO everything after asking.
What would Jesus do: and the re-
suit had been. in many cases. unheard
of actions The city was stirred rs II
had never been AS a climax to the
weeks events had come the spiritual
-;co-4,4;o,, Of +he Rac+opoIa and the