Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1900-07-04
CHAPTER XXI.

CONTINUED.
CHAPTER XXI.
When the Brother Man had finished
nis prayer, he rose, and, stopping over
his Son, he kissed him. Then he turn
ed about and faced Philip and Sarah.
D who almost felt guilty Of Intrusion in
looking at such scene. But the Broth
er Man wore radiant look. To Phil
ip's surprise he was not excited. The
same ineffable peace breathed from his
entire person. To that peace was now
added fathomless Joy. ->,,<
Yes" he said very simply, II have
found my son which was lost. God Is
good to me. He is good to all his chill
dren. He Is the All Father. He Is
Love-"
did you know your son was here?"
Philip asked.
No; I found him here. You have
saved his life. That was doing as He
would"
1T was very little we>could d." said
Philip, with q sigh. He had seen so
much trouble and suffering that day
that his soul was sick within him.
Yet he welcomed this event in his
home. 1t seemed like a little bright
ness Of heaven on earth.
s have not seen him for years. He
was my youngest son. We quarreled.
All that is past. He did not know that
to give up all that one has was the
will Of God. Now he knows. When
he is well, we will go away together
yes, together" He SPREAD out his
palms in his favorite gesture, with
plentiful content in his face and voice.
AS spring had blossomed into sum-
mer and summer ripened' into autumn
every one had predicted better times.
But the predictions did not bring them.
The suffering and sickness and help
lessness of the tenement district grew
every day more desperate. To Philip
1t seemed like the ulcer of Milton. All
the surface remedies proposed and
adopted by the city council and the
churches and the benevolent societies
had not touched the problem. The
mills were going on part time. Thou
sands Of men yet fingered in the place
hoping to get work: Even if the mills
had been running as usual that would
not have diminished one particle. Of the
sin and vice and drunkenness that
saturated the place. And as Philip
studied the matter with brain and soul
he came to u conclusion regarding the
duty Of the church. He did not pre-
tend to 60 beyond that, but ds the
weeks went by and fall came on and
another winter stared the people cold
~ In the face he knew that he must
speak out what burned in him.
He had been year in Milton Every
month of that year had impressed him
With the deep and apparently hopeless
chasm that yawned between the work
ing world and the church. There was
no point of contact. One was suspi-
Cious. the other was Indifferent. Some
thing was radically wrong, and some
thing radically positive and Christian
must be done to right the condition
that faced the churches Of Milton.
That was in his soul as be went his
way like one of the old prophets, I'm
bued with the love OF God as he saw It
In the heart Of Christ. With infinite
longing he yearned to bring the church
to sense Of her great power and op~
portunity. So matters had finally
drawn to a point in the month OF No
vember. The Brother Man had come
In October. The sick man recovered
slowly. Philip and his wife found
room for the father and son and shared
with them what comforts they had. 1t
should be said that after moving out
Of the parsonage into his house In the
tenement district Philip had more than
given the extra thousand dollars the
church insisted on paying him. The
demands on him we've 50 urgent, the
perfect impossibility of providing neil
with work and SO relieving them had
been such a bar to giving help in that
direction, that out of sheer necessity,
as it seemed to him, Philip had given
fully half of the thousand dollars re-
served for his own salary. His entire
expenses were reduced to the smallest
possible amount. Everything above
that went where it was absolutely
needed. He was literally sharing what
he had with the people who dill not
have anything. 1t seemed to hin, that
he could not consistently do anything
less in view of what he had preached
ard intended to preach.
One evening in the middle of the
month he was invited to a social gath
ering at the house of Mr.. Winter. The
mill owner had of late been experience
Ing a revolution of thought. His atti-'
tude toward Philip had grown more
and more friendly. >,rs *,s@e.. %sa&
It was a gathering Of personal
friends Of Mr.. Winter, including some
of the church people. The moment that
Philip stepped into the spacious hall
and caught a glimpse of the furnish
ings of the rooms beyond, the contrast
between all the comfort and bright
ness of this house and the last place he
had visited in the tenement district
smote him with q sense of pain. He
drove 1t back and blamed himself with
an inward reproach that he was grow
ing narrow and could think Of only one
idea.
He could not remember just what
brought up the subject, but some one
during the evening, which was passed
ID conversation and music. mentioned
the rumor going about Of increased dis
turbance In the lower part Of the
town and carelessly wanted to know IL
the paper did not exaggerate the facts.
Some one turned to Philip and asked
him about It as the one best informed.
He lid not know how long he talked.