Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-01-18

counter with it Never hal he borne
such a cross He staggered under it,
and in the brief intervals when he came
in from the worA and sought the quiet
of his study for rost the sweat broke
out on his forehead. and he felt the ac-
tual terror of one who marches into
unseen, unknown horrors. Looking back
ON it afterward, he was amazed ut his
experience. He was not "A coward. bat
he felt dread that any man of his
habits feels when confronted suddenly
with duty which carries with it the
doing Of certain things so unfamiliar
that the actual details connected with
it betray his ignorance and fill him
with the shame of humiliation.
When Saturday, the election day,
rame the excitement rose to its height
An attempt was made to close all the
saloons. 1t was partly successful but
there was a great deal of drinking GO
ing on all day. The Rectangle boiled
and heaved and cursed and turned its
worst side out to the gaze of the city.
GRAY had continued his meetings dur
ing the week, and the results had been
even greater than he had dared to hope.
When Saturday came it seemed to him
that the crisis in his work had been
reached. The Holy Spirit and the satan
of rum seemed to rouse up to Il desper-
ate conflict. The more interest in the
meetings the more ferocity and vileness
outside The saloon men no longer con-
cealed their feelings Open threats of
violence were made Once during the
week Gray and his little company of
helpers were assailed with missiles of
various kinds as they left the tent late
at night The police sent down special
protection. and Virginia and Rachel
were always under the protection of
Rollin or DR.. West. Rachel's power in
| song had not diminished. Rather with
each night it seemed to add toSle in
tensity and reality of the Spirits pres
| ence.
Gray had at first hesitated about
/ having a meeting that night, but he
had a simple rule of action and was al
ways guided by it. The Spirit seemed
to lead them to continue the meeting,
and so Saturday night he went on. as
usual
The excitement all over the city had
reached its climax when the polls closed
| at 6 O'Clock. Never had there been such
a contest in Raymond. The issue of
license or no license had never been an
issue under such circumstances. Never
before had such elements in the city
been arrayed against each other. 1t was
an unheard of thing that the president
I of Lincoln college, the pastor of the
! First church, the dean of the cathedral,
the professional men living in the fine
| houses ON the boulevard, should come
| personally into the wards and by their
| presence and their example represent
| the Christian conscience of the place
The ward politicians were astonished
| at the sight However, their astonish-
| ment did not prevent their activity
The fight grew hotter every hour, and
when 6 o'clock came neither side could
| have guessed at the result with any GER
! tainty. Every one agreed that never
| had there been such an election in Ray
mond, and both sides awaited the an
nouncement of the result with the
| greatest interest
1t was after 10 o'clock when the
meeting at the tent was closed. 1t had
been a strange and in some respects a
remarkable meeting. Henry Maxwell
had come down again at Gray's request.
| He was completely worn out by the
days work but the appeal from Gray
came to him in such form that he did
not feel able to resist it. Donald Marsh
was also present He had never been to
! the Rectangle, and his curiosity was
aroused from what he had noticed Of
the influence of the evangelist i'll the
worst part of the city. DIR. West and
Rollin had come with Rachel and Vir-
ginia, and Loreen, who had staid with
Virginia, was present near the organ,
in her right mind, sober, with humil-
ity and dread Of herself that kept her
as close to Virginia as faithful dog.
| All through the service Loreen sat with
bowed head, weeping part of the
time, sobbing when Rachel sang the
song, II was a wandering sheep,
clinging with almost visible, tangible
yearning to the one hope she had found,
listening to prayer and appeal and con-
fession all about her like one who was
a part of n new creation, yet fearful Of
her right to share in Ii fully.
The tent had been crowded As on
some other occasions, there was more
or less disturbance on the outside of the
tent. This had increased as the night
| advanced, and Gray thought it wise
not to prolong the service. Once in
! awhile shout as from n large crowd
| .,,+, tIa Tho ratnrnG from
the election were beginning to come in,
and the Rectangle had emptied every
lodging house, den and hovel into the
streets.
In spite Of the distractions. Rachel =
singing kept the crowd in the tent from
| dissolving. There were n dozen or more
conversions Finally the crowd became
restless, and Gray closed the service,
remaining n little while with the con
! verts.
Rachel, Virginia, Loreen, Rollin and
the doctor, President Marsh and Henry
| Maxwell went out together, intending
to go down to their usual waiting place
for their car. AS they came out of the
tent they at once were aware that the
Rectangle was trembling on the edge OF
| drunken riot, and AZ they pushed
through the gathering mobs in the mar
row streets they began to realize that
they themselves were objects of great
Pttention.
"There he is, the bloke in the tall
hat. He's the leaderl" shouted rough
voice. President Marsh, with his erect,
commanding figure. was conspicuous III
the little company.
"How has the election goneP 1t IL
too early to know the result yet, ism t
| it2" He asked the question aloud, and
man answered They say second
and third wards have gone almost solid
for no license. II that is 80. the whisky
men have been beaten.
"Thank Cod hope it is trne, ex-
| claimed Henry Maxwell "Marsh, we
are in danger here. Do you realize our
situation2 We ought to get the ladies
to n place Of safety.
| "That il true. said Marsh gravely.
At that moment shower Of stones and
other missiles fell over them. The mar
row street and sidewalk in front of them
were completely choked with the worst
| elements of the Rectangle.
This looks serious, said Maxwell.
| With Marsh and Rollin and DIR. West
he started TO 90 forward through the
small opening. Virginia, Rachel and
| Loreen following close and sheltered by
the men. who now realized something
| = ,l.f, J,,,,.r Tho Rn.touUI. Nyaa