The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-15

/ of that vast auditorium. he heard from
| the pulpit, in stentorian tones. these
/ words; Christ being risen from the dead,
/ dieth no more. Ssn hath no more dominion
| over him."
! 1t seemed to the weary man as though
| these words We're addressed personally to
| him, and he knelt for a moment and
| with bowed head whispered a prayer that
| had net REQUIRED to him in many years,
| something like a glow thrilled him so that
I presently he leaned back, and fixing his
| tired eyes upon the preacher, he listened
with concentrated attention to every word
| of the sermon. So wrapt was he in what
| he heard and so intense were the emo
| tons engendered by it, that, ne was not
! conscious of the end of the discourse, and
| it was not until many moments later.
| when almost the entire congregation had
! left the church, that he remembered
| where he was.
He started to his feet then with sud-
| den energy, intent only upon leaving the
church before he should be recognized, for
there We're many present who had known
| him in the past. But the throng of people
! in the aisle was too dense for him TO
| penetrate, so he sank back upon the cush-
| ions again, and, with bowed head, wait
| Cd.
Presently he was startled by the touch
| of a hand upon his shoulder, and looking
faced and flushed.
The hand that had touched him was
now stretched out palm upward for him
to take, but he pretended not to see it.
Il should have avoided you" he said,
drearily. Believe me- Roderick, l did
not mean that any one should recognize
me. 1 do not know why | came here at
all to-day" and then, smiling bitterly and
with irony in his voice he added: Il did
not even know that 1t was Easter until
after l entered the church"
VIII you go home with me. Phillip"
asked the other, still keeping his hand eX-
tended, as if determined that it should
be seen and taken
Home with you? No; thank you, all the
same
Then let me go with you"
Il am sorry. Rod but l have no place to
take you" was the reply 1T is long since
/ possessed studio; longer since l held a
brush or a palette in either hard The
only home that 1 know now l find in the
back rooms of gin mills. Does not my APP
pearance vouch for the truth of this state
ment?"
Then let US sit here for little while.
for | want TO talk 10 you, Phil. For
months / have tried in vain to find you.
Here We will be quiet and undsturbed"
Are you willing to be seen in company
of such as I. Roderick?" asked the artist.
tensely. DO you remember what l was,
and DO you realize what l amp"
yes. both"
81 doubt it. Yet 1t was kind of you to
speak to me to-day; kinder still to wish 10
help me, for that, know, is your wish.
But l am beyond help from others. The
only chance left to me now lies within
myself"
Have you forgotten, Phil, that this is
Easter Sunday"
No; have just remembered it,"
hot habi1A
you to-day, and rise from this living death,
| as Christ rose 1900 years ago."
IF / only couldl If only 1 could!'
you can if you will
How"
you say you have lost your manhco1.
| Have you also sacrificed your alents"'
| mo; | can paint as well as ever when
| my nerves are not unstrung. But l have
| prostituted them shamefully. Do you know
| how I keep body and soul together now?
| BY decorat ting saloon mirrors. and taking
my pay in drinks and luncheors over the
| bars You find me in this condition because
| 1 have ceased to be man--because have
degenerated to a thing"
Nonsense. Phil. Did you ever have a
better friend than l was in the old days?
Never" -'-~' y f'H ="
"Win you put aside your false pride,
and let me be that same friend now?'
IF you wish to loan me money-no."
THAT is not what mean. want to
| help you. just as you would help me IL
| the conditions were reversed. If you win
| consent to what l have to propose You
| will confer the favor--not l. VIII you
| hear the propositions"
yes What is it?" s'tA.
There has been a committee appoint
ed. of which l am chairman, to have
! painted a life-size portrait of the Master
1t is to hang yonder, over the chancel
| WIN you accept the commission? viii
| Won paint the picture2 | have the au-
| thority to give the order, and it is ex-
| pected that l will make a payment in
advance There is no one in all this city
| as competent as yourself to do the work
| VIE you do it?''
| The artist was silent for a moment
and when he replied there was a dreamy
| interpretive expression in his eyes, and
his voice was so low that the words he
| uttered were almost inaudible.
| IF you had asked those questions ar
| hour ago" he said, 81 should have an
swered No. Now. I answer, Yes Their
I was aimless. hopeless, passionless.
drifted into this church as a chip drifts
into an eddy of the stream it follows
l believed that I had lost the ability to
be emotional but there was something
in the sermon we heard to-day which
opened within me a window that has
been shattered and barred since I was
| a child / hate cant, frederick; so don't
misunderstood me. 1t was the logic, the
good sense that your minister uttered
and the manhood to which he appealed
that affected me. Somehow he made me
feel that for three years l have beer
dead. and that even I might rise again
TO a new and better manhood.
"vriu you. Phil?" questioned Roderick
| eagerly. and placing his hands upon the
shoulders of his friend, "Will your"
'T will try, old man"
"Wn you let me help you? 1t will be a
greater favor to me than to you. Will
you paint the picture?"
The artist hesitated and turned his head
away, fixing his eyes upon the stained
glass window over the chancel. Presently
his friend continued
How much, Phil, did you receive for n
Ufe-size portrait when you first returned
| from Paris and took up your work here
Approximately $1,000 was 1t not?"
Yes; at least that much"
Every well. For the execution of this
order. provided it is completed and de-