The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-01-31


sign OF any confidence in Felicia 5
character
The girl still kneelea, holding her
mother trembling hand. and PRAYED.
It was doubtful ii shc had ever prayed
aloud before She must have said il,
her prayer the words that her mother
needed. for when it was silent in the
room the Invalid w&s weeping scftly.
and her nervous tension was over
Felicia sts:d some time. When she
was assured that her lnothe. would not
need her any longer. she rose to go.
Good night. mother You must let
Clara call NE if You feel bad IL the
night.
81 feel better now Then as Felicia
was moving away Mrs. Sterling said
won't you kiss NE. Felicia
Felicia went back and bent over her
mother. The kiss was almost as strange
to her as the prayer had been. When
Felicia went out of the room. her cheeks
were wet with tears She had not cried
since she was little girl
Sunday morning at the Sterling man
sion was generally very quiet. The girls
usually went to church at II o'clock
service. Mr.. Sterling was not mem
Der, but heavy contributor, and he
generally went to church in the morn
ing. This time he did not come down
to breakfast and finally sent word by a
servant that he did not feel well enough
to go out So Rose and Felicia drove
up to the door of the Nazareth Avenue
church and entered the family pew
alone.
When Dr.. Bruce walked out Of the
room at the rear of the platform and
went up to the pulpit to open the Bible,
as his custom was, those who knew
him best did not detect anything IN
usual in his manner or his expression.
He proceeded with the service as usual.
He was calm, and his voice was steady
and firm. His prayer was the first init
nation the people had Of anything new
OF strange in the service. 1t is safe to
say that the Nazareth Avenue church
had not heard DR.. Bruce offer such a
prayer during the 12 years he had been
pastor there. How would minister be
likely to pray who had ccme out of a
! revolution in Christian feeling that had
completely changed his definition of
what was meant by following Jesus?
No one in Nazareth Avenue church had
l. any idea that the Rev. Calvin Bruce,
D. D., the digniied, cultured refined
doctor of divinity, had within a few
days been crying like little child, on
his knees. asking for strength and cour-
age and Christlikeness to speak his Sun
day message and yet the prayer was an
unconscious involuntary disclosure Of
the souls experience such as Nazareth
Avenue people seldom heard and never
before from that pulpit.
In the hush that succeeded the prayer
a distinct wave of spiritual power
moved over the congregation The most
careless persons in the church felt It,
Felicia, whose sensitive religious nature
responded swiftly to every touch of
emotion. quivered under the passing of
that supernatural power. and when she
lifted her head and looked up at the
minister there was look in her eyes
that announced her intense, eager an
ticipation of the scene that was to fol
low
And she was not alone in her atti-
tude. There was something in the
prayer and the result of it that stirred
many and many disciple in Nazareth
Avenue church All over the house men
and women leaned forward, and when
Dr. Bruce began to speak of his visit to
Raymond in the opening sentences OF
his address, which this morning pre-
ceded his sermon. there was an answer
ing response in the church that came
back to him as he spoke and thrilled
him with the hope of a spiritual bap-
tism such as he had never during all
his ministry experienced.
II am just back from a visit to Ray
mond, Dr. Bruce began. land | want
to tell you something of my impressions
Of the movement there. .
he paused, ana MS lOOk Went over
his people with yearning for them and
at the same time with a great uncer-
tainty at his heart. How many of his
rich. fashionable. refined. luxury loving
members would understand the nature
of the appeal he was soon to make to
themg He was altogether in the dark
as to that Nevertheless he had been
through his desert and had come out of
it ready to suffer. He went on now aft
er that brief pause and told the story
of his stay in Raymond The people al
ready knew something of that expert
ment in the First church. The whole
country had watched the progress of
the pledge as it had become history in
so many lives. Henry Maxwell had at
last decided that the time had come to
seek the fellowship of ether churches
throughout the country The new dis
cipleship IN Raymond had proved to be
SO valuable in its results that Henry
Maxwell wished the church in general
to share with the disciples in Ray