Middletown transcript., 1900-04-28
CHAPTER IL

CHAPTER II.
The children all cried out in surprise
and hurried into the next room. But
before relating what happened there
we viii follow Mr.. Hardy into the ex.
perience he had just after falling
asleep upon the lounge by the open fire
1t seemed to him that he stepped al
once from the room where he lay into
place such as he had never seen be
fore. where the one great idea that
dlled his entire thought was the idea
Of the present moment. Spread out
before him, as if reproduced by pho
nograph and a magic lantern COM
bined, was the moving panorama of
the entire world. He thought he saw
into every home, every public place Of
business, every saloon and place of
amusement, every shop and every
farm, every place Of industry, amuse-
ment and vice upon the face Of the
globe. And he thought he could hear
the worlds conversation, catch its sobs
of suffering nay, even catch the mean
ing Of unspoken thoughts Of the heart.
With that absurd rapidity peculiar to
certain dreams he fancied that over
every city on the globe was placed a
glass cover through which he could
look and through which the sounds Of
the city's industry came to him. But
he thought that he ascertained that by
lifting off one of these covers he could
hear with greater distinctness the
thoughts Of the inhabitants and see all
they were doing and suffering with the
most minute exactness. He looked for
the place of his own town, Barton.
There it lay in its geographical spot on
the globe, and he thought that, moved
by an impulse he could not resist, he
lifted off the cover and bent down to
see and hear.
The first thing he saw was his min
ister's home. 1t was just after the
Sunday evening service, the one which
Mr.. Hardy had thought so dull. Mr..
Jones was talking over the evening
with his wife.
''My DEAR" he said, 'T feel about dis
couraged. Of what use is all our pray
ing and longing for the Holy Spirit
when our own church members are SO
cold and unspiritual that all his inf1u-
ence is destroyed? And, you know,
made special plea to all the members
to come out tonight, and only hand
full there! l feel like giving up the
struggle. You know I could make a
better living in literary work, and the
children could be better cared for
then" s,
But John, 1t was bad night to get
out. You must remember that"
"But only so out of a church men,
bership Of 400, most Of them living
near by! 1t doesn't seem just right to
me-"
"Mr. Hardy was there! Did you see
himF'
Eyes; after service 1 went and spoke
to him, and be treated me very coIdly.
And yet he is the most wealthy and in
some ways the most gifted church
member we have. He could do great
things for the good of this community
if'-
Suddenly Mr.. Hardy thought the
minister changed into the Sunday
school superintendent, and he was
walking down the street thinking about
his classes in the school, and Mr.. Har-
dy thought he could hear the superin.
tendent's thoughts, as If his ear were
at phonograph.
tits too bad! That class of boys /
wanted Mr.. Hardy to take left the
school because no one could be found
to teach them. And now Bob Wilson
has got into trouble and been arrested
for petty thieving. 1t will be a terrible
blow to his poor mother. Oh. why is it
that men like Mr.. Hardy cannot be
made to see the Importance of work in
the Sunday school? With his knowl.
edge of chemistry and geology be could
have reached that class of boys and in
vited them to his home, up into his lab
oratory and exercised an influence over
them they would never outgrow. Oh!
it's a strange thing to me that men of
such possibilities do not realize their
power"
The superintendent passed along
shaking his head sorrowfully. and Mr.
Hardy, who seemed guided by some |
power he could not resist and com |
PEELED to listen whether he liked it or
not, next found himself looking into
one Of the railroad shop tenements, !
where the man Scoyille was lying. |
awaiting amputation of both feet after
tho fnrIsih
lay upon ragged lounge, while Mrs. |
Hardy's cook kneeled by her side and |
in her native Swedish tongue tried to
comfort the poor woman. So it was |
true that these two were sisters. The
man was still conscious and suffering
unspeakably. The railroad surgeon had
been sent for, but had not arrived.
Three or four men and their wives had
come In to do what they could. Mr..
Burns, the foreman, was among them.
One of the men spoke In a whisper to
him:
Have you tbeeif to SEE AMfr. Hardy ?'i
"Yes, but he was at church. ! left
word about the accident"
"At churchI So even the devil some
times goes to church. What for, Won
der? Will he be here, think?"
Don't know" replied Mr.. Burns
curtly.
"Do you mind when he"-pointing to
Scoville-"sayed Mr.. Hardy's life"
Remember 1t well enough; was
close by"
'FWhat'll be done with the children
when Scoyille goes, ehY'
Don't know"
Just then the surgeon came In, and
were rapidly made for the
operation. The last that Mr.. Hardy
heard was the shrek Of the poor wife
Is she struggled to her feet and fell in
| fit across the floor where two of the
children clung terrified to her
lress, and the father cried out, tears of
Igony and despair running down his
ace, 'sMy God, what hell this world
81!
The next scene was q room where
appeared confused at first,
Iut finally grew more distinct and ter.
ible in its significance. and the first
Ierson Mr.. Hardy recognized was his
ldest boy, George. In company with
roup of young men engaged in-what!