The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-07-19
CHAPTER NNIII.

| the tenclnentS yet. MY Worh lS JuN'
beginning to count with them. And
| the church-Oh. Sarah, | love 1t, for 1t
has such possibilities, and 1t must yield
in time. And then the whisky men-I
cannot bear to have them think me
beaten. driven out. defeated. And in
addition to all the rest | have feeling
| that God has Il wonderful blessing in
store for me and the church very soon.
and cannot Danish the feeling that If
accept the call to Fairview should
always be haunted by that ghost Of
Duty murdered and run away from
which would make me unhappy in all
my future work. Dear little woman
Philip went on as he drew his wifc's
head down and kissed her tenderly.
while tears of disappointment fell from
her-"little woman, you know you
are the dearest of all earthly beings to
me. And my soul tells me the reason
you loved me enough to share earth's
troubles with me was that you knew |
could not he Il coward in the face of
my duty. my conscience and my God.
Is it not SOt'
The answer came in sob of mingled
anguish and happiness:
"Yes. Philip. hut it was only for your
sake | wanted you to leave this work
1t is killing you. Yet"-and she lifted
her head, with II smile through all the
tcars-"yct. Philip. whittier thou socSt
| will go, and where thou lod@cSt
will lodge; thy people shall be my peo-
pie and thy God my God. Where thou
dicst will die, and there will | be
buried: the Lord do SO to me ana moro
also if aught but death part thee ana
me-"
There We're people in Milton who
could not understand how Il person of
such refined and even naturally cXpcn-
sivc and luxurious habits as the minis
tor's wife possessed could endure the
life he had planned for himself and his
idea of Christian living in general.
Philip could have told them If he had
been so minded And this scene could
have revealed it to any one who knew
the minister and his wife as they really
were. That was sacred scene to hus-
band and wife, something that belong
ed to them. one Of those things which
the world did not know and had no
business to know.
When the first Sunday Of another
month had come, Mr.. Strong felt quite
well again. \ rumor of his call to
Fairvicw lad gone out, and to the few
r,;. i'm, al
it he did not deny, but he said little.
The time was precious to him. He
plunged into the work with an enthu-
sasm and purpose which sprang
from his knowledge that he was at last
really gaining some influence in the
tenement district.
The condition of affairs in that neigh
borhood was growing worse instead OF
better. The amount of vice. drunken
ness, crime and brutality made his sen
sitive heart quiver hundred times a
day as he went his way through it all. |
His study of the whole question led |
him to the conviction that one of the |
great needs of the place was Il new |
home life for the people. The tene-
nents were owned and rented by men |
of wealth and influence. Many Of |
these men were in the church. Dis. |
couraged as lie had so often been in |
his endeavor to get the moneyed men |
of the congregation to consecrate their |
property to Christian uses, Philip came |
up to that first Sunday with new |
lao ,f wi oh
pressed SO hard for uttcrarCe that lie |
could not keep 1t back.
AS lie faced the church this morning |
he faced an audience composed Of very |
conflicting elements. Representatives |
Of labo- wee conspicuous In the gal
ler!es. People whom he had assisted
at one tiG:c G2d another were scattered |
through the house. mostly in the bacl; !
seats under the choir gallery. His own
membership was represented by men
who, while opposed to his idea of the
Christian life and his Interpretation Of |
Christ, nevertheless continued to go |
and hear hin preach. The incident Of |
the sections application for member
ship and his rejection by vote had also
told somewhat in favor of the minister.
Many preachers would have resigned
after such scene. He had said his
say about it and then refused to speak
or be interviewed by the papers on the
subject. What 1t cost him In suffering
was his own secret But this morning
as he rose to give his message in the
person Of Christ. the thought Of the
continued suffering and shame and
degradation in the tenement district,
the thought Of the great wealth in the
possession Of the church which might |
be used almost to transform the lives
Of thousands of people If the men Of
riches in Calvary church would only
see the kingdom Of God in its demands
on them-this voiced his cry to the
people and gave his sermon the signifi-
canoe and solemnity Of prophets in
spiration.
"Seew he exclaimed as he went on
after drawing a vivid picture Of the
miserable condition Of life In the