Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-03-08

couch again and knew in his heart
that he was at peace with God and his
own conscience in deciding To- stay
with Calvary church and refuse the
call to Fairview.
CHAPTER XVIII.
When few minutes later Mrs.
Strong came up. Philip told her cN-
actly how he had decided.
Il cannot leave these poor fellows in
the tencmcnts yet. My work is just
beginning To count with them. Anl
the church, oh. Sarah. love ii. for it
has such possibilities. and ii must yield
in time. And then the whisky mcn-l
cannot bear tn have them think me
beaten. driven cut. defeated. And in
addition 10 all the rest have n feeling
that cod has q wonderful blessing in
store for me and the church very soon.
and cannot Danish the feeling that if
| accept the call To FairVicW ! should
always he haunted by that ghost of
Duty murdered and run away from
which would mako me unhappy in all
my future work. Dear little Woman,'
Philip went on as he drew his Wfc'S
head down and kissed her tcudcrly.
Will" tears ot disappointment fell from
her-'littlc woman. Won know YOU
are the dearest Of all earthly beings to
me. And my Soul tells me the reason
YOU loved me enough Ia share carthS
troubles with me was that you knew |
could not be a coward in the face Of
my duty. my conscience and my God.
Is it not So:'
Tho answer came IN sob of mingled
anguish and happiness:
"Ycs. Philip. but it was only for your
sake | wanted YOU to leave This work.
Ii is killing you. Yct"-and she lifted
her head. with smile through al the
tcarS-"yet. Philip. WHITTIER thou gocSt
| will so. and where thou lodg">t
will lodge; thy people shall be my pco-
pie and thy God my God. Where thou
dicst will die, and there will | be
buried; the Lord do so to mo and more
also if aught but death part thee and
me.
There were people in Milton who
could not understand how a person of
such refined and even naturally cNpen-
sive and luxurious habits as the minis
tcr'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 ii to any one who knew
tho minister and his wife ms they really
were. That was u 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 had gone out. and TO the few
intimate friends who asked him about
It he did not deny. but he said little.
The time was precious to him. He
plunged into the work with an enthu-
siasm 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 culver a hundred times
day as he went his way through ii all.
His study of the whole question led
him to the conviction that one Of the
great needs of the place was IA new
home life for the people. The tenc-
ments were owned and rented by men
of wealth and influence. Many of
these men were in the church. Dis
couraged as he had so often been in
his cndcaVor to get the moneycd men
of the congregation to conSecratc their
property 10 Christian uses. Philip came
up to that first Sunday with Il new
phase of the same great subject which
pressed SO hard for utterance thar he
could not keep il back.
As he faced the church this morning
he faced an audience composed of very
conflicting elements. Representatives
of labor We're conspicuous in the gal
leries. People whom he had assisted
at one time and another were scattered
through the house mostly in the back
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 him preach. The incident of
the sections application for member
ship ana his rejection by vote had also
told somewhat in favor of the minister.
Many preachers would have resigned
hiter such scene. He had said his
say about II and then refused to speal,
or he interviewed by the papers ON the
subject What ii cost him in suffering
was his own secret But this morning.
as lie rose to give his message in the
person of Christ. the thought of the
continued suffering aud shame ana