Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-06-18

stern lie cUuIG not help feeling that
this elegant man of leisure could have
done great deal to alleviate the hor-
rors in his tenements, possibly have pre-
vented this tragedy, if he, had sacrificed
some of his personal ease and luxury to
better the condition of the people in his
district
Penrose turned to Dr.. Bruce:
Doctor, - he exclaimed, and there
was almost a child's terror in his voice,
II came to say that I have had an ex-
perience so unusual that nothing but
the supernatural can explain it. You
remember I was one Of those who took
the pledge to do as Jesus, would do. [
thought at the time, poor fool that L
was, that [ had all along been doing the
Christian thing. I gave literally out Of
my abundance to the church and char
ity. I never gave myself to cost me any
suffering. [ have been living in per-
feet hell Of contradictions ever since
took the pledge My little girl, Diana,
you remember; also. took the pledge
with me. She has BEEN asking me a.
great many questions lately about the
poor people and where they lived I was.
obliged to answer her: Two'of her ques-
tons last night touched my sore. Did I
own any houses where those. people
lived? Were they nice and warm like
ours2 You know how a child will ask
questions like these: [ went to bed tor
mented with what I now know to, be-
the divine arrows of conscience. could
not sleep [ seemed to see the Judgment
day. Z was placed before the Judge. [
was asked to give account of my deeds
done in the body. How many sinful
souls had visited in prison2 What had
I done with my stewardship How
about those tenements where people
froze in winter and stifed in summer?
Did give any thought to them, except
to receive the rentals from them?
Where did my suffering come in?
Would Jesus have done as I had done
and was doing? Had I broken my
pledge? How had used the money and
the culture and the social influence
possessed? Had I used them to bless
humanity, to relieve the suffering, to
bring JOY to the distressed and hope to
the Responding? [ had received much.
How much had I given2
''All this came to me in a waking
vision as distinctly as I see you two
men and myself now. [ was unable to
see the end of the vision. had con-
fused picture in my mind of the suffer
ing Christ pointing a condemning finger
at me, and the rest was shut out by
mist and darkness. [ have not had sleep
for "A hours. The first thing I saw this
morning was the account of the shoot
ing at the coalyards. [ read the account
with feeling Of horror have not been
able to shake off. [ am guilty creature
before God.
Penrose paused suddenly. The two
men looked at him solemnly. What
power of the Holy Spirit moved the
soul of this hitherto self satisfied, ele-
CANT, cultured man who belonged to
the social life that was accustomed to
go it's way, placidly unmindful of the
great sorrows of great city and prac-
tically ignorant Of what it means to
suffer for Jesus sake?
Into that room came a breath such as
before swept over Henry Mazwell's
church and through Nazareth Avenue,
and the bishop laid his hand on the
shoulder of PenrOse and said My
brother, God has been very near to you.
Let us thank him.
Eyes, yes, sobbed Penrose. lie sat
down on chair and covered his face.
The bishop prayed. Then Pen~oso quiet
ly said, "Will you so with me to that
house %
For answer both DR.. Bruce and the
bishop put on their Overco&ts and went
out with him TO the home of the dead
man family. This was the be. ming
of new and strange life for Clarence
Penrose. From the moment he J2rped
into that wretcha1 howell of a home and
faced for the first time in his life de
spair and suffering such as he had read
of, but did not know by personal con-
tact, he dated new life. It would be
another long story to tell how, in obedi
ence to his pledge, he began to do with
his tenement property as he knew Jesus
would do. What would Jesus do with
tenement property if he owned it in
Chicago or any other great city of the
world Any man who can imagine any
true answer to this question can easily
tell what Clarence Penrose began to do
To he oOn f;11ayod