The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-12-24
A BRAND FROM THE BURNING.


There was a man, said the skeptic,
who was seated IN front OF the open fire
AZ the club who had the courage Of his
convictions. There was no scare in him.
even when death beckoned and finally
sripped him
Yes assented the halfway skeptic at
the other side of the fireplace. ~Oid Page
was certainly consistent atheist. did
not hear anything about his death bed.
but I suppose he died in the spirit in
which he lived He vas built that way.
a man with an ascetic face and with a
coat OF clerical cut stood between The
speakers. He is the rector of little
Episcopal church slowed away in d pow
erty-stricken district Of the city. lie is
a club member and moves IN the smart
set when he isn't working in the Sums.
The smart 81 and the club get about
one-tenth of his time. though. as he often
confesses, he believes that they stand in
sharper need OF his missionary work than
Go most of the dwellers in the district in
which he casts nine-tenths Of his lot
You say, Nelson" said the rector. ad-
dressing the first speaker. that Old Page
at death had the courage of his convic-
tons. You never said a truer word IN
your life; he did have. know something
about II, because the hospital where he
died is in my district ana on my daily
here very long and doesn't know the
whole story Of Pages life. I know ali
about it.
You see, Old Page was q bibliophile
from the day ne first saw the letter A in
his picture alphabet as a baby. Tie man
was actually book crazy. Some of the
first books that he read and loved were
agnostic in tendency This led him 10
read absolutely atheistical works and fin
ally his book-c0llecting mania turned to-
ward volumes of that class. Old Page
probably had the finest collection OF
Shelley, VoItaire Payne and the skeptic
scientists books that were ever held by
the book shelves of any private house.
Do you know that il was Page boast
that he had never read q religious work
i'm his life: that ne had never turned the
pages of a Bible nor seen the inside of a
book of common prayer He chose every
thing except what 1, in humble imitation,
call the better part Page would go
without food if it were necessary TO buy
some rare first edition of a work with q
faith undermining tendency. There was
clergyman one day bolder than the rest
who went to the bib!ophile and said
why don't you collect and read both
sides. Mr.. Pager
q" The reason is, parson,' said Page,
that there is only one side
THAT answer showed better than any
thing else the mans bent of mind. You
may have heard, perhaps. that he was a
great friend of Evarts, another collector,
but who bought and brought together
books of eli kinds. irrespective Of the ma
ture of the teachings which they con-
tanned It was Pages wont to sneer a
little at the missals, the Old Fathers. the
Brooches Bible and the rest that Evarts
had on his shelves cheek by jOwl. so &c
speak with VoItaire and our other unbe-
lieving friends. Now Page knew Evarts
library and the lay of the books as well
as did the owner himself. Page used to
go 10 his friends home, take out a certain
copy of Voltaire and look at it yearning-
~ and lovingly for hours at time. II
was the only yoltaire which he himself
did not possess. He knew this little book
was the first one of the series of atheistic
and sgnostic volumes in Evarts' posses
sion. The book next it at the left on the
shelf was the last one OF the religious and
theological volumes When Page picked
up this particular Voltaire he would care
fully brush of the left-hand cover with
his handkerchief to remove contamina-
ton Yes. he was a consistent atheist, all
rig-t He toi4 Evarts once that ne would
give his right arm to possess that Vol
taire, and that he thought If pressed foI
more payment that he'd sacrifice his right
leg along with the arm.
''Well. YOU know it was only two weeks
ago that Evarts' house caught fire. The
flames started in the basement and spread
rapidly. The old frame structure was like
finder. Page lived only block from his
friend 3 house. and he reached the scene
or the fire as quickly as did the firemen
The flames had eaten from the basement
through the flooring into the library. The
frrrr 81 "a 81
outside in the street with a look of pa
thetic misery in his face and with his
thoughts fixed on his burning books
Page grasped his arm and fairly howled
In his ear. That Voltaire win be lost
I In another instant and before he could
be detained. Page had darted up the front
steps of the burning building. A fireman
dashed after him. but was driven back by
sheet Of fame. Page was inside Hell
get nothing but death there, was tbs
thought Weighing on every heart. il
seemed an age. but il probably wasn'i
+ forty seconds before out from the shroud-
/ ing smoke and leaping flames the biblio-
/ phile appeared holding a little book tight
~ to his breast His hair and clothing
were ablaze and he was frightfUlly
burned.
The fireman picked up Old Page ten.
DERBY and carried him TO an ambulance
4
! I have got the Voltaire' he said. and. de-
spite the feebleness OF his voice, there
was a ring of triumph in It. They tool
him to the hospital and did what they
could for him. but he had inhaled fame
and death was only a question OF few
days. They thought he was unconsciou.
at one time. and one OF the nurses at
tempted to remove the book which Pag'
/ had saved from the flames. Fiercely b,
said. Leave IT,.
Then with sort Of removed strentf
he lifted the volume and opened IL. II.
stared at il almost blanlzly for a minute
and then an astonishmcnt came into hi'
+ face. 1 do not knew whether Page. hihiiO
phile and atheist. saw the hand Of God r.
{ fl or not. but the book that he had saved
) at the cost OF his own life, but let me SAY
70 the salvation OF his soul, was not
4 rare edition Of Voltaire, but a cheap copy
/ of the priceless Gospel OF Jesus Christ.
suffering as he was. he read the boob
( for the first time in his life. and believed
( / baptized him one hour before be died
/ He called in all his atheist friends 20 wit
ness the sacrament. Oh yes. Old Fsg'
! had the courage Of his convictions.
EDWARD 3. CLARK