Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-02-13

Salvation Army bonnet was raised,
wholly unmndful of all the people in
that great multitude-.'our hearts are
longing tonight .aT lost souls who have
wandered fa.f,Si.y from home. And
we know tia; thoa art sorrowing over
/ them now because thou art the Good
Shepherd o Lord Jesus, we want you
To come down here tonight and lead
some of these sheep into the fold. Some
of them are so bruised and torn with
sin that they will have to be carried;
but. 0 Lamb of God, that takest away
the sin of the world, we know you are
| strong and can bear them in the arms
of infinite love over rough places, be-
side the chasms of satan and through
| the wild torrents of death. oh, for the
cross of Calvary to be stretched out
! like great arm to save tonight! Oh,
| FOR the sweet forgiveness of sin to
touch these human hearts right now.
| o Son of Mary, our hearts are bleed
! ing! We are weary to death of the
long delayed coming Of the miracle Of
| redemption in these souls of men. Oh,
bless us with the blood OF the dying
| sayiour! Oh, raise us into new life
| with him who defied hell and death, al
though they were two to one! Jesus,
want you to come tonight. These
men. these women. how precious they
are. Who can tell what will be their
fate if they should be called out of the
world tonight? Their mothers, Lord
Jesus-these strong young men, some
| of them. have mothers praying for
| them. Oh. have dreamed of the ter
ror of the Judgment for those who re-
| ject the Saviour! We are so in need of
the power here and now. Open our
eyes like those of the young man to.
see the horses and chariots of fire
around about tonight. Save with the
blood that was shed for all. Come
| now. Lord Jesus. We have followed.
Make good the promise. Yes, we want
some souls. We are hungry for some
TO cry out, Saved, savedv We want
TO go triumphant into the Judgment.
We want to sing halleluiah before the
great white throne with some of these
poor lost sinners here by the side of
us joining in the chorus with US. Oh,
| wash their sins away in the precious
blood! Save them. save them, Lord
Jesus"
1t was not so much the words Of the
prayer as its intense self forgetful spir-
it that impressed Stuart as never in all
his life before. He was not Christian
in the sense that he had ever confessed
or Joined church. He had reverent
nature, and he had always lived by a
code of morality that was for him sufil-
Gent. He was too well educated, or he
thought he was, to be moved by any
thing purely emotional or coarse like
the Salvation Army and its drums and
| shouts. But this was different, some-
how. The self forgetfulness, the self
surrender, the agonizing longing for
souls to be saved, all this was part of
the prayer as it swept up past him
from the slight womanly form kneeling
there. And never mall his experience,
never in all his saunterings through
great cathedrals and listening to Grant
ed services, had he felt nearer to
truer knowledge Of what God is in his
great compelling love for sinful man..
All this took very little time, and he
had liz thc,.sht of acting in any way
OF his feelings. But while the woman
was still on her knees a thing happened
that in the end deepened his conviction
and changed the course of possible
events among the miners themselves.
The crowd was so large that only a
very few could hear or see what was
going on about the little band then at
the foot Of the church steps. 1t was
true-at least it had been up to this
time--that the Salvation Army In
Champion had great influence over the
miner 1t was true still, but the de-
nluH 81 drink was abroad this night,
and there Is always a large and unset
Ting factor to reckon on when that is
the case. The men nearest the little
squad were pressed hard by those ON
the outside who wanted to see and hear
what was going on. To prevent being
showed bodily upon the little company
the miners all the while the prayer
was being offered were silently exert
ing their great. strength to keep the
mob back. Before the kneeling figure
could rise, however, a knot of drunken
men burst through the circle which had
been formed around her, and one OF
them with a kick sent his heavy boot
through the drum, and another stag
gered, with drunken oath, close up to
the woman and raised his fist. Stuart,
as he saw the face, thought that the
rum crazed man imagined the kneeling
figure to be that Of his own wife, who
had more than once begged him on her
knees to spare her and her children
To be continued.