Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1902-12-20

who had not Stirred out 81 the house
all day. He had watched by Clara
faithfully. She was still in that mys-
ferrous condition Of Inconsistencies
which made her case SO puzzling to the
doctor. s.'&7: g.. 30
Il Mr.. Hardy hesitated a moment, then
said: mo, George. would like to
have you 60 with me. Alice can do all
that is necessary. But let us all pray
together now before we go out. The
Lord is leading us mysteriously, but
we shall some time know the reason
why" -
So In the room where Clara lay they
all kneeled down except Will. who lay
upon lounge near his unconscious
sister. Mr.. Hardy as he clasped his
wife's hand in his own poured out his
soul in this petition:
"Dear Lord, we know thou dost loye
Us, even though we cannot always
know why thou dost allow suffering
and trouble, and we would thank thee
for the things that cannot be destroy
ed, for the loves that cannot suffer
death, for the wonderful promises of
the life to come. Only we have been
so careless of the things that belong to
thy kingdom. We have been so selfish
and forgetful Of the great needs and
sufferings and sins of earth. Pardon
us, gracious Redeemer. Pardon me,
for am the chief offender. Yea, Lord.
even as the robber on the cross was
welcomed into paradise, welcome thou
me. But we pray for, our dear ones.
May they recover. Make this beloved
one who now lies unknowing among
us to come back into the universe of
sense and sound, to know us and smile
upon us again.
eve say, Thy will be DONE Grand
wisdom. for thou knowest best. Only
our hearts will cry out for help, and
thou knowest our hearts better than
any one else. Bless me this night as l
stand before the people. This is no
selfish prayer, dear Lord. desire only
thy glory; pray only for thy kingdom.
But thou hast appointed my days to
live. Thou hast sent me the message,
and I cannot help feeling the solemn
burden and joy Of it.
II will say to the people that thou
art most important of all il this habi-
tation of the flesh. And now bless US
all. Give us new hearts, Make us to
feel the true meaning Of existence
here. Reveal to us thy splendor. For
give all the past and make impossible
in the children the mistakes Of the par
ent. Deliver us from evil, and thine
shall be the kingdom forever. Amen"
When Mr.. Hardy and George reach
ed the town hall, they found a large
crowd gathering. They had some diff
sulty in gaining entrance. Mr.. Hardy
at once passed up to the platform,
where the chairman Of the meeting
greeted him and said he would expect
him to make some remarks during the
evening.
Robert sat down at one end of the
platform and watched the hall fill with
people, nearly all we'll known to him.
There was all unusually large crowd
OF boys and young men, besides large
gathering Of his own men from the
shops, together with a great number of
citizens and. business men, a repre-
sentative audience for the place,
brought together under the influence
of the disaster and feeling somewhat
the breaking down Of artificial social
distinctions in the presence of the grim
leveler Death, who had come so near to
them the last few days.
There were the usual opening exer-
cises common to such public gather
ings. Several we'll known business
men and two or three of the ministers,
including Mr.. Jones, made appropriate
| addresses. The attention Of the great
audience was not labored for, the &C.
casion itself being enough to throw
over the people the spell of subdued
quiet. :
When the chairman announced that
''Mr. Robert Hardy, our we'll known
! railroad manager, will now address
| u.s." there was movement Of curiosi-
| ty and some surprise, and many man
leaned forward and wondered in his
| heart what the wealthy railroad man
would, have to say on such an occasion.
He had never appeared as a speaker
in public, and he passed generally in
Barton for the. cold, selfish, naughty
man he had always been.