The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-15

| about 1t now. N
Tomorrow the great meeting Of thost
! who still believed Christ died and rose
again form the dead was to be held,
Tho terrible REPORT" had been rs
sued During the forty hours OF
ginning to crumble away. To-morrow the
Church Militant must speak TO the world.
1t was said, moreover, that the great
wave If infldeity and mockery which was
sweeping hourly over the coN,try would
culminatc In great riot -morrow. :
Everything seemed dark, black, hope-
less -.
Hc picked up tho Report once more
to study It, as he had done fifty times
that day.
But before he opened 1t he knott in
prayer.
AS he prayed, so sweet and certain mn
assurance came to him, he seemed SO
very near to the Lord, that doubt anu
gloom fled before that Presence,
What were logic. proofs of stone-work,
the reports of nrchacoogists, to This?
Here In this lonely chamber Christ was.
and spoke with His servant. bidding him
be Of good comfort.
With bright eyes full Of the glow, Of
ono who walks with God. the priest
opened the pamphlet once more.
CHAPTER VII.
THE HOUR OF CHAOS.
Although during tho first days of the
Darkness, hundreds of thousands Of
Christian mon and women were chilled
almost TO spiritual death, and although
the lamp of Faith was ilckering very
low, 1t was not in London that the far
reaching effects of tho discovery at Je-
r,lsalem were most INN ediat cly; apparent.
In that great City there is an outward
indifference, bred of Il million different
interests. which has something akin to
the supreme Indifference Of Nature. The
many voices mover blend into one. SO that
the err may near them In a single mighty
shout.
But In the grimmer North public opin-
ion IS heard more readily and Is more
quickly visible. In the great centers Of
executive toll the vital truths Of religion
seem to enter moro mistakenly into the
lives of men and women whose environ
ment presents them with fewer distrac-
lions than elsewhere. Often indeed this
interest is a political Interest, rather than
q deeply Christian one--a matter of con-
trovcrsy rather than feeling. Certain It
Is that all questions affecting religious be-
liefs loom large and have n real innpor-
TANGO in the cities Of the North.
1t was "Wednesday evening at Walk
town.
Mr.. Byars was reading the service.
The huge, ugly church was lit with rows'
of gas jets. arranged In coronae painted
u drab green. But the priests voice,
strained and worn. echoed sadly
and with "a melancholy cadence
though the great barn-like place. Two
or three girls couple of men, and half
n dozen boys made up the choir, which
had dwindled to less than fifth of It's
usual size. The organ was silent.
Right down the church, those in the
chnnaal ssn, row upon row of cushioned
empty seats. Here and there n small
group of people broke the chilling monot-
ony of line. hut the worshippers We're
| very few. In the galleries an occasional
! couple, almost secure from observat ton,
| Whispered to each other. Tho church
was warm, the seats not uncomfortable:
| It was better to flirt here than In the
| cold frost-bound streets. eH
Never had Evensong been so cheerlesa
and gloomy, even in that vast unlovely
building. There was no sermon. The
vicar was suffering under such obvious
| strain, he looked so worn and III, that
| even this lifeless congregation seemed 10
| feel It relief when the blessing was
| said and II was free to shuttle out into
| tho promenade of the streets.
The harsh trumpeting Of Mr.. Philemon,
| the vestry clerks final Amen" was al
most jubilant.
AS Mr.. Byars walked home he saw
! that the three great Unitarian chapels
| which he had to pass Ell route were
| blazing with light. Policemen were stand
! ing at tho doors to prevent the entrance
| OF any more people into tho overcrowdcd
| buildings a tremendous life and energy
| pulsated within these buildings, CHANGING
| back, with bitter sigh, the vicar saw
that the lights In st, Thomas We're al
I ready extnguished. and the tower, In
which tho illuminated clock glowed sui
| lenly. rose stark and cold into the dark
winter sky
Tho last chapel OF all. the Pembroke
| Rond Chapel, had n row of finely mp
| pointed carriages waiting outside the
| doors, The horses We're covered with
| cloths, the grooms and conchmen wore
| furs. and the breaths of men aud beasts
/ alike poured out In streams Of blue
vapour. These men itamped UP and
down tho gravel sweep In front OF the
chapel and swung their arms in ordef
| to keep warm
On each side of tho great polished ma
hoganv doors were large plncards
printed In black and rcd. wildly ilumi
mated by electric nrc lights. These an
nounced that on that night Mr.. Con
stantine Schunbc, NJ r., would lecture
on the recent discovery In Jerusalem
| The title Of the lecture. in staring hlacl
type. seemed to Mr. Byars ms II It pos
eussed m almost physical bower. I
struck him like n blow,
TIE DOWNFALL or CHRISTIANITY
And then in smaller tyne,
ANTHRoPoMoRPHTsM AN EXPLoD