Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1907-03-28

We were gliding through the twi-
light and the creeping mist away to-
ward Clackan and the cottage there,
in which Daniel was to prove himself
before us all.
Daniel! How well we remembered
him How short time it seemed
since the days when he had sat among
us in the school house there among
the trees. And now he was back from
college; and every one was proud of
him. and we, his old playmates, were
going to hear him preach the Word.
We made a goodly company. From
far and near people had gathered to
do Daniel honor. Clackan filled half
the room; Gorteen gave it's best and
'wisest In the second row from the
table sat Mary, Daniels sweetheart,
her father on this SIDE her mother on
that Everywhere one saw familiar
faces, stern and rugged, beaten with
rain and wind-faces that in the morn
ing had looked up at the minister
from the pews in Derryvad, and now
were turned upon the door watching
for sight OF Daniel.
Hush! The door opened, and lit
tie procession came in-the preacher
first, Daniel next, the family following
after one by one to their places on the
first form.
There followed hymn then a chap
ter from Isaiah, read well and feel
ingly; then a third hymn, and
oh nd oil N
which God was asked to bless the
preaching of his word; then min
ute of hustle. followed by dead hush
as Daniel rose.
His face was flushed, his lips trem-
bled a little; slowly he read text:
cold things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new" He re-
peated It as IL to Mary and himself,
and then closed his Bible, laid it on
the table. and began.
He opened confidently. with the
surety of youth and the fluency of one
well prepared. There was no hating;
in breath he was white-hot, brim-
ming with words. They came like a
torrent pouring down o mountain, so
quick that one might hardly follow
them, so insistent that one almost felt
them whirl. l sat amazed, whelmed
(you have seen willows bent toward
stream. or a weed bowed toward the
SUM; and already Daniel was deep,
and frowns had gathered on the
brows Of many. when of sudden the
glamour went. and l had plain see
ing.
What Daniel said have long forgot
ten Though men at Clackan will re-
peat much of 1t to you even to-day !;
but given the text and the occasion,
and you may easily guess the fash
ion of his discourses. 1t was just
what you might expect of an ambi-
tous youth gifted and not without ed
ucation come fresh from the pastures
of culture to shed light upon the
darkness of his native hills. Three
years ago Daniel had left us, filled
with those old things; now, having
browsed happily, he had come back
shining with new things. Clackan
was dear place, its people worthy;
but time had moved on, leaving it
had come upon the world; such won
ders been revealed of late in the do
mains of knowledgel There was this
wonderful theory of evolution. There
were those extraordinary discoveries
in science. There were these mar
velous doings of the higher criti
cism There was this new spirit OF
the age moving across the face of the
waters. Back there lay those ole
dead things; here among us were
those wonderful new things, quick, i'm
perative. claiming, said Daniel, in &
whirl of words, fullest consideration
of all Christian men.
To the consideration of these, there
fore, Daniel passed; and before hin
we ignorant loughslders sat dumb, oul
faces set and hard. Boldly he tramp
pied on our ignorance; boldly would
lead us into light All his learnin,
and reading he drew upon, striving t
give us true knowledge. We wer,
narrow, prejudiced, intolerant; behold
this new spirit of the age which Shout,
make us free All men were broth
,ers. One Christian soul was as goo
as another. Our ideas of religion
were antiquated. Our conception O
God was childish. We had vain nc
lions of heaven and hell; we read on
Bible ignorantly; we had never grasI
cd the real spirit of Christs messag
to the world.
Had Daniel stood in some city pu
pit, doubtless everything he sal
would have won approval; but he wa
preaching in hillside parlor to an Il
norant little company, and he di
foolishly, and we misunderstood hin
and set our faces against him in pit,
ing soorn. This our Daniel? Thi
the man we had trusted and loved
This the result of education an
knowledge? All, the shame, though
we; and Daniel, reading our thoughts
maybe, closed with rush, and SO