The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1907-03-28
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3 Old Bottles and New Wine 1
&%S BY SHAN r. BULLOCK M
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Copyright, by Joseph b. Bowlcsl
BY SHAN r. BULLOCK

Copyright by ]
Twilight was falling through the
autumn evening when we pushed out
the black punt and set forth across
the lake
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 IL 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 goodly company. From
far and near people had gathered to
do Daniel honor. Clackan filed half
the room; Gorteen gave its 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 wlnd-faccs 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
fist form.
There followed hymn then chap
ter from Isaiah. read well and feel
ingly; then third hymn, and
shorter and more personal prayer, in
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:
odd things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new" He re-
peated it as If to Mary and himself,
and then closed his Bible, laid ii on
the table, and began.
He opened confidently, with the
surety of youth and the fiuency 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 a mountain, so
quick that one might hardly follow
them, so insistent that one almost felt
them wbirl. | 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 | 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-
tious 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, filed
with those old things; now, having
browsed happily, he had come back
shining with new things. Clackap
was a dear place, its people worthy;
but time had moved on, leaving 1t
bound in ignorance. Such changes
had come upon the world; such won
ders been revealed of late in the do
mains of knowledge! 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 old
1ead things; here among us were
hose wonderful new things, quick n
perative, claiming, said Daniel. In a
whirl Of words, fullest consideration
Of all Christian men.
To the consideration of these, there
fore, Daniel passed; and before him
we ignorant loughsiders sat dumb, our
faces set and hard Boldly he tramp
pied on our ignorance; boldly would
and reading he drew upon. striving to
give us true knowledge. We were
narrow, prejudiced, intolerant; behold
this new spirit of the age which should
make us free. All men were broth.
ers. One Christian soul was as good
as another. Our ideas of religion
we're antiquated. Our conception of
Sod was childish. We had vain no.
tons of heaven and hell; we read our
Bible ignorantly; we had never grasp
ed the real spirit of Christ's message
to the world.
Had Daniel stood in some city pull
pit, doubtless everything he said
would have won approval; but he was
preaching in hillside parlor to an ig-
norant little company, and he did
foolishly and we misunderstood him.
and set our faces against him in pity
ing scorn. This our Daniel? This
he man we had trusted and loved
This the result of education and
knowlpdpao All tho channa tbo,,,.l i.