Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-13

ways of earning livelihood. He no
longer had the money to provide so many
men with their daily bread. But those
who remained with him redoubled their
energy and worked without ceasing.
Give me strength. o God; give me
strength to conquer"
That was his daily. almost his hourly
PRAYER All he needed was strength.
both bodily and mental to carry on the
warfare. He had survived the onslaught
OF the press and the bitter hostility OF
the woman who had so much wealth that
her enmity was thing of real force He
was still a great name in the land. and
he still had power to move the multitudes
with his words. On every side of him he
saw the practical results of his preach
ing. Men and women were leading sim
pier lives. and were realizing that the
mind and the soul can find happiness
apart from anything that money can pur-
chase.
Yet he realized that everything de-
pended on his own bodily strength. on the
clearness of his thoughts. on the elo-
earnest workers for the cause. but so far
he had found no disciple of sufficient in
tellect to take his place. He was the
moving spirit in the whole crusade, the
central force which moved all the ma
chinery. He knew that if he ceased from
his labors everything would be thrown
into confusion. He could not rest. During
Mr.. Lampirthys lifetime he could have
rested for while and gone to the south
of France: but now, when all the forces
of the press were set against him, he
could not rest. He could not leave the
battlefield even for day. SO much de-
pended on his own personality Whlle
the millionaire was alive the work OF or
ganizaton was left to the man of bust
ness But now Father Francis was alone.
at a time when he needed something
more than piety or eloquence in his battle
with the world.
Yet the man was so stimulated by his
religious fervor that for six months he
contrived to carry on the fight with
fair chance of success.
But when each days work was over and
he needed rest his whole physical and
mental strength collapsed, and more than
once he felt desire to take his own life.
and put an end to the misery of the
sleepless hours of darkness. Only a
strong and genuine piety restrained MN
at these times of depression and despair.
The desire to kill himself frightened MIN.
1t was yet another ghost from the past
which had been so cruelty dragged to
light again. He tried to attribute it to
the revival of old associations and fought
against it like brave man.
So long as this mental and bodily col
lapse did not interfere with his daily
work he faced it with fortitude. He en-
dured the terrible visions Of the night
and believed that they were punishment
for his past sins.
But one Qdy, as lie " a NoS'
crowd which had gathered together on
the Sussex downs to hear him. he sud-
denly stopped in the middle of a sentence
and faced them with a look OF terror his
mind was blank. A second before his
brain had teemed with burning words and
keen arguments But now he could think
of nothing. He could not finish the SEN
tence he had begun; he could not even
frame another one to take Its place. For
more than a minute he was dumb. Ihen
cd n
poured them out in a jumple of wild
sentences. And then he ceased ana
PRAYED. and the sweat poured OH MS
body. for he was in an agony OF fear.
This was but the first Of many similar
occurrences. and by degrees Father Fran
els realized that he was face to face with
more terrible enemy than Mrs Lam
pirthy. Both body and brain were giving
way under the continual strain
He went to an eminent doctor in Lon
don. and listened to the same verdict
which he had received from the lips of
Sir David Llewellyn many months be-
fore
You must have rest--at least six
months rest"
But as he left the great physician he
knew that it was impossible for him to
rest If Mr.. Lampirthy had been alive.
even if Mrs. Lampirthy had been wiling
to help him with her wealth, he might
have been able to leave the fight for six
even for a day.
During the next month Father Francis
began to lose his hold on the people. He
lost it gradually but surely. At first his
lapses Of memory were greeted with pity
and compassion and his hearers prayed
that he might be restored to health. But
as the breakdowns became more fire.
uuent and more striking the men were
moved to laughter and the women were
frightened.
''He has sinned against Cod the more
pious said to each other. His work does
not meet with Gods approval. But the
coarser natures only laughed and brought
others to see the fun. There were even
those who found it amusing to watch the
white face working convulsively and note
the terror in the deep-sunken eyes. and
listen to the wild, incoherent words that
followed.
Woe unto you. blasphemers. Woe
INTO YOU that mock me! You eat and
drink and tomorrow you die! Weak and
helpless though I am, God will He
paused and a look of fear came into his
eyes. He passed his hand across his
forehead: his lips moved idiotically. The
audience roared with laughter.
He was preaching in an empty wagon
placed against a high and ugly wall. The
moon shone brightly in clear sky. Inn
mediately in front of him stood small
company of his disciples. bareheaded,
clothed in their brown robes, and set in
an orderly line as though about to march