Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-23

a
ago when he is able TO under
stand it.
The result was exactly as might have
been expected. The man. whose sense Oh
the true and beautiful had only just come
into being, was entranced by the peau'9
and majesty of the greatest DOCK Ill the
world. Its words satisfied all the IN
definite longings of his heart
But, tonight. he turned over It's
pages in the hope of finding some COM
fort. he failed to discover that for WHICH
he sought. He read several paSSdSfs'
which he had marked in pencil but they
only rose up in witness against him-
There was the parable of the rich young
man.
GO. sell that thou hast and give to the
moor" And then. ut is easier for
camel to go through the eye or needle
than for rich man to enter into the
kingdom Of God"
And then the story of Dives and Lag
ar,Is and so on. and so on. Every pas
sage was marked. and every word seemed
10 accuse him. He had entered into a
compact with the richest man in the
world to overthrow the god of riches.
Eye cannot serve God and Mammon."
That text seemed to be written in let
tiers of flame. He closed the book and
fell upon his knees in prayer Give me
strength. o God" he cried strength to
conquer all the evil that L have to over
come. Give me guidance in my Difficult
ties. Teach me the way that l must go:
mental and bodily conflict. he blew out
the candle and lay down on his rugs TO
sleep,
He wrapped the thin covering round
him and pressed his head on the unyleld-
ing pillow. but he could not sleep. Inc
air round him seemed TO chill his body.
and the hard floor seemed like slab or
ice. His brain was still active and rest
less and the events of the day were pho
tographed clearly in the darkness
He had achieved a great victory; ne
had enlisted a great power on his side;
a tremendous battle doomed In the near
future. in which one man was gong 10
grip the whole press in his hand ana
turn 1t against the worship of money and
luxury and pleasure. Yet he was not
content He felt that he had sacrificed
something in the desire to conquer. Yet
what he had lost was Intangible and he
could not give name to It,
I'VE cannot serve God and Mammon.
That was the text that echoed In his
brain He wondered if it were possible to
make MammOn the servant of God.
And then a tender little face rose before
his eyes flushed. beautiful little face.
framed in costly furs. willful. yet fresh
and innocent as a flower. And once more
his mind harked back to Gaunt Royal and
the grim cliffs that faced the sea-
He could not understand tho connection
and he concentrated all his mind upon
this curious coincidence. Why should the
face of the little girl have reminded him
of his home in Wales?
And then slowly out of the darkness
there rose the clear vision of room and
a picture which hung upon the wall. 1t
was portrait of his aunt. Gladys Gaunt.
painted by a local genius. She had always
been reckoned one of the beauties of the
family. and even at the age of fourteen
she was thought worthy of being immor-
talized on canvas. He recalled the hid
eous dress of this early Victorian period.
and the sweet, childish face, which had
made even the dress seem beautiful.
And as he remembered. he sprang to
his feet and struck at the darkness with
his hands, though he were face to
face with some enemy that he could not
see.
What terror lurked there in the dark
ness? What vision more real and sub
stantial than any of his dreams OF
new world? What was it that he feared !?
Was Ii more than phantom of his brain?
Was he the victim of overwrought nerves
and a diseased imagination?
The face of a child, beautiful and limo
cent-a resemblance to certain old pic
ture which hung in one of the rooms at
Gaunt Royal-that was all: nothing, sure
~. to strike fear into the heart OF a man.
Such condolences were com mon enough.
Nearly every portrait OF the dead has its
counterpart among the living Besides,
his Aaunt Gladys had not been the pos
SCISSOR of a typical Gaunt face.
The man paced to and fro across the
room I'm the darkness. fighting down the
wild idea which had come into his mind.
The simple coincidence might not have
troubled him. But there was another fact
which had TO be considered. There was
the woman herself. the mother of the
child by former husband Something in
the woman's face and voice had reminded
him of the past But fifteen years work
great changes. and there is little of the
girl left in the worldly woman of thirty
three.
TT is monstrous. impossible he said
TO himself. THE betrayed woman sinks
she does not rise. She dies of shame and
starvation: she does not become the wife
OF the richest man in the world. Besides
there was a former husband. Lampirthy
would have satisfied himself of that; he
Is practical man of the world. He
would not give his name and fortune to d
it is a fancy of mailman"
He stopped and pressed his hands over
saw in the darkness. And then he held
his breath and listened. He fancied he
heard a voice.
May the dead rise UP against me and
destroy me If do not keep my oath
The words were faint, but very distinct.
They sounded if they were spoken a
long way off through a megaphone.
And as he listened TO them the atmoS-
phere of the room seemed to become hot
and sitting and the darkness was heavy.
like sheet of lead. His heart beat
furiously and there was n singing in his
ears. He gave cry of fear and rushing
10 the window, threw it open and breathed
in the cold. fresh air.
81 am going mad" he cried he
clasped his hands and looked up at the
starlit sky. II must be calm; ] must
pray. On. God, be merciful TO me, sin
ner,'
The awful thought that his brain was
giving away possessed him He shivered
as though stricken with ague; a cold
sweat gathered on his forehead; his whole
body covered, as though he awaited some
terrible blow. Was ii possible that God
was going to punish him with madness?
Was all this religious enthusiasm only
The mania of a disordered brain? The
laws of nature were inexorable; no re-
pentance. no atonement. could prevail
against them. Years of excess drain out
both bodily and mental strength. In both
the natural and spiritual world there is
written the same remorseless decree.
The wages of sin is death.
All round him Gaunt saw the darkness
and the lights of great city. the city he
was going TO save from ruin. All these
millions were to hear the truth. They
were to be reused from their carnal sleep
rich. middle class and poor alike. He
had been chosen as the bearer of the mes
sage great work lay before him, "A
work which would occupy his whole life.
God had chosen him. unworthy instru-
ment though he was. God would give