Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1910-01-27

| me zimmerman turned his searcn-
ing eyes kindly on Mantel's face and
said, "And how is 1t with thee, my
friend; hast thou the peace of God ?"
The directness Of the question star
| tied the gambler. Il have no peace OF
any kind; my heart is full OF storms
and my life is a ruin" he answered,
sadly.
Did thee never notice." said the
lumberman, gently, how nature loves
to reclaim ruin "
I shall never be reclaimed. have
gone too far. I have often tried to
find the true way Of life, and prayed
for q single glimpse Of light! Have
you ever heard how Zeyd used to
spend hours leaning against the wall
of the Kaaba and praying, Lord, II l
knew in what manner thou wouldst
have me adore thee, 1 would obey
thee; but I do not! Obi give me
light' have prayed that prayer with
all that agony, but, to me, the uni
verse Is dark as hell"
There is light enough! II is eyes
we need!" said the evangelist.
Light! Who has it? Many think
they have, but it Is mere fancy. They
mistake the shining of rotten wood for
f1re!"
And sometimes men have walked
in the light without seeing it. as fish
swim in the sea and birds flying in
the air, might say, Where is the scar
Where Is the air?"
But what comfort is It, II there Is
light and I cannot see It? There
might as well be no light at ALL"
"The bird never knows 1t has wings
until 1t tries them! We see, not by
looking for our eyes, but by looking
out of them. We say of a little child
that it has to find its legs Some men
have to find their eyes"
TT is an art. then, to see? Can you
impart that capacity and teach that
art?"
mo. it must be acquired by each
man for himself. We can only tell
others we see we see by faith"
"And what is faith?"
TT Is a power of the soul as much
higher than reason as reason is high
er than sense"
Some men may possess such pow
er, but I do not"
You at least have an Imagination"
yes"
well, faith is but the Imagination
spiritualized."
Mantel regarded the man who spoke
in these terse and pregnant sentences
with astonishment. This" said he,
'is not the same language in which
you addressed the people in the Bat
vi l. = 10 III
Iosopher Do all lumbermen in the
west speak thus?"
The evangelist Legan to reply, but |
was interrupted by David, who now
burst out in a sudden exclamation of |
joy and gratitude. He had been too |
busy with reflections and memories to
participate actively in the conversa-
tion, for this startling incident had |
disclosed to him the whole slow and |
hidden movement of the providence of |
his life towards this climax and op-
portunity. He was profoundly moved |
by a clear conviction that divine |
hand must have planned and superin-
tended this whole web of events, and |
had Intentionally led him from con
templating the tragic issue of his sin
III ueeuS anu QGSlTbSi u lIllS NlSlOH
Of the good he had done in the better |
of his life.
With that instantaneous movement |
In which his disordered conceptions Of |
life invariably reformed themselves,
the chaotic events of the past shifted |
themselves into a purposefu1 and COM
orehensible series, and revealed be-
yond peradventure the hand of God
And as this conclusion burst upon
him, he broke into the conversation Of
dantel and the lumberman with the
warmest exclamations of gratitude and
happiness
They talked long time in the quiet
hight, asking and answering questions.
The two friends besought the evan
yelist to accompany them to their
.ooms, but he said:
q have given you my message and
must pass on. My work Is to bear
estimony. I SOW the seed and leave
is cultivation and the harvest to 9TH
RS"