The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-08-13
BY WILHELM LAMszUs

Master of a large public school
I'm Gernany.)
Copyright, 1918, by the Fred
erick A. stokes Co.)
CHAPTER III
We rejoined the eolors Fri
day. On Monday we are to
move out. To-day. being Sunday,
is full-dress church parade.
slept badly last night, and
am feeling uneasy and limp.
And now we are sitting close
packed In church.
The organ is playing a valun-
tary.
am leaning back and strain
ing my ears for the sounds in
the dim twilight of the building.
Childhood's days rise before my
eyes again. am watching
little solemn-faced boy sitting
crouched in a corner and listen
ing to the divine service. fhe
priest is standing in front of the
altar. and is intoning the Ex-
hortation devoutly. The choir is
the gallery in chanting the re-
sponses. The organ thunders out
and floods through the building
majectically. l am rapt in es-
tacy of sweet terror, for the Lord
God Is coming down upon us.
He is standing before me and
touching body, so that | have
to close my eyes in a terror of
shuddering ecstacy.
That il long, long ago, and
L. II mast and dnnn With ae
youth itself is past aud done.
StrangeI After all these years
of doubt and unbelief. at this
moment of lucid consciousness,
the atmosphere of devoutness,
long since dead, possesses me,
and thrills me so passionately
that | can hardly resist IL. This
is the same twilight-these are
the same yearning angel voices
the same fearful senses of rap
ture-
I pull myself together, and
sit bolt upright on the hard
wooden pew.
In the main and side isles De
low, and In the galleries above,
nothing but soldiers in uniform,
and all, with level faces, turned
toward the altar. toward the pale
man in his long dignified black
gown, toward that sonorous une-
tuous mouth, from whose lips
flows the name OF God.
Looki He is now stretching
forth his hand. We incline our
heads. He IL pronounefng the
benedietion over us in a voice
that echoes from the tomb. He
IA blessing up in the name OF
God, the Merciful. He Is bless
fns our rifles that they may not
fail us; he IL blessing the wire
drawn guns on their patent re-
coflIess carriages; he Is blessing
every precious cartridge, lest a
single bullet be wasted, lest any
pass idly through the air; that
each one may account for a hun
dred human beings. may shatter
a hundred human beings stimuli
taneously. =
Father In Heaven. Thou are
gazing down at ms IN such ter
rfbEe silence. DOst Thou shud-
der at these sons OF men? Thou
poor and slight Godi Thou
couldst only rain Thy PaItry
pitch and sulphur ON sodorn and
Gomorrah. But We. Thy chill
dren, whom Thou hast created.
we are going to eSteruainste
them By hizh-pressure machinery
and butcher whole cities I'm fac
tories. Here We stand. and while
We stretch our hands to Thy Son
An prayer and cry Hosssanshi we
are hurting shells and sehrapnei
On the face Of Thy Image. and
shooting the son Of Man down
from His Gross like = target nc
the rffiebutfs-
And now the Holy Communion
r. being celebrated. The organ IL
playing mysteriously from afar
off. and the flesh and blood OF
the Redeemer II mingiing With
our flesh and blood
There He fs hanging on the
Cross shove me, and gazing down