The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-10-14

SIoWiy utpOuT6u ana the uE6 swept Oh
| till the whole of the tiny ship was
alight soon all that remained was a
, few ashes scattered on the water.
The boys face was a study. He
looked thoroughly mystitied.
What was it you did, uncle? How
did yot make it catch fire r.
| Wen, Ronniea i am not clever
lenough to explain it all to you so
that you could understand it. You see
thissa lens is rounded, so instead of
the rays of light falling evenly as they
do through a window, they are gath
cred up i'm the center and the light
and the heat are concentrated. See
how very bright the light Is. Now
feel It," 44
And TrantOn focused it for MOI
ment on the back Of the boys brown
hand. 1t was suddenly, snatched away
as ROnnie exclaimed: 's} I
Oh, it's hot, uncle! Why doesn't
the sun set fire to things?n
/ 1T is such long way off. 1t is
Ial fame and fire just the same as
the little fire which burnt up the ship.
The lens brought the power and heat
of the sun quite near"
Tranton stopped, and an expression
dawned on his face it would be diff
cult to describe. His lips closed and
straightened and his eyes grew sud-
denly still as if he were either listen
ing intently or striving to grasp an
Ielusive idea. The laundering humble
bee still hummed in the hollyhoeks,
and the softened stir of the traffic
sounded across the. gardens.
| The boy, silenced by the wonder he
had seen, was trying to re-enact it,
bending with puckered brow and lower
lip held between tiny teeth.
But in that suburban garden a
mightier wonder had been wrought
than any in the storehouse Of nature.
a Light greater in it's intensity, holier
in its heat, had consumed Tranton' s
ldiffcnlty, and at 4the same time had
shown him the city set on the HILL
and the Lamb slain which lis the
Light thereof" By the light of the
natural wonder, he saw clearly and
F |
daily on all the affairs throughout the
world.
AS the lens brought the concen-
ltrated nature and essence of the sun
within actual reach, so that divinely
instituted Sacrament brought the very
Sun of Righteousness Himself more
wonderfully near than when He taber.
nacled in Bethlehem, that first House
of Bread" and even as the sun SUI.
fered no diminution by any number OF
similar demonstrations, so that Holy
Sacrament, like the Love of which it
was the transcendent expression, was
for ever shared, rfor ever whole"
The revelation HE had received was
as the keynote of an arch, making OF
his belief a perfect structure, and the
structure was illuminated with the
= glow of living faith. Those first few
moments were to Tranton moments OF
Ecstasy, foretaste of Eternity, and
ever afterWard remained vivid mem
DRY, their absolute reality helping him
through the occasional discipline oil
spiritual darkness
To- some converts the satisfaction
of the mind seems all that is given;
there is no conscious satisfaction OF
: spirit. The supreme "Act of Faith
with them is in very truth an "act
of faith" Surely they may be counted
among the Blessed who seeing not
believed"
: The sudden noise of hastily shut
door cut sharply across the drowsy
sounds in the garden, and the boy
shouting, Here's Dat1dy!" ran into
the house. Tranton, leaning forward
buried his face in his hands for q
moment, then rose slowly to his feet
and walked across, the grass as Cliff
ton came out of the house with Ron
; ME. The two shook hands.
Sorry, Jim, I happened to be late
this afternoon. but something turned
UP at the office and missed my usual
train. | sent the wife wire"
"Yes, Nell told me-"
Hope this youngster has not beer
a nuisance
mot Bit
Il haven't-truthful- wa:
quite quiet for a long time, ther
. Uncle Jim did something wonderful
They strolled into the house, the
boy recounting in eager tones the loss
Of the paper ship.
II you've got jolly nice brother
Nell,p said Clifton to his wife after
!, Tranton had left. 81 am glad he came
down today. / wanted to ask his ad
vice on one or two tricky points ii
that recent business told you about
! He has cleared my difficulties ava,
: wonderfully. What / like about jim
> is that he takes as much trouble il
unraveling the tangles of others as he
would over his own"
Il Tranton caught the last bus goint
! citywards. That ride through Londor
: that sultry August night lives still il
) bis memory.
s. He reached his room, came to thu
/ window, threw it up, and sat down
+ The tinkling water of the fountain
i sounded in his ears, and his hear