Grand Forks herald., 1919-12-17

If there had been no God, SO far as
he could. see looking back on it now.
How strange that he had not realized
before what a mistake he had made,
what a lot he was missing, how ILL
prepared he was to go out to meet
death, knowing nothing Of God nor
how to die. save with physical
braveryA He knew that he must go
home and somehow convey ITO his
friends this message, this new gos-
pei that he had learned out there on
the battlefields AS he thought about
it he felt shy Of speaking of it to his
mother and father. They had always
shared each others thoughts. yet
they had never told 4 him of thia.
They had spoken ,noat intimately Of
the deeper things of life, yet there
had never been a God in any Of their
talk. Only on the Sabbath, when
they went to church, had they rec
sort @of patronizing way. Not that
they meant TO patronize. either; but
perhaps they had never known Him
and felt Him the way he had, done in
that German prison camp alone with
God and his enemies.
There was just one person, when
he thought about it, that it seemed
+, ject, and that was IIilda Lessing. She
had seemed to take life SO deeply
and earnestly. She was herself SEEK
ing after the meaning of things. Her
letters showed that; her beautiful,
" growing letters. sweet revelations of
herself! He had three of them that
had accumulated at his post while
! he was a prisoner. and he carried
them with him continually and read
; them often till he almost had them
by heart. She had said she was pray
ing that God would be with him and
protect him. and somehow it seemed
as if his vision must have been a
sort of answer to her prayer. 1t
seemed to him that he could tell her
and she would understand. But he
was afraid that his sweet. sane moth
or and his practical father might give
him troubled look and wonder if
the gas had affected his mind just a
little. He. couldn't bear that now. IT
vas too wonderful and sacred. He
shrank from being misunderstood.
Sometimes in his long mcditations he
half wished the folks at home could
. have a day or two at the front, just
! that their eyes might be opened and
they might understand when the boys
came home. 1t was hard to thinl,
| that tho ones you loved wouldn't un-
! derstand-that they would expect you
to go on and live the same as il the
) war had never been, and forget God
11iI "eEo lIlC Sllt lIldl ldu rDIOuSNl
the war on the world--forgettine
, God. The Germans had had to pa,
; the heayiest price in the end because
. the Germans had started forgetting
God. The great German universitie.
. had set the ball for forgetting roll
t ing round the world, until every
: where the people had come to forge
i back and understand Him and b,
, teachable. He would talk II all owe
l with IIilda, and he would be deepl!
4 disappointed il Hilda didn't under
, stand his feelings in the matter.
t He was impatient over the, land
). ing. in New York and the twb-hou
; train ride home. 1t seemed longe
: trail. And when the train mail:
4 pulled into West Philadelphia and b
t hurried out. the thought thrille,
n through and through him, HON
n again! Home agsin!"
: He took taxi and lost no time Il
n getting to his fathers house. AS h
y had hoped his father and mothe
y were both there, his father hayin
9 Just come from the ONCE. a wear,
y had been no word yet from all hi
q inquiries at Washington about Tn
9 boy in France. Strange that thing
n should get so mixed up that thei
particular boy should seem to be vi
}. terly lost. If he was alive he surel
q would not leave them in this agony
e The father was pacing up and dow
q the library, and the mother lookin
e out of the window, trying to keep
Ie cheerful face above heavy hear
70 when the door opened and the bo
n walked in upon them. with his ol
. Joyous ring In his voice: Mother
9 Dad!' and was folded in their arm
n Half an hour later they were sti
sitting on the big leather COUCH. til
y son in the middle an arm aroun
each. He hadn't even taken or h
~ oyercoat yet and his trench cap W.
le lying on this floor where he ia
ID dropped 1t when he stopped to tai
10 his mother in his arms There vi
,s 40 much to tell, and 30 much to asl
d and they hadn't really begun We
- When the servant tapped ut the Aot
a over from the ONCE marked taste
ID and Important" the father frowj
A19g4gA wss FOR thYpWlag thss iesll