By REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON ,
4 * Author of "In His Steps : What Would Josua DoP" "Malcom
\ * * Kirk , " "Bobert Hardy's Seven Days , " Etc.
* < >
Copt/rt07 t , 1809 , by Ttus Advance Publishing Co.
after" all fiio'tlifi'cs llae'papersTia've"bad
you killed ? "
"Bad marksmanship principally. I
used to think I was a big man. But
after the shooting I came to the con
clusion that I must be rather small. "
"Your heart Is so big It's a wonder to
me that you weren't shot through It ,
no matter where ydu were hit. But I
tell you It seems good to see you In
the flesh once more. " N
"Why didn't you come and preach
for me last Sunday ? " asked Philip
quizzically.
"Why , haven't you hearu ? I did not
get news of the affair until last Sat
urday In my western parish , and I was
just In the throes of packing up to
come on to Elmdalc. "
"Elmdale ? "
"Yes ; I've had a call tliere. So we
shall be neighbors. Mrs. Burke Is up
there now getting the house straighten
ed out , and I came right down here. "
"So you are pastor of the Chapel
Hill church ? It's a splendid opening
for a young preacher. Congratulations ,
Alfred. "
"Thank you , Philip. By the way , I
saw by the paper that you had declin
ed a call to Elmdale , so I suppose they
pitched on me for a second choice. You
never wrote me of their call to you , "
he said , a little reproachfully.
"It didn't occur to me , " replied Phil
ip truthfully. "But how are you go
ing to like It ? Isn't it rather a dull old
place ? "
"Yes , I suspect It is , compared with
Milton. I suppose you couldn't live
without the excitement of dodging as-
\
"I hardly expected to sec you again. "
sassins and murderers every time you
go out to prayer meeting or make par
ish calls. How do you like your work
so far ? "
"There is plenty of it , " answered
Philip gravely. "A minister must be
made of cast iron and fire brick in or
der to stand the wear and tear of these
times in which we live. I'd like a
week to trade ideas with you and talk
over the work , Alfred. "
"You'd get the worst of the bar
gain. "
"I don't know about that I'm not
doing any thinking lately. But now , as
we're going to be only 00 miles apart ,
what's to hinder an exchange once in
awhile ? "
"I'm agreeable to that , " replied Phil
ip's chum ; "on condition , however , that
you furnish me with a gun and pay
all surgeon's bills when I occupy your
ne , " said Philip , with a grin. And
X P-D Mrs. Strong forbade any
jjilk. Alfred staid until the even-
.iig 'train , and when he left he stooped
down and kissed Philip's cheek. "It's
a custom we learned when in the Ger
man universities together that sum
mer after college , you know , " he ex
plained , with tlie slightest possible
blush , when Mrs. Strong came in and
caught him in the act It seemed to
her , however , like an affecting thing
that two big , grown up men like her
husband and his old chum showed
such tender affection for each other.
The love of men for men in the strong
friendship of school and college life is
one of the marks of human divinity.
CHAPTER VI.
In spite of his determination to get
out and occupy his pulpit the first
Sunday of the next mouth Philip was
reluctantly obliged to let five Sundays
go by before he was able to preach.
During those six weeks his attention
was called to a subject which he felt
ought to be made the theme of one of
his talks on "Christ and Modern Socie
ty. " The leisure which he had for read
ing opened his eyes to the fact that
Sunday In Milton was terribly desecrat
ed. Shops of all kinds stood wide open.
Excursion trains ran into the large
city 40 miles away , two theaters were
always running with some variety
show , and the saloons , in violation of
an ordinance forbidding it , unblushingly -
ly flung their doors open and did more
business on that day than any other.
As Philip read the papers he noticed
that every Monday morning the police
court was more crowded with "drunks"
and "disorderlies" than on any other
day in the week , and the plain cause of
it was the abuse of the day before.
In the summer time baseball games
were played In Milton on Sunday. In
the fall and winter very many people
spent their evenings in card playing
or aimlessly strolling up and down the
main street. These facts came to Phil-
lire irraduallr audhewas
rioiTlong in hiakhJg'up "his mind that
Christ would not keep silent before the
facts. So he carefully prepared a
plain statement of his belief In Christ's
standing on the modern use of Sun
day , and as on the other occasions
when he had spoken the first Sunday
In the month he cast out of his reckon
ing all thought of the consequences.
His one purpose was to do just as , in
his thought of Christ , he would do
with that subject.
The people In Milton thought that
the first Sunday Philip appeared in his
pulpit he would naturally denounce the
saloon again. But when he finally re
covered sufficiently to preach he de
termined that for awhile he would say
nothing in the way of sermons against
the whisky evil. He had a great horror
ror of seeming to ride a hobby , of be
ing a man of one idea and making people
ple tired of him because he harped on
one string. He had uttered his denunciation - !
nunciation , and he would wait a little
before he spoke again. The whisky ,
power was not the only bad thing In !
Milton that needed to be attacked.
There were other things which must
be said. And so Philip limped into his
pulpit the third Sunday of the month
'and preached on a general theme , to
the disappointment of a great crowd
almost as large as the last one he had
faced. And yet his very appearance
was a sermon in itself against the in
stitution he had held up to public con
demnation on that occasion. His knee
wound proved very stubborn , and he
limped badly. That in itself spoke
eloquently of the dastardly attempt on
his life. His face was pale , and he
had grown thin. His shoulder was
stiff , and the enforced quietness of his
delivery contrasted strangely with hid
customary fiery appearance on the
platform. Altogether that first Sun
day of his reappearance in his pulpit
was a stronger sermon against the sa
loon than anything he could have spo-
keu or written.
When the first Sunday in the next
month came on , Philip was more like
his old self. He had gathered strength
enough to go around two Sunday after
noons and note for himself the dese
cration of the day as it went on reck
lessly. As he saw it all it seemed to
him that the church in Milton was
practically doing nothing to stop the
evil. All the ministers complained of
the difficulty of getting an evening con
gregation. Yet hundreds of young
people walked past all the churches
every Sunday night , bent on pleasure ,
going to the theaters or concerts or
parties , which seemed to have no trou
ble in attracting the crowd. Espe
cially was this true of the foreign
population , the working element con
nected with the mills. It was a com
mon occurrence for dog fights , cock
fights and shooting matches of various
kinds to be going on in the tenement
district on Sunday , and the police
seemed powerless or careless in the
matter.
All this burned into Philip like
molten metal , and when he faced his
people on the Sunday which was be
coming a noted Sunday for them he
quivered with the earnestness and
thrill which always come to a sensitive
man when he feels sure he has a ser
mon which must be preached and a
message which the people must hear
for their lives.
He took for a text Christ's words.
"The Sabbath was made for man , " and
at once defined its meaning as a special
day.
"The true meaning of our modern
Sunday may be summed up in two
words rest and worship. Under the
head of rest may be gathered what
ever Is needful for the proper and
healthful recuperation of-one's physic
al and mental powers , always regard
ing not simply our own ease and com
fort , but also the same right to rest on
the part of the remainder of the com
munity. Under the head of worship
may be gathered all those facts which ,
either through distinct religious serv
ice or work or thought , tend to bring
men into closer and dearer relation to
spiritual life , to teach men larger ,
sweeter truths of existence and of God
and leave them better fitted to take up
the duties of everyday business.
"Now , it is plain to me that if Christ
were here today and pastor of Calvary
church he would feel compelled to say
some very plain words about the dese
cration of Sunday in Milton. Take ,
for example , the opening of the fruit
stands and cigar stores and meat mar
kets every Sunday morning. What is
the one reason why these places are
open this very minute while I am
speaking ? There is only one reason
HO that the owners of the places may
sell their goods and make money.
They are not satisfied with what they
can make six days in the week. Their
greed seizes on the one day which
ought to be used for the rest and wor
ship men need and turns that also into
a day of merchandise. Do we need
any other fact to convince us of the
terrible selfishness of the human-
heart ?
"Or take the case of the saloons.
What right have they to open their
doors in direct contradiction to the
town ordinance forbidding it ? And
yet this ordinance is held by them in
such contempt that this very morning
as I came to this church I passed more
than half a dozen of these sections of
hell , wide open to any poor sinning
son ] tliaU miiiht .bo eiiiiecd.therein. .
" " " ' '
CTlIzeils"of""MiTtourTv'here clo'cs the re
sponsibility rest for this violation of
law ? Docs It rest with the churches
and the preachers to see that the few
Sunday laws we have are enforced by
them , while the business men and the
police lazily dodge the Issue and care
not how the matter goes , saying It is
none of their business ?
"But suppose you say the saloons
are beyond your power. That does not
release you from doing what Is In your
power , easily , to prevent this day from
being trampled under foot and made
like every other day in its scramble
after money and pleasure. Who own
these fruit stands and cigar stores
and meat markets and who patronise
them ? Is it not true that church
members encourage all these places by
purchasing of them on the Lord's day ?
I have been told by one of these fruit
dealers with whom I have talked lately
that among his best customers on Sun
day are some of the most respected
members of this church. It has also
been told me that in the summer time
the heaviest patronage of the Sunday
Ice cream business Is from the church
members of Milton. Of what value is
it that we place on our ordinance rules
forbidding the sale of these things
covered by the law ? How far are we
responsible for our example for en
couraging the breaking of the day on
the part of those who would find it
unprofitable to keep their business go-
lug If we did not purchase of them on
this day ?
"It Is possible there are very many
persons here in this house this mornIng -
Ing who are ready to exclaim : 'This is
Intolerable bigotry and puritanical nar
rowness. This Is not the attitude Christ
would take on this question. He was
too large minded. He was too far ad
vanced in thought to make the day to
mean anything of that sort. '
\But let us consider what is meant
by the Sunday of our modern life as
Christ would view it. There is no dis
puting the fact that the age Is ma
terial , mercantile , money making. For
six eager , rushing days it is absorbed
in the pursuit of money or fame or
pleasure. Then God strikes the note of
his silence in among the clashing
Bounds of earth's Babel and calls man
kind to make a day unlike the other
days. It is his merciful thoughtfulness
for the race which has created this
special day for men. Is it too much to
ask that on this one day men think
of something else besides politics ,
stocks , business , amusement ? Is God
grudging the man the pleasure of life
when here he gives the man six days
for labor and then asks for only one
day specially set apart for him ? The
objection to very many things com
monly mentioned by the pulpit as
harmful to Sunday is not an objection
necessarily based on the harmfulness
of the things themselves , but upon the
fact that these things are repetitions
of the working day and so are distract
ing to the observance of the Sunday
as a day of rest and worship , undis
turbed by the things that have already
for six days crowded the thought of
men. Let me illustrate.
' 'Take , for example , the case of the
Sunday paper as it pours into Milton
every Sunday morning on the special
newspaper train. Now , there may not
be anything in the contents of the
Sunday papers that is any worse than
can be found in any weekday edition.
Granted , for the sake of the illustra
tion , that the matter found in the
Sunday paper is just like that in the
Saturday issue politics , locals , fash
ion , personals , dramatic and sporting
news , literary articles by well known
writers , fatality , etc. , anyAvhere from
20 to 40 pages an amount of reading
matter that will take the average man
a whole forenoon to read.
"I say , granted all this vast quantity
of material is harmless in itself to
moral life , yet here is the reason why
it seems to me Christ would , as I an-
doing now , advise this church and
the people of Milton to avoid reading
the Sunday paper , because it forces
upon the thought of the community tiie
very same things which have been
crowding in upon it all the week an-l
in doing this necessarily distracts the
man and makes the elevation of his
spiritual nature exceedingly doubtful
or difficult. I defy any preacher in
this town to make much impression
on the average man who has come to
church saturated through and through
with 40 pages of Sunday newspaper
that is , supposing the man who has
read that much is in a frame of mind
to go to church. But that is not the
point. It is not a question of press
versus pulpit. The press and the pul
pit are units of our modern life which
ought to work hand in hand. And the
mere matter of church attendance
might not count if it was a question
with the average man whether he
would go to church and hear a dull
sermon or stay at home and read au
interesting newspaper. That is not the
point. The point is whether the day
of rest and worship shall be like ev
ery other day ; whether we shall let
our minds go right on as they have
been going , to the choking up of ave
nues of spiritual growth and religious
service. Is it right for us to allow in
Milton the occurrence of baseball
games and Sunday racing and evening
theaters ? How far is all this demor
alizing to our better life ? What would
Christ say , do you think ? Even sup
posing he would advise this church to
take and read the big Sunday daily
sent in on the special Sunday train that
keeps a small army of men at work
and away from all Sunday privileges ;
even supposing he would say it was all
right to sell fruit and cigars and meat
on Sunday and perfectly proper for
church members to buy those things
on that day , what would Christ say
was the real meaning and purpose of
this day in the thought of the Divine
Creator when he made the day for
man ? -
"I cannot conceive that he would
say anything else than this to the pco-
r > lf of this fr > v\-n or'l- > liifif1.im h _ TTo
\voulJsay ft was o"ur dufy toTniflie this
day different from all other days In
the two particulars of rest and wor
ship. He would say that we owe It to
the Father of our souls in common
gratitude for his mighty love toward
us that we spend the day In ways
pleasing to him. He would say that
the wonderful civilization of our times
should study how Jo make this day a
true rest day to the workiugman of
the world and that all unnecessary car
rying of passengers or merchandise
should stop , so as to give all men. if
possible , every seven days one whole
day of rest and communion with some
thing better than the things that perish
with theusing. He would say that the
church and the church member and the
Christian everywhere should do all In
his power to make the day a glad ,
powerful , useful , restful , anticipated
24 hours , looked forward to with pleas
ant longing by little children and la
boring men and railroad men and
street car men as the one day of all
the week , the happiest and best be
cause different in its use. And so dif
ferent that when Monday's toll begins
the man feels refreshed In body and In
soul because he has paused a little
while in the mad whirl of his struggle
for bread or fame and has fellowship-
ed with heavenly things and heard
something diviner than the jangling
discords of this narrow , selfish earth.
"If this thought of Sunday is bigotry
or narrowness , then I stand convicted
as a bigot living outside of the nine
teenth century. But I am not con
cerned about that. What I am con
cerned about is Christ's thought of this
day. If I understand his spirit right , I
believe he would say what I have said.
He would say that It is not a rlsjht use
of this day for the men and women of
this generation to buy and sell mer
chandise , to attend or countenance
places or spectacles of amusement , to
engage in card parties at their homes ,
to fill their thoughts full of the ordi
nary affairs of business or the events
of the world. He would say that it
was the Christian's duty and privilege
In this age to elevate the uses of this
day so that everything done and said
should tend to lift the race higher and
make it better acquainted with the na
ture of God and its own eternal des
tiny.
"If Christ would not take that view
of this great question , then I have to
tally misconceived and misunderstood
his character. 'The Sabbath was made
for man. ' It was made for him that
he might make of it a shining jewel
in the string of pearls which should
adorn all the days of the week , every
day speaking of divine things to the
man , but Sunday opening up the beau
ty and grandeur of the eternal life a
little wider yet.
"This , dear friends all , has been my
message to you this morning. May
God forgive whatever has been spoken
contrary to the heart and spirit of our
dear Lord. "
If Philip's sermon two months before
made him enemies , this sermon made
CA en more. He had unconsciously this
time struck two of his members very
hard. One of them was part owner in
a meat market which his partner kept
open on Sunday. The other leased one
of the parks where the baseball games
had been played. Other persons in the
congregation felt more or less hurt by
the plain way Philip had spoken , espe
cially the members who took and read
the Sunday paper. They went away
feeling that , while much that he said
was true , tliere was too much strict
ness in the minister's view of the
whole subject. This feeling grew as
days went on. People said Philip did
not know all the facts in regard to
people's business and the complications
which necessitated Sunday work and
so forth.
These were the beginnings of trou
blesome times for Philip. The trial of
the saloon keeper was coming on in a
few days , and Philip would be called
to witness in the case. He dreaded it
with a nervous dread peculiar to his
sensitive temper. Nevertheless he went
on with his church work , studying the
problem of the town , endearing him
self to very many in and out of his
church by his manly , courageous life
"Verily an enemy hath done this. "
and feeling the heartache grow in him
as the sin burden of the place weighed
heavier on him. Those were days
when Philip did much praying , and his
regular preaching , which grew in pow
er with the common people , told the
story of his night vigils with the Christ
he adored.
It was at this particular time that a
special event occurred which put its
mark on Philip's work in Milton and
became a part of its web and woof , a
hard thing to tell , but necessary to relate - j
late as best one may. \
He came home late one evening from I
church meeting- , letting himself into
the parsonage with his nicht key , and ,
not seeing his wife in the sitting room ,
where she was in the habit of reading
and sewing , lie walked on into the
small sewing room , where she some
times sat at special work , thinking to
fitul her .thcr iSheii'a : < iiot-tlici e and
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