,frontispiece3 ,the kneeling people lifted their wet faces 444 ,but the chancel was empty ,,the ,,supply ,,at ,,saint ,,agatha',s ,,by ,,elizabeth ,,stuart ,,phelps ,,with ,,illustrations ,,by ,e4 ,,boyd ,,smith ,,and ,,marcia ,,oakes ,,woodbury ,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge #ahif ,copyright1 #ahif1 ,,by ,,elizabeth ,,stuart ,,phelps ,,ward ,,and ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,co4 ,all rights reserved4 ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge1 ,mass41 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,electrotyped and ,printed by ,h4 ,o4 ,houghton ,co4 ,,the ,,supply ,,at ,,saint ,,agatha',s4 ,at the crossing of the old avenue with the stream of present traffic1 in a city which1 for obvious reasons1 will not be identified by the writer of these pages1 there stood--and still stands--the ,church of ,saint ,agatha's4 ,the church is not without a history1 chiefly such as fashion and sect combine to record4 ,it is an eminent church1 with a stately date upon its foundation stone1 and a pew-list unsurpassed for certain qualities among the worshipers of the ,eastern ,states4 ,saint ,agatha's has long been distinguished for three things1 its money1 its music1 and its soundness4 ,when the tax-list of the town is printed in the daily papers once a year1 the wardens and the leading parishioners of ,saint ,agatha's stand far upwards in the score1 and their names are traced by slow1 grimy fingers of mechanics and strikers and socialists laboriously reading on ,saturday nights4 ,the choir of ,saint ,agatha's1 as all the world knows1 is superior4 ,her soprano alone 7a famous prima donna7 would fill the house4 ,women throng the aisles to hear the tenor1 and musical critics1 hat in hand1 and pad on hat1 drop in to report the anthem and the offertory for the ,monday morning press4 ,in ecclesiastical position1 it is needless to add1 ,saint ,agatha's has always been above reproach4 ,when did ,saint ,agatha's question a canon8 ,when did she contend with a custom8 ,when did she criticise a creed8 ,why should she contest a tradition8 ,she accepts1 she conforms1 she prospers4 ,in one particular ,saint ,agatha's has been thrust into an attitude of originality foreign to her taste4 ,her leading men feel called upon occasionally to explain how the eternal feminine came--a little contrary to the fashion of our land--to be recognized in the name of the church4 ,saint ,agatha's first pastor1 one should know1 was a very young man of enthusiastic and unconventional temperament4 ,he did not live long enough to outgrow this--for a clergyman--unfortunate trend of nature1 having died1 full of dreams and visions1 in the teeth of a lowering conflict with his wardens2 but he lived long enough to carry the day and the name for a portion of his people who desired to call their church in honor of a sweet1 though rich1 old lady who had put her private fortune into their beautiful house of worship1 and her warm heart into their future success4 ,it had befallen this dear old lady to bear the name of ,agatha1 which1 for her sake1--and1 of course1 in due ecclesiastical remembrance of the strictly canonical saint of similar cognomen1--was accordingly bestowed upon the church4 ,in the year of our ,lord eighteen hundred and another numeral1 which ,i am requested not to indicate1 but ,i may not deny that it is a recent one1 the popular rector of ,saint ,agatha's took a winter vacation4 ,he was an imposing and imperious man1 full of years and honors1 in the full sway of his professional fame1 when he fell a victim1 like any common person1 to the grippe4 ,in the attempt to recover from this vulgar malady1 he was forced to observe that his select physician had drugged him1 via an exclusive bronchitis1 into a minister's sore throat1 such as any ordinary country parson might develop for lack of an overcoat1 or a fire in his bedroom4 ,without undue delay or reluctance1 the rector of ,saint ,agatha's took ship for the south of ,france2 and in the comfortable way in which such things are done in such quarters1 the church was set trundling upon the wheels of a two-months' supply4 ,this was managed so gracefully by the experienced vestry of ,saint ,agatha's that hardly a visible jar occurred in the parish machinery4 ,many of the people did not know that their rector had gone until a canon from ,london sonorously filled the pulpit one ,sunday morning4 ,a distinguished ,middle ,state clergyman followed the next week2 the ,west sent her brightest and best the succeeding ,sunday2 and so it went4 ,eminent variety easily occupied that sacred desk4 ,the wardens of ,st4 ,agatha's have but to say1 ,come1 and he cometh who weigheth the honor of ministering in this aristocratic pulpit4 ,in brief1 the most distinguished men in the denomination cordially supplied4 ,on the whole1 perhaps the parish enjoyed their rector's vacation as much as he did4 ,now1 upon the vestry there chanced at that time to be one man who was different4 ,one does find such people even among the officers of fashionable churches4 ,this man 7he was1 by the way1 a grand-nephew of the old lady who built the church when ,saint ,agatha's was an unendowed experiment7 had occasional views not wholly in harmony with the policy of his brother officers2 and1 being himself a heavy rate-payer1 was allowed1 sometimes1 by the courtesy of the majority1--when his notion was not really in bad form1 you know1--to have his way4 ,he did not get it so often but that he was glad to make the most of it when he did2 and when his turn came to control the supply for that ,sunday with which this narrative has to do1 he asked the privilege of being intrusted with the details of the business4 ,this request1 as from a useful man of certain eccentricities1 was indulgently granted2 and thus there occurred the events which ,i am privileged to relate4 ,it was just before ,lent1 and the winter had been a cold one4 ,one ,friday evening in early ,march there came up1 or came down1 a drifting snow-storm4 ,it was bad enough in town1 but in the suburbs it was worse1 and in the country it was little less than dangerous to passengers through the wide1 wind-swept streets1 the choking lanes1 and bitter moors4 ,an old clergyman1 the pastor of a scattered parish1 sat in his study on that ,friday night1 and thanked ,god that the weekly evening service was over1 and his day's work done4 ,he would have regretted being called out again that night1 for he had got quite wet in walking to church and back1 and the cold from which he had been suffering for a week past might not be benefited thereby4 ,this fact in itself was a matter of no concern1 under ordinary conditions1 to the old clergyman1 who1 being a lonely man in a forlorn country boarding-house1 with nobody to take care of him1 was accustomed to live under the shadow of a common cold1 and who paid no more attention to his own physical discomforts in the face of daily duty than he paid to the latest fashion in sable trimmings in the front pews at ,saint ,agatha's4 ,there was no fur trimming on his overcoat1 which was seven years old and pitiably thin4 ,but he had been invited to supply at ,saint ,agatha's next ,sunday1 and to that unexampled honor and opportunity he gave the pathetic attention--half personal pleasure1 half religious fervor--of an overlooked and devout man4 ,in the course of a forty-years' ministry he had not been asked to preach in a city pulpit4 ,the event was tremendous to him4 ,he had been agitated by the invitation1 which ran in some such way as this3 ,illustration3 ,he had been invited to supply at ,st4 ,agatha's4 444 ,in closing1 permit me to say1 sir1 that it would be agreeable to us to welcome among us the grandson of our first pastor1 that young rector who died in the bud of his youth and ,christian originality4 ,the fact of your ancestry will give to your presence a peculiar interest for our people at large4 ,but ,i beg to be allowed to add on behalf of the committee1 that certain qualities in yourself and in your own work have led us to believe that you may exert positive influences upon us of which we stand in need4 ,in your remote and rural parish your life has not passed unobserved4 ,your labors as a pastor1 and your methods of preaching1 have been an object of study to some of us4 ,we have come to rate you1 sir1 as one of the men of ,god4 ,there are not many4 ,in meeting with our people1 the writer personally hopes that you may be able to teach us something of the secret of your own happy and successful experience as a minister of ,christ our ,lord4 444 ,the old clergyman sat with his feet upon the base of his little cylinder coal-stove4 ,his thin ankles shrank in the damp stockings which he had not been able to change since he came in out of the storm1 because1 owing to some personal preference of the laundress1 he could not find any dry ones4 ,his worn slippers flapped upon his cold feet when he moved4 ,but he had on his flowered dressing-gown of ancient pattern and rustic cut2 his high arm-chair was cushioned in chintz and excelsior behind his aching head2 the green paper shade was on his study-lamp2 his best-beloved books 7for the old saint was a student7 lay within reach upon the table2 piled upon them were his manuscript sermons2 and he sighed with the content of a man who feels himself to be1 although unworthy1 in the loving arms of luxury4 ,a rap at the door undeceived him4 ,his landlady put in her withered face4 ,sir1 she said1 the widder ,peek's a-dying4 ,it's just like her to take a night like this--but she's sent for you4 ,i must say ,i don't call you fit to go4 ,a man is always fit to do his duty1 said the old clergyman1 rising4 ,i will go at once4 ,did she send--any--conveyance8 ,catch her6 retorted the landlady4 ,why1 she hain't had the town water let in yet--and she wuth her fifteen thousand dollars2 nor she won't have no hired girl to do for her1 not that none of 'em will stay along of her a week1 and ,dobson's boy 's at the door1 a drippin' and cussin' to get you1 for he 's nigh snowed under4 ,she 's a wuthless old heathen miser1 the widder ,peek4 ,then there is every reason why ,i should not neglect her1 replied the clergyman1 in his authoritative1 clerical voice4 ,pray call the lad in from the weather1 and tell him ,i will accompany him at once4 ,he did look about his study sadly while he was making ready to leave it4 ,the fire in the base-burner was quite warm1 now1 and his wet1 much-darned stockings were beginning to dry4 ,the room looked sheltered and pleasant2 his books ran to the ceiling1 though his floor was covered with straw matting1 with odd pieces of woolen carpet for rugs2 his carpet-covered lounge was wheeled out of the draft2 his lamp with the green shade made a little circle of light and coziness2 his ,bible and prayer-book lay open within it1 beside the pile of sermons4 ,he had meant to devote the evening to the agreeable duty of selecting his discourse for ,saint ,agatha's4 ,his mind and his heart were brimming over with the excitement of that great event4 ,he would have liked to concentrate and consecrate his thoughts upon it that evening4 ,as he went1 coughing1 into the cold entry1 it occurred to him that the spot in his lung was more painful than he had supposed2 but he pulled his old cap over his ears1 and his thin overcoat up to meet it1 and tramped out cheerfully into the storm4 ,well1 well1 my lad6 he said in his warm-hearted way to ,dobson's boy2 ,i 'm sorry for you that you have to be out a night like this4 ,the boy spoke of this afterwards1 and remembered it long--for a boy4 ,but at the time he did but stare4 ,he stopped grumbling1 however1 and plunged on into the drifts1 ahead of the old rector1 kicking a path for him to right and left in the wet1 packed snow2 for the widow ,peek lived at least a mile away1 and the storm was now become a virulent thing4 ,what passed between the unloved1 neglected1 dying parishoner and her pastor was not known to any but themselves1 nor is there witness now to testify thereof4 ,neither does it in any way concern the record of this narrative1 except as the least may concern the largest circumstance in human story4 ,for1 in view of what came to pass1 it is impossible not to put the old1 judicial question3 ,did it pay8 ,was it worth while8 ,when the miser's soul went out1 at midnight1 on the wings and the rage of that blind1 black storm1 did it pass gently1 a subdued1 forgiven spirit1 humble to learn how to live again1 for ,christ's sake and his who gave himself--as his ,master had before him--to comfort and to save8 ,did it pay8 ,do such things pay8 ,god knows4 ,but as long as men do not know1 there will always be found a few among them who will elect to disregard the doubt1 to wear the divinity of uncalculating sacrifice1 and to pay its price4 ,for the soul of the widow ,peek the price was large1 looked at in our mathematical way2 for1 when the old clergyman1 having shrived her soul and closed her eyes1 started to come home at one o'clock of the morning1 the storm had become a malignant force4 ,already wet through and through his thin coats and worn flannels1 weak from the exposure1 the watching1 and the scene of death1 every breath a sword athwart his inflamed lungs1 with fire in his brain1 and ice at his heart1 he staggered against the blizzard4 ,dobson's boy had long since sought the shelter of his own home1 and the old man was quite unattended4 ,true1 the neighbor who watched with the dead woman suggested that he remain till morning2 but the widow ,peek's house was cold 7she was always especially near about fuel71 and he thought it more prudent to get back to his own stove and his bed4 ,whether he lost his way2 whether he crossed and recrossed it1 wandering from it in the dark and drift2 whether he fell and lay in the snow for a time1 and rose again1 and staggered on1 and fell again1 and so pushed on again1 cannot be known4 ,it is only known that at half-past two on ,saturday morning his landlady put her wrinkled face out of the window1 for the twentieth time1 in search of him 7for she had a thought for him in her own hard-featured way71 and saw him fallen1 and feebly trying to crawl on his hands and knees up the drifted steps4 ,she got him in to his warm study1 past the chair where the flowered dressing-gown and old slippers awaited him1 and as far as the carpet-covered lounge1 ,beyond this he could not be taken4 ,by morning the whole parish rang the door-bell2 the hands and hearts and horses1 the purses1 the nurses1 the doctors1 the watchers1 the tears1 and the prayers of the village1 were his--for he was dearly beloved and cherished in that parish4 ,but he lay on his old lounge in his study among his books1 and asked of them nothing at all4 ,the kerosene lamp1 behind its green shade1 went out2 and the ,bible1 with the pile of sermons on the table1 looked large in the snow-light of a day when the storm ceases without sun4 ,he did not talk2 but his thoughts were yet alive4 ,he remembered ,saint ,agatha's1 and the sermon which he was to preach to-morrow4 ,he knew that not one of his people 7ignorant of such matters7 would understand how to get word to the city vestry4 ,he tried to give directions1 but his voice refused his bidding4 ,he knew that he would be supposed to have failed to meet his appointment1 perhaps to have been thwarted--a rural clergyman1 old and timorous1 baffled in an important professional engagement--by a little snow4 ,he was to have taken the evening train4 ,he was to be the guest of the vestryman who wrote that pleasant letter4 ,he was to preach in ,saint ,agatha's to-morrow4 ,he was to-- ,nay1--he was not1--nay4 ,he was to do none of these things4 ,a sick man1 mortally a sick man1 past power of speech1 he lay upon his carpet lounge1 shivering under the pile of thin blankets and cotton comforters that had been wrapped around him1 and gently faced his fate4 ,he could not preach at ,saint ,agatha's4 ,and he could not explain to the vestry4 ,perhaps his heart-sickness about this matter subsided a little--one likes to think so--as his disease grew upon him2 but there are men who will understand me when ,i say that this was the greatest disappointment of his humble1 holy life4 ,as ,saturday night drew on1 and the stars came out1 he was heard to make such efforts to speak articulately1 that one of his weeping people 7an affectionate woman of a brighter wit than the rest7 made out1 as she bent lovingly over him1 to understand so much as this3 ,lord1 he said1 into thy hands ,i commit my s-p-- ,he commits his spirit to the ,lord6 sobbed the landlady4 ,but the listening parishioner raised her finger to her lips4 ,lord1 he said again1 and this time the dullest ear in the parish could have heard the words--,lord1 he prayed1 into thy hands ,i commit--my supply4 ,sunday morning broke upon the city as cold and clear as the sword of a rebuking angel4 ,people on the way to the ,west ,end churches exchanged notes on the thermometer1 and talked of the destitution of the poor4 ,it was so cold that the ailing and the aged for the most part stayed at home4 ,but the young1 the ennuye1 the imitative1 and the soul-sick1 got themselves into their furs and carriages when the chimes rang1 and the audiences were1 on the whole1 as comfortable and as devout as usual4 ,the vestryman sat nervously in his pew4 ,he had not fully recovered from the fact that his supply had disappointed him4 ,having sent his coachman in vain to all the ,saturday evening trains to meet his country parson1 the vestryman had passed but an uneasy night4 ,i had supposed the old man had principles about ,sunday travel1 he said to his wife1 but it seems he is coming in the morning1 after all4 ,he might at least have sent me word4 ,telegraphing in the country is--difficult1 sometimes1 ,i have heard1 replied the lady1 vaguely4 ,she was a handsome1 childless woman1 with the haughty under lip of her class4 ,her husband spoke cheerily1 but he was not at ease1 and she did not know how to make him so4 ,the ,sunday morning train came in from the country station forty miles back1 but the old clergyman was not among its passengers4 ,now thoroughly alarmed1 the vestryman had started for his hat and coat1 when his parlor-maid brought him a message4 ,it had been left at the door1 she said1 by a messenger who brooked neither delay nor question1 but ordered her to tell the master of the house that the supply for ,saint ,agatha's was in the city1 and would meet the engagement at the proper time and place4 ,the old clergyman1 the messenger added1 had been suddenly stricken with a dangerous illness1 and could not be expected2 but his substitute would fill the pulpit for the day4 ,the vestryman was requested to feel no concern in the matter4 ,the preacher preferred retirement until the hour of the service1 and would fulfil his duties at the church at the appointed hour4 ,but when the vestryman1 feeling flurried despite himself1 tapped at the door of the luxurious vestry-room1 gracefully refurnished that winter for the rector with the sore throat who was in the south of ,france1 he found it locked2 and to his unobtrusive knock no answer came4 ,at this uncomfortable moment the sexton tiptoed up to say that the supply had requested not to be disturbed until the service should begin4 ,the sexton supposed that the clergyman needed extra preparation2 thought that perhaps the gentleman was from the country1 and--ah--unused to the audience4 ,what is his name8 ,what does he look like8 asked the chairman1 with knotted brows4 ,i have not seen him sir1 replied the sexton1 with a puzzled expression4 ,how did you receive the message8 ,by a messenger who would not be delayed or questioned4 ,struck by the repetition of this phrase1 the chairman asked again3 ,but what did the messenger look like8 ,the sexton shook his head4 ,i cannot tell you1 sir4 ,he was a mere messenger4 ,i paid no attention to him4 ,very well1 said the church officer1 turning away discontentedly4 ,it must be all right4 ,i have implicit confidence in the man whose chosen substitute this is4 ,with this he ceased to try to intrude himself upon the stranger1 but went down to his pew1 and sat beside his wife in uneasy silence4 ,the chimes sang and sank1 and sang again3 ,holy1 holy1 holy-- ,the air was so clear that the sound rang twice the usual distance through the snowlit1 sunlit air2 and the sick and the old at home listened to the bells with a sudden stirring at their feeble hearts1 and wished again that they could have gone to church4 ,one bed-ridden woman1 whose telephone connected her with ,saint ,agatha's1 held the receiver to her sensitive ear1 and smiled with the quick gratitude for trifling pleasures of the long sick1 as she recognized the notes of the chime4 ,with a leap and a thrill as if they cast their metal souls out in the act1 the voices of the bells rose and swelled1 and ceased and slept1 and where they paused the anthem took the word up3 ,holy1 holy-- and carried it softly1 just above the breath1 with the tone which is neither a sigh1 nor a cry1 nor a whisper1 but that harmony of all which makes of music prayer4 ,he must have entered on the wave of this strain2 opinions differed afterwards as to this3 some said one thing1 some another2 but it was found that most of the audience had not observed the entrance of the preacher at all4 ,the choir ceased1 and he was2 and no more could be said4 ,the church was well filled1 though not over-crowded1 and the decorous rustle of a fashionable audience in the interval preceding worship stirred through the house4 ,in the natural inattention of the moment1 it was not remarkable that most of the people failed to notice the strange preacher until he was among them4 ,but to the church officer1 whose mind was preoccupied with the supply1 there was something almost startling in the manner of his approach4 ,the vestryman's uneasy eyes were not conscious of having slipped their guard upon the chancel for a moment2 he had but turned his head politely1 though a bit impatiently1 to reply to some trivial remark of his wife's1 when1 behold1 the preacher stood before him4 ,afterwards it was rumored that two or three persons in the audience had not been taken by surprise in this way1 but had fully observed the manner of the stranger's entrance2 yet these persons1 when they were sought1 were difficult to find4 ,there was one shabby woman who sat in the gallery among the poor seats2 she was clad in rusty mourning1 and had a pale and patient face1 quite familiar to the audience1 for she was a faithful church-goer1 and had attended ,saint ,agatha's for many years4 ,it came to be said1 through the sexton's gossip or otherwise1 that this poor woman had seen the preacher's approach quite clearly1 and had been much moved thereat2 but when some effort was made to find her1 and to question her on this point1 unexpected obstacles arose1--she was an obscure person1 serving in some menial capacity for floating employers2 she was accustomed to slip in and out of the church hurriedly1 both late and early1--and nothing of importance was added from this quarter to the general interest which attended the eccentricities of the supply4 ,the stranger was a man a trifle above the ordinary height1 of majestic mien and carriage1 and with the lofty head that indicates both fearlessness and purity of nature4 ,as he glided to his place behind the lectern1 a hush struck the frivolous audience1 as if it had been smitten by an angel's wing3 such power is there in noble novelty1 and in the authority of a high heart4 ,when had the similar of this preacher led the service in that venerable and fashionable house of worship8 ,in what past years had his counterpart served them8 ,whom did he resemble of the long line of eminent clerical teachers with whose qualities this elect people was familiar8 ,what had been his history1 his ecclesiastical position1 his social connections8 ,it was characteristic of the audience that this last question was first in the minds of a large proportion of the worshipers4 ,whence came he8 ,his name8 ,his titles8 ,what was his professional reputation--his theology8 ,what were his views on choirboys1 confessionals1 and candles--on mission chapels and the pauperizing of the poor8 ,these inquiries swept through the inner consciousness of the audience in the first moment of his appearance4 ,but in the second1 neither these nor any other paltry queries fretted the smallest soul before him4 ,the stranger must have had an impressive countenance2 yet afterwards it was found that no two descriptions of it agreed4 ,some said this thing1 some said that4 ,to this person he appeared a gentle1 kindly man with a persuasive manner2 to that1 he looked majestic and commanding4 ,there were some who spoke of an authoritative severity in the eye which he turned upon them2 but these were not many4 ,there were those who murmured that they had melted beneath the tenderness of his glance1 as snow before the sun2 and such were more4 ,as to the features of his face1 men differed1 as spectators are apt to do about the lineaments of extraordinary countenances4 ,what was the color of his eyes1 the contour of his lips1 the shape of his brow8 ,who could say8 ,conflicting testimony arrived at no verdict4 ,in two respects alone opinions agreed about the face of this man3 it commanded1 and it shone2 it had authority and light4 ,the shrewdest heresy-hunter in the congregation would not have dared question this clergyman's theology1 or the tendencies of his ritualistic views4 ,the veriest pharisee in the audience quailed before the blinding brilliance of the preacher's face4 ,it was a moral fire4 ,it ate into the heart4 ,sin and shame shriveled before it4 ,one might say that all this was apparent in the preacher before he had spoken a word4 ,when he had opened his lips these impressions were intensified4 ,he began in the usual way to read the usual prayers1 and to conduct the service as was expected of him4 ,nothing eccentric was observable in his treatment of the preliminaries of the occasion4 ,the fashionable choir1 accustomed to dictate the direction of the music1 met with no interference from the clergyman4 ,he announced the hymns and anthems that had been selected quite in the ordinary manner2 and the critics of the great dailies took the usual notes of the musical programme4 ,in fact1 up to the time of the sermon1 nothing out of the common course occurred4 ,but having said this1 one must qualify4 ,was it nothing out of the common course that the congregation in ,saint ,agatha's should sit as the people sat that day1 bond-slaves before the enunciation of the familiar phrases in the morning's confession8 ,what a voice6 whispered the wife of the vestryman4 ,but her husband answered her not a word4 ,pale1 agitated1 with strained eyes uplifted1 and nervous hands knotted together1 he leaned towards the stranger4 ,at the first articulate sentence from the pulpit1 he knew that the success of his supply was secured4 ,what a voice indeed6 ,it melted through the great house like burning gold4 ,the heart ran after it as fire runs through metal4 ,once or twice in a generation one may hear the liturgy read like that--perhaps4 ,in a lifetime no longer to be counted short1 the vestryman had heard nothing that resembled it4 ,thank ,god6 he murmured4 ,he put his hat before his face4 ,he had not realized before what a strain he had endured4 ,cold drops stood upon his brow4 ,he shook with relief4 ,from that moment he felt no more concern about the service than if he had engaged one of the sons of ,god to supply4 ,are you faint8 asked his wife in a tone of annoyance4 ,she offered him her smelling-salts4 ,had there existed stenographic records of that sermon1 this narrative1 necessarily so defective1 would have no occasion for its being4 ,one of the most interesting things about the whole matter is that no such records can to-day be found4 ,reporters certainly were in the gallery4 ,the journals had sent their picked men as usual1 and no more4 ,where1 then1 were their columns of verbal record8 ,why has so important a discourse gone afloat upon vague1 conflicting rumor8 ,no person knows2 the reporters least of all4 ,one1 it is said1 lost his position for the default of that report2 others received the severest rebukes of their experience from their managing editors for the same cause4 ,none had any satisfactory reason to give for his failure4 ,i forgot1 said he who lost his position for his boyish excuse4 ,all ,i can say1 sir1 is ,i forgot4 ,the man swept me away4 ,i forgot that such a paper as ',the ,daily ,gossip' existed4 ,other matters1 he added with expensive candor1 seemed more important at the time4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the ,son of ,man cometh1 shall he find faith on the earth8 ,the stranger announced this not unusual text with the simple manner of a man who promised nothing eccentric in the sermon to come4 ,yet something in the familiar words arrested attention4 ,the phrase1 as it was spoken1 seemed less a hackneyed biblical quotation than a pointed personal question to which each heart in the audience-room was compelled to respond4 ,the preacher began quietly4 ,he reminded his hearers in a few words of the true nature of the ,christian religion1 whose interests he was there to represent4 ,one felt that he spoke with tact1 and with the kind of dignity belonging to the enthusiast of a great moral movement4 ,it occurred to one1 perhaps for the first time1 that it was quite manly in a ,christian preacher to plead his cause with as much ardor as the reformer1 the philanthropist1 the politician1 or the devotee of a mystical and fashionable cult4 ,one became really interested in the character and aims of the ,christian faith2 it did not fall below the dignity of a ,browning society1 or a study in theosophy or hypnotism4 ,the attention of the audience--from the start definitely respectful--became reverent1 and thus absorbed4 ,it was not until he had his hearers thoroughly in his power that the preacher's manner underwent the remarkable change of which ,saint ,agatha's talks in whispers to this day4 ,he spoke entirely without manuscript or note1 and he had not left the lectern4 ,suddenly folding his hands upon the great ,bible1 he paused1 and1 as if the audience had been one man1 he looked it in the eye4 ,then1 like the voice of the living ,god1 his words began to smite them4 ,what was the chancel of ,saint ,agatha's8 ,the great white throne8 ,and who was he who dared to cry from it1 like the command of the ,eternal8 ,sin6 ,sinners6 ,shame6 ,guilt6 ,disgrace6 ,punishment6 ,what words were these for the delicate ears of ,saint ,agatha's8 ,what had these silken ladies and gilded men to do with such ugly phrases8 ,smiles stiffened upon refined1 protesting faces4 ,the haughty under lip of the vestryman's wife1 and a hundred others like it1 dropped4 ,a moral dismay seized the exclusive people whom the preacher called to account like any vulgar audience4 ,but the shabby woman in the poor seats humbly wept1 and the young reporter who lost his position cast his eyes upon the ground1 for the tears that sprang to them4 ,from the delicate fingers of the vestryman's wife the smelling-salts fell upon the cushioned seat2 she held her feathered fan against her face4 ,her husband did not even notice this4 ,he sat with head bowed upon the rail before him1 as a good man does when reconsecrating himself at the communion hour4 ,the choir rustled uneasily in their seats4 ,the soprano covered her eyes with her well-gloved hand1 and thought of the follies and regrets 7she called them by these names7 that beset the musical temperament4 ,but the tenor turned his face away1 and thought about his wife4 ,down the avenue1 in the room of the shut-in woman1 where the telephone carried the preacher's voice1 a pathetic cry was heard3 ,forgive6 ,forgive6 ,oh1 if suffering had but made me better6 ,but now the preacher's manner of address had changed again4 ,always remembering that it is now impossible to quote his language with any accuracy1 we may venture to say that it ran in some such way as this3 ,the ,son of ,god1 being of the ,father1 performed his ,father's business4 ,what do ye who bear his name8 ,what holy errands are ye about8 ,what miracles of consecration have ye wrought8 ,what marvels of the soul's life have ye achieved upon the earth since he left it to your trust8 ,he came to the sinful and the unhappy2 the despised and rejected were his friends2 to the poor he preached the ,gospel2 the sick1 and overlooked1 and cast-out1 the unloved and forgotten1 the unfashionable and unpopular1 he selected4 ,these to his church on earth he left in charge4 ,these he cherished4 ,for such he had lived4 ,for them he had suffered4 ,for them he died4 ,people of ,saint ,agatha's1 where are they8 ,what have ye done to his beloved8 ,thou ancient church1 honored and privileged and blessed among men1 where are those little ones whom thy ,master chose8 ,up and down these godly aisles a man might look1 he said1 and see them not4 ,prosperity and complacency he saw before him2 poverty and humility he did not see4 ,in the day when habit cannot reply for duty1 what account will ye give of your betrayed trust8 ,will ye say3 ,lord1 we had a mission chapel4 ,the curate is responsible for the lower classes4 ,and1 ,lord1 we take up the usual collections2 ,saint ,agatha's has always been called a generous church8 ,in the startled hush that met these preposterous words the preacher drew himself to his full height1 and raised his hand4 ,he had worn the white gown throughout the day's services1 and the garment folded itself about his figure majestically4 ,in the name of ,christ1 then1 he commanded them3 ,where were those whom their ,lord did love8 ,go1 seek them4 ,go1 find the saddest1 sickest souls in all the town4 ,hasten1 for the time is short4 ,search1 for the message is of ,god4 ,church of ,christ1 produce his people to me1 for ,i speak no more words before their substitutes6 ,thus and there1 abruptly1 the preacher cast his audience from him1 and disappeared from the chancel4 ,the service broke in consternation4 ,the celebrated choir was not called upon to close the morning's worship4 ,the soprano and the tenor exchanged glances of neglected dismay4 ,the prayer-book remained unopened on the sacred desk4 ,the desk itself was empty4 ,the audience was1 in fact1 authoritatively dismissed--dismissed without a benediction1 like some obscure or erring thing that did not deserve it4 ,the people stared in one another's faces for an astounded moment1 and then1 without words1 with hanging heads1 they moved to the open air and melted out of the church4 ,the sexton rushed up to the vestryman1 pale with fear4 ,sir1 he whispered1 he is not in the vestry-room4 ,he has taken himself away--,god knows whither4 ,what are we to do8 ,trust him1 replied the church officer1 with a face of peace1 and ,god who sent him4 ,who he may be1 ,i know no more than you2 but that he is a man of ,god ,i know4 ,he is about his ,father's business4 ,do not meddle with it4 ,lord forbid6 cried the sexton4 ,i'd sooner meddle with something ,i can understand4 ,upon the afternoon of that long-remembered ,sunday there was seen in ,saint ,agatha's the strangest sight that those ancient walls had witnessed since the corner-stone was laid with a silver trowel in the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost whom we1 this people1 worship4 ,before the chimes rang for the vesper service1 the house was filled4 ,before the bronze lips of the bells were mute1 the pews were packed4 ,before the stranger reappeared1 the nave and the transept overflowed4 ,the startled sexton was a leaf before the wind of the surging crowd4 ,he could not even enforce the fire-laws1 and the very aisles were jammed4 ,who carried the story8 ,how do such wraiths of rumors fly8 ,every member of that church not absent from town or known to be ill in his bed sought his pew that afternoon4 ,many indeed left their sick-rooms to be present at that long-remembered service4 ,but no man or woman of these came alone4 ,each brought a chosen companion2 many1 two or three2 some came accompanied by half a dozen worshipers3 and upon these invited guests ,saint ,agatha's looked with an astonishment that seemed to be half shame2 for up those velvet aisles there moved an array of human faces at which the very angels and virtues in the painted windows seemed to turn their heads and stare4 ,such wretchedness1 such pallor1 hunger1 cold1 envy1 sickness1 sin1 and shame were as unknown to those dedicated and decorated walls as the inmates of hell4 ,rags and disease1 uncleanliness and woe and want1 trod the house of ,god as if they had the right there4 ,every pew in the church was thrown open4 ,tattered blanket shawls jostled velvet cloaks1 and worn little tan-colored reefers1 half concealing the shivering cotton blouses of last summer1 rubbed against sealskin furs that swept from throat to foot4 ,wretched men1 called in by the throb of repentance that follows a debauch1 lifted their haggard eyes to the chancel from the pews of the wardens1 and women of the town sat gently beside the first ladies of the parish and of the city4 ,there were a few ragged children in the audience1 wan and shrewd1 sitting drearily beside mothers to whom they did not cling4 ,the pew of our friend1 the vestryman1 was filled to overflowing4 ,the wife with the under lip sat beside him1 and did not protest4 ,she had herself gone with him to the hospital to select their guests4 ,for their pew was filled with the crippled and other sick who could neither walk nor afford to ride1 and whom their own carriage had brought to ,saint ,agatha's4 ,one of these1 a woman1 came on crutches1 and the lady helped her1 not knowing in the least how to do it2 and a man who had not used his feet for six years was lifted in by the pew-owner and his coachman and butler1 and carried the length of the broad aisle4 ,the church1 as we say1 was packed long before the preacher appeared4 ,he came punctually to his appointment1 like any ordinary man4 ,it was mid-afternoon1 and the sun was declining when he glided across the chancel4 ,already shadows were lying heavily in the corners of the church and under the galleries on the darker side4 ,a few lights were glimmering about the chancel1 but these served only to illuminate the stranger's form and face2 they did not lighten the mass of hushed and appealing humanity before him4 ,the choir1 with bowed heads1 just above the breath1 began to chant3 ,who shall lay anything to the charge ,of ,god's ,elect8 ,it is ,god that justifieth1 ,it is ,christ that died4 ,while they sang the preacher stood quite still and looked at the people1 that strange and motley mass1 the rich and the poor1 the sick and the well1 the disgraced and the reputable1 the pampered and the starving1 the shameful and the clean of life1 the happy and the wretched together4 ,when the singing ceased1 he spoke as if he talked right on2 he read no prayers2 he turned to no ritual2 he did not even use the great ,bible of ,saint ,agatha's--but only spoke in a quiet way1 like a man who continues a thought begun3 ,for the ,lord1 he said1 is the maker of you all4 ,there was no sermon in ,saint ,agatha's that afternoon4 ,ecclesiastically speaking1 there was no service4 ,but the preacher spoke to the people2 and their hearts hung upon his words4 ,but what those words were no man may tell us at this day4 ,it has been whispered1 indeed1 that what he said took different meanings to the members of that strange audience4 ,each heart received its own message4 ,wide as the earth were the gulfs between those hearers4 ,but the preacher's message bridged them all4 ,from his quivering lip and melting voice each soul drank the water of life4 ,afterwards each kept its own secret1 and told not of that thirst1 or of its assuaging4 ,he speaks to me1 sighed the patrician1 with bowed head4 ,how happens this1 for ,i thought no man did know that inner history8 ,i have never told-- ,to me6 ,to me6 sobbed the pauper and the castaway--the preacher speaks to me4 ,my misery1 my shame--the whole world knows1 but no man ever understood before4 ,the afternoon waned4 ,the shadows deepened under the galleries4 ,the great house clung like one child to the voice of the preacher4 ,it was as still as the courts of ,heaven when a soul is pardoned4 ,the stranger spoke in a low but penetrating voice4 ,not a word was lost by the remotest4 ,he spoke of the love of ,god the ,father1 and of the life of ,christ the ,son4 ,he spoke of sin and of forgiveness1 of sorrow1 of shame1 and of peace4 ,he spoke of sacrifice1 of patience1 of purity1 and of hope1 and of the eternal life4 ,not once did he allude to the petty differences among the people who sat bowed and breathless before him4 ,such paltry things as riches or poverty1 or position1 or obscurity1 he did not recognize4 ,he spoke to men and women1 the children of ,god4 ,he spoke to sinners and to sufferers1 and to patient saints2 he said nothing about classes2 he talked of human beings2 he rebuked them for their sins2 he comforted them for their miseries2 he smote their hearts2 he shook their souls2 he passed over their lives as conflagration passes1 burning to ashes1 purifying to new growth4 ,as he spoke1 the manner of his countenance changed before them1 like that of any great and holy man who is charged with the burden of souls1 and who persuadeth them4 ,a fine1 inner light glowed through his features1 as a sacred lamp glows through alabaster or some exquisite shell4 ,his plaintive lip trembled4 ,his deep eyes burned and retreated1 as if they veiled themselves4 ,an expression dazzling to behold settled upon his face4 ,his white garment gathered light1 and shone4 ,suddenly pausing1 he stretched forth his hands4 ,what delicate arrangement of the chancel lamps illuminated them8 ,it was noticed by many1 and spoken of afterwards below the breath4 ,for1 as he raised them in benediction upon the people1 there scintillated from the palms a light4 ,some said that it was reflected from the radiance of the man's face4 ,some said that it had another cause4 ,only this is sure3 when he did uplift his hands to bless them1 all the people fell upon their knees before him4 ,it was now almost dark in the church1 and no man could see his neighbor's face4 ,the choir1 on their knees1 began to sing1 ,holy1 holy1 holy-- ,when their voices fell1 the preacher's rose3 ,and now may the grace of ,god the ,father1 and the love of ,jesus ,christ his ,son1 your ,lord1 and the peace of the ,holy ,spirit1 be upon you2 for there is ,life ,eternal2 and ,god is the ,light thereof2 whose children ye are forever4 ,amen1 and ,amen4 ,his voice ceased4 ,the hush that followed it was broken only by sobs4 ,the electric lights sprang out all over the church4 ,in the sudden brilliance the kneeling people lifted their wet faces to the stranger's1 thinking to catch a last sight of him for life-long treasure4 ,but the chancel was empty4 ,as silently1 as strangely1 as he had come1 the preacher had gone4 ,it was the fashion of the man4 ,such was his will4 ,he was never seen at ,saint ,agatha's again2 nor1 though his name and fame were widely sought1 were they ever learned by any4 ,the great1 strange crowd of worshipers melted mutely away4 ,no man spoke to his neighbor2 each was busy with the secret of his own soul4 ,the sick returned to their sufferings2 the bereaved to their loneliness2 the poor to their struggles2 the rich to their pleasures2 the erring to their temptations2 and ,god went with them4 ,down the avenue1 in the room of the life-long invalid1 the receiver fell from a woman's shaking hand4 ,all these--all they1 the saddest1 the sorest1 of them all--had been preferred before her4 ,oh1 to have seen his face6 she cried4 ,she held her thin hands before her eyes4 ,then1 flashing by that inner light which burns in the brain of the sensitive sick1 the face of the stranger swam before her for an instant--and was not2 for she had recognized it4 ,illustration3 ,the face of the stranger swam before her ,in the ,monday morning's paper1 the vestryman of ,saint ,agatha's observed a line or two of obituary notice tucked away in one of the spaces reserved for the obscure4 ,it set forth the fact that the old clergyman who had failed to meet his appointment died on ,sunday morning1 of pneumonia1 after a brief illness1 aged seventy-two4 ,books by ,elizabeth ,stuart ,phelps4 7,,mrs4 ,,ward47 ,,the ,,gates ,,ajar4 #ghth ,thousand4 #afmo1 #a4ej4 ,,beyond ,,the ,,gates1 #cjth ,thousand4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,,the ,,gates ,,between4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,the above three volumes1 in box1 #d4jj4 ,,men1 ,,women1 ,,and ,,ghosts4 ,stories4 #afmo1 #a4ej4 ,,hedged ,,in4 #afmo1 #a4ej4 ,,the 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,essays4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,,the ,,trotty ,,book4 ,illustrated4 ,square #afmo1 #a4be4 ,,trotty',s ,,wedding ,,tour ,,and ,,story ,,book4 ,with ,illustrations4 ,square #afmo1 #a4be4 ,,what ,,to ,,wear8 #afmo1 #a4jj4 ,,poetic ,,studies4 ,square #afmo1 #a4ej4 ,,songs ,,of ,,the ,,silent ,,world4 ,with ,portrait4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,,chapters ,,from ,a ,,life4 ,illustrated4 #abmo1 #a4ej ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company1 ,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york4