But wrote its syllables upon the paths they went -Where the fumbling grope of Man The stone, with the grind of another stone, Was the promise of the Word, and its infinite urge In the travail with which he wrought. -The swing of the laborer's tool The rumble of carts in the town The thud of driving steam, Are a-stir with an ancient theme; Its fire is alight in looks that pass, In the city's lamps that gleam Out on the sea-and the blue of the sailor's eye Is a-dance with the thrill of it— With the distant receding lure Elusive and whispering strange and far To him who would seek the fill of it. The joy of one who rides over a plain in the night— Who speeds to the ruby rim of purple boundless wastes Under the stars. In the flood of his heart poured out, In the flying song he trolls Is the secret of the quest! Here in my heart and yours it is sealed But my lips may not say it, nor yours,— Unspelt and unrevealed. Yet, where pass silently The stars, and the thoroughfare of night Is a skimming mist for our feet,— Where, shot with the nacre of dawns The implacable veils that tangle us here, fall away, Only the hillwinds breathe in our breath I have seen it writ,-the Word! A LETTER FROM LOVELACE BY RICHARD BUTLER GLAENZER Impulsive girl, so sweet, so kind, so young, Over the ashes of a wasted flame. For best I know myself, half flint, half bran, REMEMBRANCE BY ALBERT E. TROMBLY Singer, why do you ask of some fond heart To be remembered still, when you are dead? Will not the night-wind moan above your bed And with each spring fresh flowers and grasses start? And will you not have had a goodly part Of earth's sad love, if something you have said Have power to yield to one discomforted Today I have the courage to be glad, And strength to wish that none should ever mope I would not be remembered, for I hope AMONG FRIENDS It is well for ministers of the Holy Gospel that they can remember for their comfort "Whom the Lord loveth, him He chasteneth." One of the new novels, The Pastor ($1.25 net published by Badger) deals with the vicissitudes of a sincere protestant clergyman. George M. Darley, the author, treats the problem in a frank but unbiased way, and greatest boon of all, he possesses a very keen sense of humor. If the time ever should come when candidates for the ministry were submitted to psychological tests, one important experiment should be to register their response to some really good jokes, this for their own benefit as proof of their possession of a quality essential to carry them through their future trials, as well as being a necessary means of protection to their future congregations. Some proofs that Mr. Darley would have passed such a test with high honors are: ""Mr. Bass said that he thought some of our church members were so very good, that like over-ripe apples, they were a little bit rotten.' "In the Presbyterian church there are elders who help to keep peace in the church, and there are elders who make pieces of the church." "Dr. Brewster knew that all earth's goodness is not wrapped up in the wallets of church members." "To be successful, a clergyman is only expected to give as much time To study as a college professor To speaking as a lawyer To writing as an editor To visiting as a physician and then he should possess the Alertness of an antelope Boldness of a lion Credulity of a child Devotion of a lover Earnestness of a Paul Fearlessness of a knight Genius of a general Heroism of a soldier Immovability of a stone wall Justice of a judge Knowledge of a Plato Lovability of an angel Meekness of a lamb Nobility of a king. Optimism of a sophomore Quietness of a mute (on occasion) Ubiquity of the Wandering Jew Mr. Darley does not paint all clergymen as paragons preyed upon by the wicked members of their congregations. He shows the faults of the clergy as well as those of the laity. It would be unfair, also, to limit consideration of The Pastor to amusing quotations, for the novel itself is far from the common run of present day fiction. In it we see one of life's greatest tragedies, one all too frequent of occurrence, a great man's sacrificing himself to some cause only to be rewarded by the people's rejection of him. We see also the terrible injustices wrought by scandal-mongering as well as the struggle of two souls to withstand the irresistible influence of a great passion in whose path lie respectability and a henminded wife. Although the author sees SO clearly the trials of a minister, he sees above and beyond them the wonderful opportunities for service and sacrifice. "Possibly the evils you mention, and that are so objectionable, come from the weaknesses of human nature rather than from a malicious desire to injure a pastor. Should you decide to enter the ministry, you will soon learn the need of doing everything as unto the Lord and not as unto men, and of reaching upward rather than leaning on the broken reeds of men's opinions." In this day of war, business, and road-houses, we limit our reading to the multifold extra editions of the newspapers. If one of us should come home and find a member of the family seated under the lamp, reading, we should be surprised enough, but if we found him reading the Bible, we should hurry him off to the psychopathic hospital,-which would prove once more that the determination of lunacy is largely a matter of taste. Yet when to read the Bible was a serious crime, there were men who committed large portions of it to memory. If anyone is still misguided enough to wish to read the most wonderful of all literature and wants an introduction which will help him in appreciating its beauties, he cannot do better than to read Samuel A. Martin's The Oracles of God. As the author says, "No one can be too familiar with the contents of these Scriptures, but it is quite possible to have our knowledge so detached and ill-arranged that we get confused and vague impressions of the whole,-possible not to see the woods for the trees. If this book helps to give a true perspective, it will not have been written in vain." Sufficient to say, it is far from having been written in vain. Other volumes belonging to Badger's Library of Religious Thought are: The Imperishable Heart, by James Craig Buchanan; The Pedagogics of Jesus, by H. M. Tipsword; Twilight: The Sign of His Coming, by Alexander Mackenzie Lamb; The Unpardonable Sin, by John N. Strain; Our Obligations to the Day of Rest and Worship, by James P. Hutchinson; A Confession of Faith for the Average Christian, by M. R. Fleming; Why God Made Men, by J. Nesbit Wilson; What the Spirit Saith to the Churches, by J. Norman King; Jesus' Idea, by Fordyce H. Argo, and also of interest to religious readers, Bible and Mission Stories, by John Creswell. Not content with giving the world such a valuable handbook as The Oracles of God, Dr. Martin has contributed The Philosophy of Conduct as well, evidently wishing his readers to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The book really is an excellent treatise on ethics, free from the technicalities which in some text books offset the good effects by so confusing the reader that he decides it does not so much matter what he does do after all. Professor Martin, |