{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_37731/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_37731","id":"gutenberg_37731","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37731","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Clergy -- Canada -- Fiction","Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 -- Fiction"],"text":"Produced by Al Haines\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlter Ego\n\nA TALE\n\n\n\nby Rev. W. W. Walker\n\n\nAuthor of \"By Northern Lakes,\" \"Sabre Thrusts at Freethought,\" \"Plain\nTalks on Health and Morals, Part II,\" and \"Occident and Orient.\"\n\n\n\n\nAUTHOR'S EDITION\n\nTORONTO\n\nWILLIAM BRIGGS\n\n1907\n\n\n\n\nEntered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one\nthousand nine hundred and seven, by WILLIAM WESLEY WALKER, at the\nDepartment of Agriculture\n\n\n\n\n  To\n\n  Lydia Kirby Walker\n\n  the granddaughter of a cultured Frenchman\n  and the faithful partner of my joys\n  and sorrows, this volume\n  is affectionately\n  dedicated.\n\n\n\n\nThe author is indebted to the great national newspapers of Canada and\nthe United States, the Toronto _Globe_ and _Collier's Weekly_, for some\nfacts from the former and some figures from the latter in rounding up\nthe historical part of the story as relating to the conflict in the Far\nEast.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nTo men who teach and write the oft-recurring question comes, How can we\nso influence others in heart and intellect as to help them reach a\nloftier plane of thought and action?  As every life has its Gethsemane\nof sorrow and tragedy, so every life has its morning star of hope and\nits mainspring of faith.\n\nOur salvation, then, and the lifting up and saving of others is the\nexercise of that vital principle which has its incarnation in hope.\nThe use of this still further causes the mountains of difficulty that\nloom portentous in our pathway and tower to the heavens to crumble into\nmole-hills.\n\nThe soul is made optimistic and the life beautified by its possession,\nwhile the ear is brought, spiritually speaking, within range of the\nvictorious shout, \"More than conquerors!\" and the new song, the song of\nMoses and the Lamb.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n   I. The Appointment\n  II. Mr. Melvin's Marriage and Teachings\n III. Secretary-Treasurer Thompson's Death--A Surprise\n        from the Far-off East\n  IV. 203 Metre Hill and Mukden\n   V. The Battle of Mukden--and Call of Mr. Devoau as\n        Associate Minister\n  VI. Further Teachings and how they are Estimated\n\n\n\n\nALTER EGO\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n_THE APPOINTMENT._\n\nIn the uplands of Canada was an attractive church with a spire that\npointed longing souls to the skies, and the pastor of which had\nfinished his course with joy and was now joining in the hallelujah\nchoruses of the upper sanctuary.  The authorities of the denomination\nto which the church belonged appointed a man to its pulpit who was\nprogressive and independent, as well as being very broad-minded.  The\nnecessity for this lay in the fact that the population of the place\nrepresented nearly all the languages and creeds to be found in the\nDominion, and consequently if a man of narrow views were appointed he\nwould soon make shipwreck of everything.\n\nThe new minister, as well as being broad and advanced, was very\nhonorable, and would not in any way infringe upon the rights of others;\nbut as Mount Zion was the only church in the place, he was perfectly\nsafe from any charge of meanness, in the form of coaxing sheep away\nfrom a brother's fold.  The first Sunday came upon which the Rev.\nThomas Melvin was to occupy his new pulpit, and an immense congregation\nfilled every part of the edifice.  The text was from the Saviour's\nwords, \"Feed my sheep,\" and the preacher had not gone far when his\nattentive hearers discovered that he was a man of great intellect and\nunusual power as a speaker, and they were swayed as corn-stalks in a\ntempest as he reasoned of the Saviour's place in the world, and of His\nwork, and also of man's obligations to Him, as well as to his fellows.\n\nAll through the week this first fearless and powerful sermon was the\ntalk of all who had heard it.  Some, however, did not like it, as\ntelling them of their duty caused indigestion, while others were\ndelighted, as they loved a man who shunned not to declare all counsel,\nwhether pleasing or displeasing.  The next Sabbath disclosed the fact\nthat Mr. Melvin was no plug either, as he said things outside the scope\nof the Bible and over the boundary line of prescribed theology.  One\nold gentleman who occupied a front seat in the church, and who was of\nportly mould and genial disposition, and whose dinners were really of\nmore account in his estimation than anything else, forgot said feasts\nfor a period sufficiently long to say: \"My songs!  I wonder what that\nnew preacher means, anyway!\"\n\nNext day our friend, who was dean of the dinner-table faculty, called\non his new pastor and said, after being asked how he liked the sermon\non Sunday: \"My songs!  You said things that my bloomin' brain could\n'ardly hunderstand.\"  To tell the truth, Mr. Melvin was something of a\nstatesman as well as a preacher, and with narrow bigots soon became as\nmuch hated as he was beloved by the broad and liberal minded.  The\nbigots, however, soon ceased to be.  Although those classing themselves\nas belonging to other denominations were in no case strong enough to\nform societies, yet they remained loyal to what they claimed allegiance\nto, but this did not hinder them from frequently hearing Mr. Melvin,\nwho was delighted to see his countrymen, who in some cases spoke the\nmellow, musical tongue of France, that land of art, science, and\nliterature, and military power.  As his congregation was so\ncosmopolitan and contained representatives of every leading\ndenomination, the pastor of Mount Zion preached the doctrines of the\nBible in their broadest sense, and showed their most comprehensive\nmeaning.\n\nEveryone who heard Mount Zion's rector, or pastor, noticed that he was\nperfectly fearless in depicting the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and\nhaving found out that a certain prominent man in the place was very\nvile in his morals, and had ruined many young lives, and was in the\nhabit of running the rig on good people, and who also was most\nun-Canadian in his ways, he openly rebuked him for his evil deeds and\nfor not restraining his family.  Of course, this exasperated the man,\nand for a long time he was a persistent enemy of Mount Zion's pastor,\nbut he was yet to find out that the servant of the Galilean would\nconquer.  His sympathies were all of the Mother Goose type, as is the\ncase with most evil men, whose stamina is so exhausted in sinning that\nthey lack the courage to stand alone, and never dare to be Daniels,\nabove everything heeding God's command.\n\nAs Rev. Mr. Melvin was the only resident ordained man in the place, he\nhad a great many marriages.  Indeed, all the marriages--or rather,\nmarriage ceremonies--were performed by himself and the Rev. Father\nTrenton, of the Catholic Church, who came occasionally from a\nneighboring parish to minister to people of his own faith.\n\nMr. Melvin, after meeting Father Trenton two or three times, decided\nthat he was a man of fine principle and real moral worth, also a strong\nadvocate for total abstinence from cigarettes and strong drink,\nbelieving, as a man of culture and science, that the effect of both was\npernicious and poisonous, and that on that ground they were to be\navoided.  The reverend father was a most companionable man, and, as Mr.\nMelvin said, was a jolly good fellow.  he was soon invited to the manse\nfor tea, where a most enjoyable time was spent, and where many a good\nstory was told.  There soon came an invitation to Mr. Melvin from\nFather Trenton to visit him at his home in the next town.  The\ninvitation was promptly accepted, and another happy evening whiled\naway.  It was inspiring to all languages and creeds to see the warm and\nhearty cordiality of feeling that existed between these two broad and\nliberal-minded men, which taught the world that the elevation of the\nhuman race lay not in such senseless antagonisms as existed among our\nbigoted and foolish ancestors, but in the exercise of a spirit not only\nof toleration, but of good-fellowship and love.\n\nSome very amusing incidents occurred during the performance of the\nmarriage ceremony.  One man, who had previously been received into the\nChurch, and who was asked the question, \"Will you renounce the world,\nthe flesh and the evil one?\" the answer of which was, \"I renounce them\nall,\" was asked, \"Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, for\nbetter, for worse, in sickness and health, till death you do part?\" and\nin his excitement, having the membership reception in mind, he said, \"I\nrenounce them all.\"  On another occasion, while a couple were being\nyoked together, the groomsman suddenly leaned over and saluted the\nbride instead of the groom, to the infinite amusement of all present,\nand causing the face of the latter to take on a crimson hue.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n_MR. MELVIN'S MARRIAGE AND TEACHINGS._\n\nIt was rumored for some time that the minister of Mount Zion, or the\nincumbent, or pastor, or whatever you desire to call him, was in the\nhabit of visiting a certain young lady in a distant town.  Now there\nwere many fine young ladies belonging to the tabernacle, but as\ndistance seemed to lend merit and attractiveness, its spiritual head\nfound his choice elsewhere.  Although not a graduate, Miss Spencer was\na well-read young lady of refined instincts and excellent character;\nshe had taught school for some time, and was of French ancestry.  In\ncommenting afterward upon his choice, Mr. Melvin said that as a\nCanadian he saw that one of the most important steps in nation building\nwas to unify, as far as possible, the different races and creeds in\nthis country, and he was one of those who were setting the pace.\n\nWhen Mrs. Melvin was brought home, after a very interesting ceremony at\nthe Spencer homestead, the people were charmed with her and the\ntabernacle congregation gave her a splendid reception.\n\nThe minister's wife in every way justified the good opinion formed of\nher at first sight.  She was a quiet, unobtrusive Christian, with a\nsympathetic nature, which soon brought her in touch with the poor and\nafflicted in the community.  Many a basket prepared by her own hand\nfound its way into the homes of want, and many a visit was made which\ncomforted and cheered the anguished sufferer, and which tended to turn\nthe hour of sorrow into one of joy.  Mrs. Melvin proved herself an\nangel of mercy in Carsville, and frequently relieved her husband by\ntaking charge of a service of praise, or by preaching a sermon in\nconnection with the Sabbath service.  Her work as a teacher had made\nher a fluent, impressive and logical speaker, who was always acceptable\nto the people.\n\nMr. Melvin now saw that the time was ripe for moulding public opinion\nalong not only spiritual but national lines, and he did not even\nconsult the politicians concerning the matter, but as a teacher applied\nhimself resolutely to the task.\n\nThe very first Sunday after bringing his bride from her somewhat\ndistant home the pastor of Mount Zion Tabernacle preached on sin, and\nsaid the individual must come out from among his sinful associates in\nrenunciation thereof, and dare to be singular, or there is little hope.\nAs it is with individuals, so with nations.  The people who in a\nnational sense, associate with a country, to the extent of forming a\npart of it, that reeks with drunkenness and licentiousness will\nassuredly, if they do not come out from it, share its ruin, which is\nsure and certain as the fact that God rules and reigns.\n\nThe following Sunday Mr. Melvin preached on the character and\nattributes of Christ, saying that, He did not rule or reign among men\nin an imperial sense, seated upon a kingly throne in such splendor that\nonly a chosen few could approach Him, but in a thoroughly democratic\nmanner, to whom the rich and poor, the learned and unlearned, all alike\ncould come, to find in Him a Saviour, Brother, Friend and merciful High\nPriest, one who was touched with a feeling of human infirmity, and who\nalways entered into sympathy with humankind.\n\nThe third Sunday the subject was religion, the preacher asking if it\nwas a creed, or a bundle of doctrinal standards, if it was Calvinism or\nArminianism, Brahminism or Buddhism, Confucianism or Zoroastrianism, or\nthe cheering of narrow-minded bigots for sixteenth century ideas.\n\nThe man who with Pauline fearlessness asked these questions also\nhimself answered them, saying it is none of these, but it is to be so\nfilled with the loving Christ spirit as to visit the sick and\nfatherless in their affliction, and keep unspotted from the world, to\nmanifest the Christ spirit in all life's relationships, which spirit\nwas one of broadest charity and love.\n\nAfter those three momentous sermons the minister, to stimulate his\nyoung people in a way that would lead to energetic action along the\nline of acquiring knowledge, preached a sermon on the subject of\neducation.  He told his hearers not to be afraid to read scientific and\nphilosophical as well as historical literature, and do not become\nnervous, he said, if many of your old cherished ideas are proven to\nhave had for their foundation the ever-shifting sand.\n\nIf research proves that man has been on this earth 2,000,000 of years\ninstead of 6,000, as formerly taught, do not be afraid to accept it,\nfor it is in perfect harmony with the teachings of God's own\nrevelation, and infinitely more correct than the antiquated teaching of\nthe past, according to the most eminent authority in the world.  If in\nformer times it was taught that the atmosphere was forty-five miles\nhigh, who now would continue to adhere to such a belief, when with\ntheir own' eyes they can see meteoric stones burst into flame one\nhundred miles from the earth, thus proving the atmosphere to be\nconsiderably more than that height, as in order to become so heated as\nto glow it must collide with atmospheric particles for many miles.  The\nsame may be said of history, study it in every phase, turn on the side\nlights, and you will find that in many cases it is very different to\nwhat you have always been taught.  The immense congregation which\nthronged the tabernacle were now beginning to find out that their\nformer teachers were of the antediluvian school, but that a man with\nenlightened mind and scholarship so acute that it could not be measured\nby academic degrees had come among them.  This progressive and advanced\nteacher, however, warned them that in the midst of all their\nadvancement they would find that Israel's God was their God, and that\nthey would have to obey Him, and live clean, faithful, fruitful lives,\nso as to one day hear the \"Well done,\" and enter into the Master's joy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n_SECRETARY-TREASURER THOMPSON'S DEATH--A\n  SURPRISE FROM THE FAR-OFF EAST._\n\nThe most pious and trusted of all the tabernacle officials was John\nThompson, who, though not handsome in the outer man, was in soul\nbeautiful.  Indeed, his homeliness was at one time the subject of a\ngood joke, when an old friend of Mr. Melvin's, who was a noted\nscientist, in visiting him, attended a Sabbath service, and seeing him\n(that is, Mr. Thompson), said to a bystander: \"I have long sought for\nthe missing link to establish the development theory, but the last\nplace I ever expected to find it was in Mount Zion Tabernacle, and yet\nthere it is!\"\n\nIn spite of jests, however, the secretary-treasurer had the qualities\nof mind and heart which go to make the true man, and when word was\nborne to his pastor that he was seriously ill, Mr. Melvin lost no time\nin reaching his couch.  The first question he asked was, \"Are you\nsuffering much, Brother Thompson,\" who, in reply, said: \"I am suffering\ngreat bodily pain, but though heart and flesh fail I am trusting in the\nliving God.\"  The fifteen minutes that followed were too sacred to\nrecord, and when the minister left the sick man's chamber it was\nnoticed that his face looked as if he had been treading on the\nborderland of Paradise.  Next day, as our clerical friend was entering\nthe home of his afflicted official, he met the medical doctor who had\nbeen in attendance, and asked him if there was any hope for his friend.\nThe doctor said that if his trouble had been attended to in time his\nlife would have been saved, but now no power on earth could do more\nthan prolong it for a few days.  Mr. Melvin saw that what the man of\nskill said was correct, as he had frequently noticed that Mr. Thompson\nwas in poor health, if appearances went for anything, and altogether he\nwas so busied with his duties and deeds of charity that he neglected\nhimself until there was no chance for medical science to give him, as\nit would have done under Providence, if consulted in time, years of\nusefulness.  Next time the pastor visited his dying parishioner, he\nreceived some good advice from one who was not nearly so learned as\nhimself.  Said he: \"If your sermons possessed the spirituality which\nthey do philosophy and common-sense, the congregation would soon\nreceive a great spiritual uplift.\"  Mr. Melvin was a very sane man, and\nheeded not the rebuke except to profit by it.  Indeed, it was a marked\ncompliment to him that his teaching was endorsed by the best man in his\ncongregation while on the verge of the heavenly kingdom.\n\nNext day the minister called again to see his faithful officer, and on\ninquiry found that his hopes still rested upon his Saviour's blood and\nrighteousness, and in the conversation which followed Mr. Thompson\nsaid: \"How little in this hour do stocks, bonds and mortgages, houses\nand lands, trouble one.  The only house of which I can now think is the\none to which I have a clear title through a loving Saviour's\nsacrificial death, and it has not been formed by human hands, for its\nbuilder and founder is God.\"  As Mr. Melvin bade farewell to his friend\non this occasion, he saw that he was steadily sinking, and would soon\nbe in the house of many mansions.  About two o'clock next morning the\ndoor-bell at the parsonage was so vigorously rung that everybody was\nawakened, and a message was handed in, asking the pastor to go, if\npossible, at once to Mr. Thompson's, as he was just dying.\n\nMr. Melvin dressed quickly and passed out into the darkness of the\nnight, soon arriving at the home of the dying man.  One glance showed\nthat the sands had almost run out, but upon his feeling the hand-clasp,\nthe sick man revived for a time and said, \"Eye hath not seen, nor ear\nheard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which\nGod has in store for those that love Him.\"  After uttering these words\nhe seemed to be exhausted, and sank down deeper into his pillow.  Mr.\nMelvin watched him, and after a time saw his lips move, and placing his\near close to them, caught the words, \"Home at last, home at last.\"\nThen the lips ceased to move, and all could see that the ransomed\nspirit of the redeemed man had passed beyond the river.\n\nThe people of Carsville and of the world had now an evidence that\ncharacter and true worth could not be measured by outward appearance.\nDuring the hours that the body of the sainted Thompson lay in state and\nwas deposited in God's acre the flags were flying at half-mast, and\nevery business place was closed.  In spite of unattractive exterior the\npeople of all languages and creeds in the place recognized the fact\nthat a broad-minded man, full of loving sympathy for all classes and\ncreeds, was not dead, but had been translated.\n\nMr. Melvin always looked with a certain measure of suspicion upon\nholiness people, believing that there was more hypocrisy than sanity in\nall that sort of thing, and called to mind the case of Sambo who\nprofessed it, and when asked by his good old-fashioned class-leader,\nwho knew his weakness, if he had during the past week stolen any ducks,\nsaid, \"No, massa.\"  \"Any geese?\"  \"No, massa.\"  \"Any turkeys?\"  \"No,\nmassa.\"  \"Bless the Lord, Sambo, you are on your happy way to heaven.\"\nAs the leader passed on to admonish the next, Sambo turned to his\nneighbor and whispered: \"If massa had said chickens he had me; I was at\nde roosts of Widder Simpkins last week.\"\n\nMr. Thompson had, however, never professed it, but his life gave\nevidence that he possessed it, and his pastor thought it wise never to\nmention that much misunderstood word \"holiness\" again.\n\nShortly after the burial of the secretary-treasurer there came to\nCarsville a straight military-looking young man with an indifferent\nair, who procured employment at the foundry, and whom the minister\nnoticed in the congregation, intercepting him at the close of the\nservice to find out who he was and to welcome him.  The person was\nLeonard Devoau, who had returned from Manchuria, where he had fought in\nthe Russian army at Port Arthur and Mukden, escaping from the former to\nthe latter disguised as a Chinaman, where he took part in the world's\ngreatest battle.  Mr. Devoau said that he was born at Ottawa, the\ncapital of the Dominion, and always loved adventure, and it was this\nlove that led him to enlist in the Russian army, and pass through the\nfrightful scenes at the above places.\n\nMr. Melvin was much impressed by the bearing of the young stranger who\nhad returned from Manchuria so recently, and invited him to the\nparsonage so that they might get better acquainted.  During the course\nof the evening he asked his guest if he was fond of soldiering, and in\nreply was told that when he left Canada he was in love with the idea,\nand even after the awful experiences of Port Arthur, where he was often\nfor hours together in a perfect hell of fire, he thought he would love\na fair fight in the open, and accordingly broke for Mukden.  He told\nthe minister, however, that this great battle, including the retreat,\nwas even worse than the siege, as in the former large bodies of them\nhad frequently to face about and charge with the bayonet to press back\nthe hordes of Japanese who were continually driving in upon them.\n\nMr. Devoau said: \"When you think of the fact that we could never meet\nour enemies when we were not outnumbered from two to three to every one\nof our own men, you will concede that we never had a fair chance, but\nput them man to man and they could never withstand the Russians in a\nbayonet charge.  The disparity in numbers is very evident from the fact\nthat the Russians had only 300,000 infantry and 26,700 cavalry at\nMukden, while opposed to this was a force of 650,000 men, or, for all\npractical purposes, just double the number.  We fought them for\nnineteen days along a front one hundred miles in length, and were only\nthen defeated by an accident, bringing off 1,300 guns out of 1,360, and\na larger quantity of baggage, marching into headquarters, as the corps\nof General Linevitch actually did, with banners flying and bands\nplaying as if they were just fresh from the parade ground.  Marshal\nOyama may go down in history as a great strategist, but in my humble\njudgment General Kuropatkin is greater.  The general knew full well\nthat if he had one more army corps he could have cut in two the long\ndrawn out flanking force of his antagonist, crumpled it up, and turned\ntheir victory into a disastrous and decisive defeat.  As it was, at the\nclose of the war General Linevitch confronted the enemy with 1,000,000\nmen in arms, and they, unwilling to try conclusions when there was man\nfor man, made a peace favorable to Russia on the whole.  As\ncorroboration of this I give you the word of the foreign military\nattaches to the Russian army.\"\n\nAs Mr. Melvin did not in his own home consider it in very good form to\ninquire into the past history of Mr. Devoau, he soon visited him at his\nlodgings and asked him concerning his life.  He said, in answer to the\nquestion, that he had been brought up by Christian parents, who held\nthat any deviation from the path of moral rectitude was an awful thing,\nand consequently he himself had never gotten astray morally; his\nbesetting sin, he said, was a love for wild adventure by flood or\nfield, and he was now perfectly satisfied and desired no more of that\nkind of thing.  He had foolishly thought that there was much glory in\nwar, but after seeing its hydraheaded hideousness, and himself testing\nits fearful hardships, he was prepared to denounce it as anti-Christian\nand barbarous, except in a defensive sense.  Also concerning his\neducation he had helped different members of his father's family in\ntheir studies, and had thus been prevented from entering upon a\nuniversity course, though he had undergraduate standing.\n\nThe pastor of the tabernacle said he was surprised that with his\nstanding he should enter a foundry, and work his way just as one would\nwho had no earlier advantages, but the reply was a very rational one,\nfor he said he and his brother had decided that when they had mastered\nevery detail of the business, and had saved sufficient money to warrant\nit, they would start a foundry of their own.  \"While in the Russian\narmy,\" he continued, \"I discovered that the prospect for iron founders\nwas brighter than for most classes.\"\n\nThe minister now asked his new friend if he would like to join the\ntabernacle, and at the same time gave him a hearty invitation, but he\nsaid he could not conscientiously join, but would attend the services.\nMr. Melvin said, \"Now I am not a bigot, and do not insist on every one\ndoing as I do, and being what I am.  How would you like to simply\nbecome a member of our Young People's Society, where we would help you\nand you could help us?\"  \"I will do that,\" said Mr. Devoau.\n\nThe new acquisition to the Debating Club of Mount Zion Tabernacle\nproved a great drawing card, as it was well known at the foundry and\nall around that he possessed a fine moral character and could always be\nrelied upon.  Before asking him to connect himself with the society the\nminister had not only talked to him personally, but had also written to\nOttawa, and asked concerning his past life, and found that he had told\nthe truth, and that, as he himself said, \"The worst things he had ever\ndone, and that only since entering the army, was to smoke a cigar and\nplay a game of cards without stakes.\"\n\nThe pastor and his officials, however, were soon to receive a rebuke\nwhen Mr. Devoau told them, after they had been praising him for his\nclean life, that if they had more of the loving Christ spirit instead\nof lauding him they would be out into the lanes and alleys, into the\nhighways and byways, gathering in the lost and sinful rather than those\nwho had always been moral.  \"It seems to me,\" he said, \"the Church is\nmore needed to foster and guide those who have had their garments\nstained with sin than those who without any credit to themselves, but\nto the instruction and coercion of puritanical parents, always kept\nthemselves clean.\"\n\nMr. Melvin was so struck with the fact that the young man who had\nrebuked them possessed true worth that he invited him to relate his\nexperiences during the war in an address, when the whole evening would\nbe given up to him, and on which the tabernacle doors would be thrown\nopen to the public.  The invitation was accepted, the young ex-soldier\nannouncing his intention of relating some of the incidents in\nconnection with the storming of 203 Metre Hill, of which he was one of\nthe defenders, and the assaults on the entrenchments at Mukden.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n_203 METRE HILL AND MUKDEN._\n\nBefore a crowded audience and under the auspices of the Young People's\nClub, Mr. Devoau said: \"Now, before I launch right out into a\ndescription of battle charges, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to\nunderstand that I feel so humble and modest in this matter that I\nbelieve if I had never seen Port Arthur the defence would have been\njust as stubborn, and if I had not been in the advanced works at Mukden\nthe battle would have lasted nineteen days all the same, and the army\nof the Czar would have been saved.  Nothing worthy of notice occurred\nduring my long voyage from Montreal; at least everything was so tame in\nthe shape of the railway trip from Ottawa to the above-mentioned place,\nand the tossing upon the waters of the mighty deep until a blockade\nrunner landed me at the seat of war, to what followed afterwards that I\nwill not weary you to-night by relating it.\n\n\"When I arrived at headquarters General Stoessel did not require my\nservices, as Russians only were preferred, but I pleaded so hard with\nhim through an interpreter, and told him I had come all the way from\nCanada, and was just spoiling for a fight, telling him at the same time\nif he desired to know more about me to send a cable message to their\nconsul at Ottawa.  This seemed to satisfy the general, and he at last\nassigned me to the Prebensky Regiment of sharpshooters that held 203,\nafter testing me with a rifle.  I soon got well acquainted with my\ncomrades, and a jollier lot of fellows never lived, who had no end of\nfun at the expense of the little niggers, as they termed the Japanese.\nOur fun, however, was shortlived, for one day the hills opposite our\nposition burst into flame as though struck by lightning, and 203 Metre\nspurted flame, and boiled like a cauldron from a succession of fearful\nexplosions, as shells alighted upon it.  Our colonel signalled us to\nlie close.  Every little while a gun would be tossed clean into the air\nby the explosion of an eleven-inch shell, and sometimes a whole squad\nof men would be literally torn to pieces, legs, arms and fragments of\nflesh flying in all directions.  This pounding made us dreadful angry,\na number of the men swearing fluently, even the grey-haired colonel, I\nwas told, made some unmentionable remarks, and I, who had never sworn\nin my life, made some very sarcastic references to the proceeding.\n\n\"Those horrible eleven-inch shells made bomb-proofs and covered works\nof all kinds very little more secure than the open.  Many men were\nstruck down around me, some of them horribly mangled, and portions of\nthe works literally smashed to splinters, but such is war, and some\ncall it glory.\n\n\"After this fearful hammering had gone on for a time with hell reigning\nall around, as suddenly as it started the appalling din ceased, and\nnothing could be heard but the piteous moaning of men who were so\nhorribly mangled, many of them, that if their own mothers were present,\nthey could not recognize them.  During the awful bombardment, just as\nwe had expected, the enemy, who had made considerable progress under\ncover of the night, had advanced right to the foot of the hill.\nHitherto we could see nothing, as not a soldier was in sight, and all\nthat we could do was to pound the naked hillside, but now the little\nbrown squads, in twenties, began rushing across the fire zone, and it\nappeared as if they were reserves coming up to reinforce the men at the\nbase of the hill.\n\n\"Our blood was up after the abuse we had received, and we pounded them\nwith big guns, pom-poms, Maxims and rifles, but still they came, and\nquickly forming, marched up the valley of the shadow of death until a\nshrill whistle rang out, when they turned square toward our position,\nanother whistle and they doubled files, and came on with splendid\nprecision.  Their colonel, a grey-haired veteran, stood on a spur, and\nheedless of shrieking missiles, had only one thought, and that was of\n203.  It is true the hill had been assaulted before, while it is\nequally true that the enemy had been beaten back with frightful\ncarnage.  Now, however, something seemed to say that the end was near,\nas old Teleda, the veteran of twenty-seven engagements, stood as if on\nparade, directing the attack.  His men sank to mother earth singly and\nin mangled heaps, but he had no eye for their dead or ear for the\nmoaning of their wounded; 203 was the game, and anything smaller, such\nas noting the mutilated forms upon the blood-drenched sands in the\nvalley, was beneath contempt.  A battery of six guns came up to the\nfoot of the hill at a gallop, the gunners setting them at an angle of\nmany degrees, so as to rake our works, but though they concealed\nthemselves as best they could, our sharpshooters frequently got a bead,\nand an artilleryman would throw up his hands with a shriek and tumble\nin a heap.\n\n\"After a rest the enemy opened again, the hills in front spouting\nflame, and the battery at the foot of our position vomiting death.\nBetween the explosions, however, and they came thick and fast, we saw\nthe figures of men as numerous as ants swarming up the base of the\nhill.  Our machine guns were soon angled upon them, and our rifles sent\nrattling volleys among them, but the explosions in our position now\ncome so frequently that we are soon choked in clouds of dust, and\nbattered by splinters of gun carriages and even falling sand bags.  The\nsignal now rang out to fix bayonets, and this was no sooner done than\nhand grenades were hurled in upon us, the explosions of which tore the\nheads off some of our men, the legs and arms off others, but the most\nsickening sight to me was that of a man not three yards away who had\nthe fore part of his chest clean torn away, leaving his mangled lungs\nexposed to view.  At this stage observation was cut short by a whole\nbattalion of Japanese infantry tumbling over the parapet, followed by\nswarms of reserves.  We sprang upon them with the steel, and a\nfrightful conflict ensued, men fell dead in twos, often with their\nbayonets buried in one another's bodies.  For two or three minutes\nnothing could be heard but shots, and imprecations, and shrieks, and\nrattling steel, and then all was over, 203 Metre Hill was taken, but\nafter we got out--that is, all that was left of us--it was turned into\na smoking volcano by the shells from our forts around, and the enemy\nnearly shared our fate in being ejected.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n_THE BATTLE OF MUKDEN--AND CALL OF MR. DEVOAU AS ASSOCIATE MINISTER._\n\nAfter the recital of the fall of the key to Port Arthur, the speaker of\nthe evening gave his experiences in the world's greatest battle as\nfollows: \"I arrived at Mukden long before the fight, and after the\nfamous victorious charge of Poutiloff up the slopes of Lone Tree Hill,\nby which the Japanese were driven out with fearful loss, I wanted to be\none of its defenders, but General Kuropatkin seemed to know all about\nme, and insisted that I connect myself with the force holding\nYuhungtun.  I was angry and thought I was going to miss the liveliest\npart of it, but the general knew better.\n\n\"There was a good chance to become acquainted with the men before the\nconflict, and I found them really fine fellows.  Some were capital\nmarksmen, and as the enemy's outposts drew nearer amused themselves by\nsniping the men in the advanced pits, and many a Jap whose head only\nwas visible did we see lifted out of his hole with his brains oozing\nout of a bullet perforation in his upper story.  The time came at last,\nhowever, when 1,000,000 men confronted each other in the lines of\nbattle, who were destined to suffer a loss in killed, wounded and\nprisoners within three weeks of 250,000 men, or just one-fourth of the\nentire number.  Although the battle proper lasted about nine days, what\nwith preliminaries and the rear-guard action which followed, it might\nbe safe to add ten more.  The struggle was fearful, and nobody was so\nmuch master of the situation as our commander-in-chief, who knew from\nthe beginning where the blow would fall.\n\n\"General Rennenkampf, the Cossack chief, had with his staff traversed\nthe entire one hundred miles of front and had handed in his report to\nhis superior.  The plan of Marshal Oyama was to outflank our army and\ncut off its retreat, and after surrounding it pound it, until it\ncapitulated, but in Kuropatkin he had met a man so able in strategy\nthat he could easily outgeneral him and bring his plans to naught.\nWhen the eleven-inch shells which had wrought such destruction at the\nport began to fall it soon became evident that the works on which had\nbeen expended the labor of months and the skill of the best engineers\nwere going to dust.  In spite of the fact, however, that we were\noutclassed in numbers and heavy artillery our men put up a terrible\nfight.  After a fearful pounding with all kinds of guns, one day the\nenemy in overwhelming force came upon us with the bayonet, and after a\nhand-to-hand struggle, without parallel we believe, in which the ground\nwas piled with the slain, we were forced out and our works taken.\nDuring the awful struggle which cost us our position, I was struck in\nthe side by the steel of a Jap, which cut a groove between two of my\nribs, but although I was not seriously hurt I recognized the fact that\none inch more, or possibly half of that, and to-night instead of\ntalking to you I would have been in a nameless grave on Manchuria's\nplains, with my warrior shroud for a winding sheet, until the earth\nwould give up its dead.\n\n\"It is a remarkable fact that although people said, with the advent of\nmodern repeating arms and machine guns, that bayonet charges were no\nlonger possible, as such rushes in force would spell annihilation, yet\nthere never was a battle in all history where so many charges were made\nand in which cold steel crossed so often as at Mukden.\n\n\"Word now came to us that our army had taken the offensive in the\ncentre, and was forcing the enemy back, and encouraged by this we\ndetermined to retake our lost position.  As we were forming for the\nattack the divisional commander came along, and noticing the shortage\nof officers, said to the colonel of our regiment: 'Take the most\nexperienced men from the ranks and put them in charge of sections and\ncompanies.'  Although this was said in Russian, I had now picked up\nenough of the language to understand it.  The colonel did not like the\nadvice and said: 'General, this is contrary to custom; you know we need\nto safeguard these positions by the use of a little red tape.'  The\ngeneral became furious and said: 'Red tape to ----!  It has been the\ncurse of the army in the past, and it will curse any army, and at, best\nbring nothing but humiliation.  What we want is merit, which\npractically means experience and courage with a large amount of\nintelligence thrown in.'  It was now evident to the colonel that he\nmust obey his superior officer, and he came over to me and said:\n'Devoau, I want you to take No. 5 Company, as its officers are all dead\nor wounded.'  I set my teeth and obeyed, believing that I myself would\nsoon be as they.  All was soon ready and the order was given, 'Forward,\nsteady under cover.'  When we reached the open or fire zone two\nwhistles pierced the air--one to deploy in loose order and the other to\ndouble.  We now swept forward, the enemy's batteries opening upon us.\nThe men of my company went down, sometimes one and sometimes three or\nfour in a heap at a time.  As we reached our old position I was\nperfectly furious because of our losses, and though I had never sworn\nin my life before I yelled between my clenched teeth, 'Give them\n_hell_, boys!'  Just as we were tumbling in upon them our colonel, who\nwas braver and better than any of us, was shot through the brain and\ninstantly killed.  Even though the colonel was killed and whole\ncompanies had gone down in that awful rush, the Japanese might as well\nhave tried to stem Niagara's torrent as to beat back our infuriated\nmen, and all that was left of them got out faster than they had charged\nin.  The night within the village was one that would never fade from\nmemory.  The streets were strewn with broken rifles, twisted sabres and\nbayonets, dismounted guns, broken gun carriages and dead men, some of\nwhom still clutched each other in the grip of death.  I was now\nordered, though I felt unequal to the task or honor, to take temporary\ncommand of our decimated regiment.\n\n\"In trying to hold on to our old position we had to withstand some\nterrible bayonet rushes on the part of the enemy in efforts to retake\nit, and our regiment, which entered the battle with 2,450 men, had just\n585 left to respond to the order to retire.  Another regiment lost\n1,100 men.  The place assigned us in this most, orderly retreat was in\nthe rear-guard, and just as we took our places our brigade commander\nwas decapitated by the explosion of a pom-pom shell, and I was ordered\nto hand over my regiment to a major and take charge of the brigade.\n\n\"We had an awful time during the retreat, but every onrush was stemmed,\nand at each repulse of the foe our men, with bayonets dripping red,\ncheered to the echo.\n\n\"The war was now practically over, and although every man of ours had\ntwo foemen opposed to him, the Japs had a narrow escape from defeat;\nnothing but the accident of a duststorm averting it, by enabling them\nin the darkness thereof to break the lines of General Linevitch when\nhis men could not see a yard ahead of them.\n\n\"When we reached headquarters I, having nothing but a temporary\nconnection with the Russian army, went to my chief and tendered him my\nuniform and arms, telling him, as there was not likely to be any more\nfighting, I would return to Canada.  He, however, refused to take\nanything, saying that as a mark of honor and appreciation I must retain\nthem, and after saying 'Good-bye' to my battle-scarred comrades I went\nto the station to entrain for the coast, and as it steamed out a crowd\nof officers and men waved their caps and handkerchiefs, shouting,\n'Canada for ever; long live Canada and the Canadians!'  I felt I did\nnot do much for them--any one, perhaps, would have done better--but I\nhad done my little best, and they had trusted and honored me.  I like\nthe Russians; they are good fellows, and are greatly slandered in the\nWest.  They have a moral code, and with some exceptions, they live up\nto it, and any nation that crosses arms with them will pay a heavy toll.\n\n\"In closing, I presume you would like to know more fully my opinion of\nwar, and in giving it I will say that if you murder a man by shooting\nor stabbing him you are merciful, but if you kill him by exploding an\neleven-inch shell, in many cases he will be torn to fragments and his\ndismembered body scattered over an acre of ground.  In other instances\nthat I have seen at Mukden and 203 Metre Hill, men have been mortally\nwounded and left an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood, which for\ndays heaved with anguish and life, while others, after hours and\nsometimes days of agony, died with broken bayonets protruding from\ntheir backs, having entered as gallant breasts as ever swelled with\nbreath and life.\n\n\"I have forsworn war for ever, after the dreadful scenes which I have\nwitnessed, and there were scenes which I did not witness, in far-off\nRussia and Japan, which were infinitely more appalling, where was seen\nthe dreary sobbing of broken-hearted widowhood and the piteous wailing\nof hungry, fatherless children.  Added to this was the pale-faced\nsorrow of sisters bereft of brothers and sweethearts, who had lost\nthose who would have been nearer than brothers, and who now with broken\nhearts ceased to live and began only to exist in hopeless despair.  The\nRussians met in their foes armies trained after the pattern of the\nGerman military system, and none of us ever again desire to cross\nweapons with men trained as those are, who have learned from that land\nof advanced scholarship and military superiority.  The Japanese were\nfoemen worthy of their steel, but instead of their arms being\ndishonored fresh lustre was shed upon them.\"\n\nAt the close of his address Mr. Devoau was applauded to the echo, after\nadding as a rider that in his denunciation of war he would, of course,\nmake an exception of defensive operations.\n\nThe next Sabbath in the morning service Mr. Melvin started the\ntabernacle congregation by announcing that as he would soon reach the\nretiring line, and as the immense congregation, with its many needs,\novertaxed his strength, he had long thought of an associate who, when\nhe retired, would take full charge.  Continuing, he said: \"I have\nspoken to Mr. Devoau and asked him if he would not abandon the thought\nof a life so selfish as that of making himself one of the foremost iron\nfounders in Canada and join me in the work of preaching and teaching.\nHis answer has been favorable, if it is the will of the people, and he\nhas further said that if it is their will he will accept it as the\nMaster's will.\"\n\nA meeting of the officers of the church was called for Tuesday evening,\nwhen the matter was discussed, and Mr. Devoau's profession of faith\nheard, when he told them that he was of French-Canadian parentage and\ncould not subscribe to every technicality.  His frankness and\nfearlessness won every heart, a vote was taken, and he was unanimously\ncalled to be associate pastor of Mount Zion.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n_FURTHER TEACHINGS AND HOW THEY ARE ESTIMATED._\n\nAfter his ordination the new preacher took his place in the pulpit once\nevery Sunday, and being now a close student of theology as well as of\nother subjects, he soon became an eloquent and powerful speaker, and\nthe entire congregation was delighted with him.  The last Sunday of the\nnational year, Mr. Melvin announced a sermon on \"The Ideal Relationship\nof Capital and Labor,\" prompted by the recent trouble at the foundry\nbetween employers and their hands.  The preacher of the day said:\n\"Beware of so-called socialism, for it trenches very closely on the\nborderland of anarchism, and after having listened to lectures and\nsermons an hour long and read many books upon that much-abused topic, I\nam constrained to turn to the teaching of the Man of Nazareth, and find\nin that teaching something more rational and common-sense than\nelsewhere.  In the first place our Saviour recognized property rights\nwhen he said, 'Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto\nGod the things which are God's.'  This doctrine is for the workingman\nas well as for his employer, and enables both to procure homes for\nthemselves and hold them in their own right.\n\n\"We cannot fail to recognize the fatherhood of God, and if so then we\nmust recognize the brotherhood of man, for all men truly should be\nsuch.  If you and I have come to that point where we regard every man\nas our brother, on the authority of Jesus Christ, the social problem\nwill be solved, and the capitalist will regard and treat the man who\ntoils for him as the son of his Father God, and the toiler will regard\nthe employer as not only his brother, but co-heir with himself to an\nincorruptible inheritance.  Much depends, brethren, on the exercise of\nthat charity which translates love.  Love one another and you will use\none another aright.  As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,\nand there was life as the wounded Israelites looked upon it, so there\nis life in a look at the crucified One, and there is more than that,\nthere is adjustment of relationships between husband and wife, between\npastor and people, between citizens and their chief magistrate, between\ncapital and labor.  I can do no better than lift my hand toward the sky\nand utter that little classic, '_Ecce Homo_,' and He is the Man of\nSorrow.\"\n\nThe senior pastor's sermon had a marvellous effect upon the people, and\nit was said that the iron workers' difficulty was soon settled on the\nChrist principle.  The next Sunday being July 1st, the anniversary of\nConfederation, the Rev. Mr. Devoau preached a sermon in keeping with\nthe day, and said \"that the Iroquois term 'Kannatha,' which was very\nrestricted in its meaning, and only signified a collection of wigwams\nor huts--a village, we might say--had become corrupted into Canada, but\nnow stood for dominion power and nationality.  The population had grown\ninto many millions, and the area was 3,750,000 square miles, or nearly\nas great as the entire continent of Europe.  The mineral and coal\ndeposits are almost inexhaustible, and the exports and imports the\nastonishment of the nations.\n\n\"The growth of our cities is simply wonderful.  Winnipeg has doubled\nits population in five years; Calgary has nearly trebled the number of\nits citizens in the same period, while Montreal has become the New York\nof Canada.  Truly the words of our text apply specially to us, 'He hath\nnot dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgments we have not\nknown them.'\"\n\nContinuing, the speaker said: \"The God who has so wondrously blessed us\nsince 1867, when a confederation of our leading provinces took place,\nexpects us to be rational and sane, and stand for unity and\nconsolidation of languages and creeds, that Canada may show to the\nworld what the brotherhood of man means and that the Saviour's teaching\nhas been put into practice upon our ocean-girt shores.  A large number\nof our people do not know what the term Canadian means.  They will do\nwell to remember that it takes in not only the people of old Ontario,\nbut the people of the greater Canada beyond, with its diversity of\nspeech and polity, and no responsible person would say or do anything\nthat would not tend to weld together the different doctrines and\ntongues.  If we are true to God and each other we will one day stand in\nthe front rank of world powers, and our fleets, not of war, but of\ncommerce, will ride upon every sea.  The battle of the Sea of Japan or\nCorea proved that battleships were not worth the coal that steamed\nthem, but our mercantile marine is of priceless value, for it carries\nour wares to every land and our commerce into the marts thereof and\ninto every clime.\"\n\nImmediately upon the close of the sermon, Mr. Melvin, who had occupied\na seat upon the platform, arose and said, \"This is the best sermon to\nwhich I have ever listened; it is truly the teaching of a man who is\nsaner and wiser than his fellows.\"  Upon the utterance of these words\nthe vast audience broke into thunders of applause, evidencing the fact\nthat it was the sentiment of all.\n\nAs the summer advanced, Mr. Devoau invited Mr. Melvin to take a trip to\nOttawa with him, as he was going to visit his parents for a day.  The\ninvitation was accepted, and these two kindred spirits started off on\nan early train for Canada's beautiful capital, where they were met by\nMr. Devoau, senior, who heartily welcomed the friend and colleague of\nhis son.  As they walked toward the home of the Devoau family, whom\nshould they meet but the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister\nof Canada, who was out for a stroll, and with whom the elder Devoau was\nwell acquainted.  Both preachers were at once introduced to the\nPremier, who was very gracious and genial.  Mr. Devoau said they were\nhaving a day's recreation after their recent teachings.  Sir Wilfrid\nsaid: \"I will not ask what those teachings were, as I am sure they were\nall right.\"  Mr. Melvin said: \"They were not exactly like those of the\nScotchman, who was asked if his health was good, and he said, 'I am no\nverry weel the day, for last nicht I was teaching the bairnies doon at\nthe hall hoo to vote.'\"  Said he, \"We are not exactly teaching people\nhow to vote, but we are trying to pound sin out of them.\"  The Premier\nthen made the hit of the day when he said, \"Get all the sin out of them\nand they will vote right.\"\n\nAfter a splendid day, during which they visited the noble pile on\nParliament Hill and had a sail in a steam launch on the majestic river,\nthe pastors of the tabernacle returned to Carsville, where at the Young\nPeople's meeting the senior minister related their experiences while in\nCanada's beauty spot, as the capital city might be called.  He told of\nmeeting the Premier and of his friendliness and geniality.  \"This\ncountry,\" said he, \"has had gentlemen in that position, and it has had\nstatesmen for prime ministers, but it never so strikingly combined the\ntwo great qualities as in the person of him whose name will be engraven\nwith a surpassing lustre upon the bead-roll of the nation, and the name\nwill be that of the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier.\"\n\nMr. Melvin, who did not feel quite so strong recently, thought of\nseeking a much-needed rest in retirement for a time at least, now that\nhis colleague was immensely popular, and could now handle the entire\ncongregation, though it never was so large.  However, just as he was\npreparing for this move an invitation came to him to enter upon higher\neducational work, which he at once accepted, saying that, he would\nstill preach and teach, and would really have a larger field in which\nto do good, and the change of air and scene would be as good as a rest.\n\nThe people of Carsville expressed much regret at the departure of one\nwho was known as an admirable citizen as well as an able and effective\nminister.  Mr. Melvin, however, always told them that he was leaving\nwith them a man after his own heart.\n\nBefore the day of his leave-taking a farewell banquet was tendered him,\nat which were appreciative after-dinner speeches, the chair being\noccupied by Rev. Mr. Devoau, informally.  Abraham Thompson, Esq.,\nsenior member of the Board, when called upon, said: \"I am grieved at\nthe departure of one who has been everything that I could\nwish--broad-minded, sympathetic, and scholarly--one in whom all could\nalike trust, ever finding in him a wise counsellor and a safe guide; a\nman of splendid mental balance, of unusual wisdom.  To say that I\nendorse his teachings is not enough; I heartily endorse all of it, and\npray that the Great Head of the Church will bless and keep our mutual\nfriend, together with his much appreciated partner, unto their\njourney's end.\"\n\nThe next called upon was Thomas Edwards, the leading merchant in the\nplace.  He was shrewd in business and a keen discerner of men.  He\nsaid: \"Though I am not on the same side of politics as Mr. Melvin, yet\nin the main I think his teachings are sound and the product of a sane\nmind.  Personally, I have learned to respect him.  I will, like one who\nhas preceded me, go farther and say I have learned to love him, and\nwish him and his godspeed in a ministry which has been a blessing to my\nwhole house.\"\n\nThe next official was Edmund Garvin, general manager of the foundry,\nand a man of intense perception.  Said he: \"I have noticed that our\nworthy senior pastor, whose removal I deeply regret, always stood for\nunification in the home and independence, and not only there, but in\nthe church and nation, and I may say his sentiment is mine.  I, like\nhim, am no hanger-on--only poltroons are that--and no man in his right\nsenses would be anything but a brother to all the races and creeds in\nour country, and in all his utterances our clerical friend has proven\nhimself not only wise as a serpent, but also a true Christ man.  I wish\nhim and his amiable wife great happiness and success in future life.\"\n\nThe chairman now saw that as the time was getting late they must close,\nand said in a few closing words that his colleague had endeared himself\nto him, and had done more for him than he could ever repay.  \"I, like\nyourselves, regret his departure, but feel that he is going into a\nfield of great usefulness, and he doubted not that he would be happy\nand prosperous.\"\n\nShortly after Rev. Mr. Melvin's departure old Uncle Reynolds, as he was\ncalled, was struck by a pilot engine at the station, and so seriously\ninjured that he was taken home in the ambulance.  He was the most\nsaintly man in the tabernacle, and Rev. Mr. Devoau, now in full charge,\nwas sent for.  His practiced eye at once told him that the old man's\nhour had almost come.  Stooping down he said, \"Uncle, how is it with\nyour soul?\" and opening his weary eyes the aged veteran said, \"It is\nwell; it is well.\"  Talking for a moment or two with his pastor he\nsaid: \"Our dear Bro. Melvin is gone from us, but, oh, how precious are\nhis teachings!  As the result of them my feet are on the Rock of\nAges--the rock of Christ--and I have long since found out that 'all\nother ground,' as the sacred bard says, 'is sinking sand.'\"\n\nComing back late in the evening Mr. Devoau said, \"Uncle, is there light\nin the valley?\" and the dying man raised his feeble hand and blessed\nhis pastor, and whispered to him that he had already been a blessing to\nmany and the people loved him.  Then he said: \"Oh, yes, the valley is\nbathed in light; for He has said, 'At evening time it shall be light.'\"\nWith these words trembling upon his lips the old man swept through the\ngates of paradise, a ransomed soul.\n\nFinished as was the course of this saintly man, yet the great world, as\nin all such cases, moved on, and with it the teaching of the new pastor\nof Mount Zion.\n\nSpeaking to the young people some time after this, he said: \"Let there\nbe no misunderstanding concerning what I stand for, and what we all\nshould stand for.  I am for liberty of conscience, freedom and\nindependence, along all lines, both religious and national, even to the\ngranting of home rule to poor, old, long-suffering Ireland, which, by\nall means, it should have, and is justly entitled to in this twentieth\ncentury.\n\n\"The question arises, How can we best qualify ourselves for the\nsalvation of ourselves and fellows, and the working out of our destiny\nalong general lines?  I answer, by consecrating our ransomed powers to\nthe great Arbiter of Destinies, who stands behind all forms and\nsystems, but ever watchful of His own.\"\n\nAt the conclusion of the address Mr. Henry, principal of the Public\nSchool, arose and said: \"I beg that the Young People's Club will place\nupon record, and in letters of gold engrave and place amid the archives\nof the church, the admirable and fearless utterances of this evening.\"\n\nMr. Henry was followed by one who, in the educational world, stood\nhigher than he, namely, the head master of the Collegiate Institute in\nCarsville, who capped everything by saying, \"'Pro bono publico,' and as\nwell as being for the public good, though I am an independent in\npolitics, I will say that the Rev. Mr. Devoau has the faculty of always\nsaying the right thing, and his teachings are an inestimable boon to\nall classes in this place.\"\n\nIn a few mouths after this the pastor of Mount Zion was honored with a\ndegree from world-renowned Harvard, and his influence increased, and\nhis ministry truly became one of reconciliation and power, until the\never-circling years at last brought near the Age of Gold.","title":"Alter Ego: A Tale","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":10279}