The Witness, Grace Livingston Hill Lutz [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗
- Author: Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
Book online «The Witness, Grace Livingston Hill Lutz [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗». Author Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
Be Afraid Of Being Misunderstood.
There Were Two Or Three Professors In The Seminary Who Struck Courtland
As Being Profoundly Spiritual And Sincere In Their Lives. They Were Old
Men, Noted For Their Scholarship And Their Strong Faith The World Over.
They Taught As Courtland Imagined A Prophet Might Have Taught In The
Days Of The Old Testament, With Their Ears Ever Open To See What The
Lord Would Have Them Speak To The Children Of Men. At Their Feet He Sat
And Drank In Great Draughts Of Knowledge, Going Away Satisfied. There
Were Other Professors, Some Of Them Brilliant In The Extreme, Whose
Whole Attitude Toward The Bible And Christ Seemed To Have An Undertone
Of Flippancy, And Who Fairly Delighted To Find An Unauthentic Portion
Over Which They Might Haggle Away The Precious Hours Of The Class-Room.
They Lacked The Reverent Attitude Toward Their Subject Which Only Could
Save The Higher Criticism From Being Destructive Rather Than
Constructive.
As The Year Went By He Came To Know His Fellow-Students Better, And To
Find Among Them A Few Earnest, Thoroughly Consecrated Fellows, Most Of
Them Plain Men Like Burns, Who Had Turned Aside From The World's
Allurements To Prepare Themselves To Carry The Gospel To Those Who Were
In Need. Most Of Them Were Poor Men Also, And Of Humble Birth, With A
Rare One Now And Then Of Brains And Family And Wealth, Like Courtland,
To Whom God Had Come In Some Peculiar Way. These Were A Group Apart From
Others, Whom The Rest Respected And Admired, Yet Laughed At In A Gentle,
Humoring Sort Of Way, As If They Wasted More Energy On Their Calling
Than There Was Any Real Need To Do. Some Of Them Were Going To Foreign
Lands When They Were Through, Had Already Been Assigned To Their Mission
Stations, And Were Planning With A Special View To The Needs Of The
Locality. Courtland Felt An Idler And Drone Among Them That He Did Not
Yet Know What He Was To Do.
The Men, As They Came To Know Him Better, Predicted Great Things For
Him: Wealthy Churches Falling At His Feet, Brilliant Openings At His
Disposal; But Courtland Took No Part In Any Such Discussions. He Had The
Attitude Of Heart That He Was To Be Guided, When He Was Through His
Studies, Into The Place Where He Was Most Needed; It Mattered Not Where
So It Was The Place God Would Have Him To Be.
In February Burns Had A Farewell Service In His Church. He Had Resigned
His Pastorate And Was Going To China. Pat And Courtland Went Down To The
City To Attend The Service; And Monday Saw Him Off To San Francisco For
His Sea Voyage To China.
Courtland, As He Stood On The Platform Watching The Train Move Away With
His Friend, Wished He Could Be On That Train Going With Burns To China.
He Was To Take Up Burns's Work Around The Settlement And In The Factory
Section; To See Some Of His Friend's Plans Through To Completion. He Was
Almost Sorry He Had Promised. He Felt Utterly Inadequate To The
Necessity!
Spring Came, And With It The Formal Announcement Of Tennelly's And
Gila's Engagement. Courtland And Pat Each Read It In The Papers, But
Said Nothing Of It To Each Other. Courtland Worked The Harder These
Days.
He Tried To Plunge Into The Work And Forget Self, And To A Certain
Extent Was Successful. He Found Plenty Of Distress And Sorrow To Stand
In Contrast With His Own; And His Hands And Heart Were Presently Full
To Overflowing.
Like The Faithful Fellow-Worker That He Was, Pat Stuck By Him. Both
Looked Forward To The Week That Tennelly Had Promised To Spend With
Them. But Instead Of Tennelly Came A Letter. Gila's Plans Interfered And
He Could Not Come. He Wrote Joyously That He Was Sorry, But He Couldn't
Possibly Make It. It Shone Between Every Line That Tennelly Was
Overwhelmingly Happy.
"Good Old Nelly!" Said Courtland, With A Sigh, Handing The Letter Over
Chapter 27 Pg 167To Pat, For These Two Shared Everything These Days.
Courtland Stood Staring Out Of The Window At The Vista Of Roofs And Tall
Chimneys. The Blistering Summer Sun Simmered Hot And Sickening Over The
City. Red Brick And Dust And Grime Were All Around Him. His Soul Was
Weary Of The Sight And Faltered In Its Way. What Was The Use Of Living?
What?
Then Suddenly He Straightened Up And Leaned From The Window Alertly! The
Fire Alarm Was Sounding. Its Sinister Wheeze Shrilled Through The Hot
Air Tauntingly! It Sounded Again. One! Two! One! Two! Three! It Was In
The Neighborhood.
Without Waiting For A Word, Both Men Sprang Out The Door And Down The
Stairs.
Chapter 28 Pg 168
"The Whited Sepulcher," As Some Of The Bitterest Of Her Poorly Paid
Slaves Called The Model Factory, Stood Coolly, Insolently, Among Her
Dirty, Red-Brick, Grime-Stained Neighbors; Like Some Dainty Lady
Appareled In Sheer Muslins And Jewels Appearing On The Threshold Of The
Hot Kitchen Where Her Servitors Were Sweating And Toiling To Prepare Her
A Feast.
The Luxuriant Vines Were Green And Abundant, Creeping Coolly About The
White Walls, Befringing The Windows Charmingly, Laying Delicate Clinging
Fingers Even Up To The Very Eaves, And Straying Out Over The Roof. No
Matter How Parched The Ground In The Little Parks Of The District, No
Matter How Yellow The Leaves On The Few Stunted Trees Near By, No Matter
How Low The City's Supply Of Water, Nor How Many Public Fountains Had To
Be Temporarily Shut Off, That Vine Was Always Well Watered. Its Root Lay
Deep In Soft, Moist Earth Well Fertilized And Cared For; Its Leaves Were
Washed Anew Each Evening With Refreshing Spray From The Hose That Played
Over It. "Seems Like I'd Just Like To Lie Down There And Sleep With My
Face Clost Up To It, All Wet And Cool-Like, All Night!" Sighed One Poor
Little Bony Victim Of A Girl, Scarcely More Than A Child, As The Throng
Pressed Out The Wide Door At Six O'clock And Caught The Moist Fragrance
Of The Damp Earth And Growing Vine.
"You Look All In, Susie!" Said Her Neighbor, Pausing In Her Interminable
Gum-Chewing To Eye Her Friend Keenly. "Say, You Better Go With Me To
The Movies To-Night! I Know A Nice Cool One Fer A Nickel!"
"Can't!" Sighed Susie. "'Ain't Got Ther Nickel, And, Besides, I Gotta
Stay With Gran'mom While Ma Goes Up With Some Vests She's Been Makin'.
Oh, I'm All Right! I Jus' Was Thinkin' About The Vine; It Looks So Cool
And Purty. Say, Katie, It's Somepin' To B'long To A Vine Like That, Even
If We Do Have It Rotten Sometimes! Don't You Always Feel Kinda
Proud-Like When You Come In The Door, 'Most As If It Was A Palace? I
Like To Pertend It's All A Great Big House Where I Live, And There's
Carpets And Lace Curtings To The Winders, And A Real Gold Sofy With
Pink-Velvet Cushings! And When I Come Down And See One Of The Company's
Ottymobiles Standin' By The Curb Waitin', I Like To Pertend It's Mine,
Only I Don't Ride 'Cause I've Been Ridin' So Much I'd _Ruther_ Walk!
Don't You Ever Do That, Katie?"
"Not On Yer _Life_, I Don't!" Said Katie, With An Ugly Frown. "I Hate
The Old Dump! I Hate Every Stone In The Whole Pile! I Could Tear That
Nasty Green Vine Down An' Stamp On It. I'd Like To Strip Its Leaves Off
An' Leave It Bare. I'd Like To Turn The Hose Off And See It Dry Up An'
Be All Brown, An' Ugly, An' Dead. It's Stealin' The Water They Oughtta
Have Over There In The Fountain. It's Stealin' The Money They Oughtta
Pay Us Fer Our Work! It's Creepin' Round The Winders An' Eatin' Up The
Air. Didn't You Never Take Notice To How They Let It Grow Acrost The
Winders To Hide Folks From Lookin' In From The Visitor's Winders There
On The East Side? They Don't Care How It Shuts Away The Draught And
Makes It Hotter 'N A Furnace Where We Work! No, You Silly! I Never Was
Proud To Come In That Old Marble Door! I Was Always Mad, Away Down
Inside, That I Had To Work Here. I Had To Go Crawlin' And Askin' Fer A
Job, An' Take All Their Insults, An' Be Locked In A Trap. Take It From
Me, There's Goin' To Be Some Awful Accident Happen Here Some Day! If A
Fire Should Break Out How Many D'you S'pose Could Get Out Before They
Was Burned To A Crisp? Did You Know Them Winders Was Nailed So They
Wouldn't Go Up Any Higher 'N A Foot? Did You Know They 'Ain't Got 'Nouf
Fire-Escapes To Get Half Of Us Out Ef Anythin' Happened? Did You Never
Take Notice To The Floor Roun' Them Three Biggest Old Machines They've
Got Up On The Sixth? I Stepped Acrost There This Mornin'--Mr. Brace Sent
Me Up On A Message To The Forewoman--An' That Floor Shook Under My Feet
Like A Earthquake! Sam Warner Says The Building Ain't Half Strong Enough
Fer Them Machines, Anyway. He Says They'd Oughtta Put 'Em Down On The
First Floor; But They Didn't Want To 'Cause They Don't Show Off Good To
Visitors, So They Stuck 'Em Up On The Sixth, Where They Don't Many See
'Em. But Sam Says Some Day They're Goin' To Bust Right Through The
Floor, An' Ef They Do, They Ain't Gonta Stop Till They Get Clear Down To
The Cellar, An' They'll Wipe Out Everythin' In Their Way When They Go!
B'leeve Me! I Don't Wantta Be Workin' Here When That Happens!"
"_Good Night!_" Said Susie, Turning Pale. "Them Big Machines On The
Sixth Is Right Over Where I Work On The Fifth! Say, Katie, Le's Ast Mr.
Brace To Put Us On The Other Side The Room! Aw, Gee! Katie! What's The
Use O' Livin'? I'd 'Most Be Willin' To Be Dead Jest To Get Cool! Seems
Zif It's Allus Either Awful Hot Er Awful Cold!"
They Went To Their Stifling Tenements And Their Unattractive Suppers.
Chapter 28 Pg 169They Dragged Their Weary Feet Over The Hot, Dark Pavements, Laughing And
Talking Boisterously With Their Comrades, Or Crowded Into Places Of
Amusement To Forget For A Little While, Then To Creep Back To Toss The
Night Out On A Hard Cot In Breathless Air Or To Creep To Fire-Escape Or
Flat Roof For A Few Brief Hours Of
Comments (0)