The Parkerstown Delegate

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Book: Read The Parkerstown Delegate for Free Online
Authors: Grace Livingston Hill
large in these days, and very solemn ones. A good many of the Parkerstown young people were beginning to find out what it is to belong to Jesus Christ, and many others were seeking Him. Even the new big room was full every Sunday afternoon, and the songs that filled the air and floated out to the street often drew in outsiders who were taking a little walk or who had nothing else to do. Lois had sacrificed her organ to the cause, though it was not a sacrifice, but given gladly, and Franklin had brought it over himself, so they had good rousing singing and plenty of it, and Harley would lie on his little couch by the desk and look at the organ with admiring eyes, feeling that it lent a dignity of the church to the modest room.
    But there were days, and growing more frequent now, when the little couch by the light desk was empty, and the young president of this society was unable to be moved in to the meeting, but must lie in the darkened bedroom beyond, with the door closed, and suffer. At first they thought the meetings must be adjourned when Harley was not able to be there, because the noise would trouble him, and because they felt they could not do without him, until he begged so hard that all should go on as usual that it was tried as an experiment, in hushed voices, and without music. But Harley missed that at once and sent word for them to sing:
     
    At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light,
    And the burden of my heart rolled away,
    It was there by faith I received my sight,
    And now I am happy all the day.
     
    He said the singing rested him. So, after that they went on as usual, only when the president was not there, there was a more earnest feeling manifest in all the members, and much praying done that the dear boy might be relieved from his sufferings. Some who had not cared much about the meetings heretofore seemed strangely touched by the thought that the little, patient sufferer was lying there thinking of them and praying for them.

Chapter 5

    It was the evening of the day after one of these sad, painful Sabbaths. Lois and his brother Franklin were sitting by Harley’s bed. They had been telling him about the meeting as he had asked them. Franklin let Lois do much of the talking, he only helping her out here and there when she forgot what came next, or called upon him to know who was present. He was not yet an active member, and apparently no nearer being a Christian than when the society was first organized. He came in regularly to the meetings and did whatever he was asked to do, even to reading a verse of Harley’s selection, but he never selected one himself, and always kept in the background as much as possible. People said he was doing it all for his little brother’s sake, and no one dared approach him upon the subject or even urge him to do more. Very few remembered to pray for him I think, there were so many others worse than he, they thought. But Lois was praying, and so was his brother. Many a night when he could not sleep he lay and talked with God and asked Him to make Franklin love Him.
    “I want to tell you something,” said Harley suddenly rousing from deep silence into which they had fallen. “I have seen something, and I think you would like to know about it. I should like it if you should see such a thing to have you tell me about it. It was last Sunday when you were at meeting. The pain in my eyes was so bad that I had to close them and my head ached very badly, so that I couldn’t even have the bedroom door open to hear your voices in the room, but had to close my ears, too, to bear the pain. I could just hear the sound of the song you were singing. I do not remember what it was, but it was very sweet, though it seemed far away, and it grew further away, and further, until it suddenly seemed to turn and come back again and burst into the sweetest, clearest music you ever heard. It was like, and yet it was not like, the music in our meetings. It was such as that would be

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