*
GOLDEN THRONE.
day-school and say my prayers,
and listen to long sermons and read
the Bible through, I don’t know
how many times, for the sake of a
prize; hut it did no good. I never
got converted; and, if I had been,
twist, and destroyed what little lapidated. But he took things
faith I might have had; hut I can’t easy, and enjoyed his wild life
[ a ROMANCE BY SAMVEL P. PUTNAM.]
help it. It is a cursed education with a good deal of relish. He took
I sc o rn th e o u tw a rd d e ity of m e n ,
for a man to have so much hell considerable liking to Bill and
The sovereign of th e skies, th e im age
and devil driven into him from in­ Charlie, the two characters already
«•old
Of a dull te rro r ami b arb aric th o u g h t;
fancy. It makes one a perfect introduced, a couple of well-edu­
•5?«** to th e 'ntiu.'ie sublim e w ithin,
1 should only have fa red the worse J skepi
haT*i»ny real feelfcsg* cated New England boys.
The essence o ttn e tinm an soul i have,
The deity th a t honest m anhood m akes, I’ve never seen a really converted for things are bad enough without
“Hullo, Paddie,” said Charlie,
To th is I yield with ready h e art am i
man yet. If he improves in one being made worse by a theological “are you going to camp? If so,
hand.
thing: be grows bad in another: if bugbear.”
I’ll step along with you.”
C hapter I.
he stops swearing, he takes to ly-
“I agree with you; the faith that
“I’m not hound to any place in
It was an out-of-the-way place. ing and stealing. That’s religion, religion gives is very poor material, particular,” said Paddie, “hut, if
On three sides of it were huge so far as I’ve seen anythin,' about It’s the reflex of a damnable un- you are for the camp, I ’m for the
fragmentary mountains, the tallest lf>
belief. It is based upon utter dis- same. I’ve just been out to bunt
of which, twenty miles away, swept
“Your Orthodox life didn't do trust.
It is the shadow of a for some new specimens of butter­
up into Hashing crowns of snow. you much good. I see. I never shadow. I’ve never had anything flies. I’ve found one. Isn’t that
To the eastward, it was open tried it, ami so haven’t made a fail- to believe in hut nature, and men brilliant? Ixmk at the colors,”
to the plains that rolled far off in ure. My father ami mother had and women as they reallv are. and he held the beautiful insect
pile verdures to the horizon. It no religion, and I was never I’ve had very little to do with the .out in the palm of his hand.
was called Golden Throne. The bothered with it. I never went to church, and have avoided the
“ 1'hat is something new,” said
precious metal had been found in Sunday-school or church. I used saints; and so,on the whole, I have Charlie. “I don’t think I’ve seen
great abundance there a' one time, i«i go hunting and fishing, or Slav comeLto pretty good faith in men that before. What shall you cal!
and thousands had swarmed to it at home and read. So I enjoyed and things.”
it?”
and gone a wav. Only a few were life, and have ever since; and not
“Well, I was taught th it there
“It shall he nameless evermore.
now left. They could make a com- being taught total depravity, I hav» was no hope in nature, but in a What’s the vs? < f a name? Names
fortable living, and that satisfied seen little of it. I have not sought something above and bevond na- have been the curse of I he world,
.
-
•
them.
regeneration, being born well lure, though the minister couldn’t and destr y d the rea ity. M by
Two men sat talking after their enough the first time, I have al­ exactly te l what. I’ve found that should I label this butterfly?
day’s work, on the trunk of a fallen ways been satisfied with this world, that sonietliing is all nonsense, The label would eov» r it all up:
and never hankered after heaven. or the biggest devil of all; and so and the world would study the la­
tree.
“I tell you,” said one, “I haven’t So fai as I can understand it, re- you nee now’ I have nothing to de­ bel, and not the butterfly.”
any faith in men. Give ’em a generation is only putting on a new pend on. God has slipped away
‘ You’re right, Paddie. We’ll
chance,and thev’ll cheat you out of coat of paint; and it dries up njightv and men and women tumble with take the butterfly just as he is.
I have never expecied him .”
your last cent. I’ve been all over quick.
We’ll km IW just as much about
the w’orld, and that’s my creed.”
much of it. I like things as nature
‘ I hope you’ll work out of it.”
him, as if he had a cognomen as
“A harsh creed,” said the other. made them.”
“I don’t think I shall. The dis- long as the catechism.”
“ Your own unbelief helps to make
“ Well, you’ve been more lucky ease is in men. and I shall never
“I guess you’ll want a name be­
men look mean.”
than I, Bill. If I ’d had less ortho- get rid of it. As 1 say, seethe fore you get through, said Bill.
“Look at the folks here. How doxy and more sense in my bring- folks we come in contact with here, “You
fellows
revolt against
many can you trust?
There’s up, I might have had more confi —broken-down ministers, lascally everything. You*Il he opposed to
Gooch toiling like a slave for gold, deuce in men. Orthodoxy culti- lawyers, played-out politicians, breathing after awhile.”
and he prays every night. He’d vates the devil in one, and it make- money-worshiping deacons,—what
“Of course I shall,” said Paddie,
kill me, if he could and not be him see a devil in every other, a muddle they make! Here we see
“or else I couldn’t die. But I’ll
found out.
He’s deacon of a I suppose that is the reason why them as they really are, and a
stick to it as long as I live. I’m
church somewhere Down East. it’s so popular, because it puts su<*h devilish pack they appear.”
orthodox there, anyway.”
When he gets rich, he’ll go back an emphasis on all the mean things
“Wait and see. You’ll come
“Natural, you mean,” said Bill.
and put a new bell in the steeple, in the universe. At any rate, I across something good yet, even in
“You confound everything with
and everybody will laud him to the bate it, but at the same time in 1 this wild countrv,”
orthodoxy.”
skies. That’s the inside and the teaching that all men are bom
“Well, I think you are pretty
“How can we help it?” said
sinners it hits the truth.”
outside of human nature.”
good; and here comes Paddie John. Paddie. “We were born orthodox,
“I can understand that ortho­ I rather like him.”
“ It mav he the outside, but I
and to give it up was like giving
hardly think it’s altogether the in­ doxy lieing unnatural gives you
Paddie John was a slouchy, up our mother.”
side. It’s made out of better stuff unnatural and barbaric ideas of queer individual, with a ccr ain air
“Then you must be born again.”
than you imagine.”
men and women. My father was of manliness and culture about
said Bill, “and have nature for your
“ I don’t imagine much about it. an infidel. He took human nature him. He had been educated as a
mother.”
I take it as it is.”
as it was. He never tried to Roman Catholic priest, hut had
“That’s it,” said Paddie; “but
“There, I differ with you again, make his children think that it early drifted out of suj>erstition.
nature forbids civilization. To be
Charlie. My experience teaches was worse or better than it is. He He had preached somewhat in the
natural, we must be savages.”
me that goodness is in the major­ brought us in contact with facts Unitarian church, hut had found
“Oh, no,” said Bill. “Civiliza­
ity.”
and left us to judge for ourselves, that its ecclesiasticism was almost
“A pretty slim majority. You Of course, I have found the world as em ha>rassing as that of Rome tion, I grant, has to a certain ex­
are younger than I am, and thats to he both good and had. I ex- with less splendor and impressive- tent been manufactured. Religion
why you are so hopeful.”
pected this, and have not l»een ness. He realized that he couldn’t has made it artificial. But there
“I think I always shall be hope­ materially disappointed one way or 1 m ? himself, and so he quitted the is a natural civilization which is
ful, no matter how’ old I grow. the other; and, on the whole, I like ministry entirely. His classical real growth, and that in the end
It’s in my temperament, I sup­ this world.”
. education was useless for any busi- will be most beautiful. Orthodoxy
pose.”
“ Well, my father and the minis- ness purposes; and so he floated has not only perverted nature; it
“And your bringing up, too, I ter and all the deacons taught me round, a kind of brilliant wreck, has perverted civilization, until it
guess. I was brought up Orthodox that this world is a humbug, and although he really had fine ability. has made the educated man almost
and taught total depravity and re­ I ve only learned *he lesson too Sometimes he was in rags; and a fool.”
{To Be C ontinual!.)
generation. 1 only half learned well. I heir heaven is a humbug sometimes, by a lucky stroke, he
my lesson, though. I have found and their hell is a lie; hut, when could make a very elegant appear-
plenty of total depravity and they sav all men are horn full of ance. Just now, he was under the
The above romance by Mr Put­
mighty little regeneration, even iniquity, I am hound to believe i ’, weather, and had come to Golden nam will I m * continued in T he
among church folks. In fact, the f«>r my experience is that way. ’
Throne to pick up, if possible, a T orch throughout the year. It
folks that are not born again seem
“Perhaps it wouldn’t have been little money. They give queer bids fair to he quite interesting and
to have the best of it. But there that way, if you had started with names at such places, and somehow new subscribers should have their
is not much to choose. The devil little more genuine faith in or other he was called “Paddie, subscription begin with this num­
has got the go in this world and he things.”
John.” His earnings at present ber in order to get all chapters of
will keep it. I used to go to Sun­
“I suppose orthodoxy gave me a were slim, and his appearance di­ the story.