Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1898)
2 T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , O REGON , T H U R S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 1, 1898. > <XKX><X><X><XX>-O < X K X X X > < K X H X X > Q of pedestrians. S harp and sp lin t to catch him , h u t the halfhreed, wild The L am b eth Conference. ered pinacles th ru st them selves up with terror, turned and fled. BY MRS. M. M. TURNER. V 0 T ravelers by the Ma lor tra il i>0-00-00-0O O0 0 0 -0 0 0 0 0 0 0 oo-ooooO from the depths like *pears of a crouching f<»e. They would have som etim es turn aside Io hear the FRIGHTENED BY AN ECHO; Thoughts suggested by passages of the called, but feared th at the object wonderful echo of the Rocky C an Conference, held in London, Eng OR, land, May, 1897, as rendered " of their seared) would hide from on, and the people in the little m in Ignorance is th e flo th e r of Fear. bv Current History. them , so they swung them selves ing cam p perched lik e 'a n eagle’s u Am erican and Colonial Bishops A low-roofed hut, h a lf log cabin down into the depths. Even as nest on the cliff, tell of a poor Swiss and half dugout, clung to the Hide they did so a fam iliar sound fell fiddler who played to th e echo un- th e P rim ates of E n g lan d , Ireland But th a t was and S cotland” composed the con of a steep, wind-swept slope, which upon th e ire a rs fam iliar, yet set m • til he went m ad. was brown with dry, rustling tufts iug strangely wild and unreal heard away back in the six ty ’s, and the ference. “ T he sessions were held behind closed doors.” of hunch grass and flooded with the in that unaccustom ed spot; it was floods of th irty years together with A good note in the sweet mu-ic light of the full moon sailing throuh the sound of a violin. They clim bed the vandal touch of the m in er’s an unclouded sky above t h e great on over the slippery rocks a ml reach blast have so changed th e profile of of liberty of conscience and reason hare foothills and the low, diin ridge e<l a sm all opening at the foot of a crum bling rock, th at th e walls hut was sounded when a “ recoil against of the m ountains. narrow w aterfall. answ er back in grum bling m ono centralization and absolutism was An old man was sitting up in his I he stunted pines th a t grew’ on tone, and the wild, sweet voice of revealed, in which the American bishops took a leading p a rt.” bed in one corner of the r o o m ,w a v the canon walls stretched out dark I the canon is forever still.— [Sel. “ At the close of the conference ing his arm s and hum m ing a tune arm s th a t strove to clasp hands an encyclical letter supposed to The Use of F lies. softlv to himself; a fevered light across the chasm, and out of their have been w ritten by the Archbish shonein his eyes, and as his w ander shadow leapt the water, everchang- ‘‘Y es, Bobby,’' said the m inister, op of C anterbury and signed by the ing gaze went out to tfie vast brown ing like some riotous living thing, shoulder of the hill he saw it not, now plunging straig h t and w hite who was dining with the fam ily, bishops of Gloucester and Winches but rath er caught the gleam of the into the abyss, now flinging out an “ everything in this world has its ter sum m ing up the net results of light on the clustered leaves of the a *ry ve’l sp ray th a t broke in a use, although we m ay not know the discussion, was addressed to the what it is. N “ \v, there is the fly, faithful in C hrist Je su s.” terraced vineyards of bis own home shower of mist upon the rocks. This letter contains the follow You would not think U p o n a ja g g e d point th a t reached , for instance. valley and beard the women singing as they descended the m ountain a crum bling edge alm ost to the very ! th a t flies are good for anything, ing: “ Inasm uch as m oral conduct is m ade by our Lord the test of re side bearing their bundles of hay face of the fall stood the old fiddler, y et—” “ Oh, yes, I would,” in terru p ted ality in religious life,” etc. This is and with their sickles in their his chin resting on his beloved in strum ent as with nervous fingers Bobby. “ I know’ w hat flies are good an o th er note! Moral conduct, not hands. faith, is the “ testo f reality in relig the how he drew from the I for.” His com panions were sound grasping e ious life”. “ M h at, Bobby?” asleep, rolled in th eir blankets on strings such music as his listeners The letter goes on to say: “ The “ Pa says th a t they are the only the d irt floor; a sw arthy h a lf-breed had never heard before. Suddenly the superstitious half- thing w hat keeps him aw ake when critical study of the bible by com boy, with his d ark h a ir falling petent scholars is essential to the across his closed eyes, ami a cowboy, breed crouched dow n upon the ! you are preaching.” m aintenance in the church of a weary with his d ay ’s long ride, with rocks, crossing himself. The cow health y faith. T h at faith is already A D iscovery. his arm s outstretched and his boy’s face even wore a look of s u r in serious danger which refuses to strong features looking pallid in prise th a t was alm ost fear. Soft A little girl, on looking up into face questions th a t m ay he raised the square of m oonlight th a t fell ami clear, with an u n earth ly sweet ness, the sound of another violin the sky, asked her m other w hat either on the au th o rity or genuine across th e ro o m . ness of any p art of the scriptures The old m an rose noiselessly, was heard. It seemed to come from those brixjit things were. “ S tars,” she replied. which have come down to us. dressed himself, drew a violin from the very heart of the fall itself, and “ W hat are s ta rs ? ” “ It is quite true th a t there have its case under the bed, and passed its liquid notes blended with the “ I don’t know ,” said her m other. been instances where in q u iry has out into the glory of the night. It rush of the waters. Then stealing The little girl then happening to led to doubt and ultim ately to infi was not the first time he had eluded on the senses so g ra d u ally th a t But the best safeguard them th u s and had stolen away and they could h ard ly tell when it be look down to the front door steps, delity. retu rn ed in the m orning while they gan, a th ird instrum ent was heard, saw her father and several gentle agaist such a peril lies in th a t deep yet slept. p lain ly distinguishable from the men sm oking cigars. She tu rn ed reverence which never fails to ac to her m other, saying: com pany real faith .” T hat night the half-breed awoke; others. “Oh! I know w hat the stars are. The writers of the letter do not the light ju s t then fell across the The how moved slower in the bed—it was em pty. He sprang obi m an’s trem bling grasp, he ceas They are the angels sm oking ci say, as in all tru th they m ight have said, th a t doubt and infidel to his feet and called the cowboy ed to play, and lifted his face, alight gars.” ity are found in the ran k s of the an d they searched in and about the with ecstacy toward the falls. m ost profound th in k ers and reas- cabin, hut the old man ^teemed to Still, the wonderful melody poured W ho S aid G race? oners; honest m inded men an d wo have disappeared as u tterly as if down between th e scarred walls of Sothern once played an adsurd men, not com m itted to any creed, the earth had opened and swallowed the canon — one after another u n him up. The white m an gave up seen in stru m en t seemed to take up trick on twelve of his freinds. He who have searched far and wide for and stood rubbing his drowsy eyes, the st rain until the night throbbed invited them to supper, and wrote 1 ru th s “ th at can he proven without inclined to go hack and go to sleep, with the breath of th e harm ony. a private note to each m an be our ceasing to be m en,” in the bible but the half-breed ran round and The water shook out its filmy length forehand, to ask him to be so good of the universe and books of our round the cabin like a hound with , into the m oonlight ----- and ---- the pine as to say grace, as the chairm an earth. its nose to the trail. AU at once he i houghs seemed to bend lower and was unavoidably prevented from The bishops have assum ed the raised his hands aloft and began to lower. ’I et,as the sounds m ultiplied atten d in g the d in n er. T he faces of am using, though pitiable, position gesticulate wildly ami point up they grew more faint, as they died those twelve men when they rose in of approving of critical study of the the hill, talk ing rapidly in his own away they were sweeter still and a body to say grace m ust have been bible “ by com petent scholars”, hut peculiar jargon of Chinook and more entrancing, sw eeter—fa in te r— a sight indeed. this study m ust he accom panied by u French. Up the hill they went, the until the three wacthers breathless, real fa ith ” arid the “deep rever dust rising in little puffs as they listening, heard ouly the night wind G od’s Apology. ence” it engenders, to hold the fort crushed the dry grass beneath their blowing through the dead grass at against criticism , reason and sci Sm all Boy.— “ Does God ever feet,the half-breed leading the way, the top of the cliff and the low rush ence. m ake apologies?” while the cowboy followed, w onder-, of the w ater. The bishops say, “ The- central C lerical Visitor. — “ C ertainly object of C hristian faith m ust a l ing w hat whim could have seized 1 he old m an stood with his arm s the half crazed old m an th a t he outstretched in silent adoration, the not.” ways he the Lord Jesus C hrist h im should run away like th at. S. B.— “ Well, pa says you are self.” violin slipped from his hold and Over the rise of the hill they came fell unheeded into the chasm , still only an apology for a m an .” The ropes of “ fa ith ” and “ rever to the breaks of a narrow , rocky he listened as if the echo of the ence” hind these gentlem en to canon. Its walls were precipitous, music yet thrilled his brain, then To say to a m an; “ I can tru st you,” strange, unscientific beliefs, such as and dangerous breaks yawned in the staggered and would have fallen speaks more for his religion than to the crap in the garden story an d narrow pathw ay for the destruction had not th e cowboy sprung forward say: “ I do not doubt your faith .” the fall of m an; an universal del- $ OUR SECULAR STORY € !