Books: Mr. World and Miss Church Member

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The intervening space between the two paths, called the Wicked Valley,
was all astir with every form of evil as practiced in the world of
sin. In this vale nearly every traveler on the Broad Highway tarries
awhile, and many are lured away from the Highway of the King here to
mingle with the servants of Mammon.

Mr. World and his friend paused opposite a cluster of magnificent
buildings with frontage toward the Heavenly Way. Some were used by
vulgar theatricals; some devoted to the sensual dance; some were
occupied by the Devil's maid-servants in prostitution, and many others
were used as haunts of intemperance and personal pollution.

All along the road to perdition at thousands of places stand such
clusters of buildings, each under the command of one of Satan's most
efficient leaders.

"Here," said Mr. World, "let us take a long rest. If you have your
glasses properly adjusted you can see new beauty behind magnificent
walls."

She looked at first doubtfully. "Ah! I never frequented such places
before. I would not as much as look at them."

"I doubt not your word, Miss Church-Member, but remember you are growing
older and wiser. You are no more a narrow-minded creature influenced
by prejudice and sophistry."

She was now in a condition to imagine that much of her earlier
instruction was erroneous. She had not forgotten the teaching of the
sermon in Mr. World's church. Subsequently she reasoned that the only
way to learn the taste of forbidden fruit was to eat of it.

"I will enter these buildings as a student," she soliloquized. "I will
be cautious. Surely I have sufficiently clear judgment to discern
between good and evil."

The crafty Mr. World, having won her confidence, escorted her all
through the Wicked Valley. By a continual palliation she yielded one
point after another until her virtue was sacrificed on a cursed altar.

Satan assisted her in solving many perplexing problems when she reeled
in the realm of doubt.

At the conclusion of their protracted visit I heard the wicked Mr.
World say to his beloved friend: "Your eyes are completely cured. You
may now with safety lay aside the glasses. I hope you will never have
occasion to use them again."

Of the multitudes that tarried here from the Narrow Way very few went
out at the front door. Having stultified themselves, they passed from
the rooms at the rear, and thenceforth traveled on the other path more
suited to their changed natures.

The two congenial companions, proceeding on their way, soon overtook
a company of church-members.

In the social intercourse which ensued each one resented the criticisms
of those who refused to leave the Old Path.

"Verily," said one, "I now enjoy more liberty. I believe the road to
Heaven should be as broad-gauged as possible."

"Certainly it should," said another. "Those who want to climb hills
and continually suffer inconveniences may do so. As for me, I want to
reach Heaven on the easiest road. I believe this course leads to
Paradise just as directly as the other."

These utterances were highly complimented by Mr. World, and he said
that he was to be congratulated on meeting and associating with such
congenial people. "On the way on which we are now traveling one can
reach his reward as certainly and as speedily as on any other route.
In addition, one can here enjoy natural and graceful pleasures which
of course are not tolerated under the eyes of selfish and narrow-minded
bigots."

I saw Mr. World and Miss Church-Member, now more intimate than ever,
pass on alone, ever walking more hastily. Satan had told them, during
their stay in the Wicked Valley, that the faster they journeyed the
sooner and the more certainly would they reach their reward.

Not far from the Wicked Valley there is a section called the Place of
Warning. It has been maintained for thousands of years by virtuous
workers from the King's Highway. It is the last warning-station that
travelers pass before reaching the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and
here with tearful earnestness do the Shining Pilgrims of the cross
speak their words of last caution, sing their sweet hymns of warning,
and put forth every other loving endeavor in the hope of snatching
some from the thoughtless throngs that go rushing by toward the Dark
Valley.

I listened and heard a voice from the Place of Warning speak to a
motley crowd that were passing.

"Whither go ye, whither go ye?"

"We go to a better place called Heaven," answered one of the company.

"Then come hither and go on the Path of Life. The way on which ye are
now traveling leadeth unto everlasting death."

"Aha! Aha! Aha!" cried they all. "We are well informed about the way
and need no foreign voice to give direction."

Then came the solemn hymn of warning in words so tender and clear that
each one could hear every sentence:

"There's a sad day coming,
A sad day coming.
There's a sad coming by and by;
When the sinner shall hear his doom:
'Depart, I know you not.'
Are you ready for that day to come?"

CHORUS:

"Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for the judgment day?"

The words had not yet died on the air when a young man ran hastily
from the company toward the Way of Life. His companions then gave vent
to their ridicule, some even going after him and endeavoring to pull
him back, but without avail.

Some sang an idle song to drown the hymn of warning that still rang
in their ears. Others engaged in boisterous conversation, and still
others mocked with foul profanity. They passed on, and as far as I
could see them they were pushing on to the Valley of Death.

I saw another man who was heavily burdened with pieces of timber on
which was written: "Faults of Church-Members." He also came to the
Place of Warning.

"Throw off the cumbersome weight you are carrying on your back, and
travel on the way where your burden ill be light," came a friendly
voice from the Rescue Station.

"I am not so foolish as to throw away my only hope," he answered with
unthankfulness in his tone.

"'Your only hope,'" repeated the voice of warning, "how can you explain
such foolish words?"

"With passing ease. I will soon come to the River of Death and with
these boards I can make myself a raft whereon I can pass over safely."

Then spoke the voice of warning clearer than before:

"O, foolish man! Knowest thou not that the River of Death, toward which
thou art rapidly moving, cannot be crossed in a bark so frail? I have
seen millions who tried in vain to ride its angry currents, but they
sank beneath its dark waters. Come, O mortal man, if thou hast nothing
better on which to depend, listen to the voice of wisdom and come,
without delay, to the Path of Glory."

But the man passed on. I watched him till he reached the river, and
saw him go from the shore in his self-constructed raft.

"I sink! I sink! Save me!" he, cried in utmost agony of terror as his
little raft whirled about, leaving the poor self-deceived fellow to
the mercy of the waves.

I saw others as they passed the Place of Warning. Thousands and tens
of thousands, some now totally deaf to every voice of warning, some
with cotton-filled ears, and others with instruments of music with
which they drowned the calls of warning.

Many more passed by who carried little balloons of self-righteousness
with which they expected to rise above the murky River of Death.

A young woman, who moved more cautiously, stopped at the Place of
Warning and listened attentively.

Directly a voice spoke to her: "Not far hence, O mortal woman, there
is a wide river. It surges on forever. No one who goes this way can
escape its waters. Listen now to the voice of Wisdom. Leave this
blood-marked way of misery and woe, and come to these happier dominions
where 'her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.'"

"Surely I will not be lost," she replied. "I am depending on the mercy
of God who is too kind to be unjust. I will come out all right in the
end."

"Take heed, my friend," pleaded the warning voice. "You are hoping for
mercy at the dividing line between time and eternity. Better forget
not what the Scripture saith. 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still: and he which is filthy let him be filthy still.' So thou canst
not wilfully neglect so great salvation and hope that God will cover
at last all thy folly. 'Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.' 'To-day, if ye hear his voice, harden not your
hearts'"

"You have said nothing new to me. They are the old thread-bare passages
that I have heard from my youth up, and I am minded to accept a broader
view of these statements than you seem to take of them."

At this she tossed her head haughtily and continued her journey,
resolving more firmly than ever that she would not spend eternity
outside the Gates of Heaven.

When she came to the Dark Valley and to the angry swelling currents,
her pitiful prayer broke out from the long-covered depth of her soul.
"Mercy, O mercy, to a wretch like me!" But no hand came to her rescue.

I saw Mr. World and Miss Church-Member as they approached the Place
of Warning. They heard the sweet music, rendered so excellently, but
gave no attention to the sentiment expressed by the words. They listened
only to the harmony of sounds.

"O, Miss Church-Member!" pleaded a voice, "you who were once so
earnestly engaged on the King's Highway, will you not, before you reach
the River of Death, forsake your perilous course and walk on the path
of life eternal?"

These words, which would have once brought conviction to her heart,
only brought vanity to her head. "'Judge not, that ye be not judged,'
and go speak to the lost, not to me so well equipped to meet the direst
foe. Turn your words to those on the other path, who go hobbling along
in misery, not fit to live or die."

"Come, come!" put in Mr. World, "your pearls before swine are only
trampled under foot. Forget not so quickly the teachings of our Lord."

As they passed on, in a self-righteous manner, she cheerily looked
into his face and said: "It was kind in you to come so promptly to my
rescue. I might have prattled there a whole day and yet not have shown
them half their folly."

CHAPTER XXV.

THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH.

1. Mr. World and Miss Church-Member getting farther from the light.

2. They drift into the deepening shadows where the path could be
traveled only one way.

3. The terrible experience of the two companions contending with the
imps of the dark valley.

4. Their sad and tragic end as they catch a glimpse of what they might
have been.

After leaving the place of the Last Warning, the Broad Highway grew
darker and darker as it steadily diverged from the King's Highway.

The little light that Satan's pilgrims do enjoy is borrowed from "the
path of the just that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

Mr. World saw the deepening shadows and endeavored to be as cheerful
as usually, hoping thereby to prevent any alarm in the mind of his
faithful friend.

The path, though wide, was now steeply descending, and travelers often
slipped on the steeper inclines.

I saw that the two companions descended with difficulty, cautiously
watching every footstop, lest they, like many others, should fall to
their hurt. They now gave but little attention to the things along the
way, and when they did pause for rest on the easier grades, they found
the meadows more barren and everything more dark and dank.

Miss Church-Member had been painfully conscious of these unhappy
contrasts, and Asked repeatedly the meaning of all that her eyes beheld
and her heart realized, but Mr. World, true to his nature, partly
allayed her fears with words of hope and glowing promises.

But I heard her again ask with a quivering voice: "Where is the light
that so lately lent its blessed cheer, and whither go we stumbling
downward in the dark?"

"We only go in the darkest hour that comes before the dawn," he said
with a firm voice but a trembling heart. "Be hopeful, my dear, I will
not forsake you."

Her heart was not calmed, for she could see his distress which he had
hoped to conceal, and no one could minimize the surrounding scenes
which now seemed like omens of death.

They stood still, and learned, upon inquiry, that they were standing
in the Shadows of Premonition.

Mr. World could no longer endure the strain. His bold attitude gave
way to his rising fears, for he saw that his wasted life was ending
with no opportunity of redeeming its days. His whole body quivered as
they walked still farther in a desperate effort to find relief.

Miss Church-Member was almost overcome as she continued looking upon
the ominous darkness around. She soon realized that her only refuge
whom she had seized by the arm proved miserably weak in this hour of
great need.

"Oh! Mr. World," she cried, in utmost agony of mind, "where have you
led me? Save me ere I perish!"

He spoke not, but with his aspen fingers he pointed backward toward
the sloping Highway. Then with all eagerness they endeavored to retrace
their steps, but somehow they could do no more than stumble and fall,
and when they were making their most desperate effort to return they
heard a voice from someone invisible. This voice announced to them
that here the path could be traveled only one way. The same voice urged
them to push through the shadows and face their end like heroes. At
this their hope died within them, and they had no more courage to
struggle up the hill. They stood again in their wretched dilemma and
heard the sound of distant waters, doleful to their ears, and from
this they could distinguish the bitter wails of those who also found
that they could not return.

Mr. World and Miss Church-Member cast their eyes heavenward and
discerned that they were standing in a very deep valley. _They saw the
dim outlines of all their past evil life. Their deeds stretched away
at interminable length, and in the aggregate they were piled, like
ledge upon ledge, until they verily shut out the mercy of a just God._

Here they stood in the first shadow of their self-constructed Hell.

"Oh, what a valley!" shrieked Miss Church-Member, as her consciousness
now revealed to her more in one second than all the fanciful dreams
of a life-time evolved.

And Mr. World was undone. He knew not which way to turn. He was
speechless as he saw so clearly the worthless product of his life's
work almost overarching him.

Finally Mr. World cried out excitedly: "If we cannot go back, neither
will we go forward!"

Then a grim monster spoke in a slow, dead tone: "No one remaineth here;
away, away from this place!"

Miss Church-Member was terrorized at the presence of so cold a creature
and frantically cried out: "I cannot and will not endure it! Can I not
go back to the Voice of Warning?"

"Back? Never! No one who comes thus far ever goes back. During the
earthly life of one called Jesus there was but one snatched from these
lowlands, and he was the thief on the cross."

"If there was chance for a thief, there might be hope for me," she
sighed as her wretched face brightened.

"Hope for you?" repeated the cold-hearted monster. "None whatever, and
for none of your kind who come thus far. Pass on, make room for the
thousands coming this way, the sound of whose tread you already hear."

Looking at Mr. World she pitifully sobbed: "Why do you not help me?
You have brought me here; plead my cause."

"Alas, I cannot even plead my own!" He could say no more, for he took
a longing glance backward, over the hills of time, where he could truly
see, for the first time, the horrible depth of his folly.

Then came the monstrous creature again and sternly commanded them:
"Tarry no more on this side of the river's brink."

[Illustration: Struggling with the real and imaginary imps near the
Black River in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.]

They tasted the bitter fruits of opportunities lost, and felt the awful
pangs of a soul without hope as their reluctant footsteps carried them
on through the valley made dark by the shadow of their own deeds.

I then heard the discordant and agonizing wails of poor Miss
Church-Member and her wretched companion; but the sounds fell
harmoniously on the ears of Satan who listened to them chiming with
the music of Hell, in its deathlike rhythm, as it reverberated forever
from the depth beyond them, and from the throngs passing by.

Miss Church-Member could no longer hold fast to Mr. World. It took
both arms to contend with the real and imaginary imps who stood grinning
at her folly, and grievously tormented her from all sides.

"O mercy! mercy! Where am I?" she shrieked. "How can you be so
heartless, Mr. World? Why not rid me of these fiends?"

"Cry to me no more!" he groaned out in anguish. "I am also overwhelmed
with foes and fears that verily drag me down with infernal and
relentless grasp."

This only deepened her pathetic cry, for she saw that she was lost
forever, and realized anew that Mr. World was unable to give help,
contrary to all his promises of the past.

Then did, they look forth, and beheld afar off the Valley of the Shadow
of Death through which the King's Highway passed. They saw that its
foot-sore pilgrims leaned upon a rod and staff, and that they were
supported by the pierced hands of a Friend that sticketh closer than
a brother.

Neither did the pilgrims fear any evil nor tremble at any foe, for
Christ was their all in all, and his lovely light lit the whole valley
until it was all aglow with heavenly radiance.

This vision revealed to Mr. World and Miss Church-Member the place
where _they_ might have been, and pierced their hearts as with a
thousand daggers.

They soon stood on the verge of the Awful River which was filled with
the filth and slimy putrefaction of the world, the fungus growth of
society, and the scum of all nationalities. From these currents came
unearthly sounds, doleful lamentations, melancholy and hopeless.

Not far down the stream they saw the fitful light of an eternal burning
whose ghastly glare lit the water crests of the Black River.

I saw a relentless monster, in deep silence, stretching forth his bony
arm, and with his icy fingers he pushed the two companions from the
brink of the river, thus bringing them face to face with the last enemy
whose sharp sting they felt as they were being overwhelmed by the
merciless waves.

[Illustration: When they who journey on the King's Highway reach the
River of Death, they are met by a convoy of angels and borne aloft to
the gates of the Celestial City.]

Their heart-rending cries for mercy brought no relief. They had sinned
against all light, and had even spurned the last kindly warning. The
Door of Hope was shut forever.

As they were sinking to rise no more they caught another vision of the
Shining Pilgrims of the King's Highway, and saw that when they reached
the brink of the River of Death they were met by a convoy of angels,
on whose snowy pinions they were borne aloft to the very gates of the
Celestial City which apparently stood on white clouds.

THE END

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