upon us, now let us make use
of it as ordered by the Giver, as being at all time in His hand, which
He can at all time demand back in case we misuse it. Let us all, who
have endured, suffered, hoped, and feared in common, who have seen in
common our own snatched away from our hearts and carried out to that
place, from which none return, laid in that grave, which will only open
at the sound of the last trump, let us be from henceforth as one
family, and when the old spirit of strife, self-seeking, greed returns,
then do I place you before those graves, and before this altar, which
to-day hears your groans of agony, and ask of you, how much all for
which you may be striving may be worth, if the angel whom you have seen
within the last days in all his dreadful majesty should return? Then
will you live in the Lord, then shall we call you blessed, in that the
appearance of the Holy Angel has made you wiser."

A touching prayer followed this discourse. Erastus was deeply moved.
His wrath was gone. That which he had heard sounded so differently from
the magister's former florid tirades rich in antitheses. Then used he
to ape the preacher, this time had he preached. The listeners
dispersed. As Erastus was slowly descending from the village, Paul
caught him up, in order to accompany him on his way home. "You have
petitioned the Council to free you from your spiritual functions," said
Erastus, "I see however that you have not observed your own proposal."

"I was ill," said Paul, "sick at heart, poor and suffering, I felt that
I had no longer any right to teach others, when I sent in that
request," and a sad smile passed over his delicate, pale face. "When I
however found that I could do some good by preaching, I naturally
overlooked my unworthiness. It would have been very wrong under such
circumstances to think of one's self. I am thankful to-day to God, that
he sent me this tribulation, which returned to my withered-up heart,
the power to think of, and feel for the sorrow of others. These times
have been a great blessing for me." As Erastus kept silent, Paul
continued. "I have also become convinced once more, of the power of the
Church offices as a guide to the ignorant. Only by prayer can these
demoniacal powers be subdued. In spite of all reason I had been
helpless without preaching and praying."

"You are forgetting the miracles," said Erastus sarcastically. Paul
looked at him abashed. "Why do you attain your good intenti