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1、【英文文学】Scenes in the WestPREFACE.The author of this volume has brought together a few incidents in real life to illustrate the power of godliness in the individual, and the blessings of the Sunday-school, the influence of the prayer-meeting and the cause of temperance in the church and in the communi
2、ty.That the God of all our mercies may bless this little book to the reader, is the prayer of the author.CHAPTER I. THE MISSIONARY.“The melancholy days had come, The saddest of the year.”ALL nature seemed to be resting in a quiet dreamy slumber. The bee had well nigh laid up its winter store, and ma
3、ny of the birds were preparing to leave for more genial climes in the sunny south. All these were but the harbingers of the cold storms that were lingering behind the snow-covered mountains of the north. Indian summer, the season of romance, like the life of a humble Christian, 14 leaves its lovelie
4、st scenes to its departing hours. It was in the midst of these balmy days that you might have seen a traveler with a worn satchel in one hand and a staff in the other coming up a narrow lane leading to the home of a prosperous Western settler. He walked slowly, for he had left behind him many weary
5、miles; his countenance, though calm, was pale and languid; yet his eye seemed to bespeak the hope that here he might find the much-needed rest.Two men were standing beside the gate at the end of the lane when the stranger came up. The one was a kindly disposed person with but little force of charact
6、er, and deficient in moral courage, whom we shall know as Mr. Kerr. The other, whose name was Steele, was the owner of the premises.He was a large man, selfish and resolute, a conceited formalist, bigoted, exceedingly headstrong, and greatly prejudiced against all Christian zeal.15No sooner did Mr.
7、Steele notice the approach of the stranger than he turned to Mr. Kerr and exclaimed: “There, Ill bet you, comes that Sunday-school, temperance loafer Ive heard so much of lately. I reckon he expects to get in here; but I tell you, sir, my shanty dont hold the like of him, while Im boss here, thats s
8、aid!” This was uttered with emphatic bitterness. To this passionate outburst Mr. Kerr ventured a little palliation by the remark that he had heard that in the other settlement the people seemed to like the missionary very well.“You would have nothing to do with his nonsense, would you?” retorted Mr.
9、 Steele with a look of scorn.“No,” feebly and insincerely muttered Mr. Kerr, “we have got along so far without it, and I guess we can get along without it a little further.”“Thats my ticket,” sharply added Mr. Steele.16By this time the stranger had reached the gate. A calm, pleasant smile lit up his
10、 pale countenance; and he accosted them with,“Good evening, friends.”“Good evening, sir,” responded Mr. Kerr.“How dye do, sir,” thundered out Mr. Steele.“This has been a very pleasant day,” ventured the traveler.“Yes, sir,” curtly replied Mr. Steele.“I am very tired,” continued the stranger; “could
11、I stay with you to-night?”“You are the fellow who goes about lecturing on temperance, and getting up Sunday-schools, aint you?” sarcastically rejoined Mr. Steele, his face reddening.“That is my calling,” meekly added the man of God.“Then you dont stay all night in my house; I dont harbor fellows who
12、 are too lazy to work,” sneeringly answered the excited Mr. Steele.17“But I am very tired, and my head aches badly; Ill pay you well.”“Cant help it. The sooner you make tracks the better,” retorted the unfeeling man.“I am afraid it will storm to-night,” continued the missionary, pointing to a dark c
13、loud which was looming up in the west.“You might have stayed at home and minded your own business, instead of minding other peoples, and kept out of this trouble,” replied Mr. Steele, with a look so severe that the poor wanderer lost all hope of any comfort or favor from this seemingly inhospitable
14、dwelling; so he inquired how far it was to the next house.“That depends entirely upon which way you go,” mockingly answered the hard-hearted man, with a wink to Mr. Kerr, and a conceited smile at the unfeeling wit he had displayed.“I expect to continue my labors westward,” gently added the missionar
15、y.18His soul was grieved at the hardness of this mans heart, and for a moment he felt like looking upon his persecutor with anger. But he remembered that even his Lord and Master was mocked and derided; that “when He was reviled, He reviled not again; but as a lamb before his shearers is dumb, so He
16、 opened not his mouth.” And the humble follower of the Man of Sorrows in silence offered up the prayer, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”The door of common humanity being closed against him, he made up his mind to continue his journey, let the dangers and privations be what they mi
17、ght. An angel seemed to whisper, “I will lead thee in the way in which thou shalt go;” so he took courage.Being thirsty, he ventured to ask for a drink of water.“You can go to the spring,” was the abrupt answer, and the cruel man turned upon19 his heel, and in company with Mr. Kerr passed on to the
18、barn, leaving the suffering one standing by the gate alone.But George, a lad of about ten years, and Mary, a little flower of seven summers, had looked on and listened with the curiosity common to children. Their hearts were filled with pity toward the poor man; and, when even a drink of water was d
19、enied him, the inherent kindness, implanted in all our natures, was instantly awakened.In a moment, as the missionary turned the corner of the yard, the two children met him each with “a cup of cold water.” “Here is good fresh water, please drink,” said the little ones. His heart was melted at this
20、unexpected exhibition of kindness; and invoking a blessing upon the dear children, he raised the cup to his lips and was refreshed. He then opened his satchel, and gave each child a picture card and Sunday-school paper, also cards for the men, together with a neat little20 tract for their mother. Bi
21、dding them good-by, he with a sigh resumed his lonely journey.The children, happy in having done a kindness, hurried to their mother, and were soon showing and admiring the papers and cards; she, mother-like, very naturally shared their pleasure, but thought of the stranger with a pang of regret, fo
22、r she feared that he would take the road leading into an unsettled region, infested with wild beasts and roving Indians. After admiring the pictures, she told the children all she knew of the Sunday-school, for which these beautiful things were made, at the same time hoping that her husbands opposit
23、ion to them might be removed.“I wish there was Sunday-school here,” said George.“Wont there be Sunday-school here, mother?” exclaimed both at once.“Im afraid not,” said their mother, sorrowfully, knowing the hostility of many of the neighbors toward anything of the kind.21“Why not, mother?” innocent
24、ly asked the children.This was one of those questions children often ask, and which it is so hard to answer.“I dont know,” she replied, evasively, adding, “go give your father and Mr. Kerr their cards. They are at the barn.”Hurrying out, their noisy delight soon arrested the attention of the men.“Wh
25、at in the world is up now?” wondered their father.“See here, father, see here!” exclaimed the children, holding out the cards.“Who gave you these?” said he, reaching out his hand for the gifts, and suspecting the source.“The man at the gate; we gave him a drink, and he gave us these (showing their c
26、ards) and a little book for mother, and this one for you and that one for Mr. Kerr.”Looking for a moment at the engraving, he read, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave22 me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in.”Instantly the terrible reproof, associated with
27、 these words, awakened the mans slumbering conscience. Writhing under its force he tried to construe the innocent gift into an insult; then flinging it to the ground he stamped his foot upon it.At this exhibition of anger all the joy of the children vanished.Mary began to cry, and George wondered wh
28、at there was about the card to offend his father.In the meantime, Mr. Kerr had read his card. The words were, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”“What have you got?” sneeringly asked Mr. Steele, of his companion. Mr. Kerr read the text with som
29、e emotion.“Just what I expected! he thought to give23 us a cut,” said the angry man, at the same time adding many abusive words.Mr. Kerr tried to assent to the remarks, but the words upon the card had touched his heart; and he felt like hating himself for having yielded, against his convictions, to
30、the unreasonableness of his neighbor toward an unoffending stranger. Putting the card in his pocket, he was compelled to be an unwilling listener to the tirade of a would-be Christian (for Mr. Steele was a member of church) against prayer-meetings, temperance societies and Sunday-schools.As soon as
31、practicable, Mr. Kerr left for home; his conscience still at work, accusing him of cowardice, and partaking of anothers sin. “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment,” like a poisoned arrow was festering in his heart, until his guilty imagination conceived that the card contained his ete
32、rnal doom.Meeting his wife at the door of his house, he handed her the fatal card.24“Oh, the kind stranger gave you this!” she exclaimed with animation. “He was here this afternoon, and gave each of us one of the same kind, and left one for you. And then he prayed with us. I wish he would settle her
33、e and get up a Sunday-school, of which he talked so much. I believe he is one of the best of men.”“I wish so too;” involuntarily broke from the full heart of the stricken man; “I believe he is a good man. He came to Mr. Steeles a few hours ago, but was turned off.”“Why didnt you bring him home with
34、you?” she asked.“Well, I know I ought to have done so; but I was afraid of Mr. Steele, who you know hates all such people.” To avoid any more questions on the subject, he asked to see what the man had left for him. The card was soon handed him, and he read: “Fear not them which kill the body, but ar
35、e not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.”25This was another arrow from the quiver of the Almighty. His wife soon detected the change that had come over him, and with becoming solicitude endeavored to find out the cause; but in this her effor
36、ts were evaded.“I was afraid of Mr. Steele,” thought he, “who would not even dare to kill my bodywhilst I did not fear Him who is able to destroy my soul.” Leaving him in his sorrow, we will return to Mr. Steele.The children, mortified and discouraged, had left the barn, and gone to their mother for
37、 consolation in their disappointment. This was always afforded them; for never was a mother more kind to her little ones, and yet more decided in her endeavors to train them in the right way.Mr. Steele, being conscious of having done wrong, tried to rid himself of his unpleasant feelings, by bustlin
38、g about, doing first this, then that, for relief. It was late before he entered the house, and lest he should be suspected of regretting what he had done, he confronted his wife with, “I wonder what kind of trash that loafer left here with you and the children to-day? I guess he wants to set up an a
39、gency here.”“They are in the bureau drawer, there,” said his wife, “shall I get them for you?”“No, I dont want to see any more of the trash;” and, going into another room, he sat down to read a political speech. But it failed to interest him. The coming darkness, the looming up of heavy clouds in th
40、e distance, the stranger out in the pathless wilds, the abused privilege of doing good toperhaps, after allone of the followers of the Redeemer; the text on the card with its indirect reproof, were thoughts which crowded themselves upon his mind. For a moment he wished that he had given the stranger
41、 shelter; but prejudice had too long held sway to be thus easily set aside. He had taken a stand, and he would maintain it, let the consequences be what they would.CHAPTER II. MISFORTUNES.OUR traveler, after leaving Mr. Steeles, unfortunately took a road leading from the inhabited portion of country
42、. Night was approaching, and the last sounds of human habitations had long since ceased to greet his ear; he still walked on, however, hoping that some dwelling would come into view.The sun had set behind the great mountain of storm clouds in the west, and twilight was drawing a curtain of darkness
43、around. The clouds rose higher and higher; the heavens began to be overspread with long masses of floating vapor, and the distant gleam of lightning could now be distinctly28 seen. He now encountered a steep hill in his march; his limbs could scarcely bear his body along, but he knew that he must go
44、 on. There were but few trees on the hill, and their absence enabled him to see his way more clearly in ascending, but the valley beyond seemed shrouded in midnight darkness.These wild regions were infested with wolves and other ravenous beasts, and our hero being unarmed, his life became hourly mor
45、e endangered. After struggling along under accumulating difficulties, in utter loneliness and discouragement he sat down on a log to rest. It was to him an hour of trial; and his patience almost failed him. But the remembrance of Gods promise, “Behold, I am with thee and will keep thee,” cheered him
46、. A clap of thunder warned him of the approach of the storm, and aroused his enfeebled energies to their task. But where should he go? The darkness, if possible, had increased; not a ray of light remained,29 excepting when the electric fluid for a moment lit up the heavens with its lurid blaze only
47、to leave it still darker. An effort to secure shelter must be made at once.As he was anxiously hurrying on among the weeds and fallen timber, a huge rattlesnake that had coiled itself under some rubbish suddenly sounded its “death-rattle.” Finding that danger was threatening in the heavens above, an
48、d lurking on the earth beneath, he was on the point of sitting down and awaiting his fate, when, suddenly, a flash of lightning revealed an opening between the tall trees, and the hope that there might be some human habitation not far distant caused him to again renew his efforts.Moving cautiously forward, he succeeded in crossing a stream of water; a short distance beyond was an old, broken-down fence. The glimpse which the lightning gave him of this, the work of man, sent a thrill of joy to his desponding heart.30He anxiously watched for th