344
J u ly 1930
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
long-tried, much-tested waistcoat. This one demanded in the name of a certain Central Committee that those who . represented “ ‘God’s business agents on earth,’ who pa raded in the robes of popes, bishops, rabbis and minis ters,” should cease to interrupt the Comrade. At this point Djemileh felt a familiar little hand slip into hers and with a start she looked down to see Little Sister, who, all unconscious of what was going on, had rushed up with news. “ Armand’s father has come! See, there he is with Ar- mand and Elise and Pauline! He arrived last night and surprised Armand. And he’s going to speak at our meet ing and tell us about Palestine!” Djemileh raised her head quickly to see the remarkable face of the man whom Althea’s cousin Constance had called “ The Personage.” It was a different face now, for the peace of God was upon it and the old marks of sorrow were obliterated by an inner light. He was evi dently listening with interest. The man in the waistcoat was terminating his outburst with a perfect cannonade of eloquence upon the “ rigid communist code of political morals,” “ collective government farms,” and “ the Red Army, 725,000 strong—the largest on earth today.” Nikolai, who had not descended from the soap box during all the melee, began to speak. He was afraid the men would start to “mill” around. Their attention must be rigidly held. “Comrades,” he cried, “ these young ones are the un paid dupes of capitalism. The Young Pioneers of Russia are taught to call them ‘bourgeois counter-revolutionary reservists.’ There is no length to which these men of greed, called capitalists, will not go. I tell you that they are preparing to crush our movement. A class war, an in ternational class war, is sure to come, and this country— ” “ H old ! You are going to say something that is false.” The crowd, which had increased and now contained many who were not in sympathy with the communists, turned to look at “ The Personage.” His quiet clear tone had been infinitely more powerful and far-reaching than Nikolai’s loud voice. There was a moment of tense silence in which Little Sister was heard by many as she exclaimed to Pauline, “ That man is the one who came to school to give out papers last week. He said there, wasn’t any God or any heaven. He told— ” But Armand’s father, seeing that he had gained the at tention of the throng, went on. “ There is no such ‘con certed action of capitalist powers’ as you would have us believe,” he said. “ Why do you seek the cooperation of our capital—and get it !—to build up your country and then denounce it? Is this consistent?” There was no answer, and before anyone could speak he went on. “ I know, and the Lord above us knows, that there is oppression of the helpless ones of earth by the powerful. There is money amassed that is withheld from need and squandered in excesses. And I know, and God knows, that many a noble soul, fired by seeing these injustices, has flung himself into communism. One could almost sym pathize with communist^, were they not so unjust— I say it reverently—unjust' to God. They identify Him who was crucified with these ‘classes’ they are fighting. They are not just, these comrades of yours, to the best friend and comrade. They do not wait to discern that a cloak of ‘religion’ has sometimes been put on by their foes. In brooding over their own injustices they have become un just—unjust to One who died for them. Let them go to
the cross and hear Him who hung there between heaven and earth . . Perhaps Nikolai would have tried to interrupt this discourse, but his attention had been caught by one o f his crew of four, who had been worming through the crowd as unostentatiously as possible, and coming toward him. A h ! Here he was! But what was this which he whis pered, in Russian, so rapidly in his ear ? Upon hearing it, Nikolai summoned to his side the remaining three, who had charge o f their literature, and said to them, also in R u s s i a n “ We are in danger of arrest, accused of spread ing propaganda in a city school. Alexeivich has just in formed me. What now, comrades?” He had progressed thus far when his glance fell upon Djemileh whom he had used to call his “ little bird” in their childish days in old Russia. Good! There was the an swer ! And to the surprise of the throng, Nikolai, the Red Bearded, descended from his soap box, and simply re marking : “ It is well that we deal with these enthusiasts further,” he motioned to Djemileh to lead on to the hall. What official would ever think of looking for them in a Near East meeting of this character? So Nikolai reasoned. And, leaving another local light of communism on the box to hold the crowd, the little group proceeded. Little Sister walked alongside. Why did they try to make boys bad? . . . . Oh, yes, they did make them worse than they were before! ’Cause some of the boys at school were really not very naughty until Nikolai told them not to believe in God, or heaven, and after that, they said they were going to do all the bad things they ever thought o f ; ’cause what was the use ? They might as well! Nikolai fell uncomfortably silent after this. Shades of the Third Internationale! How was one to talk to such a child! Althea and Lawrence, with the Greek and Donald Don aldson, were awaiting them. As he saw the motley group, Donald gave vent to the characteristically British exclama tion: “ What’s the row?” “ It is not a row, now ! Although it came near to being one,” replied Elise. There was just a handful of people in the seats at this first Sunday afternoon meeting, some of the Czechs and Jugoslavian students from college and a few of the Polish and Rumanian workers whom Aunt Margot had reached through her Home for Devout Men out of every Nation. Aunt Margot herself was looking unusually severe, lip folded tightly against lip. She had just learned that Ben Lomond, the mountain of Scotch sentiment, was to be auctioned to the highest bidder! The failure of the Bank of England, the upheaval of the thirty-nine articles, and the inclusion of the Almanac de Gotha with the Police Gazette, would not have surprised her now! She was prepared for any cataclysm, for anything might happen on this whirling, confused and dizzy ball of a world in which she had entirely ceased to believe. And so she saw her dear young people enter, accom panied by some doubtful looking foreigners, with utter resignation. It was all part of this age of reversal and contradiction of the established. But Aunt Margot forgot all this and everything else in this workaday world when “ The Personage” began to speak. H«. ' * H* H« H< Those who had been listening knew they had been hearing no ordinary address. And even that is too mild a statement of the case. Those who heard it knew that they were hearing a setting forth of the truths of God’s
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs