Kitabı oku: «Alter Ego: A Tale», sayfa 5
"In trying to hold on to our old position we had to withstand some terrible bayonet rushes on the part of the enemy in efforts to retake it, and our regiment, which entered the battle with 2,450 men, had just 585 left to respond to the order to retire. Another regiment lost 1,100 men. The place assigned us in this most, orderly retreat was in the rear-guard, and just as we took our places our brigade commander was decapitated by the explosion of a pom-pom shell, and I was ordered to hand over my regiment to a major and take charge of the brigade.
"We had an awful time during the retreat, but every onrush was stemmed, and at each repulse of the foe our men, with bayonets dripping red, cheered to the echo.
"The war was now practically over, and although every man of ours had two foemen opposed to him, the Japs had a narrow escape from defeat; nothing but the accident of a duststorm averting it, by enabling them in the darkness thereof to break the lines of General Linevitch when his men could not see a yard ahead of them.
"When we reached headquarters I, having nothing but a temporary connection with the Russian army, went to my chief and tendered him my uniform and arms, telling him, as there was not likely to be any more fighting, I would return to Canada. He, however, refused to take anything, saying that as a mark of honor and appreciation I must retain them, and after saying 'Good-bye' to my battle-scarred comrades I went to the station to entrain for the coast, and as it steamed out a crowd of officers and men waved their caps and handkerchiefs, shouting, 'Canada for ever; long live Canada and the Canadians!' I felt I did not do much for them—any one, perhaps, would have done better—but I had done my little best, and they had trusted and honored me. I like the Russians; they are good fellows, and are greatly slandered in the West. They have a moral code, and with some exceptions, they live up to it, and any nation that crosses arms with them will pay a heavy toll.
"In closing, I presume you would like to know more fully my opinion of war, and in giving it I will say that if you murder a man by shooting or stabbing him you are merciful, but if you kill him by exploding an eleven-inch shell, in many cases he will be torn to fragments and his dismembered body scattered over an acre of ground. In other instances that I have seen at Mukden and 203 Metre Hill, men have been mortally wounded and left an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood, which for days heaved with anguish and life, while others, after hours and sometimes days of agony, died with broken bayonets protruding from their backs, having entered as gallant breasts as ever swelled with breath and life.
"I have forsworn war for ever, after the dreadful scenes which I have witnessed, and there were scenes which I did not witness, in far-off Russia and Japan, which were infinitely more appalling, where was seen the dreary sobbing of broken-hearted widowhood and the piteous wailing of hungry, fatherless children. Added to this was the pale-faced sorrow of sisters bereft of brothers and sweethearts, who had lost those who would have been nearer than brothers, and who now with broken hearts ceased to live and began only to exist in hopeless despair. The Russians met in their foes armies trained after the pattern of the German military system, and none of us ever again desire to cross weapons with men trained as those are, who have learned from that land of advanced scholarship and military superiority. The Japanese were foemen worthy of their steel, but instead of their arms being dishonored fresh lustre was shed upon them."
At the close of his address Mr. Devoau was applauded to the echo, after adding as a rider that in his denunciation of war he would, of course, make an exception of defensive operations.
The next Sabbath in the morning service Mr. Melvin started the tabernacle congregation by announcing that as he would soon reach the retiring line, and as the immense congregation, with its many needs, overtaxed his strength, he had long thought of an associate who, when he retired, would take full charge. Continuing, he said: "I have spoken to Mr. Devoau and asked him if he would not abandon the thought of a life so selfish as that of making himself one of the foremost iron founders in Canada and join me in the work of preaching and teaching. His answer has been favorable, if it is the will of the people, and he has further said that if it is their will he will accept it as the Master's will."
A meeting of the officers of the church was called for Tuesday evening, when the matter was discussed, and Mr. Devoau's profession of faith heard, when he told them that he was of French-Canadian parentage and could not subscribe to every technicality. His frankness and fearlessness won every heart, a vote was taken, and he was unanimously called to be associate pastor of Mount Zion.
CHAPTER VI
FURTHER TEACHINGS AND HOW THEY ARE ESTIMATED
After his ordination the new preacher took his place in the pulpit once every Sunday, and being now a close student of theology as well as of other subjects, he soon became an eloquent and powerful speaker, and the entire congregation was delighted with him. The last Sunday of the national year, Mr. Melvin announced a sermon on "The Ideal Relationship of Capital and Labor," prompted by the recent trouble at the foundry between employers and their hands. The preacher of the day said: "Beware of so-called socialism, for it trenches very closely on the borderland of anarchism, and after having listened to lectures and sermons an hour long and read many books upon that much-abused topic, I am constrained to turn to the teaching of the Man of Nazareth, and find in that teaching something more rational and common-sense than elsewhere. In the first place our Saviour recognized property rights when he said, 'Render unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, and unto God the things which are God's.' This doctrine is for the workingman as well as for his employer, and enables both to procure homes for themselves and hold them in their own right.
"We cannot fail to recognize the fatherhood of God, and if so then we must recognize the brotherhood of man, for all men truly should be such. If you and I have come to that point where we regard every man as our brother, on the authority of Jesus Christ, the social problem will be solved, and the capitalist will regard and treat the man who toils for him as the son of his Father God, and the toiler will regard the employer as not only his brother, but co-heir with himself to an incorruptible inheritance. Much depends, brethren, on the exercise of that charity which translates love. Love one another and you will use one another aright. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and there was life as the wounded Israelites looked upon it, so there is life in a look at the crucified One, and there is more than that, there is adjustment of relationships between husband and wife, between pastor and people, between citizens and their chief magistrate, between capital and labor. I can do no better than lift my hand toward the sky and utter that little classic, 'Ecce Homo,' and He is the Man of Sorrow."
The senior pastor's sermon had a marvellous effect upon the people, and it was said that the iron workers' difficulty was soon settled on the Christ principle. The next Sunday being July 1st, the anniversary of Confederation, the Rev. Mr. Devoau preached a sermon in keeping with the day, and said "that the Iroquois term 'Kannatha,' which was very restricted in its meaning, and only signified a collection of wigwams or huts—a village, we might say—had become corrupted into Canada, but now stood for dominion power and nationality. The population had grown into many millions, and the area was 3,750,000 square miles, or nearly as great as the entire continent of Europe. The mineral and coal deposits are almost inexhaustible, and the exports and imports the astonishment of the nations.
"The growth of our cities is simply wonderful. Winnipeg has doubled its population in five years; Calgary has nearly trebled the number of its citizens in the same period, while Montreal has become the New York of Canada. Truly the words of our text apply specially to us, 'He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgments we have not known them.'"
Continuing, the speaker said: "The God who has so wondrously blessed us since 1867, when a confederation of our leading provinces took place, expects us to be rational and sane, and stand for unity and consolidation of languages and creeds, that Canada may show to the world what the brotherhood of man means and that the Saviour's teaching has been put into practice upon our ocean-girt shores. A large number of our people do not know what the term Canadian means. They will do well to remember that it takes in not only the people of old Ontario, but the people of the greater Canada beyond, with its diversity of speech and polity, and no responsible person would say or do anything that would not tend to weld together the different doctrines and tongues. If we are true to God and each other we will one day stand in the front rank of world powers, and our fleets, not of war, but of commerce, will ride upon every sea. The battle of the Sea of Japan or Corea proved that battleships were not worth the coal that steamed them, but our mercantile marine is of priceless value, for it carries our wares to every land and our commerce into the marts thereof and into every clime."
Immediately upon the close of the sermon, Mr. Melvin, who had occupied a seat upon the platform, arose and said, "This is the best sermon to which I have ever listened; it is truly the teaching of a man who is saner and wiser than his fellows." Upon the utterance of these words the vast audience broke into thunders of applause, evidencing the fact that it was the sentiment of all.
As the summer advanced, Mr. Devoau invited Mr. Melvin to take a trip to Ottawa with him, as he was going to visit his parents for a day. The invitation was accepted, and these two kindred spirits started off on an early train for Canada's beautiful capital, where they were met by Mr. Devoau, senior, who heartily welcomed the friend and colleague of his son. As they walked toward the home of the Devoau family, whom should they meet but the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada, who was out for a stroll, and with whom the elder Devoau was well acquainted. Both preachers were at once introduced to the Premier, who was very gracious and genial. Mr. Devoau said they were having a day's recreation after their recent teachings. Sir Wilfrid said: "I will not ask what those teachings were, as I am sure they were all right." Mr. Melvin said: "They were not exactly like those of the Scotchman, who was asked if his health was good, and he said, 'I am no verry weel the day, for last nicht I was teaching the bairnies doon at the hall hoo to vote.'" Said he, "We are not exactly teaching people how to vote, but we are trying to pound sin out of them." The Premier then made the hit of the day when he said, "Get all the sin out of them and they will vote right."
