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Show Page 277 and Orson was once again on his way to Liverpool. But a marvelous transformation had taken place, for the torture of previous thousand-mile treks was forever past. Where Orson had once figured his journeys in months, he could now make the transit to Britain by rail and steamship in the same number of weeks. By August 27, he landed in Liverpool aboard "S.S. Montana" to the cheers of the Saints - many of them old friends, who greeted with reverence their "able and indefatigable" 22 president and his reticent son, Lorus. Two days later, Orson was preparing a quick tour of the mission before setting in to the work of publishing nearly a thousand pages of revised, cross-referenced scripture. He would travel to Leeds first, to exhort the Saints there in the Gospel and the learning of phonetic shorthand - he was now preparing a "Pitman" edition of the Book of Mormon on his office desk. When a wire arrived from the First Presidency office in Salt Lake City, Orson opened the rare communique as fast as he could. On August 29, 1877, Brigham Young died of fulminating "cholera morbus" in his bed at the Beehive House. For the second time in Orson's apostolic sojourn he had lost his prophet - this time, however, he had the news the very same day. As he eulogized Brigham in Leeds a few days 23 later, nothing but deep reverence showed in his words. People knew of the humiliation Brigham had caused him, of the supplanting, of the ripping of books; but Orson himself exhibited no rancor at all. Historians have 24 theorized a feud, a "thirty years' war" between the two leading lights of Mormon Utah - one biographer of Brigham Young declares that the President hated Orson Pratt, with a profound suspicion dating from the 25 troubles of 1842. But this is far too simple. That animosity should arise occasionally between two such strong "oxen in the yoke" was inevitable. When Orson tried to lead out in matters of doctrine, Brigham silenced him |