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Show 136 UNCLE TOM'S CABIN: OR, words; for the shadowy veil of years seemed drawn a.wl\y, and he seemed to hear his mother's voice leading his. Voice and instrument seemed both Jiving, ami threw out with vivid sympathy those strains which tho ethereal Mozart first conceived as his own dying requiem. When St. Clare had done singing, be sat leaning his head upon his hand a few moments, and then began walking up and down tho floor. "What a sublime conception is that of a last judgment! " said he,-" a righting of all the wrongs of ages 1 - a solving of all moral problems, by an unanswerable wisdom ! It is, indeed, a wonderful image." " It is a fearful one to us," said Miss Ophelia. "It ought to be to me, I suppose," said St Clare, stopping, thoughtfully. "I was reading to Tom, this afternoon, that chapter in Matthew that gives an account of it, ami I have been quite struck with it. Ono should have expected some terrible enormities charged to those who are excludcc.l from Heaven, as the reason; but no,- they arc condemned for not doing positiYc good, as if that included every possible harm." "Perhaps," said ~1iss Ophelia, "it is impossible for a person who docs no good not to do harm." "And what," said St. Claro, speaking abstractedly, but with deep feeling, "what shall be said of one whoso own heart, '"hose education, and tho wants of society, have called in vain to some noble purpose; who has floated on, a dreamy, neutral spectator of the struggles, agonies, and wrongs of man, when he should have been a worker?" " I should sn,y," said M.iss Ophelia, "that he ought to repent, and begin now." "Always practical and to the point!" said St. Clare, his face breaking out into a smile. "You never leave me any LIFE AMONG TllE !,OWLY. 137 time for general reflections, Cousin; you always bring me short up against the actual present; you have a kind of eternal now, always in your mind." "Now is all the time I have anything to do with," said Miss Ophelia. " Deal' little Eva,- poor child!" said St. Clare, "she had set her little simple soul on n.gocxl work for me." It was tho first time since Eva's death that he had ever said as many words :~.s these of her, and he spoke now evidently repressing very strong feeling. '( J)Jy view of Christianity is such,n he added, "that I think no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society; and, if need be, sacrificing himself in the battle. ~'hat is, I mean that I could not be a. Christian otherwise, though I have certainly had intercourse with a great many enlightened and Christian people who did no such thing; and I confess that the apathy of religious people on this subject, their want of perception of wrongs that filled me with horror, have engendered in mo more scepticism than any other thing." "If you knew all this," said Thfiss Ophelia, "why didn't you do it?" "0, because I have had only that kind of benoyo]enco which consists in lying on a sofa, and cursing the church and clergy for not being martyrs and confessors. One can see, you know, very easily, how others ought to be martyrs." "Well, arc you going to do differently now 1" said Miss Ophelia. n God only knows the future," said St. Clare. "I am braver than I was, because I ha,·c lost all; and he who has nothing to lose can arford all ri sks." YOJ,. lf.. 12,... |