1 Macaulay, Life and Letters, 175.
36o THE ONE THING NEEDFUL
Eemain side by side with Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us, and you too will become a permanent magnet, a permanent attractive force ; and like Him you will draw all men — be they white men or black men — unto you. That is the inevitable effect of love.
With all thy heart, with all thy soul and mind, Thou must Him love and His behests embrace; All other loves, with which the world doth blind Weak fancies, and stir up affections base, Thou must renounce and utterly displace, And give thyself unto Him full and free, That full and freely gave Himself to thee.
Then shalt thou feel thy spirit so possest, And ravisht with devouring great desire Of His dear Self, that shall thy feeble breast Inflame with love, and set thee all on fire With burning zeal, through every part entire, That in no earthly thing thou shalt delight, But in His sweet and amiable sight.
Thenceforth all world's desire will in thee die, And all earth's glory, on which men do gaze, Seem dirt and dross in thy pure-sighted eye, Compar'd to that Celestial Beauty's blaze, Whose glorious beams all fleshly sense doth daze With admiration of their passing light, Blinding the eyes, and lumining the spright.
Then shall thy ravisht soul inspired be With heavenly thoughts far above human skill, And thy bright radiant eyes shall plainly see Th' Idea of His pure glory present still Before thy face, that all thy spirits shall fill With sweet enragement of celestial love, Kindled through sight of those fair things above.1
If With Professor Blackie the course of true love did not at first run smooth. But the Professor refused to believe that Mr. Wyld (her father) would persist in his displeasure. " You shall 6oon (he wrote to her) see your father, dearest, sitting as comfortably at my fireside as he does at his own. I believe
1 Spenser.
i CORINTHIANS xm. i 361
that the only invincible power in the world is love ; I shall ply your father with that and that only, and if I do not conquer — Christianity never conquered." x
U Edward Irving went to see a dying boy once, and when he entered the room, he just put his hand on the sufferer's head, and said, " My boy, God loves you," and went away. And the boy started from his bed, and he called out to the people in the house, " God loves me ! God loves me ! " One word ; one word ! It changed that boy. The sense that God loved him had over- powered him, melted him down, and had begun the making of a new heart.
TJ " Please, ' ma,' " began Atim, " please no whip Mees Kittee. She say true word. Me black, me nigger. Me no white, me no prettee, but Jesus He no think about black face, and He lofe me all the same. He lofe me, me too glad. Mees Kittee speak true word, but me not sorree any more."
The girl's black eyes glistened with feeling, but she looked very happy, and she snowed her ivory teeth.
" Atim, my dear Atim ! " said Mrs. Temple. " I'm glad along with you ! What do other things matter after all if one is sure of that?"
"Jesus, He make me white as snow me never see in me country. Me lofe Him ! Me lofe Him ! " She laughed aloud in her perfect pleasure. Truly she could afford to forgive and forget.
Kitty, stony-faced, had been a study during Atim's plea for her. She had refused utterly to beg pardon, and stood as perverse a little mortal as one could see anywhere. Gradually, as Atim spoke, her expression became softer. Her warm heart was touched. The moment Atim stopped, she flung herself into the black girl's arms.
" I love you, Atim ! " she cried. " I love your black face. I'm the wickedest sinner alive! If I loved Jesus the least little bit, I wouldn't behave so." She kissed the girl many times, and fondled her. Then Kitty turned to her mother. "Mother, mother, punish me! Make me do something I don't like at all. I'll do it just to show how sorry I am. I don't want to be naughty, but it's my nature ! I feel awful bad, awful!"2
2. As if on purpose to obviate all mysticism, St. Paul is careful to describe love by its practical results. A tree is known by its fruit ; and as you might describe an oak tree to a child
1 John Stuart Blackie, i. 207. 2 J. F. Hogg, The Angel Opportunity, 131.
362 THE ONE THING NEEDFUL
as the tree that is covered with acorns; or a vine as the tree from which the purple clusters are hanging, so St. Paul delineates love by the fruit it bears. By love, he seems to say, I mean that quality which " suffereth long and is kind," puts up with a great deal, and, trying to find excuses for the misdemeanour of an adversary, is kind and gentle and forbearing. Love envieth not the good fortune, the reputation, the precedence of another, vaunteth not herself, is not puffed up; gives herself no airs of consequence, nor plumes herself upon even real superiorities, inasmuch as it is contrary to the very essence of love to be making those comparisons which alone could supply materials for self-conceit; doth not behave herself unseemly, nor in any manner incongruous with the correlative circumstances in which she is placed; or inconsistent with the rights, the feelings, or even, if it can be helped, the honest prejudices of those with whom she is placed. And she is the less likely to fall into this unseemliness because she seeketh not her own ; is not incessantly on the watch to assert her own presence and to claim attention to her own prerogative ; is not easily (or perhaps it may here mean " vehemently ") provoked ; imputeth no evil where it can be avoided ; rejoiceth not in iniquity — as so many do, who cannot hear a piece of discreditable news but they sit on thorns until they can find an opportunity to repeat it — but rejoiceth in every- thing that is consistent with truth, justice, and integrity. Beareth all things, or more probably here, concealeth all things concerning another person which, without injury to the claims of social laws, it would be kind and considerate to conceal ; believeth all things favourable to such a person which there is any colourable reason to believe; even hopeth those which she finds it difficult to believe ; and endureth all things which it may be an advantage to others that she should endure.