And then came my hour.
"And now that we have given to the Lord formally this sanctuary we have
builded for him, I want to open its spiritual doors to any of you who
feel in your hearts the desire to unite with us in our worship of Him,"
were the words of invitation that I suddenly felt beat themselves, in
the rich voice of the man in the pulpit, upon my heart. "I am going to
baptize the children, but are there any of you of 'riper years' who
desire to unite with us to 'constantly believe God's holy word, and
obediently keep his commandments'?" And as he spoke he came down from
the pulpit, stood at the chancel rail and stretched out his hands to all
of us. Without a second's delay I rose and went and knelt before him and
bowed my head in my hands. On my right knelt the young tanner and on my
left I felt rather than saw Clifton Gray.
"The Ministration of Baptism to such as are of Riper Years" is long and
full of holy austerity. Word for word, response for question, I followed
the rich voice leading me, but not until it asked concerning our faith
in the "life everlasting" did I raise my eyes to those glowing above me
as I made answer: "All this I steadfastly believe."
There was an instant's hush in the church as I made my response and in
all humility I seemed to feel that it reverberated in some of the
others' depths until it waked a faint echo. They had seen me face my
humiliation and had watched how I took it and it had had its effect. It
was as if I publicly led them to the well-spring of my courage and
offered it to them. Luella May stole forward and crowded in between the
young tanner and me, and I saw great tears steal out of father's closed
eyes and roll down his cheeks, as he came and knelt just behind me, with
two mill hands and several women.
And then, after our blessing, while we rose and stood on the right and
the left of the chancel the parson asked that the children be brought
forward for baptism.
Without waiting for anybody to come with her, Charlotte rose, took a
hand of Sue on one side and one of Jimmy on the other, and came and
stood looking up into the beloved Minister's eyes with such a vision in
her young face that I caught my breath. Then Nell came and with her came
Harriet with the Suckling asleep in her arms. The bereaved young father
held his baby in his arms alone and Mrs. Burns went and stood beside
him with Mikey and Maudie and the other five toddlers in front of her.
Other children were brought forward by parents from the Town and the
Settlement and were ranged to the right and to the left, but still I saw
that Martha cowered in her pew holding the hand of the Stray in hers as
he knelt beside her. Then I knew what I must do and I went quietly and
lifted her and led her to the chancel to a place just beside where
Harriet stood with the Suckling in her arms. I held one of the Stray's
little hands in mine, and young Charlotte dropped Jimmy's hand and
reached out and took the other in hers. So we stood and waited while the
beloved voice read through the beautiful ceremony with which children
are taken into the arms of their faith before they are yet ready to
understand what it is some day to mean to them.