xt72v6986f4p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt72v6986f4p/data/mets.xml Hatcher, Eldridge B. (Eldridge Burwell), b. 1865. 1912 books b92-235-31281096 English Baptist World Pub. Co., : Louisville, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Dorothy Page / Eldridge B. Hatcher. text Dorothy Page / Eldridge B. Hatcher. 1912 2002 true xt72v6986f4p section xt72v6986f4p

Dorothy

Page

ELDRIDGE B. HATCHER
AUTHOR OF
T1il. YOUNG PROFESSOR
AND
THE HITTITES

1912
BAPTIST WORLD PUBLISHING CO.
INCORPORATED
LOUISVILLE, KY.

BAPTIST WORLD PUBLISHING CO.

CONTENTS.

I. DOROTHY ARRIVES ..................... 5
II. DOROTHY'S CONVERSION ......... ......... 9
III. STERLING STATES His CASE ............. 19
IV. GETTING INTO DEEP WATER ............ 29
V. HANDLING THE THREE THOUSAND ....... 37
VI. ONE POINT GAINED ..................... 55
VII. THE CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS ......... 63
VIII. WRONGING THE LITTLE ONES ............ 75
IX. CiRcumICIsION To THE RESCUE .......... 83
X. THE DISCIPLE PREACHER ..... ........... 95
XI. A BAPTIST ON THE WITNESS STAND ...... 119
XII. DISCOVERY ........................... 139
XIII. BAPTIST PRINCIPLES ON THE MARCH .... 153
XIV. STERLING BRINGS IN His RESERVES ...... 169
XV. CROSSING THE RUBICON ................ 179
XVI. STERLING SCORES............. 189

TO THOSE WHO

SEEK THE TRUTH AND PURSUE IT.

E. B. H.

CHAPTER I.

DOROTHY ARRIVES.

"You may see her tonight," said Mrs. Sterling to
her son Gilbert.
"When does she arrive"
"At six-twenty this afternoon. They say, son, she
is beautiful."
"From what point of the compass does the lovely
paragon come" asked Sterling with a smile.
"She has just graduated from some college in the
North. Her father and mother went to be wNith her in
the closing exercises and will bring her home today."
The subject of this conversation was Dorothy Page,
whose palatial home was next door to the home of the
Sterlings. The two families had become friends as
well as neighbors.
"Come over this evening, Sterling, and help re to
celebrate the arrival of the family," called out Roland
Page from his porch.
Sterling agreed.
At half past eight o'clock, as he entered the library
of the Page home, he looked upon what seemed to
hirm the most beautiful girl his imagination had ever
pictured. He knew in a moment that he was a cap-

DOROTHY PAGE.

tive. As he walked down the front steps after his visit
he felt sure that an epoch in his life had occurred.
"A splendid young fellow 1" remarked Mr. Page
after Sterling had left. "Although he is only twenty-
nine years of age, he has in his own right a cool two
million-dollar fortune. He inherited it from his father
and he himself is one of the most progressive business
men in the state and seems bent on using his fortune
for the good of soiety."
"He was very quiet," remarked Dorothy.
Mr. Page's statements concerning Sterling were
very true. He might have added that Sterling was an
elder in the Presbyterian church and was one of its
most devoted members.
Sterling found his mother in the sitting-room on
his return home that night.
"Well, son," she said, "how do you like your new
neighbor"
"Mother, don't ask me to describe her," he replied;
and then for half an hour he continued talking about
her. Before retiring he said:
"Mother, how is it that I have never been told
about Miss Page before"
"Well, son, I have known very little myself. The
Pages, you know, have lived here less than a year and
Dorothy has never been here before. A few days be-
fore Mrs. Page left to bring Dorothy home she told
me a good many things about her."
"How long was Miss Page at the college"
"Three years. The Pages were born in Virginia, but
when Dorothy was six years old the father, because of

DOROTHY PAGE.

failing health, purchased a large ranch in the West
and he moved his family there and became very pros-
perous."
"She is a child, therefore, of the South and West,"
said Sterling.
"Yes, she has Southern blood and Western expe-
rience. Mirs. Page said their home was ten miles from
the nearest store and the nearest neighbor was seven
miles distant."
"That must have been a dismal life for Dorothy.
You say she lived on the plains from six years of age
until three years ago, when she went to the college
Did she have no other schooling"
"Oh, yes. Her education was directed at home by a
governess of unusual culture and refinement. I learned
also from Mrs. Page that none of the family make any
pretensions to religion, and that the governess was as
irreligious as they."
"What a home!"
"She said that there was no church near them in the
West and that Dorothy had never been in a church
up to the time she went off to the college, and that she
doubted if she had eves attended church while there."
"You make her out a wild girl of the plains," re-
marked Sterling with a smile. "I could easily see the
traces of it tonight in her open, eager, almost wild
manner, and yet through it all there was a culture,
a .sweetnesz, a loveliness that is indescribable."
Mrs. Sterling continued: "Mrs. Page said that
Dorothy, perfectly at home on the wildest horse,
roamed untrammeled over the ranch, and reveled in its

8 DOIROTHY PAEL.

beauty and its freedom. But let me continue the
story. At seventeen she went to Carrollton HColege
and at the end of three years she won her diploma."
"I'll venture she came out at the head of the Iiit,
mother; she is as bright and sparkling as a diamond."
"You are right, for she took the honors of her cdas-.
A year ago Mr. Page sold his ranch and came here to
Kentucky to live, but this is Dorothy's first sight of
her Kentucky home."

CHAPTER II.

DOROTHY 'S CONVERSION.

"Oh, a tennis court ! How glorious 1" exclaimed
Dorothy next morning as she stepped out on the porch
and caught her first glimpse of the side lawn.
Sterling considered it a special providence that nu
intervening fence separated the two residences, and
nearly every afternoon found him on the tennis
grounds, an eager contestant in the game with Dor-
othy.
"Good-bye, Mr. Sterling," she said to him one after..
noon at the close of the game. "I must hurry in and
do some packing. I shall turn traveler tomorrow."
"What-going away" he asked with a startled ex-
pression.
"Yes, I am going to Chicago for a few weeks to
visit a girl friend."
The light fled fromn the sky for Sterling. For thie
next three weeks not only Dorothy, but the center of
the universe seemed to him to be located in Chicago.
During Dorothy's visit a crisis occurred in her life.
'While attending a church service with her girl friend
she heard a strange sermon. How new and startling
it sounded. The preacher's theme was "Salvation
Through Christ", and she heard things she had never

10 DOROTHY PAGE.

dreamed of before. Wild questionings set her heart
aflame and there was no rest for her that night. Her
soul's destiny was a subject to which she had never
given serious reflection.
She felt flat the man whose sermon had thrcwn
her into this dark confusion was the only one who
might give her light. She sought him, out. A father
in Israel he was-Rev. Dr. Moreland, one of the most
eminent ministers in that city. He saw that as a lit-
tle child she was eagerly groping in the dark, and
with the Bible as a lamp he led her step by step into the
light. She saw herself in God's sight a sinner, guilty
and condemned, and how helpless and hopeless to her
seemed her condition.
The story of the Gospel sounded to her like music
from Heaven. The love of Christ for sinners melted
her heart and she yielded herself in child-like trust to
him. In her own room at night the surrender was
made and it was complete.
"Son, I could easily tell that Dorothy is coming
tomorrow," said Mrs. Sterling.
"How do you know, mother"
"By your face. You would have passed for an un-
dertaker during the past three weeks, and I have
tried by every art, but in vain, to chase away your
funereal countenance."
Sterling broke into a hearty laugh.
"Mother, your imagination is out on a frolic. You
will have to put a bridle on it."
Mrs. Sterling was righbt. Gilbert had learned that
Dorothy would arrive on the morrow.

DOROTHY PAGE.

Dorothy had written her parents about her new-
found joy, but they understood it not. They thought
that it was some girlish emotion that her home life
would quickly dissipate.
The news of 'her conversion came to Sterling as a
burst of sunlight. In speaking of it to his mother he
said:
"Of one thing I am sure, and that is that she will
make a glorious Christian. What a light she will be in
her home. And, mother, 'how fine to have her in my
church I"
Dorothy had shortened her visit that she might
hurry home and tell her loved ones of the change in
her life. She could not explain the change, but hie
knew that for her old things had passed away and all
things had become new.
She was anxious to tell her parents the simple story
of Christ's love and sacrifice for sinners. She recited
it almost immediately after her return, but their eyes
seemed holden that they could not see. Possibly they
did not want to see. At any rate, Dorothy received
her first biting disappointment in the reception that
her parents gave to her report about her new-found
Savior.
With Mr. Sterling it was different, and in him she
found a sympathetic listener to her story. Not that
sihe impulsively bared her secrets to him; he was eager
to know it all, and his keen interest in contrast to the
utter lack of responsiveness on the part of the parents
encouraged her to confide in him, and to Dorothy,

DOROTHY PAGE.

with her new and trembling faith, Sterling was a
friend in need.
A week had passed after her return, and one after-
noon Sterling said to her at the close of a tennis game
that her coming into his church would make their
membership exactly 300.
"Mr. Sterling," she replied, "I am anxious to talk
with your pastor, Dr. Vincent, about which church I
ought to join."
Her words smote him. The possibility of her unit-
ing with any other church than his own had not oc-
curred to -him, and the bare thought of it -put a load
on his heart. He asked her what she meant by her
remark regarding Dr. Vincent.
"Dear old Dr. Moreland," she said, "whose church I
attended in Chicago, and who so kindly led me into
the light, told me that I must be sure to join some
church, and when I asked him what church it should
be he told me that I must study my New Testament
and let that guide me. I have carefully read it through
twice, and I cannot see that it has helped me at all to
decide about my church membership. I really do not
know what he meant."
Sterling was relieved and the load rolled off his
heart. for he felt sure that with her New Testament as
her guide she would turn her steps 'towards the Presby-
terian church.
By this time they had reached the front porch, where
the rest of the family were seated, and when Dorothy
made her last remark the brother, who was sitting
nearby, heard and said:

DOROTHY PAGE.

"What's the need, sister, of your joining any
church You don't think the church will take you
to Heaven, do you"
"Hold on, son," spoke up the father, "I am not an
expert on religious matters, but it is a plain proposi-
tion to me that if Dorothy has accepted Christianity
and become a Christian, the place for her is the
church."
"But what good will it do, father"
"I believe in a person being one thing or the other,"
said Mr. Page. "If you are not a Christian, then of
course keep out of the church; if You set up to be a
Christian, then take your medicine; if You claim to be
a soldier, then march up and put on the uniform and
join the army."
"Oh, I never thought of not joining a church," said
Dorothy.
"But I still hang to my point," said the brother.
"Why does Dorothy have to join the church Do you
think, sister, joining the church will save you"
"What a question, brother! Of course not. I hope
I am saved already. I have faith in Christ and I am
looking to him for my salvation. Simply having my
name entered as a church member will not save me;
I am very ignorant about these matters, but Dr. More-
land told me that Christ founded the church as the
place in which he wished all who believed in him to
be gathered. If he formed the church for his believ-
ers, then is it not the place for me"
"Daughter, you are right there to a dot. If Christ
organized the church for his followers and you have

DOROTHY PAGE.

given yourself to him, then if you should refuse to
enter the church I should doubt whether you had given
yourself to him; but I think you are wrong on one
point. You spoke just now about studying the Bible
to learn what church you ought to join. That's one
on me. I never knew the Bible told a person what
church he ought to join; in fact, I did not think it
made any difference what church or denomination a
person selected. I thought it was just pay your money
and take your choice."
"I thought," said the mother, "that all the churches
were aiming in the same direction and that all claimed
to be founded on the Bible. Do you think, daughter,
that the Bible will tell you to join one particular
church or denomination rather than some other"
"Mother, you are right there, as you generally are,"
said the father. "Here is the Presbyterian church, the
only strong church in town, and it seems to be a
mighty good one from all that I can hear of it. Do
you imagine, daughter, that you must study the Bible
to learn whether it will tell you to join this church
or some other church that may be off somewhere no-
body knows where"
Dorothy seemed lost in reflection.
"I wonder what Dr. Moreland could have meant"
she said. "I notice there are different names by which
the churches are known: for example, the Presbyte-
rians, the Methodists, etc. They call them, I believe,
denominations. Are these denominations the same
Why do they have the different names, and why do

DOROTHY PAGE.

some people join one denomination and some an-
other"
"That is not, strange, daughter," spoke up the
father. "There we different, kinds of dresses, and
one woman prefers one kind and another another.
Some people like the Presbyterian church, some the
Methodist church and so on. It is not a Bible ques-
tion, simply a question of taste."
"Miss Dorothy, the denominations differ in matters
of doctrine," said Mr. Sterling.
"You mean, then," said Dorothy, a light coming
into her eye, "that the people who believe that the
Bible teaches certain doctrines go into one church, and
the people who believe that it teaches another set of
doctrines go into another church, and that each one
joins the church of his own beliefs"
"You are entirely correct," said Sterling, confident
that when she compared the denominations his church
would win the day. "The Presbyterian church is
founded on the bed rock of Scripture and draws its
life blood from its sacred pages."
"Do you not see, father," said Dorothy, "that in
order for me to decide which church I ought to join
I must study the Bible for myself and then join the
church that seems to come nearest to what the Bible
seems to me to teach"
"I don't agree with you, sister," said Roland. "You
say you must join the church that comes nearest to
what the Bible seems to you to teach. But you know
very little about what the Bible teaches. ITad you not
better take what old Dr. Vincent, who has been a life-

DOROTHY PAGE.

long student of the Bible, says the Bible teaches than
to take what you, after a few readings, decide it
teaches Why, certainly. I'd rather a thousand times
trust him to tell me what that Book teaches than for
me to decide myself."
"But, brother, I think you miss the point. Dr.
Vincent can tell me what he thinks the Bible teaches,
but some learned minister in another denomination
might tell me the Bible taught something different.
Mr. Sterling says each denomination has its own doc-
trines which it believes the Bible teaches. If I am
going to take what some learned Bible student says,
then which one must I follow One will tell me that
the Bible teaches the Presbyterian doctrines and an-
other will tell me it teaches the Methodist doctrines."
"Exactly; and no matter what you do you cannot be
sure you are right. I think one is about as apt to be
right as the other. The only thing is to take a man
that you believe is an honest and wise student of the
Book and ask him to tell you its teachings."
"Oh, brother, that doesn't appeal to me at all. I
dare not take another person's word for what this Bible
teaches. I can tak9 his counsel and the counsel of
everybody else that I can secure, but I must give the
final decision. I must study this Book for myself.
Dr. Vincent is a good and wise man, of course, but I
cannot look into his 'heart for all the thoughts that
have led him to his decision. The question before me
is not what church does MNr. Vincent think comes near-
est the Bible, but what church do I think comes the
nearest."

DOROTHY PAGE.

"Daughter," said Mr. Page, "you are on the right
track. You can get all the light possible from Dr.
Vincent and anybody else you choose, but you are the
judge that must bring in the verdict, and when you
make the decision there is no court of appeals. But
you have a huge job on your hands. You must first
study all the denominations and then you've got to
master your Bible to see which one of all the denomi-
nations squares with the Book."
"Oh," said Dorothy in a tone of despair, "how can I
ever decide such a big question Won't you help me,
Mr. Sterling"
Sterling felt that he would like to spend several
centuries, beginning with that very second, in the
single matter of helping her. He remarked with a
smile: "Miss Dorothy, I think you need not be
alarmed; you are not as much in the wilderness as
you imagine. Suppose on examination you find that
the doctrines of our church are in accord with the
teachings of the Bible, then your duty is plain, is it
not"
"Yes," she replied with a sigh of relief, "and won't
you tell me what are the doctrines of your church"
His eyes answered her request before his lips had an
opportunity to respond.
"Now you are getting out into the road," said the
father. "Tell it to her, Friend Sterling, and I guess
she will find that your church plumbs the track. In
fact, I reckon most of them do."
"Dinner is ready," called the mother.

18 DOROTHY PAGE.

"There, now," said the father, "that breaks up the
meeting at the critical point, but come in to dinner,
Sterling, and we will open the campaign again after
dinner."
"Yes, please do come, Mr. Sterling," said Dorothy.
"I am so anxious to know what are the doctrines of
Xour church."
Sterling was compelled to decline, inasmuch as he
had promised to be at home for dinner to meet a
business friend of his father's, but he assure(l them
that he would be on hand for the discussion very soon
after dinner.

CHAPTER III.

STERLING STATES HIS CASE.

At eight o'clock they gathered in the library.
"Now, Sterling," said Mr. Page, "we are all atten-
tion. Open up your Presbyterian treasures, for you
have our curiosity aroused."
Sterling was anxious to bring to Dorothy's attention
the facts about his denomination. He felt confident
that the history and doctrines of Presbyterianism
would prove very attractive to her and lead her into
his church.
"I fear I cannot do my denomination justice," lie
said. "It deserves an abler champion. It haws had an
illustrious hlistory and on our honor roll are such
notable names as John Calvin, John Knox, Thomas
Chalmers and a host of others."
"W hat are the doctrines of your church, Mr.
Sterling" asked Dorothy.
"We believe in God as the creator and preserver of
the world, in Christ as the Savior of sinners, and in
thle Bible as the Word of God."
"IHow about those doctrines, daughter" asked Mr.
Page. "Can you accept them"
"Of course, father. The Bible teaches them plainly."
"Good I Give us some more, Sterling."

DOROTHY PAGE.

"Wre believe that Christ offered himself on the cross
as a sacrifice for the sins of men, that he was buried,
rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven, where he
sits at the right hand of the Father. We believe in
the Holy Spirit as being sent by the Father to convict
men of sin and righteousness and judgment to come."
"What about that, daughter"
"F ether is pinning me down, Mr. Sterling, as we go
along," she said with a smile. "I think I can accept
those doctrines because the New Testament teaches
them-at least that is my recollection from my reading
of the New Testament."
"XWe believe that Christ in organizing the church
gave two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper;
that baptism is a sign and seal of God's regenerating
grace and that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of his
death-the bread typifying his broken body and the
wine his shed blood. We believe that Christ speaks
of his church as his bride."
"Ye-, I remember that."
"Sterling, you seem to be making good progress,"
said the father. "Do you accept the doctrines as he has
announced them thus far, daughter"
"I think so. They seem to be in accord with what
I have read. I have only read the New Testament
through twice."
"In mentioning our doctrines," he said, "I am not
attempting a logical order, nor am I confining myself
to strict theological terminology. I am giving our doc-
trines just as they come before my mind."

DOROTHY PAGE.

"Go ahead," said the father. "I think Dorothy will
soon find herself a Presbyterian."
"I ought to have stated," continued Mr. Sterling,
"that we believe that salvation comnes by faith in
Christ. All of the redeemed in Christ will be re-
ceived by him when he shall come again and shall
live with him in everlasting happiness, but the unbe-
lievers will be banished into everlasting punishment."
"Hold on," said Mr. Page; "you don't endorse that
last awful doctrine, do you, daughter"
"It is awful, father, but I have to endorse it, for I
have read it in the Bible with my own eyes and I
remember it was declared by Christ himself."
Sterling was delighted at the progress he was rnak-
ing. The thought of Dorothy corning into his church
filled him with joy.
"Another doctrine," he said: "We believe in Christ's
words concerning the little children-'of .sueh is the
Kingdom of Heaven'-and that, as Peter said, God's
promise is unto his people and to their children and
their children's children, and as baptism is the door
to the church-"
"Oh, yes," exclaimed Dorothy, "I saw a baptism
once. Do I have to be baptized, too, Mr. Sterling"
"Yes, indeed."
"That was a very interesting baptism I saw in Ne-
braska, where I was visiting. It was in a river and
they put the people under the water."
"Oh, Miss Dorothy, that was not baptism," ex-
claimed Sterling, apparently horrified by her remark.
"It was not What was it, Mr. Sterling"

DOROTHY PAGE.

"It was merely an odd practice observed by certain
curious sects. I beg that you will get that well fixed
in your mind."
"Well, you know I have to learn about these things.
What do you mean then by baptism"
"Baptism is performed by having water sprinkled or
poured gently upon the head of the candidate. It is
a very impressive ceremony."
"That is strange, for do you know I saw in the Bible
just the kind of baptism that I witnessed that day in
Nebraska"
"Oh, never. Bible baptism is by sprinkling and
sprinkling alone."
"Well, I read in one or two places about people being
baptized by being put under the water; that is, unless
I am very much mistaken."
"Hold on," said the father. "I guess you had better
clear up that point about baptism before you go any
further."
"Not at all," said Sterling very earnestly; "there is
nothing to clear up. It is a plain fact of history as
well as of Bible teaching that baptism was done by
sprinkling."
"Do the denominations differ about baptism" asked
Dorothy.
"Not worth talking about; nearly all the denomi-
nations agree that the baptism of the Bible is by
sprinkling or pouring."
"Daughter, get your Bible and let's see that passage
where you say the people were put under the water."
"I must not be too sure," she replied. "I know so

DOROTHY PAGE.

little about the Book that I may have been mistaken,
but I don't think I can be."
The Bible was brought in, and as Dorothy opened
it and began turning its pages she said: "One passage
was the account of the baptism of Jesus."
"What !" exclaimed Mr. Page. "Was he baptized-
Jesus Christ Well, well, that's one on me."
"Oh, father, how can you speak so"
"I beg your pardon, daughter. I surely did not
mean to be irreverent. But let us have that passage
telling how he was baptized. That ought to be mighty
interesting."
"It is the third chapter of Matthew," said Mr.
Sterling.
Dorothy read: " 'Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.' "
"The Jordan was a river, was it not" asked the
father.
"Yes," replied Sterling.
"And you say that Jesus went to that river to be
baptized" asked the father.
"Yes," answered Sterling.
"And you say he went there to have some water
sprinkled on him instead of being put under the
water"
"Certainly he did."
"Do people generally go to rivers now to be
sprinkled" asked Dorothy.
"I do not know that they do, but they could cer-
tainly do so if they should so desire."

4DOROTHY PAGE.

"Did you ever hear of anybody doing so" asked the
father.
"W\hy, possibly not; but that doesn't prove that it
never has been done; but let us have the rest of the
passage."
She read: "'And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went uip traightway otit of the water.' "
"HIelio !" said the father, "that sounds curious. Why
did he go down into the water, Sterling, if he was
simply to be sprinkled"
"W'hy, he simply walked a little way into the stream
and stood there while John gently sprinkled the water
on him. It must have been a beautiful ceremony."
Dorothy was consulting her concordance.
"Here is another passage in the third chapter and
twenty-third verse."
"Let us have it," said the father.
She read: "'And John also was baptizing in Aenon,
near to Salem, because there was much water there.'"
"Much. water!" exclaimed Mr. Page. "What about
thatI Friend Sterling"
"I think that is plain. There were great multitudes
following John and camping around him, and he se-
lected a place where there would be abundant water for
the cattle. The country was dry in many places."
"But it says he was baptizing there because there was
much water there," said Dorothy.
"That simply means that he did his baptizing in
that section because of the abundance of the water
for the cattle," insisted Sterling.

DOROTHY PAGE.

"What is your reason, Mr. Sterling," asked Dorothy,
"for saying it was the cattle that John had in mind"
"You mentioned the passage as indicating immer-
sion," continued Sterling, "and I replied that the men-
tion of much water did not necessarily prove immer-
sion, because it may have had reference to the cattle
rather than to the mode of the baptism. And be-
sides, the dryness of that Oriental country is another
fact that indicates that John selected the place for
watering the cattle."
"But is it necessary to have a place of much water
in order to water cattle" asked Dorothy. "Would
not a small stream be sufficient for many cattle"
"Come, come, children," said the father," "why not
take the words as you find them By the way, did
John do anything for tho crowds except baptize
them"
"Oh, yes," said Sterling, "he was a great preacher
for the crowds. That was his principal work. Bap-
tism was a very small and almost insignificant part of
it. They did not make the ado about it then that
certain sects do now."
"Exactly; that is what I am getting at. You say
preaching was the mTain thing John was doing. I
should think, then, that if it was the cattle that made
him select the place, it would have read 'John was
preaching at Aenon because there was much water
there'. But it says he was baptizing there, and that
would indicate that the baptizing part of his work
brought him to that place. He could have preached
where there was not much water. You think, Sterling,

DOROTHY PAGE.

that his baptizing had nothing to do with his selecting
that place. Why, then, did it say he was baptizing
there because of the much water It looks mighty
plain to me that the baptizing was mentioned because
of the much water."
Dorothy was puzzled.
"I don't see how I am ever to get at the meaning
of the Bible," she said, "if I am not to take what
seems to be the natural meaning of the passages, but
must rather suppose that something else was intended."
"Evidently we can't agree on that verse," said
Sterling with a smile. "Let us have another, Miss
Dorothy."
"Here is a passage, Acts 8:35-39: 'Then Philip
opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture and
preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their
way they came unto a certain water and the Eunuch
said: "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to bie
baptized" Philip said: "If thou believeth with all thy
heart thou mnavest." And he answered and said: "I
believe that Je-us Christ is the Son of God." And he
oomtnanded the chariot to stand still and they went
down both into the water, Philip and the Eunuch,
and he baptized him. And when they came up out of
the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip
that the Eunuch saw him no more, and he went on
his way rejoicing.'"'
"You see they stepped down to the water's edge,"
said Sterling, "and Philip sprinkled him"
"But it says they both went down into the water and
both came up out of the water. Why did they go down

DOROTHY PAGE. 27

into the water if the Eunuch was simply to be
s-prinkled"
"Look here," said the father; "life is too brief to be
Squandering it on debating a question like that. That's
as plain as a chimney on a house. You could never
make me think that all that going down into the
water and coming up out of the water was simply to
have a few drops of water sprinkled on the man.
Sterling, I know you don't mean to do so, but it looks
as if you are afraid of the natural meaning that lies
on the surface."
"But the surface meaning in the Bible is not always
the true one. We know from other pasages that bap-
tism was by sprinkling, and when we come to one like
this, that may mean either kind of baptism, we know
from the general teaching of Scripture that sprinkling
and not immersion was the mode here intended."

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CHAPTER IV.

GETTING INTO DEEP WATER.

"Here is another passage about baptism," said Doro-
thy, "in Luke 12:50: 'I have a baptism to be baptized
with, and how am I straitened till it be accom-
pILshed'"
"But hold on, Miss Dorothy," said Sterling. "Why
should we be spending so much discussion simply on
the question as to the quantity of water in baptism
It seems a waste of effort. There are far more im-
portant doctrines than this."
"It is not simply the quantity of water we are con-
sidering, Mr. Sterling. We are trying to find out how
baptism is performed. Surely we ought to try to get
it right."
"That's good logic," said the father. "Get one point
settled before you proceed to another."
"All right," said Sterling with a smile, "I'm all at-
tention. Read that passage again, Miss Dorothy."
She read: "'I have a baptism to be baptized with,
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!'
"Who is that talking" asked Mr. Page.
"It is Christ," said Sterling, "and he is talking about
his coming sufferings which were to end in his death"

DOROTHY PAGE.

"And what is it he says about his sufferings Read
it again, daughter."
She read it once more.
"You say, Sterling, that Cbrist here speaks of his
future sufferings and said he was to be baptized in
them "
"No, he does not say he will be baptized 'in' them,
but 'with' them, thus showing that he was not to be
immersed but sprinkled."
"You mean, then," said Dorothy, "that Christ said
he was to be sprinkled with his sufferings"
"Yes