'Do the man no harm; for shame, my brethren! Did not I tell him he had
liberty to speak? Make me not a liar by your violence!' and then I saw
several men, Andrew and Harry being foremost, raising up the stranger,
for he had been felled to his knees pushing off those who were striking
him, and leading him forth of the church. Then a mighty flash of
lightning glared through the building, and a great peal of thunder
roared and echoed after it, and the rain rushing down like a torrent
drove and beat against the windows. The stranger, who had been got to
the door, now turned round, crying,--

'Hearken, O people, to the voice of the Lord bearing witness against
your madness!' with which words he vanished, friendly hands pulling him
out of sight against his will.

A great silence seemed at once to fall upon the people, while the storm
blazed and thundered on; and in the midst of it Mr. Truelocke began his
discourse.

'My brethren,' said he, 'I did not think to have been so cruelly put to
shame as I have been by you this day. Long have I toiled to make you
follow His righteousness, who, when He was reviled, reviled not again;
long have I trusted that you were indeed partakers of that Spirit whose
fruits are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness. Alas!
what longsuffering, what peace, what gentleness have you shown to-day?
Ye have well-nigh done a man to death in the very house of God, and
before the eyes of me your pastor. I stand rebuked here, a teacher
whose teaching is proved useless and fruitless. From this day forth I
will preach to you no more, but will lay down, a little before the law
takes it from me, the office I have so ill discharged. Now hearken to me
once more, and once only; and let not my last sermon prove so idle as