The Servant in the House by Charles Rann Kennedy
page 59 of 140 (42%)
page 59 of 140 (42%)
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time. On the other hand, ROBERT, at first apathetic, gradually
awakens to the keenest interest in what MANSON says.] MANSON [very simply]. I am afraid you may not consider it an altogether substantial concern. It has to be seen in a certain way, under certain conditions. Some people never _see_ it at all. You must understand, this is no dead pile of stones and unmeaning timber. _It is a living thing_. BISHOP [in a hoarse whisper, self-engrossed]. Numberless millions! MANSON. When you enter it you hear a sound--a sound as of some mighty poem chanted. Listen long enough, and you will learn that it is made up of the beating of human hearts, of the nameless music of men's souls--that is, if you have ears. If you have eyes, you will presently see the church itself--a looming mystery of many shapes and shadows, leaping sheer from floor to dome. The work of no ordinary builder! BISHOP [trumpet down]. On the security of one man's name! MANSON. The pillars of it go up like the brawny trunks of heroes: the sweet human flesh of men and women is moulded about its bulwarks, strong, impregnable: the faces of little children laugh out from every corner-stone: the terrible spans and arches of it are the joined hands of comrades; and up in the heights and spaces there are inscribed the numberless musings of all the dreamers of the world. It is yet building--building and built upon. Sometimes the work goes forward in deep darkness: sometimes in blinding light: now beneath the burden of unutterable anguish: now to the |
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