For over half a century he had held himself in readiness to
attend the bedside of all who might call upon him to speak cheering,
hopeful words to the dying. But now our little community has become
educated and they are able to criticise. As we look around the church we
are lost in wonder as to what has come to the people. The older ones are
sadder and a spirit of unrest seems to have seized upon the middle aged,
while the very children have lost something of their charm.
In a short time factories and manufactories are running; clouds of smoke
ascend from the valley to the mountain top which had never been touched
by anything less pure than the rain from the cloud or the mists from the
valley below. Nature itself was making a silent protest against the
invasion of her solitude. The trees which had borne abundant fruit
before were barren now.
The older people shook their heads and attributed the cause to the
doubts and unbelief which had arisen in their lovely valley. The more
learned ones assigned the smoke from the factories to be the cause.
Death was of more frequent occurrence to the inhabitants than formerly.
This dread visitor came at rare intervals and to the very aged before
the advent of education and commerce. But now the little children and
youths were frequently stricken with strange diseases, which baffled all
skill.
And after a time enterprise steps in and a railroad is built, and with
it every vestige of the happy valley disappears. The old church is torn
down, and a new one of grand proportions and elaborate workmanship is
built on the old spot. The venerable head of the clergyman has lain low
for many a year, and in his place stands an eloquent divine, with all
the modern ideas, who, in trying to prove the doctrines of his church to
be the true faith, leaves the doctrine of Christianity out--and that too
has gone; buried beneath the ruins of the old church and in the grave of
the old clergyman.
Now let a person pass through the valley and they will look in vain for
a vestige of the once beautiful spot. There is a-hurrying to and fro. On
the faces of the young can be seen lines of care and thought. The
innocent faces and sweet manner of the young girls have given place to a
look of consciousness. The pretty, quaint dresses have gone and fashion
has sway. The quiet, dreamy look and manner of the young men has given
place to a worldly air. The mists which arise from the valley are mixed
with the foul smoke of the factories and engines, and where all was
peace and quietness; chaos reigns supreme.
* * * * *
An enthusiast is saying:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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