Uncle Zed had left with the Bishop a written statement, not in the form
of a will, wherein he told what disposition was to be made of his simple
belongings. The house, with its few well tilled acres, was to go to the
ward for the use of any worthy poor whom the Bishop might designate.
Everything in the house should be at the disposal of Dorian Trent. The
books, especially, should belong to him "to have and to hold and to
study." Such books which Dorian did not wish to keep were to be given
to the ward Mutual Improvement Library. This information the Bishop
publicly imparted on the day of the funeral.
"These are the times," said the Bishop, "when the truth comes forcibly
to us all that nothing in this world matters much or counts for much in
the end but good deeds, kind words, and unselfish service to others. All
else is now dross.... The mantle of Brother Zed seems to have fallen on
Dorian Trent. May he wear it faithfully and well."
A few days after the funeral Dorian and his mother went to Uncle Zed's
vacant home. Mrs. Trent examined the furnishings, while Dorian looked
over the books.
"Is there anything here you want, mother? he asked.
"No; I think not; better leave everything, which isn't much, for those
who are to live here. What about the books?'
"I'm going to take most of them home, for I am sure Uncle Zed would not
want them to fall into unappreciating hands; but there's no hurry about
that. We'll just leave everything as it is for a few days."
The next evening Dorian returned to look over again his newly-acquired
treasures. The ground was covered with snow and the night was cold. He
thought he might as well spend the evening, and be comfortable, so he
made a fire in the stove.
On the small home-made desk which stood in the best-lighted corner, near
to the student's hand were his well-worn Bible, his Book of Mormon, and
Doctrine and Covenants. He opened the drawers and found them filled with
papers and clippings, covering, as Dorian learned, a long period of
search and collecting. He opened again the package which he had out the
evening of Uncle Zed's death, and looked over some of the papers. These,
evidently, had been selected for Dorian's special benefit, and so he
settled himself comfortably to read them. The very first paper was in
the old man's own hand, and was a dissertation on "Faith." and read
thus: "Some people say that they can believe only what they can perceive
with the senses. Let us see: The sun rises, we say. Does it? The earth
is still. Is it? We hear music, we see beauty. Does the ear hear or the
eye see? We burn our fingers. Is the pain in our fingers? I cut the
nerves leading from the brain to these various organs, and then I
neither hear nor see nor feel."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account