There had suddenly arisen, with every circumstance of mystery and awe
calculated to impress the popular mind, a tremendous personality, a
revolutionary from God--as it seemed--a prophet calling man to repent, a
being with strange powers, a lamp in which the fires of Pentecost burned
anew, one who "spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus."
By dinner-time on the Saturday night all Mayfair knew that Joseph was to
preach at St. Elwyn's on the evening of the morrow. The evening papers
had announced the fact, and a series of notes had been sent round to
various houses by the vicar and his assistant clergy.
St. Elwyn's was a large and imposing building, but its seating capacity
was limited.
Mr. Persse was very well aware that the occasion he had provided would
have filled Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's as well. The crowd was sure
to be enormous. He therefore determined that admission to the service
should be by ticket only, a perfectly unjustifiable proceeding, of
course, but one which would secure just the sort of congregation he
wished to be impressed by his own activity and broad-mindedness. The
tickets were hurriedly printed and issued, some of them were sent to the
Press, the remainder to the wealthy and influential society people who
were accustomed to "worship" at this church.
The service was fixed for eight o'clock. As a usual thing the Sunday
evensong was but poorly attended at St. Elwyn's. The fashionable world
didn't mind going to church on Sunday morning, and afterwards for
"church parade" in Hyde Park, but one really couldn't be expected to go
in the evening! The world was dining then--and dinner was dinner!
Mr. Persse knew this, and he announced a "choral evensong" at eight, and
"an address by the Evangelist Joseph" at nine. No one, owing to the fact
of the numbered and reserved tickets, need necessarily attend the
preliminary service. Every one could dine in peace and comfort and
arrive in time for the sensation of the evening. Nothing could have been
more pleasant and satisfactory.
The vicar, busy as he was with the necessary work of preparation, yet
found time for a few moments of acute uneasiness. Nothing had been seen
of Joseph. Would he come after all? Could he be depended upon, or would
the whole thing prove a tremendous fiasco?
Late on the afternoon of the Saturday, Mr. Persse heard of the doings
outside the hotel which had obviously occurred within an hour of
Joseph's acceptance of the offer to preach and his mysterious departure
from Berkeley Square. Immediately on reading this the vicar had
dispatched his senior curate in his motor-brougham to make final
arrangement with the Teacher about Sunday evening.
The young man, however, had returned with the news that Joseph and his
companions had left the house by a back entrance during the afternoon,
and that nothing was known of their whereabouts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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