‘And I have a word to thee, Emanuel Truelocke,’ he continued, suddenly turning, lifting his long right arm and pointing his long finger towards Mr. Truelocke, whose pale countenance, framed in his long white hair, could still be seen looking quietly at him.  ’I desire to speak to thee in love, and show thee the secret of thy ill success in thy ministerings to this worldly people, who have not the excellent spirit that I gladly acknowledge in thyself.  The canker of gold has been on these ministerings of thine, for thou hast yearly taken hire for them; and therefore it is that so many of these people are cold and sickly in divine things.  But the Lord hath had mercy on thee, and will take away from thee the mammon whereby thou hast been deceived; and for thy sake I rejoice in thy coming downfall’—­

Here there began a mighty hubbub in the place.  Men stood up on benches, shaking their sticks and clenched fists against the speaker; women cried, ‘Shame on him! pull him down! have him away!’ and many rushed upon him, struck him, dragged him down, and would soon have trampled him under their feet, but Mr. Truelocke spoke with a voice that rang like a trumpet, and said,—­

’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 those I have preached to you before.’