Philip was a very strenuous and slightly gloomy believer,
dwelling considerably on the wrath of God and the doctrine of
eternal punishment. There was an old "pennyroyal" hymn much in
use which describes the general tenor of his meditation:--
"My thoughts on awful subjects roll,
Damnation and the dead.
What horrors seize the guilty soul
Upon a dying bed."
(No wonder that Jacob Cochrane's lively songs, cheerful, hopeful,
militant, and bracing, fell with a pleasing sound upon the ear of
the believer of that epoch.) The love of God had, indeed, entered
Philip's soul, but in some mysterious way had been ossified after
it got there. He had intensely black hair, dark skin, and a liver
that disposed him constitutionally to an ardent belief in the
necessity of hell for most of his neighbors, and the hope of
spending his own glorious immortality in a small, properly
restricted, and prudently managed heaven. He was eloquent at
prayer-meeting and Patty's only objection to him there was in his
disposition to allude to himself as a "rebel worm," with frequent
references to his "vile body." Otherwise, and when not engaged in
theological discussion, Patty liked Philip very much. His own
father, although an orthodox member of the fold in good and
regular standing, had "doctored" Phil conscientiously for his
liver from his youth up, hoping in time to incite in him a
sunnier view of life, for the doctor was somewhat skilled in
adapting his remedies to spiritual maladies.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174