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 M 11 II «9 »«■ yi U II ii H — 11- 
 

 OCT 22 1917 
 
 r \yv 
 
1 . Abd Allah, the Potter - - 9 
 
 2. Prayer - - - - - 17 
 
 3. The Perfect Man - - - 23 
 
 4. Abd Allah's Philosophy - - - 29 
 
 5. The Man Who Resisted - - 35 
 
 6. The Woman Who Was Poor - - 43 
 
 7. Jethro's Song - - - 31 
 
 8. The Power oi Silence - - - 55 
 
 9. The House That Stood in Darkntess - 61 
 10. Love - . - - - 69 
 1 I . The Man Who Lost A Friend - - - 79 
 

 (iuttbtage. Ma. 
 
Khh Alia!? t^t f otto 
 
Kbh AUaii t^t futte 
 
 ND the sun streaming in through the 
 eastern window, awakened Abd Allah, 
 the potter. He stretched his lithe, mus- 
 cular body luxuriously, and rubbing his 
 eyes sat up. The boy Jethro lay wrap- 
 ped in slumber, his harp close at hand. 
 
 "Jethro, Jethro," called Abd Allah, "tis morn 
 — get thee to the well and fetch up the water for 
 the morning meal." 
 
 Jethro got sleepily into his picturesque cos- 
 tume of crimson with its heavy blue silken sash. 
 He was a happy type of youth, a true son of the 
 orient— his skin the color of copper and his ravin 
 locks matted in curls to his well shaped head. 
 Some years before Abd Allah had found him beg- 
 ging in the streets of Jerusalem, and had taken 
 him home. Of his early life little was known, save 
 that at one time he lived on a boat which sailed 
 the Nile. And it was upon this boat that an old 
 sailor taught him to play the harp. His voice 
 which was natural and clear had a warmth of ex- 
 pression seldom found in an untrained singer. 
 
 Pushing aside the heavy curtain of woolen 
 stuff that covered the door-way of their abode, 
 Abd Allah stepped into the outer court and raised 
 his eyes to the eastern heavens. It was a new day 
 and the sky was a mass of gold and crimson, shot 
 with the palest mauve. "The heavens declare the 
 glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His 
 handiwork," breathed Abd Allah. There was a 
 
 9 
 
thrill in his voice as he repeated it, and he felt the 
 impetus of the new day creeping over him and 
 thus he reasoned: 
 
 It is a new day, fresh from the hands of God, 
 and I am a new man (idea) fresh from the hands 
 of God. I have but the glowing, ever present, now, 
 which is pregnant with opportunity and goodness. 
 And as this day cannot look back into yesterday, 
 neither can I bring from yesterday any of its 
 storms or sorrows. And as to the day, every 
 flower that it finds and every bird that goes 
 trailing through the long hours, are new and fresh 
 acquaintances to it, so every man that I meet shall 
 be new and good to me, a friend and brother. 
 
 As he stood filling his soul full of the morning 
 and the glories of the new day, a single bird 
 winged his way into the liquid blue, screaming his 
 wild song of joy. It was almost as if his thoughts 
 had taken the "Wings of the morning." And as he 
 was thus setting his house (mind) in order for the 
 day, Jethro came through the large open gate-way 
 with the jar of water on his head. He, too, had 
 been drinking in the wonders of the heavens, and, 
 setting the jar of water down, he stood beside Abd 
 Allah and said: 
 
 "Look across that silver sea of Olive trees, 
 there in the valley of the Mount — see how she 
 stands wrapped in that bluish mist. Is it not beau- 
 tiful, Father Abd Allah? And see how those yel- 
 low-green banana trees sway their great leaves in 
 the breeze. The odor of a thousand wild vines and 
 flowers fill the air. Is it not a wonderful world. 
 
and are we not rich, Father Abd, to have this pic- 
 ture ever before us?" 
 
 And Abd Allah said: "Praise be unto God 
 whose handiwork is shown." 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Now, Abd Allah was a potter by trade, and he 
 worked into the color of his vases the glories of the 
 heavens and nature, and into his designs he 
 painted wonderful lessons of gratitude and peace. 
 He was also a letter writer, and in short, a sort of 
 confessional, or justice — inasmuch as those in 
 trouble came to him with their problems for solu- 
 tion, and he would always send them away satis- 
 fied and with new courage. And, lastly, Abd 
 Allah (which means servant of God) was a true 
 servant of the Most High. 
 
 Of friends Abd Allah had many and these he 
 found among the masses. They included every- 
 thing from the lordly nobleman, with his wonder- 
 ful palace of snowy marble, to the humble herd- 
 man, who gathered and ate the sycamore fruit. In 
 short he had a breadth of love that reached out to 
 all. 
 
 His cabin, which was two small rooms, stood 
 in an enclosed court and faced the east. In front 
 of the cabin stood a thick, bushy almont tree, and 
 it was under the shade of this tree that Abd sat 
 day by day working at his vases, or writing letters 
 — and it was close at hand that Jethro sat and 
 sung to Abd and played on his harp. A glance at 
 the open door-way, with naught but a heavy, 
 oriental curtain, immediately bespoke of the 
 
 11 
 
moral courage of the man Abd-^and of his open, 
 God-fearing nature, for their cabin was located in 
 the outskirts of Jerusalem, near one of the less 
 frequented of its seven gates, and many consid- 
 ered it unsafe to leave their doors and windows 
 unbarred against thieves. 
 
 And oft-times, as he worked, Abd Allah told 
 the story of his vase to Jethro, and sometimes, 
 perchance he was starting a new vase, he would 
 work into it the solution and the problem of some 
 troubled one, who had come by burdened with too 
 much care. 
 
 Abd Allah had learned, years before, that as 
 a pebble thrown into a pool of water will bring one 
 ring after another to the surface until they reach 
 the outer edge, so that one good thought dropped 
 into the stagnant mind would bring ring after 
 ring of thought to the surface, until the whole 
 mind had been stirred to a change of base, and he 
 likewise knew that by dropping these thoughts 
 into the pool of a dormant or sick mind, at last, 
 when enough had been dropped into its depths, it 
 would rise and flow off in a tiny stream, and by 
 flowing (becoming active) would purify itself, 
 and, not only thereby receive a blessing, but would 
 water field and forest and prove a benefit to man- 
 kind. And if it had been unloved and shunned as 
 a stagnant pool, little children might wade in the 
 cool depths of a brook and scatter flowers on its 
 surface. 
 
 "Love is the only active element of the Uni- 
 Terse," Abd had told Jethro. "Be sure you are 
 
 12 
 
filled with love all the while — let naught else into 
 your consciousness, and as you go you will reflect 
 it in some way that "will draw all men unto you." 
 So Jethro reflected his love through song and 
 music, and Abd Allah through his well modulated, 
 sonorous voicings of Truth and his pottery. But 
 there are many modes of "letting your light so 
 shine before men" that they will call you blessed. 
 
frag^r 
 
T was the hour of prayer in the city of 
 Jerusalem. About the gate where Abd 
 Allah and Jethro were stationed many 
 of the merchants and loiterers were 
 kneeling and calling upon the name of 
 their God to succor and help them. The little band 
 about Abd Allah stood listening in silence to the 
 mumblings of the men at prayer. "Tell us some- 
 thing of true prayer, Abd Allah," said one of the 
 men standing near him; "something for which 
 this outward expression stands." 
 
 "We admit," Abd Allah began, "that God is 
 good, that He is All, that He is everywhere, and 
 the cause and effect of all that really exists. We 
 acknowledge Him to be the source from which 
 every good gift comes. 
 
 "Further, in the line of common reasoning, we 
 know that prayer in its generally accepted sense 
 means desire. This being the case, we begin to 
 see that our very desires or prayers, in so far as 
 they are good, proceed from God, and are not as 
 we formerly supposed self-originated requests or 
 petitions, but rather the urge of God (good) en^ 
 deavoring to find expression in us — good, endeav- 
 oring to be made manifest in the flesh. 
 
 "Perhaps, for example, you are praying for 
 health. You are desiring it, but as God is the only 
 creator and good, in reality your desire for health 
 is but the will of God trying to express itself 
 through you. *God is willing to do exceeding 
 abundantly — more than we ask or think.' God is 
 
 17 
 
'willing' it. And as your desire for health is 
 prompted by His willingness to be expressed in 
 perfect strength, you reverse the proposition and 
 find that, in reality, health and strength of God, 
 good, are seeking to find expression in you; not 
 you seeking to bring them into your thought. 
 
 "If you are praying for supply, is it not in 
 reality God's fullness seeking further expression 
 in you? Is it not the ^Still small voice' calling for 
 a greater expression of substance, God? God is 
 all substance; then the desire for supply is a 
 greater desire for God, or God endeavoring to 
 make Himself more manifest. And suddenly you 
 turn from your prayers of beseeching to the atti- 
 tude of 'Speak for thy Servant heareth' — 'Not my 
 will but thine be done.' You begin endeavoring to 
 find out what His wishes are. 
 
 "Then our part in prayer, after we have ac- 
 claimed God as all and ever-present good, is to 
 relax — to let go and step aside; to literally and 
 figuratively say 'Glorify thy Son that thy son may 
 also glorify thee;' that is, 'Make thyself manifest 
 in me — fulfill thy desires.' Fling open v/ide the por- 
 tals of your mind and bid Him enter who waits 
 without ; make thyself wholly and holy acceptable 
 to Him, to use for His good pleasures, and your 
 desires and prayers will find their rightful ex- 
 pression. 
 
 "Having given yourself over to His express- 
 ion, see that no selfishness enters, and tries to 
 hoard up His expression of Love as it passes 
 through you. You are merely a channel, a stew- 
 
 18 
 
ard placed in charge of the gift, a caretaker, but 
 not an owner. Use freely His Love like you do the 
 air about you, but see that nothing clogs the chan- 
 nel of expression to others. 
 
 "Now if God is love and everywhere present, 
 then we live in an atmosphere of Love for 'In Him 
 we live and move and have our being.' Let us 
 establish a better sense of this Atmosphere of 
 Love in which we constantly move. First, it is 
 unchangeable and all powerful, and you are com- 
 pletely submerged in it and must of necessity be 
 governed by it. As a fish is completely submerged 
 in water, so man is submerged, surrounded by 
 mind, and as the fish of the sea find his supply, 
 health and happiness in the medium of water, so 
 man must be fed, clothed and cared for by the One 
 Mind or Atmosphere of Love that completely en- 
 velopes him. In fact, in establishing a fuller and 
 better knowledge of this Atmosphere of Love, we 
 lose sight of ourselves completely, and thus in 
 losing sight of self we have stepped aside and a 
 complete healing, regeneration or expression of 
 Love has taken place — sl full expression of His 
 love has been made manifest to the flesh. 
 
 "It is quite as impossible for man to reflect 
 only a part of the qualities of mind or of this At- 
 mosphere of Love in which he moves and lives, as 
 it is for a fish to be partially dry and yet remain 
 submerged in the ocean, or to swim half way out 
 of the water.. If man reflects one of the qualities 
 of mind he must reflect them all. If he reflects 
 life, he must also reflect supply, health, happiness 
 
 19 
 
and success. He cannot move into a place where 
 any of these qualities are wanting (there are no 
 desert spots in eternal mind) any more than a fish 
 could swim into a dust heap in the ocean. 
 
 "Comes now our impersonal work, both for 
 ourselves and others. As we establish a better 
 idea of God as ever present Love and fix our 
 attention on this one quality, we unconsciously 
 help ourselves and also any one upon whom our 
 thoughts may rest, because if we are submerged in 
 Love nothing else of an opposite nature can enter 
 or effect us, and we partake of the qualities of this 
 atmosphere just as the fish is naturally wet; not 
 through any effort on his part — he does not try 
 to be wet — he just is. When we come to the point 
 that we can consciously feel that we are living in 
 this Atmosphere of Love, we cannot help reflect- 
 ing the qualities of it. We are one with God, for 
 we are 'image and likeness,' and what shall separ- 
 ate us from the Love that He bestows?" 
 
 20 
 
if Msxfttt Mm 
 
^Ip p^rfwt Mm 
 
 ARLY on the morning of market day 
 Abd Allah arose and awakened Jethro. 
 June was yet young and hovered over 
 the distant hills with an enchanting 
 freshness. A million diamond dew drops 
 caught and held the sun a prisoner, reflecting the 
 mysteries of the rainbow. Out over the valley, 
 which was lavishly dotted with flowers and trees, 
 a transparent purple mist foretold the coming 
 day. Abd Allah was happy. He felt the thrill that 
 only a mind filled with goodness could feel on the 
 contemplation of the beautiful. Life was so worth- 
 while — there was so much good to be had for the 
 mere reaching out — there was a constant tonic of 
 youth and health to be drunk from the wonders of 
 nature. 
 
 After having partaken of breakfast he and 
 Jethro started toward the east gate with their 
 small load of vases. 
 
 "Does not the morning, with its mystery, 
 thrill you?" he said to Jethro, and without waiting 
 for his answer he continued, filling his lungs with 
 the fine morning air: "It is good to be alive. It is 
 good to know that you are a perfect man, made in 
 His image and likeness." 
 
 "A perfect man?" questioned Jethro. "Just 
 look, Father Abd, who comes there," and as Abd 
 looked he saw Jaraj, the herder, coming along. He 
 was a pitiful looking piece of humanity to be sure; 
 quite bent over and in ill health. "Is he, too, a per- 
 
 23 
 
feet man?" asked Jethro as they passed on their 
 
 way. 
 
 They walked on in silence for a while and Abd 
 Allah said: 
 
 "Jethro you speak some Greek, a little Egyptian 
 and Arabic, and in all these languages they have a 
 different symbol for the same numbers. That is, 
 you can give expression to the quantity two in as 
 many different tongues as you know, and while 
 the material symbol in each instance will differ, 
 the quantity remains the same. It is eternally 
 two, and if every symbol that was used to express 
 two were swept away, the quantity two would re- 
 main just the same. Age will not add to it nor 
 take from it. This is essentially true of all reali- 
 ties. So is it with the perfect man, made in His 
 image and likeness : the substance of him is per- 
 fect and good and cannot change though the ma- 
 terial symbol that represents him may be anything 
 from a hunch-back to an athlete. 
 
 "Further, Jethro, when you see a column of 
 figures, some of which are perfectly drawn and 
 others which are poorly made, do you stop for a 
 minute and say: 'That two is poorly made; I can- 
 not give it the full value of two?' No. You give 
 it the full value without ever a thought of taking 
 from it or adding to it because it is larger than 
 the rest.' In your mind it has a fixed value or sub- 
 stance and that is what you give it, no matter 
 what the symbol looks like. Then is it not our 
 duty to give to the material symbol of man his full 
 inheritance — that of perfection and goodness — 
 
 24 
 
and to look beyond the material symbol, just as 
 you do in figures, and reckon the absolute quan- 
 tity and substance of Man made in His Image and 
 likeness ? 
 
 "What use would men have for criticism if 
 they had this fact firmly established in their 
 minds ? And what a wonderful help and stimulus 
 the world would receive again, to know that every 
 man is perfect, just as he was created." 
 
 "Then Criticism is really 'Bearing False Wit- 
 ness' against thy brother, is it not?" said Jethro, 
 "and what other motive could prompt bearing 
 false witness against a man than hate?" 
 
 "Yes," said Abd Allah, "Criticism is hate, and 
 with hate in our minds love cannot enter or 
 abide." 
 
 "But another good point to me," said Abd 
 Allah, as they walked along, "is that while the 
 material symbol for man may appear distorted, 
 with the proper thought and love he can be made 
 straight and healed of his infirmities. Think of 
 the symbol of the perfect man who lay at the pool 
 of Bethesda for thirty and eight years, and how 
 all that time he was unable to help himself. Is it 
 not appalling to note the lack of right thinking on 
 his part. There he lay, a son of the All Powerful — 
 and ^image and likeness' — governed by the one 
 omnipresent, omnipotent law of good, unable to 
 move himself. And all the while the men at the 
 court were giving him the lie, and refusing to 
 count him as a perfect man, until one fine day 
 Jesus came by and saw him as a perfect man — 
 
 25 
 
with the result that the thirty and eight years of 
 bondage disappeared and the man came into his 
 heritage of dominion. 
 
 "What disease or evil condition can present 
 itself as permanent when we stop for a minute to 
 realize that we are perfect, created so by God and 
 sustained eternally by Him? 
 
 "Was it not through Daniel's realization of 
 the indestructible qualities of the perfect man that 
 he escaped the jaws of the lions? He put their 
 laws of matter to naught by knowing that the 
 perfect man was indestructible. 
 
 "But it is necessary that we do more than de- 
 clare this truth of perfection— having 'done all — 
 stand;' stay put — and we see that though Daniel 
 proved the powerlessness of the lions immediately 
 he entered the den, yet he had to remain (stand) 
 there all night. Tatience must have her perfect 
 work'." 
 
 26 
 
Kbh AUal|*fi pitibB^iJltg 
 
 WAKE thou that sleepeth;" get some of 
 the now-ness into your thinking. Don't 
 wait to die to get into heaven, "Behold 
 the kingdom of Heaven is at hand;" it 
 is within you. 
 
 What is heaven? It is happiness and joy; it 
 is right thinking and right acting. It is making 
 obstacles stepping stones instead of stumbling 
 blocks. It is getting plenty of blue sky and sun- 
 shine into your mind. 
 
 All about you lie infinite possibilities. Oppor- 
 tunity and fortune literally plead with you to take 
 them in. Fate is the blind belief of the fearful — 
 it is the great safety-valve for failure and stag- 
 nation. Failure is the letting go of your grip. 
 There is no such a word as failure to the right 
 thinking man. True, material conditions may 
 change, but with the destruction of the shell of an 
 egg we have an advanced state of progress, that 
 will eventually fly off into the great free sky, 
 thrilling v/ith joy. 
 
 Failure to the material sense may be 
 opportunity and fortune forcing you to make a 
 step forward that you have heretofore been reluc- 
 tant in taking. Don't lose heart because you are 
 down and out. You can always start over — there 
 is always a new day. Success is not measured in 
 dollars and cents ; it is measured in happiness and 
 contentment. Happiness is not an elusive some- 
 thing that keeps dodging you, but it is a perma- 
 
 29 
 
nent state to the right thinking man. Have some 
 of the qualities of a cork — refuse to stay under. 
 
 Get plenty of joy into your thinking. Try 
 singing instead of mourning. Try realizing what 
 it is to be a son of the Most High— a son of the 
 King. Get some of the nobility that is yours into 
 your thought. Be noble. 
 
 Protect yourself by keeping your thought 
 filled with goodness and truth — if it is full of good 
 there is no room left for evil or fear. Evil think- 
 ing is the plague that produces all sickness, sin 
 and death — and right thinking corrects this. You 
 cannot think death and life at the same time; 
 either one or the other holds the floor. Neither 
 can you think riches and poverty, health and sick- 
 ness. Be sure then that you are thinking on the 
 right side. When you are thinking right, no 
 "plague shall come nigh thy dwelling." 
 
 Have you lost your material home ? Then you 
 are now ready to enter into your divine estate, and 
 as the synonym for home is happiness (not house) 
 and happiness is a state of mind, you find yourself 
 already established in your new abode, which is 
 filled with large courts wherein you may walk in 
 peace. This kind of home is "Under the shadow 
 of His mighty Wing." The losing of a material 
 home is. like the dropping off of the cotyledons of 
 a tiny plant. The plant has lost nothing in parting 
 with this impedimenta — but is free and ready to 
 grow heavenward. 
 
 Have you lost your best friend; did he betray 
 you? This may help you to know that to lean on 
 
 30 
 
your own understanding is a dangerous thing, and 
 further that God is the only true friend of man, 
 and he is unchangeable and eternal; neither does 
 he call for special favors, loans, etc., but only for 
 fair thinking about Him. 
 
 Have you lost your fortune ? All substance is 
 His, and the fact that you are His perfect child 
 gives you ample supply. He is responsible for your 
 sustenance — you can of yourself do nothing. You 
 did not ask to come here ; He placed you here and 
 He will provide. He is able to do all things, and to 
 prepare a table before you in the presence of your 
 enemies (in the presence of want). Plant your 
 gran of mustard seed (faith) and watch it move 
 mountains (doubts and fears). 
 
 When you act, act as one having authority. 
 Put on the full armour of God. Don't imagine that 
 because you have a sword in your hand you are 
 safe. Put on the Helmet of right thinking — the 
 Brestplate of righteousness. Be "shod with the 
 preparation of the gospel." Have your shield 
 engraved with the words, "Who is so great a God 
 as our God?" Then your two-edged sword of wis- 
 dom will cut through the enemy's lines. 
 
 "Patience must have her perfect work" Re- 
 member that it takes repeated good thoughts to 
 accomplish. One good, strong thought, offset by 
 the rest of the day in evil thinking will not accom- 
 plish results for good. Remember that the walls 
 of Jerico did not fall down the first time they were 
 encircled — but they did not give up, knowing that 
 
 31 
 
when good thoughts enough were directed against 
 it, that it would crumble away, and it did. 
 
 Do you suffer because your grandfather ate 
 sour grapes? He's the one that should have suf- 
 fered for that, and not you. You probably, out of 
 your own good wisdom, would have selected sweet 
 grapes. Don't let the stupid law of heredity bind 
 you — put it to flight with the powerful command, 
 "Call no man your father, save God." What belief 
 of inherited sin or sickness can withstand this ? 
 
 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for all things 
 are possible to the man who puts his trust abso- 
 lutely in God, and who knows, with Him all things 
 are possible — here and now. 
 
 
 32 
 
all|0 Mm W^i^ Irfitat^ft 
 
iait if hit €i>. 
 
 NCE more the sturdy almond tree had 
 covered itself with a sheet of snowy- 
 white blossoms, and once more the 
 caressing breeze of spring had wooed 
 each blossom and allured it from its 
 resting place. One by one they had launched out 
 from the parent stalk and floated in a zig-zag 
 course to the ground. Unconsciously the unfold- 
 ment of life goes on from one stage to another, 
 and now the almond tree, which only a short time 
 ago stood a silver mass of loveliness, under the 
 sapphire dome of the heavens, caught a mellow 
 tint of autumn, and again the ever active, ceaseless 
 progress of life allured, one by one, the yellow 
 leaves from the tree. 
 
 Out over the land, autumn had painted with 
 a lavish hand. Here a dash of deep purple and 
 there a bank of gold. The distant foot-hills rose 
 like tongues of flame against the deep blue of the 
 sky. Here and there a deep green tree which had 
 not yet been nipped by the frost, and again in the 
 distance could be seen the delicately etched limbs 
 of trees already bare. 
 
 There was a mellowness in the air — a dreamy 
 wistfulness that caused one to sit and wonder— to 
 sit and dream. And it was on this day that Abd 
 Allah sat pondering and dreaming over the 
 wonders of life. 
 
 At length he resumed his work. "Come hither 
 Jethro,'' he called to the boy. "Bring your harp, 
 for I would that you sing to me— sing and play to 
 
 35 
 
me that I may catch some of this mystic beauty of 
 the autumn into my vase, that in years to come 
 some one gazing on it may take hope again." 
 
 "What is hope?" said Jethro, for he was fond 
 of hearing Abd Allah explain the abstract. 
 "Hope," said Abd, "is the red bird singing of 
 spring on the bleak February bow ; it is the spark 
 of light which the traveler sees at the other end 
 of the 'slough of despond.' It is the early spring 
 lily peeping through the snow. But I would listen 
 to thee a while. What will you sing to me?" 
 
 So Jethro, taking his harp, began: 
 
 The wheel of the potter turns round and round, 
 
 Shaping has various wares. 
 Some to hold water and some to hold wine, 
 
 And some to hold flowers fair. 
 Into each vessel the potter will mould 
 
 A big thought of usefulness, 
 And thus will the thought of the potter live, 
 
 And ever wait to bless. 
 
 God is the potter and man is the clay. 
 
 He works out infinite plan. 
 Each idea has a mission to fill. 
 
 For each is a perfect man. 
 
 At this point in his song Jethro was inter- 
 rupted by the loud calling of a voice at the gate. 
 Laying aside his harp he ran across the court and 
 gazed out. "It is Haasn and his mule." he called 
 back to Abd Allah, "coming over the hill He is 
 staggering; drunk on new wine." 
 
 36 
 
"Poor Haasn/' said Abd Allah; "he is the mam 
 who resisted." 
 
 "Resisted," said Jethro. "What do you mean, 
 Father Abd Allah? Is he not at this moment in 
 the power of his worst enemy — wine? And has 
 he not repeatedly faught against it with no 
 avail?" 
 
 "Yes," said Abd, "and in constantly resisting 
 the temptation to drink has he not made it some- 
 thing real — a personal devil which has absolute 
 power over him ? Do not the sacred scrolls teach 
 'resist not?' Man is superior to matter and it^ 
 laws, for he is 'image and likeness/ He is not bid- 
 den to obey every whim of the mortal senses. H« 
 has been given dominion and sonship. God is the 
 Law ; and did not Christ Jesus come to 'fulfill the 
 law?' — not the laws, and the law that he came to 
 fulfill was the law of dominion ; and did he not saj 
 'The works that I do ye shall do also — and eves 
 greater?' 
 
 "Remember the story of Jacob ; how he strug- 
 gled (resisted) all night (in ignorance) and that 
 when the morning light came (truth and light) he 
 loosed the lie (stopped resisting it) and let it go. 
 Is it not worth while to note that Jacob 'let it go?' 
 That which he had resisted and struggled with all 
 night, and v/hich had caused him to suffer he 
 merely had to 'let go.' So it is with all material 
 law. We hold to it ; it cannot cling to us for there 
 is nothing to support it. And when I see a man 
 struggling with a belief of sin or sickness I am 
 reminded of a child holding a wild animal with one 
 hand and fighting it with the other and then cry- 
 
 37 
 
ing because it hurts him, instead of letting go of it. 
 
 "In the case of Jacob we know not what the 
 problem was, but suppose it was the temptation 
 to drink that was causing him to resist and fight 
 all night, and suddenly it dawned upon his con- 
 sciousness 'Ye do not need to fight .... set your- 
 self .... see the salvation of the Lord;' 'The battle 
 is not yours, but God's.' And then the whispered 
 pass word, which will lead you safely through all 
 evil, 'Speak as one having authority'— 'Dominion 
 over all things.' Would he, do you suppose, keep 
 on fighting his temptation ? Rather would he not 
 suddenly find himself superior to the whole situ- 
 ation? 
 
 "If you resist a thing, you fear it, and if you 
 fear it you must endow it with power to hurt you. 
 For who would resist anything that he was not 
 afraid of? We are not afraid of so-called power- 
 less things. 
 
 "Meet every problem that comes to you as its 
 master, knowing that God is working with you 
 and that to be of one mind with Him is to be in the 
 majority, for God is all powerful. The Hebrew 
 children knew what it meant to be at one with 
 God, and obeyed His law instead of the laws of 
 matter, with a result that the flames, which con- 
 sumed others, left them untouched. 
 
 "It only took a pebble (right thought) to slay 
 Goliath, who had become terrible and real through 
 material thinking and reasoning, and through re- 
 sisting. 
 
 38 
 
"Human will-power js the blind force which 
 resists things, sometimes with seeming success, 
 but this only for a season. 
 
 "The great key-note to all right work is the 
 attitude that 'I can of mine own self do nothing, 
 but with God all things are possible.' At one 
 bound we shift the responsibility of the situation 
 on God, and He is abundantly able and equipped to 
 put the enemy to flight. 
 
 "We do not struggle with the darkness in a 
 room to get it out; we merely bring in the light, 
 and the darkness disappears of its own self. Like- 
 wise with sin or sickness, or any material law — we 
 do not need to fight it ; we merely have to bring in 
 the absolute truth; that because man is made in 
 the 'image and likeness' of God he is eternally pro- 
 te-cted and cared for." 
 
2[hr Hamats Whs\ Wm Mmt 
 
Ey iioman Whn Has llonr 
 
 AZA was a widow who lived in a dirty, 
 little hut in the crowded quarters of 
 Jerusalem. Each day she went into the 
 temple and cleaned the great courts. But 
 Maza was very poor and as she passed 
 the coffers and saw her neighbors place certain 
 sums therein she felt even more poor than ever — 
 she had not even the widow's mite to give, neither 
 could she spare a crust of bread to anj one. And, 
 further, she was unhappy because she had no 
 friends. She had heard much of the Potter Abd 
 Allah, and how he had helped various ones from in 
 under their burdens, and one night she determined 
 to pay him a visit. So, after she had finished her 
 work at the temple and partaken of her meager 
 meal, she turned her steps towards the dwelling 
 of Abd Allah. 
 
 It was a wonderful night with a sky that 
 seemed to wholly envelope the world like a hea^^^^ 
 blue vapor. The moon had not yet arisen and the 
 stars were very bright and throbbed with light. 
 But Maza saw none of the beauty; her eyes cast 
 down; she trugged along wondering why this was 
 her lot. So poor was she in spirit that she could not 
 even lift her eyes to the heavens and feast her 
 hungry soul on the beauty so lavishly given. 
 
 And at last, after her long walk, she came to 
 the hut of Abd Allah and found him seated in the 
 court, the boy Jethro playing on his harp. 
 
 "Abd, Abd," she called, with a note of distress 
 
 43 
 
in her voice; "I am burdened with poverty — wilt 
 tell me of riches?" 
 
 Abd Allah arose and motioned Jethro to bring 
 a small rug for her, on which he bade her be 
 seated. They sat in silence for a while, and then 
 Abd Allah began. 
 
 "There is no man in all Judea, be he ever so 
 rich, and if he possess a palace of white marble, 
 and slaves, and gold and silver in abundance, who 
 has among his treasures a picture as magnificent 
 as you have stretched before you at this particu- 
 lar moment, Maza." As he said this he pointed to 
 the eastern skies where a blood-red moon was 
 breaking through a rift in the long silver clouds. 
 There was a telling silence as they all gazed in the 
 direction he pointed. 
 
 "First, then Maza, always feast the soul, 
 and this you can do as often as you will in 
 the day or night, for the heavens cover all 
 — and it is the great canvass of God — each day is 
 a rare master-piece, painted and designed for you. 
 Then you are not poor because of the lack of 
 beauty, for the whole world is streaming over 
 ¥7ith it." 
 
 "Go out into the sunshine, Maza, and lift your 
 hands to high heavens and let your soul soak full 
 of the blessed sunshine and blue sky. Let the oil 
 of joy — the sheer joy of living — stream about you, 
 and forget the material counterfeit of gold in your 
 appreciation of the real gold of the sun. Let the 
 sunlight of strength, and trust in God dry up the 
 stagnant morasses of worry and care. Pour some 
 
 44 
 
of the dew of life eternal on to your blasted hopes 
 and see them blossom forth into greater and 
 nobler promises than before. Let the star dust 
 light your way, instead of the dust of material 
 ways cut off your vision of the stars." 
 
 Maza stirred a little; already she felt an up- 
 lifted thought — a stirring within, and Abd went 
 on. 
 
 "There was once a certain woman who was 
 very poor in thought and, in a state of desper- 
 ation, she cried out for help, and the one who heard 
 her cry was a man who understood the power of 
 right thinking. He understood where the true 
 source of supply was, and he understood that God 
 is mindful of His own, and that 'not a sparrow 
 f alleth' without His knowledge, and he also under- 
 stood ""How much greater are ye than many spar- 
 rows.' So he asked the woman, 'What have you 
 in your house (mind)?' and the woman pondered 
 a moment and said: 'Only a cruse of Oil.' Now 
 the man who understood knew the value of a cruse 
 of oil (joy) and how a drop of it had saved many 
 an axle from w^earing away. So he said to her, 
 'Borrow vessels not a few.' So she borrowed ves- 
 sels (made her thought receptive). Then the man 
 started filling the vessels out of the cruse of oil, 
 and presently they were all filled, and still the 
 cruse (source) was not empty, for joy increaseth 
 every time it is left to run loose, and a smile an 
 inch long may stretch miles — yea! it may even 
 encircle the globe. But this was not all to be done 
 — now the activity was begun, it was necessary to 
 continue to keep the joy moving, so he said to her: 
 
 45 
 
'Go sell the oil.' Action is the law of progress. It 
 is necessary to give out joy and happiness and not 
 stand with our vessels full meekly waiting for 
 some one to come to us. Enter some darkened 
 pathway where there is need of joy and scatter 
 some light of good clean thinking as you go, and 
 people will find that you are not only useful but an 
 absolute necessity. There is the biggest market 
 in the world for joy, and the fewest dealers in it 
 of any known commodity. So this woman went 
 her way and as she went she found a ready market 
 for her oil. 
 
 "In the smiling mind there is no room for 
 worry clouds; there is no accumulated, stale, 
 thinking or care, for the smiling attitude keeps 
 them at arm's length; yea, it even puts them to 
 flight. This smile is not the silly, simpering, facial 
 grin, but a strong, clean, healthy mental attitude 
 that refuses to be downed by obstacles. 
 
 * * * :;: 
 
 "And it also happened that certain fishermen 
 had labored all night (worked in ignorance) with- 
 out success, and they were heavy hearted and dis- 
 couraged, when the voice of Truth spoke to them 
 and admonished them to cast their nets on the 
 right side. Now literally to cast their nets on the 
 right side would be casting them in the same 
 waters that they had fished in all night, but they 
 knew, that to cast their nets on the right side was 
 merely a command to change their thought from 
 one of limitation to abundance — to know that God 
 is good,and that ^He knoweth that ye have need 
 of these things' for is it not He that ^prepareth a 
 
 46 
 
table before me in the presence of mine enemies' — 
 in the presence of want, woe and famine? What 
 wonder then when they cast their thought into the 
 inexhaustible source of supply, that theii' nets 
 were full ? 
 
 "Maza, supply is a law of God. He it is who 
 created you, and He is responsible for you. Has 
 He not oft referred to you, in the sacred scrolls as 
 'His Child?' Are not His promises kept? Did He 
 not say, 'Seek and ye shall find . . . . ; ask and ye 
 shall receive?' Is He that created you not able to 
 sustain you, and that abundantly, too? Did He 
 not say of man that he was created in 'the image 
 and likeness?' You are His idea, perfect and 
 eternal and will He not keep you? Can the re- 
 flection manifest any condition that the reflector 
 does not ? and are you not a reflection of His love ? 
 It is good to know that you are living and moving 
 and having your being in God' — and if you are 
 living in this great inexhaustible source of all good 
 can you want for anything? Rather I say unto 
 you, reach out and take possession of your divine 
 heritage. Open the doors of your thought so the 
 streams of Love can flow in and out of it." 
 
 And rising, Abd Allah continued : "Maza, what 
 have you in your house?" and she answered him: 
 "Gratitude and Love," and he said: "Go back to 
 thy dwelling in peace and remember that Love let 
 loose is like bread cast upon the water — it will re- 
 turn and nourish you when most needed." 
 
 . And Maza went her way, a song of thanks in 
 her heart and her soul full of the beauty of the 
 night. 
 
 47 
 
ietl|ri!*B ^istig 
 
Just for today, dear weary heart, 
 Give up thy struggles "lean on me/' 
 Forget all worry, come away, 
 Out where the silver brooklets play. 
 Out in the fields where daisies fair, 
 Nod smilingly, without a care. 
 Where poppies greet thee with a flame, 
 And all the air breathes forth His name. 
 Amid green pastures, let us stray 
 To seek and find the Perfect Day. 
 
 Where is the Perfect Day you seek? 
 Is it in valley, stream or hill? 
 Is it in city, mart or field? 
 Is it among the lillies fair, 
 That we shall lose all earthly care? 
 No, weary heart, it is not there— 
 So far away you need not go. 
 The perfect day is close at hand; 
 'Tis in the Consciousness of man. 
 
 Then, first, we look within the mind 
 And sweep it clean from thoughts that bind. 
 No room for worry, care and strife; 
 No place for evil, hate or rife. 
 No looking backward, just to see 
 The dark, dark road that used to be„ 
 But open wide the thought and find 
 Flood-tides of love that fill your mind. 
 
 And once this mind is full of love, 
 
 A holy watchman from above 
 
 Shall guard the portals, day and night, 
 
 And put all evil, care to flight. 
 
 And peace that passeth all shall be 
 
 Thy home for all eternity. 
 
 And He shall come and sup with thee — 
 
 And surely on thy upward way 
 
 Thy lips shall sing the Perfect Daj. 
 
 51 
 
[Iff Ponfrr nt ^tkmir 
 
®lj? l^nmn of Bximtt 
 
 NE day when Abd Allah and Jethro were 
 seated at their work, two men came 
 along the way madly jesticulating and 
 arguing. There was strife and hatred 
 manifested in their voices, and revenge 
 gleamed through their eyes but, looking in 
 through the open gate and seeing Abd Allah, they 
 paused, then entered the court at his beckoning. 
 But immediately they entered they began to argu- 
 ing again, and both at the same instant tried to 
 place his case before Abd Allah. 
 
 "Peace, peace, my brethren; why this dissen- 
 tion. Know ye not the power of silence?" 
 
 "No," said one of the two in a surly voice. 
 "But we would," rejoined the other. They sat 
 down on the rugs which Jethro proffered, and 
 waited for Abd Allah to speak. 
 
 "You, Hajah and Casper, are Christian men 
 and have read much in the sacred scrolls — and well 
 call to mind it is written that the blessed Savior 
 was laid to rest in the tomb, and how a massive 
 stone was placed at its mouth and a guard put 
 over it. And what happened in the silence of the 
 tomb? Jesus, the Christ, worked out the solution 
 to the material lie called death; he proved it to be 
 nothing but a belief, and something to be over- 
 come. But note that he did this in the silence. In 
 the silence He went back to the real cause of man 
 and listened for the guiding voice of truth — 
 listened for the Word, 'which spake and it was 
 done.' Could He have heard this Word in the 
 
 55 
 
hub-bub of material wrangling? Was not this 
 the power of silence? 
 
 "To the mortal sense silence may seem deatl^ 
 yet how often is the ugly grub of thought changing 
 form and working out his problem in silence, and 
 at the appointed time he breaks the material law 
 of limitation and floats off in a freedom before 
 unknown. 
 
 "God pervades the silence, and it is only in the 
 silence that we can hear the voice of the great 
 Omnipotent Guide." 
 
 "But Abd Allah," interrupted one of the men, 
 "How can we feel the Power of Silence in our own 
 work?" 
 
 "By being still, by quieting the material senses, 
 one after another, and withdrawing into the 
 'secret place of the Most High.' And after you 
 have shut off every material clammoring you can 
 then hear the 'still, small voice,' which says, 'Peace 
 be stiir to all that is unlike God, good. This 'still, 
 small voice' was the voice that spoke 'and it was 
 done/ and it is the voice which said 'Let there be 
 light' (understanding) and mortal chaos and 
 darkness faded away." 
 
 "But when I would enter the 'Secret Place of 
 the Most High'," said Hajah, "a million little 
 voices clamor for admittance, first one thing and 
 then another, and I cannot enter the Silence of 
 which you speak." 
 
 "It is good to remember," said Abd Allah. 
 'Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man 
 hear my voice, and open the door (of his mind), I 
 
 56 
 
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
 with me.' At the same time evil is knocking for 
 admittance, the Christ is also standing waiting to 
 be let in, to sup with you. Which will you admit — 
 to which will you give the most power? Does not 
 the very thought that Christ is standing there 
 knocking, put to flight all evil and sinful thoughts ? 
 — for they cannot live in his pure presence. 
 
 "Then, brethren, before you argue and dissent 
 about a question and become angry and hate one 
 another just step into the closet of your conscious- 
 ness and shut the door on all material voices and 
 listen to this wonderful voice, which will guide 
 you right. 
 
 "Don't quabble with yourself mentally and 
 wear yourself out with your arguments — either 
 audible or silent arguments — but be firm and know 
 that God is the source of your intelligence, and 
 that right must prevail. Then when you have re- 
 ceived your guidance you can issue forth from 
 your closet, clad with a newness of spirit and love 
 and righteous judgment; for, my brethren, you 
 only want what is absolutely right, and when you 
 know that the law of right is ever operative, how- 
 can else come to pass ? 
 
 "What is so impressive as silence, and what 
 carries with it so much dignity? It is the very 
 essence of self-control and authority, and what is 
 more pitiful than a man overcome of his anger? 
 The noisy breakers beat against the shores in vain 
 —they only carry with them destruction, but the 
 mighty silent depth of the ocean carries a fleet on 
 its bosom. 
 
 57 
 
" 'Be Still and Know that I am God'— be stiU 
 and listen for the underlying melody that per- 
 meats all silence. It is the melody of life. It is 
 the power that leads beside still waters and green 
 
 pastures." 
 
 5S 
 
©!t^ ^nnBl^ (Diyat ^tsivth m Sarkn? as 
 
 OW it happened there lived, near the east 
 gate of the city a nobleman, his wife and 
 daughter, whom they called Rhetta, be- 
 cause her skin was as the lily leaf 
 turned to the morning dew, and her eyes 
 were soft like the eyes of a deer. And she was v/ell 
 beloved, this maiden Rhetta, and was daily found 
 doing good deeds and bestowing kindnesses on 
 those who were unhappy. But, the Last enemy 
 called at the Palace one day and claimed as a toll 
 for his visit this lovely maiden. 
 
 All the country round about grieved for the 
 fair Rhetta, and a great flower-laden procession 
 followed her to her last resting place. The unhappy 
 nobleman and his wife were as people without 
 hope in the world and the marble palace was hung 
 in black, and the doors and windows were shut. 
 Moreover, in time, the lovely garden, wherein 
 Rhetta was wont to spend many happy hours 
 among the flowers and exquisite marbles that 
 adorned it, became a weed patch. Thistles replaced 
 the roses and ugly wild vines clung to the marbles 
 and strove to conceal their beauty and v/hiteness. 
 It was the house desolate; it bespoke of the futility 
 of human existance, and from a thing of beauty 
 it had become an eye-sore. 
 
 Now the man and his wife spent their time on 
 the roof of the house (which is the custom in Jeru- 
 salem), which looked out over the city on one side 
 and towards the wonderful Lebanon on the other. 
 June was at her height and the wild flowers which 
 
 61 
 
dotted the hills and vallies ran in a riot of coloring, 
 enhanced by the highly colored butterflies darting 
 from flower to flower, and birds drifting and 
 floating through the clear, transparent air — a 
 song streaming from their throats, "Come out and 
 live—live — live." Everything called out to the man 
 and his wife to live and be happy. But so far were 
 they sunk within themselves and their sad 
 thoughts that they heeded nothing. 
 
 And it was on this very day that Abd Allah 
 and Jethro were returning from the market where 
 they had been to sell the vases Abd had made, and 
 Abd Allah went on ahead, while Jethro came along 
 behind with the mule. He was playing a strange 
 little melody and setting words to it, to suit his 
 -a melody with an appealing minor strain 
 
 it in : 
 
 Life is a Circle which has no end, 
 Death does not break the link, 
 Death is but sleep. 
 Life is eternal, naught can be lost,. 
 
 And the woman sitting in sadness, stirred on 
 hearing the strange music, and said to her hus- 
 band, "What means this strange youth, saying 
 'Life is a circle which has no end'?" And her hus- 
 band, looking after them, said: "Tis Abd Allah 
 and his boy returning from the market. He is said 
 to have a strange philosophy which has explained 
 away many of the cares of this life, and into the 
 mind of this boy Jethro he has put his philosophy 
 so that he sings it and accompanies himself on his 
 harp." 
 
 62 
 
"Would he could heal my broken heart," said 
 the woman. So the man, rising, struck a brass 
 gong, and a black slave appeared. "Master, at 
 your service," he said, bowing low. "Go after the 
 man and boy who have just passed, and bid them 
 as my guests to rest a while with us." 
 
 When Abd ascended to the roof which was 
 draped in black he saw the depressed man and his 
 wife. And the man, rising, said: "Greetings to 
 thee, Abd Allah," and, bowing, he motioned him to 
 a floor rug which the slave had spread for him. 
 Jethro,, who stood behind, was opened-eyed in 
 wonderment. He it was who saw the exquisite 
 white marbles hung with black, and the great 
 flower urns standing empty at one side. Nor were 
 the rich oriental rugs lost to his view. All the 
 riches in the world are as naught without the 
 proper mental attitude of real substance. 
 
 The servant, moving noisely about, brought 
 cigarettes and black coffee. 
 
 "We have heard your boy singing a strange 
 
 song," the man said. 'Life is a circle—* What 
 meaneth the youth?" And then, continuing, he 
 said: "And what meaneth 'Death does not break 
 the link'?" Abd made ready to reply, but the 
 nobleman said further "Has not our beloved 
 Rhetta been carried away by the Last enemy — 
 and taken from our sight?" 
 
 Then Abd Allah answered and said: "Be- 
 iieveth thou in God, and that He is everywhere?" 
 
 63 
 
"We believe in God and that He is good," thej 
 replied in unison. 
 
 "Knoweth not that He is Life eternal, and 
 that he is changeless? Then how can death happen 
 in an infinity of life? Can God change, or one of 
 His ideas pass into oblivion?" 
 
 There v/as a profound silence fell upon them 
 as Abd Allah continued : "Life may change form 
 — the tadpole in yon pool would not forever remain 
 an insect, but he would enlarge his capabilities, 
 and by changing form" he becomes a frog, losing 
 none of his former capacities, but gaining an ad- 
 vanced state of progress. Does the ugly grub die 
 when it changes into a radiant butterfly, and is 
 that which is left behind, either grub or butterfly? 
 Would you have the beautiful butterfly, who had 
 cut through the ugly cocoon and out-grown the 
 narrow confines of the grub state, return to its 
 former condition? And what other than a selfish 
 motive could prompt your wishing for its return? 
 It is plain that it would not be good for the butter- 
 fly, neither would it make it happy, yet it might 
 satisfy your selfish desire to possess. Then when 
 our loved ones in their line of progress have burst 
 into a freedom that we know not of, is it for their 
 good and happiness that we wish them back, or is 
 it to satisfy our selfishness? 
 
 "Is not then death, in its proper sense, prog- 
 ress? Is it not unfoldment? Does not the flower 
 unfold at the expense of the falling away of the 
 seed- — yet is the seed dead? 
 
 "Did not the Great Master prove that death 
 was a myth, when he rolled away the stone from 
 
 64 
 
the tomb, which stone had seemingly set the seal 
 on the reality of death? Did He not say 'Our 
 friend Lazarus sleepeth; I go to awaken him?' 
 And then his great command, 'Loose him and let 
 him go' — free him from the winding sheets of 
 mortal belief, which says that death is the end, 
 that it is real and terrible, that it is the outcome 
 of life. Again I say unto you, Life is eternal. 
 
 "Can you conceive of God who is ever present, 
 becoming inactive? God, good is perpetual mo- 
 tion, and we his perfect ideas and expressions of 
 His thought, are controlled and governed by this 
 perfect law of Activity; then inaction or death 
 can never occur, though the idea of expression 
 may change form. 
 
 "Who, then, knowing this law of progress, 
 will try to shackle it by wishing and sorrowing for 
 those who have gone before and have cut through 
 the shell of materialism? Does the mother grieve 
 when her child has laid aside his primmer and 
 taken the next book in hand— rather does she not 
 rejoice and say 'He is progressing; knowledge and 
 understanding are replacing ignorance. He is 
 finding his way out of darkness, which is 
 ignorance.' 
 
 "What is it that dies? Is it man, the 'image 
 and likeness' of God Eternal? Is it the perfect 
 idea of God, which is sustained by Him that dies 
 —and whence comes a counter power to omnipo- 
 tence which destroys the works of His mighty 
 Hands? 
 
 "Are we paying the right tribute to those gone 
 65 
 
before when we hang our walls in black and sit in 
 mourning — forgetting to live and to reach out and 
 help others, who are here with us? Is the garden 
 yonder which is in weeds, a tribute to the loveli- 
 ness of she whom you mourn? and what fainting 
 heart gazing thereon would take courage and new 
 hope? 
 
 "Then I say unto you, my good people, take 
 from thy windows these dark hangings and throw 
 wide open the doors and let in fresh air and sun- 
 shine, and set again the garden into roses, and 
 watch the desert blossom. 
 
 " 1 am the ressurection and the Life, though 
 a man were dead (igronant of true life) yet shall 
 he live again/ 
 
 "Come, Jethro, sing for us." 
 I will say of the Lord 
 He is my refuge most High ; 
 He is life eternal, and man cannot die. 
 Death is a dream, in Truth we awake 
 And every mortal law God surely breaks. 
 
 And as they again wended their way along 
 the street, Jethro sung his song of "Life is a 
 Circle," and the woman, lifting her eyes, smiled 
 through tears and said: "Life is a Circle, there 
 is no death." 
 
 OD 
 
K/' 
 
f^ 
 
DGA, the beautiful, the adored, the well 
 beloved and idol of her father's heart, 
 had just finished her bath in her beau- 
 tiful white marble Roman bath, over 
 
 which presided two statues of youth, 
 
 supporting in their hands a light which cast the 
 palest green tinge over the water and the marble 
 fittings of the room. Her maids, two of them, 
 were massaging and rubbing her with precious 
 oils and perfumes of the orient, while a third black 
 slave stood with a huge gorgeous fan, gently 
 swaying. 
 
 As she sat in the midst of this oriental luxury, 
 reclining on a long marble bench, over which was 
 throv/n a rich piece of crimson stuff, she looked 
 very much like she might have been a wonderful 
 bit of marble — the masterpiece of some artist— 
 which had been thus carelessly placed in this elab- 
 orate bath, save for her wonderful raven locks 
 that in their blackness almost seemed to have a 
 deep purple hidden in them, which literally 
 streamed over her white shoulders and back in 
 great, thick ringlets. Her eyes were blue and 
 steady in their gaze, edged about with long dark 
 lashes, and were not unlike pools that one finds. in 
 the heart of some dense forest 
 
 She had a lithe, slimly built body, rather lean- 
 ing to the sinuous type, and was wholly unlike the 
 other maidens of her race. Her haughty, thin lips 
 and finely chiseled features contrasted strangely 
 
 69 
 
with the full sensuous beauty of other maidens of 
 the orient. 
 
 By an indulgent father she had been given the 
 sobriquet of Adoree, by which name she was gen- 
 erally known. Being the only daughter of a 
 wealthy nobleman, and a Christian, she had been 
 indulged to an extent unheard of in that country. 
 In fact she even had the companionship of 
 men, and her father had left the choice of a hus- 
 band to her own liking — a condition long since 
 cherished, but not yet attained in Jerusalem. 
 
 Of suitors Adoree had many, and from many 
 lands, for her fame as a beauty had been sung 
 abroad. They had acclaimed her the m.ost beau- 
 tiful woman of the orient, and had eulogized her 
 in song and poetry as the "Midnight of a June 
 Garden," "the Twilight of the Desert," "the 
 Purple Mist of the Sunset." Her tiny, white feet 
 were spoken of as possessing the fleetness of the 
 deer on the snow-capped mountain. 
 
 Now Adoree had listened to the songs of 
 many lovers and had fluttered over the praises 
 sung, but underlying it ail she 'felt that there was 
 an emptiness, and that their songs were called 
 forth only by the physical; that when her beauty 
 faded then the worship and love would cease, and 
 possibly sooner. "Love was so fleeting a quality 
 as this" so her old nurse had told her, and taught 
 hdr the secrets of beauty, and admonished her to 
 stay beautiful so that her lord and m^aster might 
 be pleased. But deep in the heart of Adoree there 
 was a calling out for something more substantial, 
 
something more enduring and staple, so one by 
 one she sent her lovers on their way, and one by 
 one they vowed to seek a watery grave or go into 
 the desert and become a sun sacrifice. 
 
 Alas, this m^aiden who had all that material 
 wealth could bring her, was unhappy, and she 
 sighed as her maid clasped the heavy gold anklets 
 on her pretty white ankles. 
 
 "For what sigh you, oh, lovely Lady of the 
 Midnight?" asked one of her m_aids. "You of all 
 maidens are to be envied, for within your posses- 
 sion is power, beauty and riches; yea, and lovers 
 by the score. What more could a maiden wish 
 for?" 
 
 And Adoree, answering, said: "For love, 
 Mism.aj for love," and, .pushing back the heavy 
 ringlets of thick black hair, she took the golden 
 head-band from the maid and adjusted it herself, 
 using the green pool for her mirror. "For love," 
 she continued as if talking to herself; "that is not 
 physical ; for something more noble than the wor- 
 ship of body, wealth and jewels. Oh, Misma, is 
 there no such love ; is there nothing but the shift- 
 ing transient sense of happiness?" 
 
 "My lady, thou are unwell this day, or else 
 thou art awry with some strange dream of the 
 night. What more could you wish for? Have you 
 not the love of a hundred men, ready to do your 
 bidding?" 
 
 "Yes, but I have not the love of one who 
 knows that love is not consuming, but upbuilding 
 and unfolding." 
 
 71 
 
"You speak of the strange love that Abd 
 Allah tells of, at the East Gate, and there are 
 many that believe in it, but for me, it is naught 
 but talk." 
 
 "Who is Abd Allah," said Adoree. 
 
 "Do you not know the potter and letterwriter 
 named Abd Allah? He is said to lift a great 
 burden from the shoulders of many by his happy 
 philosophy." 
 
 "At eight bells tonight we shall go to him anjd 
 hear what he has to say of love," said Adore4, 
 getting up. 
 
 "But, Lady Fair, we cannot go alone to this 
 remote hut of the potter. It is by the north gate 
 and the way is very dark and some say it is the 
 way of beggers and thieves. 
 
 "Nevertheless," said Adoree, "we shall go. 
 You shall accompany me, Misma." 
 
 « H: ^ 4: 
 
 The night dropped down like a heavy curtain, 
 excluding the beauty of the sunset with a heavy 
 mantle of clouds, but at the sounding of eight bells 
 Adoree and Misma, robed in heavy travelers' 
 coats, set out for the dwelling of Abd Allah. 
 
 A high wind had set in and the heavens be- 
 came the playgrounds of a million hideous cloud 
 phantoms, ^ which raced across the sky in mad 
 terror. 
 
 "Let us turn back," said Misma. "It bids fair 
 to be a terrific hurricane." But Adoree said, "We 
 shall continue. It cannot be much farther for we 
 can see the dark outline of the great wall." 
 
 72 
 
Presently a reddish light flamed up in the 
 heavens and faded away into a blue and died do'wn 
 again, followed by a faint rumble of thunder, and 
 again the maid spoke of returning: "Oh, my 
 lady, shall we not take shelter and return home, 
 and come again another night when it is not so 
 terrible?" 
 
 "Misma," said Adoree, "this night is not more 
 unrestful than my mind. I am weary and worried, 
 seeking for happiness and true love." 
 
 ■J» •!* •P' -J" 
 
 As they neared the court of Abd Allah's 
 dwelling the storm was upon them. Great bolts 
 of lightning utterly tore the heavens, to be fol- 
 lowed by diabolical claps of thunder that were 
 deafening, then by a silence that was almost 
 tangible. 
 
 "V/ho goes there?" called Abd Allah as the 
 women entered the court. "What seek you at this 
 hour and in this storm ? Are not the gates of the 
 city long since closed and all men safely in their 
 homes?" 
 
 "I seek thee, Abd Allah," said Adoree. "And 
 I have come to thee through this storm, which is 
 much akin to m_y mental state, to know of a love 
 that is not physical — to know of a love that does 
 not deal with passion and that will not falter. Oh ! 
 Abd Allah, I ami weary of this shifting, changing 
 love. Can you tell me of real love?" 
 
 Standing there before the hut, the heavy 
 cloak dropped from her shoulders and in the 
 flashes of lightning Abd Allah could see her won- 
 
 73 
 
drous beauty, and said: "Is this not the Lady 
 Adoree, whose praise and beauty is sung by a 
 thousand ballads?" "Yes," she answered, "and I 
 ¥7ouId know of love." 
 
 So Abd Allah, in his direct manner, bade them 
 enter and placed rugs for them. 
 
 "God is Love, and since God is unchangeable, 
 love must be likewise, and since God is everywhere 
 Love must be everywhere. God is Life, and God 
 is Love ; then true Life is Love and is eternal since 
 Life is eternal. Love that is material is of few 
 days and full of trouble — it builds upon a founda- 
 tion of sand. It is elusive, for the moment you 
 think you possess it, lo, it has slipped through your 
 fingers and fluttered on to another. And, lastly, 
 it is limited and does not belong to God; hence it 
 cannot satisfy. 
 
 "Love then is universal and reaches out to all. 
 It is active goodness, and is found seeking its *own 
 in another's good.' Love is true service. It is the 
 veiled figure which bestows its alms at night. It 
 is the helping hand that lifts the fallen and sets 
 him on his feet again. It is the something in the 
 mother's kiss that heals the wounded baby finger, 
 and replaces tears with smiles. It is the tender 
 word spoken at the right time, and it is the sheer 
 joy of living, of being happy and useful. 
 
 "Love is pure. It is the dove sipping the dew 
 from the lily chalice. It is the blue that peeps 
 through the dark clouds of material sense, and 
 whispers that the storm is far spent. It is the 
 thrill of joy that the shepherd knows when he 
 
 74 , ". 
 
finds the lost sheep. It is the something in the 
 hand-grasp of a long lost friend. It is the *rod and 
 staff that both help and guide. 
 
 "Love is giving — not hard gold, but good 
 thoughts, thereby helping the begger to help him- 
 self return to his perfect estate. 
 
 "Love is the fulfilling of the law, and God m 
 the law. 
 
 "Love is work in the Master^s vineyard. Know 
 ye not that the 'fields are white but the laborers 
 (lovers) are few?' 
 
 "Love is liberty, and by loving man properly 
 we can liberate him from the bondage of material 
 thinking. We can set free all the slaves that we 
 are holding in bondage in our thinking by loving 
 them as the children of the Perfect One." 
 
 Now, as Abd Allah ceased speaking, there 
 was a breathless silence fell upon them and each 
 in his heart was praying the prayer of thanks- 
 giving, for each felt the mantle of true love gently 
 enfolding him. 
 
 And Adoree, rising, said: "Love was all 
 about me, and all I had to do was to put my hand 
 out and take it, yet I did not know it. It was call- 
 ing to me and beseeching me and yet I could not 
 answer. But now I know what real love is—it is 
 service; it is right thinking and consequent right 
 living and doing— it is praising God, not with long 
 prayers and speeches, but with silent voicings of 
 gratitude and willingness." 
 
 And as they went their way the storm, had 
 spent itself and the deep blue of the night was 
 beginning to peer through the clouds. And so 
 they returned through the dark by-ways clad in 
 the white and shimmering robes of Love. 
 
 75 
 
utH mm 'iUiiat K if^twm. 
 
OlhT Han Wlm %mt A 3t\m^ 
 
 FTEN were they seen together, these two 
 friends, Haaj and Absolom. Wrapped 
 deep in the mantle of friendship they 
 even excited envy and jealousy because 
 of their closeness — because of the pro- 
 i:ection they offered each other. They had been 
 called Damon and Pythias, for they held each 
 other above all.' But one day, into this haven of 
 perfect friendship and love crept a serpent. At 
 first they refused to listen for a moment to its 
 subtle criticisms and arguments, but the serpent 
 was not to be put aside thus easily; he had not 
 been destroyed, only cast aside, and again he 
 came back more subtle than before, and at length 
 one of them yielded to the alluring voice of wrong, 
 of jealousy and envy and turned against his friend 
 and stabbed him to the heart. Not that he stabbed 
 him with a knife of steel, but with a sword of hate, 
 which cut deep and spilled the life blood of their 
 friendship. 
 
 And one day he came to Abd Allah, this man 
 who had been betrayed. He was dejected and 
 downcast, for he had loved his friend well. And 
 Abd Allah, looking up from his work, said: 
 
 "Greetings, Haaj; where is Absolom, for to 
 see one of you is to see both." And Haaj, v/itli 
 sorrowful words, told the story of his lost friend, 
 and said to Abd Allah : 
 
 "Abd Allah, thou knowest v/ell that I laid 
 upon hira fine linens and purple and threv/ about 
 
 his neck a golden chain, and did show him prefer- 
 
 79 
 
ence in all things, and then, when another came 
 and whispered in his ear suggestions of distrust, 
 was it not he that run me through with the sword 
 of hate and left me by the wayside bleeding almost 
 unto death by the wounds his cruel actions and 
 words had inflicted, and left my faith in man a 
 shattered thing?" 
 
 And Abd Allah, rising, put his arm about 
 Haaj and said: "Peace be unto you, Brother 
 Haaj. Recall you not the First Law, ^Thou shall 
 have no other gods before me?' and were you not, 
 in a measure, making your friend a god? Were 
 yon not setting him up as a something to be looked 
 up to above all else ? and even deifying his person- 
 ality? Was it not for him that all the pearls of 
 your thinking were saved? Then count it not a 
 loss but a gain that the law of progress has forced 
 you to 'Lean not on your own understanding,' and 
 further to put not your trust in the shifting, 
 changeable material something called man, but to 
 even turn, first to God, who is good, and who is thy 
 true friend. 
 
 Count him then not thy enemy, but thy friend 
 
 for he has once again brought you into contact 
 with God and restored you to rightful sonship. 
 
 "And because he has snatched your pearls 
 
 and trampled them under foot, does it not teach 
 you to guard with greater care your pearls 
 (thoughts) in the future and cast them not down 
 again? They are precious and if any man seek 
 them, be not slow in giving, but do not force them, 
 else the swinish desire in man will rend you. In 
 
 80 
 
place of your pearls of love and good thinkmg, he 
 would cast over your head jets of hate and deceit. 
 These, I bid you, trample under foot, for they are 
 not worthy of else. 
 
 "Look yonder at the dome of the Mosque of 
 Omar. See how it stands against the blood-red 
 sunset. Is it not like a splendid white pearl in a 
 glass of wine? Yea, like a stupendous reproduc- 
 tion of Cleopatra's glass, of wine in which she tried 
 to dissolve the last emblem of purity that she pos- 
 sessed, that she might consume it. That she might 
 consume purity and scorch its white robes with 
 the heat of the Flesh pots of Egypt. But, as with 
 Cleopatra, though purity and goodness were sub- 
 merged in the wine, they were only hidden, and 
 not destroyed, so with your love for your friend: 
 it is only hidden in the maddening intoxication of 
 the wine of mortal hate, and when he shall have 
 drained the glass of its bitter contents and wall- 
 ered in the slime of his own mistake he will find 
 this pearl, still unsoiled and untouched, and will 
 prize it as the 'pearl of great price.' 
 
 "Not hate, but pity, is what should fill your 
 heart — the pity that came to the master, when he 
 looked out across the sea of faces that bespoke 
 revenge, hatred and anger, and lifted up his eyes 
 and said: 'Forgive them for they know not what 
 they do.' 
 
 "Love more; that is your key-note, but not the 
 selfish human love that possesses, but the love that 
 liberates and makes free; and remember, If I be 
 lifted up (purified in thought), I shall draw all 
 men unto me.' 
 
"Was it iK)^; sadd of tibe Maater, *When ti»y 
 father and mother forsake thee I will take thee 
 up?' Then can you want for a closer friend than 
 he that marketh the falling of each sparrow? 
 
 "Go feed among the lilies, Haaj; 'tis not 
 your part to suffer because another has offended 
 you. He is the one to suffer and will in pro- 
 portion as you rise above its power to touch you, 
 as you are superior to it, for it will then find it 
 has no abiding place in your thought and return 
 to its own source to destroy itself. 
 
 •*When his words rent thee sore, was it not 
 like the devil that was cast out of the dumb which 
 rent him sore? If there is aught within you that 
 can rend you sore, it does not belong there and 
 should be removed, for *No plague shall come nigh 
 thy dwelling/ 
 
 "Selfish human friendship is like a grain of 
 mustard seed which is tightly grasped in the hand 
 —it cannot grow nor develop, and is worthless. 
 The right kind of friendship is like a mustard seed 
 which is planted in fertile soil — ^it is constantly 
 developing and while it may be the joy of one, it is 
 not shut out from others. There is enough 8un» 
 shine for all, so is there enough friendship and 
 love for all" 
 
I 
 
^