CHAPTER XV. The Fanatic. In religion What damned error, but some sober brow CHAKSPEARE, The Merchant of Venice. THE more I saw of Mr. Manwaring, the more cause did I find for thankfulness that I had become acquainted with so excellent a friend. Besides his sound and sterling qualities, he had an inexhaustible fund of valuable information, which he continually brought to bear on the important subjects which we discussed together. One day he told me the following remarkable story, which so impressed my mind, that I committed it to writing; and doubt not that it will prove acceptable to my readers, as illustrative of an important class of phenomena in religion. Mr. Manwaring was, as he informed me, on a visit in the west of England, where some of his friends resided. One evening he strolled out through the grounds, and leaving the enclosure, proceeded along a wild, romantic glen, which opened to the sea. The western sun had almost touched the horizon, and with its slanting ray illumined the crags and headlands which stretched away in bold magnificence as far as the eye could reach. As he walked along the narrow pathway, on turning the corner of a rock, he became aware of a man at no great distance, who stood with his hands clasped, apparently in deep abstraction. When he perceived my friend approaching, he started from his attitude, and turned round with a wildness in his eye and restlessness of manner, which could scarcely be viewed without apprehension. 66 to "Art thou, too, come," said the stranger, view yon glorious luminary as he plunges beneath the waves?" ""Tis a glorious sight, indeed," replied my friend, "to look on the brightest and most splendid of God's works." "Ah! I see thou knowest not the great secret. But the world will know it ere long. Yon source of light, which now sinks from our sight-he -he will proclaim to the world the vast secret which has long lain hid, or, if known to the wise of old, was connected with degrading superstitions." The eyes of the stranger rolled fearfully as he uttered these words; and, clasping his hands together, he again gazed intently on the setting sun, whose broad disk even then touched the horizon. "Behold!" he exclaimed; "there he sets, to convey the blessing of his beams to other regions of the earth; and we shall be left without his presence, until, in his own appointed time, he shall again rise, with healing on his wings, to gladden and to bless us." My friend made no reply to his companion's strange discourse, but gazed with him in admiration on the fast-disappearing orb. As soon as the last portion was concealed from view, the stranger laid his hand on my friend's arm. 66 "Let us sit down," said he, on this rock; and while the sun's bright rays still illumine the horizon, I will reveal to you the great secret which ere long will be known throughout the world." My friend complied with his wish, though beginning to be exceedingly doubtful as to the soundness of the stranger's intellect, who proceeded with his communication, of which the following is the substance: He had long been doubtful and unsettled in his mind on religious subjects, and had endeavoured to correct his opinions by a course of deep study. Of the existence of a God and a Providence he had satisfied himself by the most indisputable proofs; for "who," said he, with kindling energy – "who can view the glorious universe, and not recognise the hand of the divine Architect?" He had also satisfied himself, by study and meditation, that the Bible was the word of God. The evidences of this fact were such as no unbiassed mind could resist. "Yes," said he, "there is a God; and He hath spoken to us by His Son. But then, What is God? What is God?" he repeated many times, with start - ling energy. This question, he said, had haunted him for days, and months, and years. It was his thought by day, his meditation by night. About two years past, he informed my friend, as he was meditating on the awful subject in the dead of night, and unconsciously uttered to himself the oft-repeated question, "What is God?" he heard a deep unearthly voice, as of a person near him, "Ay, What is God? Search the Scriptures, and thou shalt know." At the same time, a shadowy form appeared to stand before him in the moonlight, which, as he gazed on it, melted into the air. Since that time, the same form had often appeared, always answering to his inquiry," What is God?" with the solemn words, "Search the Scriptures, and thou shalt know." Accordingly, as he informed my friend, he again began the perusal of the sacred volume; and to aid his studies, he retired to a small cottage on the seashore, and there, amidst the roaring of the waves and the howling of the tempest, with no other companion but his unearthly visitant, he continued to brood over the awful question, "What is God?" Meanwhile his health became wasted with fasting and intense anxiety, and his spirit was almost broken. His spectral visitant had less frequently appeared; and often, when he uttered the fearful question, "What is God?" had omitted the usual addition, "Search, and thou shalt find," or had spoken it in a tone of mockery; until one day at eve, as the sun was dipping beneath the wave, and an unusual redness had spread itself over the heavens, the spectre, appearing in a larger form than usual, pronounced, in an eager tone, "What is God? Read, and thou shalt know." FIRE.' A CONSUMING "I withdrew my eyes," said the enthusiast," from the overpowering sun; and as they rested on the sacred volume, the answer to my long-asked question appeared to stand forth from the text in glaring, burning characters OUR GOD IS Yes," said he, exultingly, " an answer was granted to my inquiry. My doubts were cleared up; the great secret revealed. God is fire: fire is God. God manifests Himself in the glorious sun, as he guides his chariot of fire through the high heaven; and He is seen in the warm flame which glows upon the hearth, and in the taper which sheds its useful ray around. His goodness is evidenced in his attributes of light and heat, without which we should be as dead men, cold, dark, and miserable. His power is seen in the forked lightning, the ravaging flame, the explosive gunpowder, the mighty steam: all these are the operation of the great God of fire. Since this great secret has been revealed, all Scripture has been clear and simple. Demonstrations of its truth meet me in every page. I no longer wonder at the flaming swords of the cherubim, the fires which burnt at Sinai, the cloven tongues which rested on the Apostles, or the Shekinah which dwelt between the cherubim. All are but manifestations of that God whose nature is fire. And hence it is that He |