and of the gospel of repentance and of baptism by immersion for
the remission of sins. And this shall never again be taken from the
earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in
the new Jerusalem."

The loud voice carried with it an impression of strong personal feeling;
the effect on the bystanders was such as the words alone were wholly
inadequate to produce. Cowdery, who during the speech had frequently
groaned and responded, after the Methodist fashion, now shouted and
clapped his hands towards the heavens, whereupon Lucy Smith fell into a
convulsive state between laughter and tears, and the men standing beside
her dropped upon their knees. Emma Smith remained standing; upon her
face was a rapt triumphant expression. She put her arm round Susannah
protectingly, and Susannah did not repulse the familiar action.

Joseph Smith now in the same voice called upon his father to be
baptized. He addressed him formally as "Joseph Smith senior." The old
man had, as it seemed, a great fear of the water. It took both priests
of the new sect together to lift and immerse him. There was more
splashing than was seemly. The baptism of a farmer named Martin Harris,
which followed, was more decorous.

The sunlight lay bright on the other side of the flowing river, and the
shadow of the willow tops above them was outlined on the stream. On the
sunny bank opposite there was a thicket of sumac trees reddening to the
autumn heat; the wild vine was climbing upon them, making their foliage
the more dense, and at their roots, by the edge of the stream, the
golden rod was massed. On the bank on which they stood the colouring was
more quiet. A few ragged spikes of the purple aster were all that grew
under the gray green willows, which with every breath turned the silver
underside of their soft foliage to the wind. The place for the baptism
had no doubt been chosen because of the depth of the water, and because
the bank here was comparatively bare.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. The steady sound of the
mattock in a neighbouring field was the only token of the common
bustling world that lay close around the curious isolation of the hour.

It was time that Angel Halsey should be baptized. In his Quaker clothes
he waded into the water. His manner now was entirely serene, his face
full of joy.

A thought was struck wedge-like into Susannah's understanding. If
Halsey, who was so manifestly on a higher pl