"Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
"There is a Font within whose burnish'd face The o'erarching pile itself reflected sleeps, Columns, arch, roof, and all the hallow'd place, Beauteously mirror'd in its marble deeps; And holy Church within her vigil keeps: Thus round our Font on storied walls arise Scenes that encompass Sion's holy steeps, Rivers of God and sweet societies, The mountain of our rest, and Kingdom of the skies."
Illustration: Ancient Font in West Rounton Church
A few weeks after the interview mentioned in the last chapter, the Vicar preached three sermons from the same text, St. John iii. 5: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The first sermon was on the _necessity of Baptism_; the second, on _its benefits_; and the third, on _its mode of administration_, specially in the case of infants. Mr. Ambrose could not help noticing that Mr. Dole was on each occasion deeply affected, for he saw tears on his face, which evidently manifested deep emotion within. He was, therefore, hardly surprised, when, after his third sermon, a knock at the vestry-door announced a visit from his parishioner.
"I have listened very attentively to your last three sermons, Mr. Ambrose," said he, "and the subjects of them have also, as you know, for a long time past been seriously and prayerfully considered by me; I am now come to ask you to receive me into the Church by Baptism."
"Have you never yet been baptized, my friend?" inquired the Vicar, taking his hand in a kind and friendly way.
"No, I have not; when I was an infant, my parents objected to my being baptized, and since I became a man, I must confess with shame, that I have never had the _courage_ to go through the service at our _meeting_. That service, you know, sir, is such as to deter far more courageous men--and specially women--than I am, and I have always, too, had my doubts about its propriety."
"I am not surprised at that. I once, when a boy, attended a baptism at one of your _meetings_, and I shall never forget it; for a more unseemly spectacle I never witnessed. There were several young men and women immersed by the preacher, in a large tank of water, in the middle of the meeting-house. Each was clothed in a flannel garment fitting almost closely to the body, and the appearance of the first of them was the signal for a general rush to the best places for seeing; men and boys climbed noisily over the pews, and some took their places on the backs of the seats, so as to get a good view; and the whole scene was most disorderly and irreverent.