His tall figure stood tense, trembling, deathlike—the emblem of sacrificial offering on the altar of his country.
Socola whispered to Jennie:
"Where have I witnessed this scene before?"
"Surely not in America—"
"No"—he mused thoughtfully—"I remember now—on a lonely hill outside Jerusalem the Roman soldiers were crucifying a man on a day like this—that's where I saw it!"
He had scarcely spoken the uncanny words in a low undertone when the speaker closed his address with a remarkable prayer.
Suddenly dropping his manuscript on the table he lifted his eyes into the darkened heavens and cried with deep passion:
"With humble gratitude and adoration, to Thee, O God, I trustingly commit myself, and prayerfully invoke Thy blessing on my country and its cause!"