There were present at the parsonage that night, Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, Rachel, Virginia, Stanton, Rollin, Alexander Powers, Edward Norman, Jasper Carter, Barnes, Felicia and her husband, Dr. West, and Mr. Grey.

Mr. Maxwell had just finished reading a letter from one of the ministers in Washington. In it he had told of Jesus’s sermon in one of the churches in which he had emphasized his overwhelming faith in the great good he had found in the world.

“The papers have enlarged on every dramatic incident when Jesus has denounced great evils, but they have not called attention so often to the fact that Jesus is an optimist, and enthusiastic over the triumphs of his kingdom. At the great Congress that met yesterday in Washington Hall, he said in reply to questions that he rejoiced in a world which was in countless ways far better than it was two thousand years ago.

“In fact, the abounding note of Jesus’s message is joy, and he is constantly reminding the Christians and the churches of their invincible power. One of the irresistible things about him is his intense faith in humanity’s redemption, and his unswerving faith in the power of his gospel to redeem. It is overpowering in its intensity.”

“That’s what I liked about him,” said Stephen Clyde eagerly. “He never hesitated about the remedy for all the world’s trouble. It was a joy to see his great faith in humankind.”

“The papers,” said Norman with characteristic impulsiveness, “have exaggerated and underestimated the whole attitude of Jesus. It is a source of deep thankfulness to my mind, that there were no newspapers in Jesus’s first earthly life time. If there had been, we would not have had any correct or authentic story of his words or deeds. What do you say, Jasper?”

Jasper Carter looked at his old-time newspaper rival with affection such as grown men sometimes come to feel for each other. When it truly exists there is nothing more beautiful in all the world.

“Edward,” he said, using Norman’s first name as Norman had used his, “I feel exactly as you do. One of my regrets as I look back on my own selfish newspaper career is the false and superficial stories about him that came out in the Gazette.” Carter’s voice slowed and softened at mention of the name, the name that always called to his memory that scene he had never told anyone, of his meeting that night on the Capitol terrace with Jesus.

“Does the letter mention Jesus’s probable movements?” Stanton asked Maxwell, who had read only a few extracts.

“Only to say that his stay in Washington is evidently near a climax. And he adds this significant paragraph: