The Mark of the Beast | Page 2

the truest and most noted leaders (in the "Church") on our great
convention platforms, himself an authority, and voluminous writer on
the pre-milleniarian view of our Lord's near Return, (a perfect stranger,
personally, to the writer) wrote within a week or two of the issue of "In
the Twinkling of an Eye," saying:
"I have just finished reading your wonderful book "In the Twinkling of
an Eye." It has solemnised me very greatly--more than anything for a
long time . . . . May the Lord use your book to STARTLE the careless,
ill-taught professing Christians . . . Please send me 24 copies, etc., etc."
The desire of the author of "The Mark of the Beast" has been to further
"startle" and awaken "careless, ill-taught professing Christians," by
giving some faint view of the fate of those professors who will be "left
behind" to go through the horrors of The Tribulation.
To be true to his subject, and to his convictions, the author has had to
approach one or two delicate subjects. These he has sought to touch in
a veiled, a guarded way. Each reader, if desirous of pursuing more
minutely the study of those special parts, can do so by referring to other
Christian author's works.
That there is a growing interest in the whole subject of "The Lord's
Coming," is very apparent in many ways. The intense interest and
quickening that has accompanied the Author's many series of Bible
Readings on "The Near Return of our Lord," during the past twelve
months especially, would have proved the revived interest in the
subject--if proof had been needed.

SYDNEY WATSON.
"The Firs," Vernham Dean, Hungerford, Berks.
April 24th, 1911.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST
PROLOGUE.
It was late August. The year 18-- no matter the exact date, except that
the century was growing old. A small house-party was gathered under
the sixteenth century roof of that fine old Warwickshire house, "The
Antlers."
"Very old famerly, very old!" the head coachman was fond of saying to
sight-seers, and others. "Come over with William of Normandy, the
first Duerdon did. Famerly allus kept 'emselves very eleck,
cream-del-al-cream, as the saying is in hupper cirkles."
The coachman's estimate of the Duerdon House will serve all the
purpose we need here, and enable us to move among the guests of the
house-party though we have little to do save with two of them--the
most striking female personality in the house, Judith Montmarte, and
the latest society lion, Colonel Youlter, the Thibet explorer.
Judith Montmarte, as her name suggests, was a Jewess. She was tall--it
is curious that the nineteen centuries of Semitic persecution should
have left the Jewess taller, in proportion, than the Jew--Judith
Montmarte was tall, with a full figure. The contour of her face
suggested Spanish blood. Her hair--what a wealth of it there was--was
blue-black, finer than such hair usually is, and with a sheen on it like
unto a raven's wing. Her eyes were large, black, and melting in their
fullness. Her lips were full, and rich in their crimson.
The face was extraordinarily beautiful, in a general way. But though the
lips and eyes would be accounted lovely, yet a true student of faces

would have read cruelty in the ruby lips, and a shade of hell lurking in
the melting black eyes. A millionairess, several times over, (if report
could be trusted) she was known and felt to be a powerful personage.
There was not a continental or oriental court where she was not
well-known--and feared, because of her power. A much-travelled
woman, a wide reader--especially in the matter of the occult; a superb
musician; a Patti and a Lind rolled into one, made her the most
wonderful songster of the day.
In character--chameleon is the only word that can in anyway describe
her. As regarded her appearances in society, her acceptance of
invitations, etc., she was usually regarded as capricious, to a fault. But
this was as it appeared to those with whom she had to do. She had been
known to refuse a banquet at the table of a prince, yet eat a dish of
macaroni with a peasant, or boiled chestnuts with a forest charcoal
burner. What the world did not know, did not realize, was that, in these
things, she was not capricious, but simply serving some deep purpose
of her life.
She had accepted the Duerdon invitation because she specially desired
to meet Colonel Youlter.
To-night, the pair had met for the first time, just five minutes before the
gong had sounded for dinner. Colonel Youlter had taken her down to
the dining-room.
Just at first she had spoken but little, and the Colonel had thought her
fatigued, for he had caught one glimpse of the dreamy languor in her
great liquid