private static function _gatherSettings($source)
  {

    if (strpos('http://', $source) !== false) {
      echo 'cURL sources are not currently supported.', PHP_EOL;
    } elseif (file_exists($source)) {
      $settings = json_decode(implode(file($source)));
      return $settings;
    } else {
      echo 'Source: ' . $source . ' not found.', PHP_EOL;
    }
  }