Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1873-04-24
THE ROTTEN CROSS.


yet I remember II ail. juss a though 1
had occurred but yesterday. .a-s'I
was carpenter. the fnreman Of lsres
establishment. and as such possessed Tho
entire confidence Of my employer. who. BY
the way. bad been schoolmaie Of miEe
One day he called me into his Office e
look at some rare coins be bad just pur.
chased.
Here said be. placing in my hand .
heavy gold piece. is one which Is worth
more than all the rest put together. It Is
great curiosity. / paid GOO for il. aud
considered it cheap at that. / could cas-
lily double my money in selling; and SO
you see Harvey, it is really good invest
ment'
No doubt it is.' said I. though it seems
large sum to have lie idle.'
l breathed an involuntary sigh as laid
the coin down on the desk. for g200 would
have seemed fortune to me just then.
The severe illness Of my wife, and one
Of my children. and the death of another
made serious inroads on my purse, and i,
bad required the exercise Of the utmos,
economy to keep myself free from debt;
nay. had been obliged to Withdraw from
the bank the small sum. which, besides
my salary. was all I possessed of worldly
treasures. Thinking OF this, I laid the
coin down with a sigh. and turned away
to attend 10 my duties.
The next morning l was again summon
ed into the Office. bat this time l met With
40 friendly greeting. as usual.
Harry. said my employer. abruptly,
that coin we were looking at has disap-
peared. / have made thorough search
but il is not to be found. 1t has been car
ried away BY some one. You alone saw
or knew Of it. and
He paused and looked significantly into
my face. | finished the sentence for him. =.
the hot blood dying checks and brow rs
spoke.
You mean, therefore. that I took tt
1? s-.'.~.--.|
What else can l think ? The coin was
here; you alone saw it, cannot recall
having seen it since it was in your hands.
You are in need of money; you have told
me that yourself. It was a great tempta-
tion. and forgive you because Of our old
friendship. but | cannot retain you in my
employ. Here is the salary due you
Very we'll, said I. with forced calm-
ness, $50 be it. Since you have SO poor
m opinion Of me after years OF faithful
service, shall not s,oop TO defend my
SELF
Then I took the money be had laid upon
the desk. and went ou. from his presence
a we'll nigh broken hearted man.
But for the tender luve Of my wife.
doubt not but that I would have buried
my sorrows in the grave of a suicide.
Supported by that love. however. and
the consciousness Of my own innocence.
took fresh courage. and set resolutely to
work to find new employer
But powerful is n breath of s!andcr {;
turn which way might. l ever found that
the story Of my dismissal for theft had
preceded me. and my application for en-
ployment uniformly met with refusal.
Time went on; piece by piece. our fur
niture. and every spare article of cloth
ing. found its way to the pawn-brokers,
until, at length. even this poor resource
failed rs. and my children cried in vain
for food.
Yet I did not sit down in idle despair;
/ could not afford to do So; the life or
death Of all loved on earth depended on
my exertion-and so turning away from
them with heavy heart. once more set
out on the weary search for work.
All in vain refusal after ..fusal met
my entrea,.ss for employment. and I was
turning homcward with q listless step.
when passing an immense church was
attracted by group Of men at its base.
lmpelled BY some strange impulse, I
and mingled with them.
A workman was standing near By. look
ing up at the great sseeple. which tower.
cd aloft some $50 feet above them. while
a gentleman. evidently an architect. was
addressing him in earnest language and at
the same time pointing toward the golden
cross at the summit Of the spire. .
Il tell you.' he exclaimed. as I drew
near. 'it must snd can be done. The cross
must be taken down. or the 6rst heavy
gale will send It down into the street, and
lives will oe lost. Coward ! is this the
way You back out Of q job after engaging
to do itr -
Il didnt know the spire was so high
up there. Do !. yourself il you want j,
done -r- - p
Il would hI we're able.' said the archi-
tect. But 90 il you will; ics il be, Ny
honor Is pledged 60 have il done At any
price-and can iind . drawer man than
Won Ia do -
The earpssssf salksasesy with a dog
ged. slousisiag astsp. > sAa ake gentleman
was about to move away. also, when
sserped forward. u -fs.3 y i7Sap
What i e ycu want done. sir !. I ask.
cd, i ans sarpseser ,IPcshaps tsrdo
a.. rsog .as. nj t1uaD ,.rs-it \
He turned eagerly toward. me, 'i;~ p
Il viii make il. worth yoar While. Take
down that cross aud [ viii pay yoa ahun-
dred dollar&Y Yes xill have to ascend
those ornamental blocks, and ! tell you
eandidly they are not to be depended On;
they mnat be weak and rotten-for they
have been there Tor years b
1 looked up At the spire; il vas square
as the base and tsPercd to a. sharp point.
.xhile alone- each anglia .nailea smaIl
gilded blocks q uooa.
.IttS ! dangerous place to ~ork, 4 said,
'aod thsre VII y EVA more pssii u de-
sesoding than sssradiagr 0uppesS
succeed W mssiae sAe s6sne. lasa EsAsus['
! sN.ay secideSs lEatrsosOso 70 sycn, my
brave kilCv. the n,oy.ex <k.,l - IA z,