Litchfield enquirer., 1875-03-25

It was as If Eve when driven out of Para disc were, amidst all her shame and hor-
 For, to be thrilled by sense of the won- drous beauty and majesty of the expelling angel who brandished the flaming sword. For, indeed, to poor Georgie Wilson's aroused and startled mind the denuncia- tions of the preacher seemed nothing short of an awful communication
 authorized anathema expelling her, the actress, from the precincts of heaven. In the midst of the whole listening, admir- ing, enrapt congregation, the preacher ob- served for a moment the one white, af- frighted face.
 "Well, what did you think of that?' asked her companion, Bessie Burrows, as they came out of the church together. 'Isn't he splendid?"
 ''Oh yes, it was terrible. It quite ter.
 rified me! Oh, Bessie, are we so bad as that?"
 F. GAS what. dear?'
 'sAs he said we were-all of us? Is 1t ] so bad to be on the stage?" ''Oh, nonsense! What does he know about It? didn't care for that part of the sermon at all: they all talk in that kind l of way-and much they know about it! Let them talk. It is easy talking; it does- mt hurt any of us."
 Didn't it hurt you, Bessie?" ''Not a bit What do I care? I must live, and am not doing any harm, and all the parsons in the world sha'n't persuade me that am wicked when I know I am not"
 Georgie did not follow up the discus sion. There would be no use in trying to explain her feelings to this sensible, easy going, matter-of-fact girl; and George
 shrank from having her newly awakened conscience exposed, just as she would from something that hurt her modesty. For she really was very modest girl,
 though she played the parts of pantomime princes. Again, I may remark that this ] was in the Old-fashioned days before BlGck Crooks were gotten up merely for
 the display of female forms; and Georgina Wilson must not be confounded for mo- 1 ment with ono of the class of persons
 whom George Sala roughly but not very | unjustly characterizes as digging hus- | sies," who, without any more of artistic capacity than they have of modesty, are | the scandal of the modern stage. Geor-
 ina's style of art was not high, certainly, but it was art, and had therefore its TaisOn
 detre and it's justification. She was very silent all that evening, and she thought great deal, 1n her own way. 1 She trembled, too, and all the future seem-
 ed lurid and fearful.
 Next morning about ten o'clock the
 Rev. Joseph Shelton sat at his desk in his study opening letters as fast as he could, tearing up some, hastily answering oth-
 CTS, and putting aside others again for fu-
 ture consideration. Every post now
 brought him bundle of letters, which
 might perhaps be thus classified: fifty per
 cent. were appeals for spiritual aid and
 instruction, combined with pecnniary help ("An ask at your
 hands," wrote one modest petitioner, ''is
 little spiritual consolation and some
 regular employment, which I know you
 can easily procure0; twenty per cent. were
 genuine impassioned appeals of sincere struggling souls for guidance and coun- sel; ten per cent. were vague rhapsodical | outbursts, sent because the writer-al- most always Q woman-chose to think that she had genius for controversy, ,and ought to argue with the great preacher; ten per cent. were silly requests for ad- vice on purely temporal affairs; five per
 cent. were mere letters of abuse; and five per cent. were the effusions of stark, star
 ing lunatics. The Rev. Joseph Shelton,
 who was in earnest about everything, tried
 to answer as many of these letters as he
 could, and as he kept no amanuensis, his
 work was prodigious.
 This Monday morning he was toiling raway, hot and weary, but of undaunted
 mettle, when his servant came and told him young woman begged to be allowed
 to tpeak to him.
 Now the women worried Joseph Shelton
 great deal. They came to him about
 nothing; they took up his time pitilesslY;
 they seemed to think they had right to
 him as their property. They could not
 be roughly bidden to go away; they would
 not always have gone, even if roughly bid den. They were sore temptation to Jo- seph; not, by any means, in the St. An | thony way, but rather the reverse, for they were always tempting him to be very an- gry.
 This time he looked wearily up, passed
 his hand abstractedly over his forehead,
 and asked what the young woman wanted.
 That was just what the young woman
 would not tell.
 ''Oh, we'll, ask Miss Shelton to see her. 3
 Miss Shelton was the preachers sister, who lived with him, and stood, whenever she could, between him and his persecu- tors.
 Presently Miss Shelton came into the study.
 ''Joseph, I think you had better see begs to see you, and she seems to have
 some great trouble on her mind "1s she poor girl?"
 and modest looking, but decidedly poor. g Mir. Shelton dreaded rich and fashiona-
 b!e women much more than he did poor
 women, So he made up his mind that he
 would see this visitor
 In came presently a young girl with a veil over her face. She was neatly dress! ed, but was unmistakably poor. She had
 q singularly graceful, gentle presence; and she came into the room in tremu- 1ous, timid way, which was itself a touch ing appeal. Mir. Shelton was at once pre- possessed in her favor. He rose politely, and offered her chair. Judge of his ut ter amazement when she fell upon her knees before him and sobbed out, ''Oh, Sir. I heard you preach yesterday
 morning, and it has made me wretched. Tell mech, tell me, cannot be saved?" ''Get up, to begin with" said Shelton,
 with sort of kindly roughness, purpose ly assumed. s'I am not Roman Catho-
 lie confessor, and don't want any kneel- ing. Take chair, and tell me what you
 wish to say"
 Georgie Wilson got up and accepted his offer of chair. She raised her veil, and
 the preacher at once recognized the pret-
 ty face which had looked up so pale and
 fearful when he yesterday denounced the
 stage. It was just as pale and fearful
 now.
 Yesterday" said poor Georgie, 'syou
 preached against the stage -and actresses. Oh, Sir. I am an actress, and can I not be
 saved?' .....
 There was something in the ssaivets of
 the question and the tone which welI-nigh
 made the preacher smile. But there was
 something in it, too, which touched him
 profoundly. It was the appeal of slm- pie true soul-and his own soul was all
 truth and simplicity.
 Now the Rev. Joseph Shelton had never
 seen an actress on or off the stage before.
 His idea of such creature had been that