The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-12-18

there were times when her silence was
dearer to him than her words. So she
sat till the clock struck nine, then she
moved quietly about. preparing for the
night, saying, Il think | will go up
now; you will come soon. Andrew
But he made no answer.
After she had gone he continued his
restless walk for many minutes; then
he paused to trim the lamp, and then he
turned toward the sideboard and, with
only minutes irresolution, he opened
the drawer and took out the much-worn
account book
:" It's close on to Monday" he said,
half aloud, as though to still the quiet
rebuke of conscience, which came like
an echo of his wife's words: g Wait,
and do week days work on week days."
but he put it aside, and in it's place adj
mtted the evil thought which had
flashed into his mind an hour before =
and yet he was Christian man; he
thought he had been trying to follow
Christ for years. Had it been all the
time in his own strength? He had al
ways been honest; but had his honesty
never been really tried before? He had
always been truthful; but had he never
been really tempted before to deceit?
The Bible says: ''Let him that think
eth he standeth take heed, lest he fall. :"
"The devil" says wise man of old.
"does not tempt bad men, because he
has got them already; he tempts good
men, because he has not got them, but
wants to get them" In the darkness
of that night, Farmer Newton forgot
for a while these truths-forgot that
temptation met and resisted. or met
and yielded to, is the test of what man
really is.
mot for myself" he said to himself,
as he sat down to count and recount the
lines of figures in the book; "not for
myself but for Molly and the children"
1t could be done so easily by recording
PROTESTANT -well!-could be done so
easily if on the morrow he faced Squire
Forbes with promise to pay later on,
giving that book as pledge, with its
fiction, of money coming to him, when
he knew there was none to come.
And subtle voice seemed to whisper
in his heart: 90 You will only be doing
what hundreds of men in trade are
doing every day; you will only be CIV
ing wrong impression. and, then.
there came to Andrew Newton temp
man though he was, he bowed before it
as a reed before the wind. But, as he
almost yielded, he heard another whs-
per in his heart saying: If you do
it, you will be acting a lie, Andrew;
you will be losing what is worth
more than house OF land-losing
honor and TRUTH and those two
voices kept up their strike in Andrew
Newton's heart, till the autumn night
gave place to morning; and nights end,
just as temptations do, either in bright
sunrise of victory won, or dreary
dawn, dark with clouds! How did
Farmer Newton's end? In sunrise for
right conquered; God helped him to re-
sist, though he did not ask the Lords
help till the night had well nigh waned;
then, finding his own strength utter
weakness, he cried aloud at last: Lord
help me-" and no sooner did he cry
than help came. For. over and over,
the experience of Gods children of old
is lived in the story of His children
nowadays. Do you remember" And
the Lord said unto Moses: Make thee a
fiery serpent and set it upon pole and
it shall come to pass that every one that
is bitten (surely that means tempted),
when he looketh upon it, shall live; and
it came to pass that if a serpent had bit
ten any one, when he beheld the SER
pent of brass he lived?' The only con-
dition of healing, the looking as the
Lord commanded; just as the only
strength to resist temptation is found in
asking the Lords help, with faith in his
promise: =" Ask and we shall receive"
And so the Newton family kept
Thanksgiving that year, after all though
only such brief time does it take for
change to do its work, when the APP
pointed day came, the rooms of the old
farmhouse resounded with the voices
and laughter of children other than the
Newtons; another husband and wife sat
together in the cheerful sitting-room
md yet, spite of it all, the Newton
children said, We never had
such a good Thanksgiving before"
And at nightfall, when they had gone
~ oAOOPs Il al ilCi NCWtOn duQ Ills WIG
'epeated the children's words; for it
vas then that Andrew told Molly of the
light when temptation had assaulted
linn, when, because he had at first tried |
o resist in his own strength, he had
Utmost yielded. g You see, if l had,
Molly" he said, 4" the old farm house
night still have been our home, but it |
would have been by the loss of my honor |
nd my truth, and as that voice in my
leart which sounded so like yours,
hough l know it was the voice of con-
cience, kept repeating: Without
onor there can be no Thanksgiving
Or you, your wife. or your children;
nd yet rebelled sorely against that
oice," he added. "till, all of sudden,
4 answer to my prayer for help, /
eemed to see how much more they
vere worth than all my worldly prop
rty put together" AS she listened to
is story, again Mrs. Newton laid her
and on her husbands knee-the hand
Thich he clasped in his own-saying:
Yes, you told me the truth, little
life. when Won sai(. tho frOuhla-fbourb |