The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-12-09
me Il heap Of trouble.


The poor woman / employed---a per
feet stranger To me-was distresSin,
in need of work, and we must hell
such cases, you know. l hired ;
machine for her to use 1T my house
| was sick, and she worried me int,
saying she could take il home to hel
rooms, so us to use it evenings.
meant to change my mind about |,
next day. But she sent IN expires.
wagon for 1t in fifteen minutes after
l gave my consent. ! suspected she
had stolen lot of passementerit
trimming, and | did not want TO offend
her and have trouble until ! got il
back again. So l had to let the ma
chine go. Early this morning l got
II message from the agent of the firm
l rented it of, saying that they would
have me arrested for letting the ma
china go out of my possession. My
husband has been sick in bed two OF
three days He Is nervous us q witch;
he heard the men talk, and it worries
him in his weak state. | promised
him | would see the firm and the
woman, too, before came home, and
have it all settled up. So you see ]
have my hands full. / am always in
some kind of Il scrape. l believe, and
yet do try to do good, and l don't
believe I'm bit of shirk.
Mrs. Huntly smiled. lam not sure
that know what you mean.
No, of course you do not. You
have no similar experiences. You
have q way Of your own in doing
your church work. and nothing ever
clashes with you. Yet you do twice
the good | do.
dent do any good, said Mrs.
liuntley. quietly. with great candor
Of tone.
That's nonsense, now," said the
animated lady. "It's good. one kind
Of good, to think of everybody and
make people happy. as you do. For
instance, Ellen Earl. She is good us
gold, but you know she was not one of
the attractive kind, nor one that had
or expected much social attention.
She only came here yesterday, yet
you manage to find it out, call on her
and arrange little welcome for her,
and bid us all; though I use to he
twice us intimate with the family
that is, with the cousin that lived
with them--than You were with Ellen
or Lou, either. She will tell over to
the whole clan when she gets home
what Il pleasant time you made for
her. and I'm glad Of it. But ]
shouldn't have had the time, as You
see. And there You are working on
that embroidery for the festival.
What Il quantity of it you have done.
| expect there will be one or two of
my pensioners waiting for me when |
get hOme-poor people I'm helping.
I'm driven to death, and ! don't seem
to be prOspered, either. tried to
do a little good in helping that
woman, bnt I'm afraid I've only en-
couraged her in evil; and I'm almost
sure she stole money from me rs well
us dress.trimming, and it was money
my sister sent to have me purchase
her dress with. Do tell me what
your way is-what the secret is of
your doing SO much good so smoothly
az you do.
! don't do any good. again repeated
the quiet tones.
You never was bit of a hypocrite.
and ] never thought you were. ]
don't see how you can sit there and
say you don't do anygood.
a little momeEtary struggle
showed itself in Mrs. Huntley's face.
All good is the Lords, and from
Him, she said with dropping eyes.
If we try to put away evils us sins
against Him, He helps us. and then
His good flows in. There are no
vacuums in spiritual life any more
than there are in natural life. If we
put away evil-and that is our part
to dO--good flows in from the Lord.
That is new view of things to me,
said straightforward Mrs. OsgOOd.
But do you mean to say that you
don't try to do good.
Mrs. Huntley smiled. 1t takes me
I'LL the time to fight evil, ] fear, she
said. We must, of course, compel
to do right even if it is dis.
tasteful to us ut first. But am not
very wise. i am afraid would not
always know what Was good, in the
practical perplexities of life, if did
not see by stunning the opposite
evil.
Has every good thing an opposite
evill spoke Mrs. Osgood, in surprise.
Yes, and find l can only see my
duty. and the way for my feet to
walk, by avoiding the evil. When
do SD, light flows in.
Won't You state it more plainly!
This is all news to me.
lyon can easily see, as regards
Ellen, that there was no merit, even
in u social point Of view, in my
to lind her out. as you call
it.
You were not fighting evil then.
were you! laughingly interrupted
Mrs. Osgood.
Yes, the evil of indebtness, the in
Justice of unnecessary debt. I nj.
ways settle our housekeeping bills
the last of the month. ! knew Mr..
M'Cready would he perfectly willing
to wait, or presumed he would, and
it was real temptation to let the
matter wait, and to stay ut home,
using the funds for another purpose.
But payment was due according to
understanding. Ibut fought against
the sin against charity and what l
call dishonesty, and went. There
was no merit in it. 1t was only
right; it was the way that you call
smooth. Mr.. M'Cready, however,
was making out bank payments,
meeting some notes due, and he
thanked me for coming within bank.
ing hours, my feet were in the plain
way of ordinary duty, nothing more.
| glanced mp at window and saw
Ellen. There was no merit in that.
The Lords Providence brought us to.
gether. was glad enough
Inever thought 1t was II sin against
charity not to pay debt! was the
only response Mrs. Osgood made.
Charity Is love. That Is the mean.
ing of the word. 1t Is not love to
our neighbor to withhold what is due
him. If all paid just wages, and
acted in love in yielding both service
and pay, there would not be SO much
need for benevolent societies.
I've often put off the payment Of
a bill, or of wages to contribute to
some relief association in need, said
the lady, frankly.
would not dare. said Mrs, Huntly.
II my feet strayed out of the plain
way of love to my neighbor, ! should
fear no blessing would follow.
knew yOu had SEINE way Of your