, 1880-12-31


to q wondering pity that they could heed.
los,ly miss such a delightful refresh.
mCnt.
"Faithml thoughtit was scarcely worth
his while to stop at the Interpreter $
hous,, but oh. how much he mi,sodr
she Thought, with Il pleasant adaptation
Of the wonderful old ullegory to her own
case, but momout after, noting the
lool, of pleased appreciation upon tue
heiress's expressive face, little worldly
lcaven naturally cropt in among the
higher thoughts, and she Wondt ed ii
Miss Thornleigh wouldn't pay the extra
fifty that the soprano had insisted upon
in addition to her present salary from
her own purse rather than lose so desir-
able a singer? twas more than probable,
and she would remember to introduce
the subject at the very earliest oppor.
tunity
But worldly thoughts and calculations,
however innocent, took flight like a
brood of startled ground sparrows, rs,
in his calm, sweetly-reverent tones, the
minister announced his text for the day:
''Behold, | bring You good tidings of
great joy;" and with a warning nod at
one OF the "orphans," whose Christmas
spirits were threatening to get the upper
hand of church decorum, and run over
in a laugh at sight of Miss Thornleigh' S
spaniel perched upright upon the
cushioned seat at his mistress's side,
Miss Meredith settled herself comfort
ably in the warmest corner of her own
pew, close to the register, and prepared
to listen With loving appreciation to her
brothers exposition of the sacred text.
And as she listened she forgot the
scantily-filled pews, the mischievous,
restless children in the seats opposite,
even the proud, beautiful woman who
had occupied her thoughts so short a
time before, and something that was
almost q sob rose from her warm sensi-
tive heart as, with tender solemnity
that might have touched far less i'm
pressible nature than hers, the preacher
made his closing appeal:
"Let us bury to-day, beneath the man
ger at Bethlehem, every hardness that
has made our own lives unlovely and the
life of our neighbor miserable, and may
this blessed Christmas be to our he4rts
the burial stone of all past wrongs and
grudges, the resting-place of those white
robbed angels of peace and good will,
who shall proclaim to our enlightened
souls the joyful tidings that the Merciful
vet lives to bless and aid his merciful
children
Perhaps" mused the conscientious
little woman, 81 haven't been quite as
cordial to Miss Peabody since she ac-
cused me of meddling too much in par
ish matters, but I'll call there tomorrow
and carry her jar of my raspberry jam.
she'll like it, | know" and having forti-
fed herself with this laudable resolu-
ton, she found time to glance at the
face of Miss Thornleigh, while with a
little natural pride she measured the
effect of her brothers eloquence upon
that lady's mind.
And as she looked, she wondered, in
voluntarily, how some people could call
the beautiful heiress cold and naughty.
looking.
The proud eyes were meekly down
cast, now, and tremulous color had
crept into the usually unruffled cheek,
while all the hardness seemed to have
slipped away from the disturbed and
quivering mouth, leaving only o smile,
at once so tender and thoughtful, that
the most timid supplicant would have
taken courage from its very gracious
ness .
1t was not the first time that Helen
ThOrnleigh's soul had been forced to ac-
knowledge the claims of a nobler, broad
er charity than the old narrow "eye for
an eye" creed, but to. day the words of
the preacher, commonplace and simple
as they might seem to others, had for
her strange and almost irresistible
bower, and as she bowed her forehead in
mute reverence during the closing bene-
djCtion, wave from the unforgotten
past swept broadly over her soul, bring
ing with it a food of bitter sweet mem
ories of those other days, when with
unchillish devotion she had invariably
yielded her own way and wishes, in great
as in little things, the elder sister, who
was, in her girlish Imagination, a para
gon of beauty, grace and virtue, until,
as the years slipped by, to her a simple
uhIseu Cudll, ana Wluu BlrJnOOu OPEN
ing roses came that wonderful awakening
of heart and brain that only loves touch
can compass, it was that sisters hand
that stole the cup of JOY from her very
lips, wounded to the death both her love
and her pride, and with the selfish AFRO
gance of an indulged and pampered ma
ture, set herself, In tit Of jealous pique,
to win to her own side the promised hus-
band of another, and that other her own
sister.
1t wa no secret; the very loafers ut
the street corners could tell the story of
that bridal night, with its missing bride
groom and bridesmaid; the cruelty in
sulting message that the morning tele-
graph brought to those at home; the
sternly, silently.borne suffering of the
deserted and deceived one; and later
still, as the years went by, the rumors Of
suffering, poverty and widowhood, that
made Il fit sequel to the shameful tale,
came to them through various channels,
IL. I