Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-10-11
HOW THE PASTORS HOUSE WAS
SAVED.

There was trouble in the minister
family. A stranger would have know
it by the way his voice trembled in tn
prayer that morning. but even the child
dren and black Dinah knew what tn
matter was, for this father and mothe
believed that it was right for the child
rem to share in both the joys and the sor
rows of the household. So, when the
night before letter had come written IN
a strange hand and saying that the
house in which they had lived so long
was not really theirs, but belonged to 1
man in New York who said he held q
mortgage on it which was given long be-
fore the minister bought it.-when the
letter came the minister read II aloud be-
fore them all, and they talked it over to
gether.
There seemed no help, for the stranger
had enclosed copy Of the mortgage, and
when the minister went to look at the
town records, he found it was a true one.
There was no help. Unless he could
raise the 81, 900 within three months,
they must give up their home. He might
have hired a lawyer to try to pick a flaw
in the paper. but he had no money to
pay lawyers fees. and then, too, he would
not have thought il right to try to avoid
paving what he believed was an honest
claim. even though the burden Of it had
BY some ones carelessness fallen upon
him who had never had any advantage
of the money.
His parish was large, but his people
were poor, and he knew that although
they loved him and his work, they had
given all tha, they could when they had
paid him his little salary. The money
which he had paid for his house had
been the savings Of good many years
added to little bequest which his wife
had received from distant relative.
All this the older children knew as
well as their parents, and even little Tom
and Elsie, the ten year-old.,wins. had a
vague idea tina, their house had mort
gage on it, and that if they did no, ge,
$4,000 in some way, they would all have
to 20 away and live ou,-of- f-doors, or per-
haps in tent, they were no, very sure
which il would be.
Tom and Elsie talked il over aa they
wen, TO school that morning hand in
hand. Tom thought they might ask the
man TO wait awhile until he could earn
enough to pay the $4,000, and at first
Elsie though, so, too, but when they re-
membered that almost all the money
Tom had ever earned came from his ia
,her, who paid him for wedding the gar
den-bcds. and for shoveling paths in the
winter, they knew that this would no;
do. for their father would not have any
money to give Tom now, or else he
would pay the man in New York him
self.
Then Elsie remembered tina, she with
some other girls had once given child
ren's fair for sick girl in hospital and
had earned $50, and she thought they
might earn some money in that way, bu,
she had forgotten that they were more
than three months getting ready TO give
il. She and Tom sat down on big
rock jus. before the turn in the road that
led to the school house, and talked about
the fair. They were very hopeful! at first,
but suddenly Tom said, Why. Elsie,
YOU made so and ,ha, would be only
$50 a year if you gave four fairs. =
lis i, :" said Elsie. half-choking.
"Yes, it is" said Tom, and i, would
take twenty-five years before we could
pay the man"
Twenty-Five years echoed Elsie
land we should be ,hir,y-fvc year.
old"
Yes" said Tom, and should bt
an old man, and you'd have to wear d
cap like grandmas. | am sure grandma
must be ss much as thir,y-fve year:
old"
They were badly disappointed. and
Elsie wanted to cry, but she was asham-
ed to do so before her brother; and a,
for Tom,- well, he found it necessary tC
tie his shoe, and it took him so long thai
Elsie was afraid they would be late She
never thought that perhaps Tom might
want TO cry too. Then they hurried OF
TO school, for it was almos, nine o'clock
They did not have very good lessons thai
day, but this so rarely happened ,ha
their teacher did not find any fault. bu
only looked at them little anxiously
and said TO Elsie, Are you sure tha
you are feeling quite we'll this morn
ing"
At last i, was noontime, and they went
ou, under the great beach tree to dinner
for the school house WAS so far away tha
they did not 60 home at noon. Som,
way, things did not taste as good a
their mothers nice cooking usually did
and Tom began to restlessly crumble I
bit of bread, and when that was gone, hi
took piece of newspaper that the wint
had blown under the tree, and began t
tear that into little pieces.
"Tom," said Elsie, father Away
said that God loved US and was takini
care of US. Don't you suppose that H
could send US the money if He wante'
to-"
"Isuppose He could, said Tom, Z" bu
if He wouldn't do it for father, | don
believe He would do it for us"
"How nice it would be if we coul
find it right beside that rock or unde
that piece of paper" said Elsie, lookin
very wistfully and half.expectantly a
the torn scrap OF newspaper which Tor
, had thrown down.