Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-08-04

| pClllilO lbs IhdIktEct Lee StOOtl IIltTt,
her face wonderful white flame of an
ger, yet so clear and free of all self con-
seriousness that it seemed to have in il
something like the divine wrath with
sin. Herbert, as if literally shriveled in
the blaze other eyes, turned and slipped
through the door to which she pointed,
for she had not uttered syllable.
Jasper threw himself along Il bench,
shaking with Il tempest of heavy, tear
less sobs, Marg aret knelt beside him,
vinly trying to draw away the thin
hands with which he had hidden his
face.
Jasper. Jasperp she entreated, che
is not worth this. Do not mind him"
mo, no." he moaned, at last. IL
do not mind him, but it is because he
good for nothing in the worldp That is
what he said, and it is true"
mo, it is not true. 1t is dreadful
thing that you have to bear, but, Jasper,
God knows a out it"
THAT is the worst of it, Margaret"
answered the boy, in low, defiant
| voice. Margaret, do you think God
can be good and have made snch people
as | ann"
casper" said the girl solemnly, 'if
there were this only one world | should
be afraid to think. But not now! JAS
per, this body is not you. 1t seems to
me that, perhaps the best thing, the
greatest thing, that God could give any
| body to do wonld be to show how true
and noble a soul like yours may grow
| even while it is III prison. And, Jasper
-afterwards-l do not know how to say
| what | mean-but think some people
will be ever SO much happier than
| others even in heaven. Jasper, | do
think, | really believe that, in your
place | could trust our Father and not
be afraid"
There was = little silence, and the
boy raised his head. A strange peace
had come into his face.
81 will go home now" he said gently,
and the two went out together.
1t was Herbert Archer, after all, who
won the prize, and perhaps the only
one Of all his schOOlmates who sincerely
rejOiced at the result was the boy whom
he 50 cruelty wounded.
Jasper did not return to school. A
startling letter came to Mrs. Langley,
one day, from a solicitor. Her husbands
Jasper sole heir to his large estate.
They sailed Immediately for England,
and as years passed the memory of the
deformed boy faded almost entirely
from the minds of those who had known
him so briefly. Only to Margaret Lee
came, at rare intervals, letter with q
foreign postmark, whose contents
evinced the growth of a noble, patient.
even cheerful life.
Poor Margaret! The years brought |
her many heavy and unexpected bur- |
dens. Her father lost all in an unsuc-
cessful venture, and, discouraged and |
dispirited, did not long survive the |
wreck of his fortunes. Upon Margaret, |
the oldest child, fell the task of caring |
for her heartbroken mother and young |
sisters. One by one the dreams of her |
girlhood were laid aside, while she ad-
justed herself to round of uninterrnp-
ted toll. Her life, however weary, was
not without its compensations. In relin-
gushing many a happiness she gained
the blessedness of ministration.
At thirty, with her mother arrest, and
the last sister gone to happy home of
her own, Margaret found herself practi-
Cally alone in the world, and with the
burden of care for others-grown sweet
in the long weariHg-at last from her
shoulders.
1t was then that to her, in her turn,
there came an English letter written In
a strange hand. Jasper Langley was
USau, dllu Ills Will IldIucu ucI LIS SUE | +
legatee, This letter inclosed another,
sealed, and addressed in Jasper's hand
writing to Margaret Lee"
"When you read this, dear Margaret,
you will be glad to know that l am
'aWay'-nO longer in prison. Yet my
captivity has not been dreary. [ have
had great light in my darkness. lI
"My mother is gone. | am the last of
my race, and there is none to be- wronged
if do what will with my own. So
have dared to give you all | have. My Ii
income has much more than sufficed for
my needs, and the property has accumu-
lated in my hand. / can trust you with II
it-you will know how to use it for the
best. |.
There is only one thing more to say.
1t has long been my dream-for [ have
known for years that could not live to
be old-that some time after l was gone,
you might come here for your home. |
have fancied your feet passing along
these garden walks, whose flowers | {
have loved, | have seemed to see you ;
resting under these trees, or passing |
from room to room, Frightening all with
the sweet presence which | remembr so |
well. 1t has been, as / said, dream, but I
if you can see your way to make it come {
true, | think | shall know it and be glad G
even in heaven"
81 will not try to tell you what you
have been to me. You will know some Z
time,
"And now may God be with you, for
ever and forever! JASPER LANGLEY"
strange and beautiful surprise
awaited Margaret in her new home across
the sea. All the furnishings, and as far I
as possible the surroundings of the house I
had been modelled after the most care
Ful study of her tastes, aided by rare ,
and delicate intuition where certain
knowledge bad been wanting. In gar
len and conservatory her chosen flowers g
we're growing. On the shelves of the | a
library she found the books she loved ! c
best; from its walls looked down the
aces of the great and good men and
women of the past whom she had
earned most to revere. In the very
apestry Of the walls and covering of the {
urnlture her favorite colors we're r
blended. Wherever she turned within G
n without, she felt the tender minis L
ration of an invisible hand
She is not alone in the great mansion u
the ancestral home of the Langleys. "
Ihlldren's voices make music through =
he stately rooms, and little feet pat j
er up and down the heavy, :
winding stairway. From hospital u
nd refuge Margaret has chosen, not i
Healthy and beautiful little ones, for
whom happy homes are easily found,
'ut those whom accident of birth or n
ubsequent misfortunes have rendered il
nnattractive. Tenderly she Il
abors 10 develop the lovely souls dis.
uised by bodies crippled and deformed a
hiding in the words of the Master, EN- :.
smuch as We have done it to the least IL
f these We have done it unto me-" at X
nee her inspiration and reward. N
So the bread which the young school a.
irl cast upon the waters has not only Ia
eturned to her "After many days." but, "
Ike the fisher bows loaves at Galilee. it
eproduces itself for the cheer and sus-
enance of other lives. "
And in heaven, Margaret believes, a II
lorified spirit, strong and beautiful, "a
knows it, and is glad. MARY A. P. X
tansbury in Chris'isn Union, IL