Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1883-08-23

Ewes daughters canhoC ne'P 'ie'i W.
riosity.
Only half u one left,' said Chau-
Ger.
.Oh,' cried Martha, like . feeble
moan, L had a presentiment that II
would be so, but maybe I'll be able
to do something this week. Cant you
finish it yourself 2
i have tried, cried Chaucer, and
/ can't.
oh, now, I am sure you cam said
Martha.
Martha, when we went to school
and YOU used to write my COMPOSE
tion, for me, you often said l could
do them myself if tried. | tried
once didn't |? You remember how
| failed. The subject was Honesty
II wrote honesty is the best policy,
and after that | could not think OF
another word. And, as for Il sermon
i have tried and tried. could DO
# no more than coNld paint a great
n;ct,,re, It is the old folks fault !;
they would make me preacher and
7 have talent for farming.
Poor Mrs. ALVIN behind the door
felt her hair raise up on her head un-
der her cap.
What was all this? A dream, a
nightmare ? she asked,
She pinched herself. No, she was
awake, wide awake. No sleeping
woman was ever so wretched. what,
her Chancer unable to write his ser
mons and insignificant Martha whom
she had Thought his inferior, writing
them for him? AS in dream she
1ealu llei sun raI
We'll. Maltha, darling, I'll try to
finish up extemporaneons|y. can
talk better than can wr,e, And
don: fret
Well, I will try, love, for baby 5
sak. Jnyt.he brave, dear
Then CHANGER stepped ont of tn"
ROOM and Mrs. AIwyn ro-e like Il
partly ghost at the dn'Bht'r'n-'a" $
bed.
.Martha.' she painted, 1 heard l.
Al. Is it trne? Do yon write Chan-
Ger 9 sermons for him p
It was terrible moment for the Q
two women. Martha kHew that eva
sion was useless.
YES she sa,d. .of ly. Poor. dear
Chanecr | wish he had been able
TO do it himsclf-but he was not,and
! was, tried to write enough t"
last until was we'll ; but ! hNd to
give it up, And oh, won't You please
70 to church and see how he man
ages .
Mrs. Alwyn groaned, shook her
head out on her shawl and bonnet,
and hurried up the road, putting on
her oIoyes, She sat n her pew, nerv-
ous anxious and less tidy than usual,
nntil HYMN and prayer wer" over
and she heard the sermon commences,
From the first there was doubt IN
Chauccr'g eye and trouble IN his
voice, At last he came to sentence
over which he faltcrcd,
NV friends. | have bnt one more
remark to make-I feel
It was there that Marthas trem--
bling hand had dropped the pen,
i feel repeated the pastor, vamIy
trying to feel something, i feel
and then he suddenly sat down and
put his handkerchief to his eyes,
The congregation looked at each
other, Churchwarden Jones, after a
paus,, went into the pulpit and led
the Young clergyman down into the
vestry. In a moment or two he an
nounced to the sympathizins occu-
pants of the rews that their pastor
was too i'll to proceed, :,
A HYMN was given out and all
went home, but many persons noticed
that the clergymans mother, instead
of offering him solace in his sudden
atfliction, trotted home alone, her
bonnet strings flying and her face
very red,
Of course everybody inquired how
Mr., Alwyn was and how Mrs, Alwyn
felt, O.d Mrs, Alwyn had one an
swer for them all
AS we'll as can be expected,
No one ever learned the secret of