Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-12-25

miles away, and the only sentence O.
the sermon that reached her was the
text, "Ask and it shall be given you,"
kept ringing in her ears.
A great, irresistible longing seized
| her for the love of her youth, and Miss
GwendoliAes whole soul went forth in
a voiceless prayer that the happiness OF
the long dead past might be given back
to her.
Miss Gwendolines solo came during
the Offering. AS she rose it seemed to
her that her prayer was answered,
and she sang as she had never sang
before:
''Praise to God, immortal praise
For thelove that crowns our days"
During the service man had listless-
ly entered the church and seated him.
selfin an obscure corner.
HE glanced around at the congrega-
ton, then folded his arms, dropped his
head upon his breast, and became lost
in thought.
"Praise to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days"
At the first words he raised his
head and looked eagerly about, then
he leaned forward and listened
breathlessly till the end of the hymn.
AS soon as it was over he left the
church and went around to the side
entrance where the choir came out.
He stood well back in the shadow Of
the doorway and waited. First came
young lady and gentleman. He did
not know but it was the contralto and
tenor. Then came the leader the bari
tone and the alto. Then a few min
utes after Miss Gwendoline
She was so much occupied with her
thoughts that she never noticed D.
n1iddle-aged man following close be-
hind her.
By the time she reached her room
things began to assume their every
day cherries aspect.
She took off her bonnet, smOothed
out thestrings, and laid it away with
q sigh. Then she went to dinner in the
most commonplace way, and none of
the other boarders ever guessed where
Miss Gwendoline had been in the spir-
it that morning.
That evening, about dusk, as she
was sitting idly before the window,
somehow she had felt unequal to doing
anything after church, the little maid
of-all-work came to her room.
"Miss Darley," she said "there is O.
gintleman down stairs as is asking to
see you, num-
And then Miss Gwendoline knew
it came to her like an inspiration
that her prayer was answered.
With beating heart and faltering
steps she went to meet her lover.
Now that he had come she was
afraid to see him. She, being so
changed, so old and h omely, now per-
haps he would not care for her. She
stood in the hall trying to summon
courage to enter, when the parlor
door was flung open and some one
caught her in his arms. Unresistingly
she let herself be carried from the cold
and darkness of the hail to the light
and warmth within.
"Bob," she sighed, ''if it is really
you, can keep Christmas after all.
Ask and it shall be given you,' the
promise is fulfilled, my prayer is grant
ed. Do you know, Bob, this morning
l thought had nothing to be thank
full for, and now l can never be thank
full enough
Later on In the evening, as they sat
hand i'll hand watching the fire, Miss
Gwendoline said:
"pve been thinking, Bob, of some
thing l once read, that applied exactly
to you and me. TWAS about different
kinds of love, and it said: 'Younglove
is passionate, old love is faithful, but
the tenderest thing in all the world, is
love revived!"-Beta Theta.