The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-07-15

ton, she surreptltlouSly drew out neF
hymn-book and slyly penciled on the
margin:
let the cold world deride me,
/ Will but love thee more,
Whatever fate betide thee"
Here she stopped, the only rhyme that
suggested itself being ''gore. Strug-
Cling with the situation she mad just
changed the line, Il will not shed thy
gore, to My heart but can adore, )"
when she was recalled TO herself by the
sound Of MIR. Shows voice as ne finish
| ed reading the usual list of notices. "a
most painful circumstance having arisen
| that seriously affects us as a community
| as well as a congregation, since it COM
promises the good names of two of our
members, | feel it duty to afford an
| opportunity for full explanation. The
| congregation are invited to meet at the
parsonage tomorrow evening at 5
O'Clock | hope that every member of
this congregation will be present.
After that it mattered little whether
| the sermon were marvel of brilliancy
or the dullest disquisition that ever
bored a long-sufering audience. No
| one paid the slightest attention TO II, eX-
cept old Mai. Dorr, who was SO deaf
that he only caught about one word in
ten, and had thus missed the story OF
the love letter that the school-teacher
had written to Mrs. Downs. He always
went regularly to church, however, and
affected to receive great satisfaction
therefrom.
After the conclusion of the services,
Mrs. Cowles. Mrs. Brown, Mrs Martin,
and Mrs. Jeffrey stopped in the aisle tor
moments conference.
Il shall take Beatrice Cenci out of the
school," said Mrs. Jeffrey. ''No child
of mine shall be under the instruction
| of teacher who writes love-letters to a
married woman"
'.And to think that Mr.. Snow should
attempt to cover it up and excuse it, j"
added Mrs Cowles Il don't know but
we shall be obliged to withdraw from
the church. My husband thinks there
is a great deal of corruption among
ministers themselves, nowadays"
Certainly 10 one was better able to
detect corruption anywhere than Mr..
Cowles, if half the stories of his own
immoral escapadcs could be relied up
on. But Mrs Cowles' friends remained
diScreetly silent on this point.
Il shall not allow Cora to 90 to the
parsonage tomorrow evening"" inter-
posed Mrs. Brown. Il think the dis
cussion of such subjects has a most de-
moralizing effect on young people. 1t
is deplorable affair all round"
But when the evening came Cora did
90. More than that, to her mother S
great horror, she crossed the room and
sat down by Jack Downs and his wife,
who sat alone together on the long sofa,
although a great many were standing
up all around the large parlors.
This was not SO much from sympathy
with Mrs. Downs rs professional in
stinct such as that which impels sur
geon to investigate all sorts of patho-
logical monstrosities. She wanted to
observe for herself the ravages of re-
morse, humiliation, and unhappy love.
the better to finish her poem.
But Mrs. Downs was as pretty, as gay,
and as nonchalant as ever. Once or
twice she whispered behind her fan to
her husband, and once she actually
laughed, which so outraged the sensi-
bilities of the more severely virtuous
matrons that they shuddered with hor-
ror at her audacity.
Mr.. Cotton was a romantic looking
young man, with disheveled hair, and
look of general shrewdness. He had
lately come to Pine Falls as a teacher,
and now stood leaning against the man
tie. His romantic appearance, so at
tractive to the ladies, was due TO his
hair, which he wore long on account of
his ears, they being enormously large,
and an interesting pallor which was
caused by dyspepsia and not unhappy
love, as the young ladies supposed.
Il have here" said Mr.. Snow, "a let
ter which has been theme of much
severe comment. The envelope is sd-
dressed to Mrs Downs, and it was pick
ed up in the street by Mrs Martins lit
tel son, who took it to his fathers gro
Gerry. The contents are in different
penmanship, with Mr.. Colton's name as
a signature. 1 will ask Mr.. Cotton to
make an explanation, which will no
doubt be satisfactory"
Satisfactory repeated Mr.. Cowles,
with more spirit than politeness. lit
seems to me that when man writes in
that styie to another mans wife. calling
her husband a base wretch"-here he
cast an indignant glance at Jack Downs
land urging her to run away with him,
satisfactory explanation is not an easy
matter
You are mistaken, Sir" answered
Mr.. Cotton. IAN explanation in this
case is very easily made | am men,
Der of an amateur theatrical club. and |
wrote out my part at Mr. Downs one
evening, copying it out of book of his.
11rs. Downs gave me an envelope from
one of her letters that lay on the table to
put the manuscript in, and l unfortu-
nately lost it on my way home. will
now read the lines, if Mr.. Cowles will
look over the printed pages and see if L
read them correctly"
Shamefaced, Mr.. Cowles looked on
while Mir. Cotton read, with much dra-
matte effort:
My angel, fly with mel
Afar in other lands beyond the sea,
Vel build home sacred TO love and thee.
Scorn the base wrtch who in your humble
Profanes the name Of Iovc-ah, be r,y own!
And heaven is not so high. nor earth so vast,
But that its treasures at thy feet I'll cast.
There is a full page of it, with my
name signed at the bottom, but this will
suffice, | think" and Mr. Cotton coolly
sat down, while a look of CONSERVATION
went round the room.
Mrs. Downs went up to Helen Grant
and kissed her.
Thank you, dear. for your faith in
me. | heard all about it, and I'll never
forget it as long rs | live"
She looked so gentle and girlish in
her dainty white draperies, with that
look of childish gratitude in her blue
eyes, that kind-hearted Mrs. Jeffrey
went up and put her motherly arms
around her and said, with tears in her
eyes: Forgive me-forgive us all,
won't you?"
Jack answered. for her: "She forgives
you've both forgive You, neighbors
and friends; but If any man repeats
such stuff again. about my wife or any
other woman, give him warning here
and now that it will afford me infinite
L., l.