The Wilmingtonian., 1886-12-25

THE THIN LITTLE GIRL OPENED THE DOOR
He knocked, and tho thin little girl with
the pale, delicate face opened the door, came
out, and shut it behind her. The tract dis.
tribntor took Off his hat, she looked up at
him, and knew she spoke, though was not
near enough to hear what she said. no
ticed, too, that she raised her hand in ges-
ture-a solemn and intensely dramatic ges-
ture, it seemed to me- for one so young to
make unconsciously. A queer sort of chill
crept over me. The tract distributor opened
the door and went in, but she stood outside,
and was still standing there when ] reached
the door.
Somehow, when l wss quite near her
could find no words to utter She seemed to
understand and pointing to the door, said:
"You can go in il you want to. Father died
this morningp
l stood speechless in the presence of that
chlld's fearless sorrow.
"But help came to you yesterdayin l said,
my heart sinking as possibility had never
thought of flashed into my mind.
"Yes, he-the man who has Just gone in
came and was very kind. He stayed by
father all night, and was only away little
w6ife1 father died Wills hewus 65i.s gore
"And-did-did-no else come yester-
dayl' / stammered.
'Nobody else" said the child, looking up
surprised at the question
felt ashamed to go in and face the tract
distributor in the presence of the dead he had
comforted and whom / had left for others to
eomfnrt--otheTs who never came
lie greeted me with gentle kindness, and as
clasped his hand in that woeful dwelling
inwardly bent before him in ESTABLISHMENTS
We went out together to plan for the
funeral and procure further aid for the liv-
ing
"You did good work when you wrote
about these people, he said, sand ! thank
you for otherwise l should not have known
of their existence in time to be of help when
they needed it most"
With what shame remembered my article
OH religious frauds. Of which I had been so
proud only two days before.
From that hour we became warm friends.
| As learned to know him well looked back
in amazement at my former conclusions in
regard to him. "Calamity" Parker, indeedl
| 1t would have been more fitting had named
him Beneicent Parker. His life was bene-
diction-unobtrusive and self-denying; he
| gave of his abundant sympathy and slender
worldly means without reserve. Nor was his
never failing patience and sweetness Of spirit
/
of spiritual aspiration and discipline, which
have never yet begun to attain. His habit OF
distributing tracts was merely the outward
manifestation of helpful spiIit-a habit
contracted in a bygone day among simple
| people. 1t hurt no one. For aught ] know
it may have benefited some. Why should
assume that because a man had an inoffen-
sive habit, of which / disapproved, that he
was fit subject to be insulted in the public
| prints, derided behind his back and sneered
at when he was present. 1t was the igno-
rance of youth, my children-youth, over-con-
fident youth, which thinks it knows every
thing and often knows nothing. / had not
then learned that each one has his own way
of doing good, and has his rights, too. Neither
| had l learned that it is foolish and wicked to
| judge people whose real lives we do hot know
and cannot know-or to judge at all.
1t was some time before got over my sur
prise at the apathy OF the philanthropists of
Doonville in regard to that wretched family
was at a loss to understand how they could
eat their Christmas dinners in comfort, after
reading about the distress of the poor souls in
the old house. did not then know that
people unused to seeing poverty are slower to
lend q helping hand than they who see it
every day; that when we have not the poor
always with us we forget how to be benevo-
l2nt and sometimes grow very selfish.
1