Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1888-06-29

Make Thee bed, soft, undefled,
Within my heart that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee
"But come; let's 60"
Sure enough, we found an old-fash-
ioned Christmas celebration in prog
ress at the church. Parents and chill
dren alike seemed delighted True,
the little folks were singing the old,
old songs; but those old songs have
drawn their life from the old, old sto-
ry, and they are the best. They are
like the peals of our church bells, or
the voices of our friends-we never
grow weary of them. Those children
sang with vim; and when the tree
was lit they jumped and clapped their
tiny hands as they caroled in Ger
man:
"The Christmas-tree is the grandest tree
That here on earth is growing"
Engrossed in the exercises, | had
paid no attention to Legrand, who
now touched me on the shoulder. A
glance-a mere glance-was sufficient
to fix that countenance immutably
upon the memory Legrand's face
was ashen; his lips quivered; his eyes
were fixed upon the floor; unmistaka-
BILE physical symptoms OF mental agi-
tation- of anger or fear, of conscious
guilt. In tremlous whisper he said:
81 can bear this no longer. Meet
me in my room at ten O'Clock. l
willn-his voice failed-I must con-
fess God ftrgive-have mercy on
me-"
The eagerness with which | had
sought to solve the mystoy cnvelop-
ing the Man in Black now vanished
and | felt as if terrible impending
catastrophe was about to overtake
me. Since the night OF the preterna.
turaI visit, the threatening words
and burked letter, | had interest in
little else than that occurrence; yet |
could not persuade myself to share
my trouble with another, and so it
smouldered within me consuming and
suffocating all else ! felt more at ease
in Legrand's presence than absence.
When be withdrew from the church
my interest in the service with him.
An hour later, when | entered LIE,
grand's room at the hotel, | found
him pacing the floor and more calm.
The torrent bad subsided He mo
toned to chair and, after | was
seated, began his promised confession
in low voice:
"Will, the old Bethlehem story, as
it came from the lips of those children
to night, moved my soul / am q
wretch unworthy of your friendship.
My real name is Cleeand: Clarence
Cleeland | had mother--a pious,
God fearing mother; but she died bro
ken hearted l was pious boy be.
cause | had a pious mother The hale
of my innocent childhood often throws
bright ray over the succeeding
checkered life. But | wanted to be
rich in haste. Cursed be the hour
that begat that desirel The siren lur.
ed mo from my mothers home into
the wicked oil region. There my
wish was gratified | became i'm
mcnsely wealthy; but | sacrificed my
morals and my religion and my moth.
er on the altar Of Mammon. | did
worse. Oh, will / ever be forgiven,
And, after | had been bulfeted about
for long time, met here the daugh
ter of a pumper who lived at the
"Front." She was 80 like my sainted
mother-so beautiful, so kind, 50 pious
And her name was Eyangeline;
aud | did love Evangeline and Evan
geline did love me. But dared not tel
herhow | loved her AS the violet
loves the mould; as the vine loves the
branch; as the dove loves its mate
go did | love EVangeline There was
a villain, Hartz, who hated me be
cause of the love cherished for her
We walked together in the valley
where the lilies grow and on the hill
side where the arbutus trails, Evang
cline and |; and this scoundrel, this
villainous lIartz, did conceal can o
nitro. glycerine in our path that We
might stumble against it and be blowI
into eternity. But his murderous
plan miscarried, for / discovered it
| did not tell Evangeline lest it nigh
worry her. When Evangeline laiC
the palm Of her hand into the palm o
my hand my heart beat quicker, for
thought she would some day be
mine. / thought it AND
my heart believed it.
"Then | was called to the Upper
Country" on business. Hartz conduct
ed penny-post between this place
the Front" where Evangelne lived
That dastardly. ow-browed, yillaia
ous fiend!-forgive me--that monster
took my letters to Evangeline from
the mail and made her believe | wa:
dead. Then the scoundre
forged letter with Evan
geline's name, telling me that sh
had heard Of my former reputation
and that, painful M it might be,
must consider our relationship sever
ed. Then it was that | wished tb
hills would fall upon mo ant
hide me; or that deaf