The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-02-17

though in ANTICIPATION OF Keen enjoyment
He is going to get into muddle," they
seemed TO say "my attention will add to his
embarrassment, and am going to be very |
nice and attertiTe,n
Hasey spoke firertly and saw her air Of
amused superiority fade into one of blank
wonder which said palmer than any words.
~ have made mistaken estimate of this
young mans abilities he is not such a ninny |
as he looks.n
After speaking for twenty minutes, Halsey /
apologized for occupying so much time, gave |
out another hymn and called upon the dea- |
con and Brother Slocumbe TO fill the remain. |
ing minutes with prayer and exhortation.
At the close of the meeting the doctor |
shook hands with him, with genuine sppro |
baton. 1.-THE Lord has committed great |
talent to your trust, my son." he said to him |
in the dusk, as Halsey helped him into his |
conveyance "Go not out TO the battle IN |
your own strength. Remember the adnon
ition Of the King Of Israel, Let not him that |
girdeth on his harness. boast himself as he
that putteth it off. ~ His niece was shyer than
she had been before the meeting, Evidently
she was impressed with Halsey's superior
abilities, and the young mans heart swelled
with elation. As he returned to the house
the Misses Pearce were just leaving with their
smoky lantern, and he could do no less than
offer to see them home The way was long
and it was pitchy dark when he returned,
but the eldest Miss Pearce had insisted on his
availing himself of her lantern. You csn
give it to me at church tomorrow" she
said, land you will rurely fall into
the brook without it.n As there really
seemed some probability of this. Halsey took
the lantern, at the same time reproaching
himself for his politeness The deacon had
tT1l Of ttn 1afYa II.
minded character of his hearers that he de-
termined to avoid all flights of oratory, and
to give his audience a sermon as full of COM
mon sense as could be found in his collection.
A lecture by the Rev. Robert Collyer
struck him as most likely to be popular 1t
abounded in incidents of country boys COM
ing to high positions by unremitting toll and
determination. He read the lecture well,
with much of the hearty manner in which it
was originally delivered, for he was a capital
actor in amateur theatricals, and was accus-
toned to armlse his friends by giving ''per-
sonations' of the different public men with
whom he was familiar While in the full
flight Of successful oratory, while he felt that
every eye in the house was fixed upon him,
and that perhaps no one present had ever
heard more effective speaking, his eve
which ran before his tongue, discov-
cred a danger in the path. Mr..
Collyer spoke of his own early ex-
periences, of the cottage in Yorkshire with
its floor so white that you might have eaten
your dinner from it, with no harm to any
thing but the floor; and Halsey in his
anxiety to escape this trap fell into a worse
one, for skipping the description of his Eng
lish childhood, he launched inconsiderately
into particulars Of his thirst for study and
reading as youth, how "The Pilgrims
Progress" and one or two other books were
the constant companions Of the forge. Hal
sey's white and shapely hands hardly carried
out the assertion that he had been trained to
blacksmith's trade; but his hearers did not
stop to consider this. They accepted what
he said as true, and listeded to the brave,
earnest words with kindling enthusiasm.
Halsey finished his sermon in an agony of
apprehension. He wiped away the beads of
perspiration from his forehead, and during
the singing of the last hymn regarded the
congregation furtively from behind his
handkerchief, expecting in some faces
at least to read scorn and denun-
citation. Instead of this there was
look Of pleased surprise and ad-
miration on every countenance. He
turned slowly to the right where the choir
sat. There, too, an open eyed and open
mouthed delight was everywhere displayed.
There was one face, however, which he could
not see though he would have given much to
have known its expression. The doctors
niece sat at the cabinet organ, with her back
toward him-a 1.-THE, willowy figure, using
| the pedals with vigor and the stops with
| freedom and grace which betokened more
skill than was usual with the organist of a
country choir. Her auburn hair was knotted
| in a loose, abundant mass on her delicate
neck. Her bonnet was a dainty creation,
with IA decidedly Partisan air, and her hands,
though ringless, were exquisitely modelled.
Take her to the CITY," Halsey thought, ''and
no one would detect her country training"
| Then came swift conviction that this was
no rural maiden; everything combined to in
dicate the influence of the city Yes, he was
| in danger of detection, and it was from this
| quarter that he must guard against it.
| After the close of service the superin.
tendent of the Sabbath school was intro
| duced, and Halsey was invited to take
the Bible class. He found himself con-
fronted by three seats full of whispering and
| giggling young misses, who relapsed into ap
| parently awe struck silence upon his intro
duction. Prominent among them were the
two Misses Pearce, and Hasey remarked in.
considerably; 81 have brought your lantern,
as you suggested. Ii is behind the outer
door" His announcement was greeted by q
violent blush on the part of the older Miss
|
started subdued litter throughout the en-
tire class. Halsey diInly perceived that Miss
Pearce looked upon his attendance upon her
the night before as a roinhitic secret, which
his too public return Of the lantern had
thoughtlessly divulged. After the opening
hymn the doctors niece left the organ and
took hsr seat before him The look of sur
prise and shy appreciation which he had
thought he had discovered in her face the
night before, had given place TO q
puzzled doubt, grave wonder which
showed that something in the morn
ing's sermon had troubled her. Halseyi
| glance fell before her earnest one-h,
could not confront those questioning, trutl
loving eyes. The lesson of the day told o.
the early inhabitants of Canaan As they
read the text he asked himself what he know
or could tell them of the Girgashites, tn
Amalekites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, tn
Amorites, the Invites and the Jebusites A
the close of the reading the doctors nice
asked a question: "The Bible Dictionary say
that the descendants Of these tribes are tn
Bedouin Arabs Win you tell us something
Of your experience among themT
"Who told you that | have had any sue
experiencestn he asked, smiling, while foa
of detection seemed to numb all his facu
ties.
"In your very interesting talk at praye
meeting last evening you described the Jer
cho road, and incidentally referred to til
Bedouins in a way only possible to one VIII
had seen both"
Halsey breathed more freely.
thought he could explain all satisfa'
torily, though it was certainly unfortu
ate that be had given Mr., Beecher
description of the Jericho road in the wore
of an eye witness. my Palestine tour WI
very meager one" he apologized sit W,
only one of Cooks vacation tickets, l cann'
presume to any deep knowledge of the ma
ners and customs of the Orentals,n and the
as he had recently read Bayard Taylor
"Land of the Saracen" and Warmers Sin Il
Levant,n he proceeded to give interesting d
, scriptions of imaginary adventures amor
, the Arabs. The superintendent bell sound,
; as he was describing bazar at Damascu
, and to his confusion he found that he had n
touched upon the lesson, or given any ethn
logical information concerning the Jebusit
, and the Girgashites. Nevertheless, the ia
remained that the class had been vastly G
, tertained. He had ascertained, too, by
a roundabout questioning, of which he W
, heartily ashamed that however converse
a the doctors niece might be with other cti,
she had never been in New York, except
| mass from the Grand Cantral In tha Iars,