, 1889-01-03

| bright attractive face with its mischieyor
! emile, he tsit that al intimacy which such ,
| form OF address would indicate with be
! witcAiHg little parsonage like this would dt
| much TO reconcile MAJ 70 even this deser
solitude. Shs had bright, intelligent coun
! tsnanoo, mads piquant remarks. was quicI
at rspeTtsa, and was as completely at hopa.
and gnsnbarazsSd in his society ss . cit,
bella In chatting with her he quite forso
to prepare his thoughts for the coming ordea
of the prayer nesting. Ths people began t,
gather. The deacon introduced Brother
SIocumbe-who had exchanged tho overall
for his stare clothes, but about whose fresh
tallowed cowhido bootz the peent Of tn,
stable still fingered. Tho Pearce girls cam,
attended by lantern and dog They wer,
very plain, and net at oil young. Halse,
thought discourteously that If the lantery
Ganed brightly enough to display their face
tho protection Of ths dog was entirely un
necessary. The deacon's wife brought il
lamps and few well thumbed hymn books
The deacon reused Halsey from his pleasant
chat with the remark, Il guess all s com.
that 3 coming" and the doctor, handing hin
Bible, insisted that be should take charet
OF the meeting.
WIN Eons one select a hymn.' he asked il
fear and trembling, and one Of the Mise.
PeRree started "SWsst Hour Of Prayer A
its close he read a chapter from the Gosps
chosen quite at random Having closed
Biblehe called upon the doctor to lead imp
er, and eadesvered during its slow pro
to evolve come train Of thought suits
ths occasion. Suddenly the story Of
Bartineus, which he had just read, sugg>
o sermon Of Henry Ward Beechsr's. Hi.
short hand report book was in his pocket
Foy- al fhA
Before the doctor had reached "Amenn he
had selected two pages, had read them over
twice. and was prepared to repeat them in
an of hand manner, with quite the air Of
giving utterance to something entirely his
own. As he began he noticed that the eyes
OF the doctors niece were fixed upon him as
though in anticipation OF keen enjoyment,
He IS going TO get into g ruddIe,p they
seemed to say; "my attention will add 70 his
embarrassment, and ] am going TO be very
nice and attentive
Halsey spoke fiuently and saw her cir Of
amused superiority fado into ono OF blank
wonder, which said palmer than any words,
81 have made q mistaken estimate g this
young mans abilities; he is not such a ninny
as ho looks"
Altar speaking for twenty minutes, Halsey
apologiEed for occupying SO much time, gave
out another hymn and called upon the dea,
con nnd Brother Slocumbe to ill the remain
ing minutes with prayer and exhortation.
Mt the Close Of the meeting the doctor
shook hands with him, with genuine appro
bation- ''The Lord has committed n great
talent TO your trust, my son." ho said to hiIr
in the dusk, az HalSey helped him into hi
conveyance "Go not out to the battle In
your own strength Remember the admon-
itinn Of the King Of Israsl, Let not him that
girdeth on his harness, boast himself as he
that putteth it off, >" His niece was shyer than
sae hsd been before the meeting- Evidently
she was impressed with Halsey's superior
abilities, and tho young mans heart swelled
with Glation. AS he returned to the house
the Misses Pearce were jus. leaving with their
smoky lGutera, and he cnuld do no less than
offer to see thoIn hofna. The way wHs long
and it was pitchy dark when he returned,
but the eldest Miss Pearce had insisted on his
availing himself OF her lantern. You can
give it to me at church tomorrow she
said, ''and you will rIrely fall into
the brook without it." AS there really
seemed some probability Of this. Halsey took
the lantern at the same time reproGching
himself for his politeneSs. The deacon had
told him so much OF the plain and simple
minded character of his hearers that he do
termined to avoid all lights OF orstory, and
TO give bis audience q sermon as full OF COM
mon sense as could BIO found in his collection.
A lecture by the Rev. Robert Collyor
struck him as most likely TO be popular. 1t
aboundcei in incidents of country boys eoslir
ing TO nigh positions by unremittinE 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 10 amuse his friends by giving "per-
sonations" of the different public men with
| whom he was famiSGr. 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 eye
which ram before his tongue, discov-
/ cred a danger in the path Mr.
Collycr spoke OF his. own early ex-
| periences, of tho 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 worse
one, for skipping the description of his Eng
lish childhood, he launched inconsiderately
| into particulars OF his thirst for study and
reading as a. youth, how "Tho Pilgrims
Progress" and ono 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 hsteded 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 furtiveiy from behind his
handkerchief, expecting in some faces
\ at least to read scorn and denur-
| citation. Instead of this there was
a look Of pleased surprise and ad-
miration on every countenance. He
turned slowly TO tho 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 &c
have known its expression. The doctors
niece sat at the cabinet organ, with her back
| toward him-a 1.-the, wiliowy figure, using
| the pedals with vigor and the stops with q
| freedom and grace which betokened more
skill than was usual with the organist OF q
country choir. Her auburn hair was knOtted
in loose, abundant mass on her delicate
neck. Her bonnet was a dainty creation
with decidedly Partisan air. and her hands
though ringless, were exquisitely modelled
Take her to the city, Halsey thought, land
no one would detect her country training.
Then came swift conviction that this was
no rural maiden; everything combined to in
dictate the influence of the city. Yes, ne was
IN danger of detection, and it was from this
quarter that he must guard against 1t
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 ano
giggling young misses, who relapsed into ap
parently awe struck silence upon his intro
duction. Prominent among them were the
two Misses Pearce, and Halsey remarked in
considerably: 81 have brought your lantern
as you suggested. 1t is behind the outel
| door" His announcement was greeted by
violent blush on the part Of the older Mis-
Pearce, and q giggle from her sister, Whlcf
started subdued litter throughout the en-
tire class. Halsey dimly perceived that Mis-
Pearce looked upon his attendance upon hel
| the night before as a romantic secret, which
| his too public return OF the lantern had
| thoughtlessly divulged. After the opening
| hymn tho doctors niece left the organ ano
| took her seat before him. The look OF sur
prise and shy appreciation which no had
thought no had discovered ia her face the