The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-11-25
tered away. very mich unlike broken
hearted, rejected su!tor.
CHAPTER XIX.

It is due Hiram BlatchfOrd to state
that he was totally ignorant OF the
| whereabouts of his daughter He llIlc'',
| it is truc. that she was somewhere in
| Kansas, bat he had not TIE rc;notest
idea in what part Of the state. 1t is
| also due him TO saE that he never re-
ccivcd the letter written him by the old
doctor ;:t the beginning Of Mary sick
ness. Whether it would have made
any difference in the condition Of the
Green's if iiatchfort! had known CT their
whereabouts and condition, is Q qacs-
ton that must go unanswered, but true
Christian charity says give him the
benefit ci tic doubt.
However Blatchford might have act
cd on the knowledge of his chlld's dis
trcss S;l.'ah Blatchford felt It to her
interest to see that such knowledge did
not reach him, and accordingly the
good old doctors letter never went be-
yond her hands.
She had long feared that communi-
cation from the Greens might come to
her husband. and not feeling sure that
his heart would be proof against his
daughters pleas, if she should choose
to make any, Mrs. Blatchford be-
thought herself of the precaution of
keeping any such letter from Elatch-
ford's hands. SO, in pursuance of this
idea, she arranged to have all the pri-
vate mail delivered at the house, and
when the doctors letter came to hand
with it's Kansas postnarlz, she rightly
Judged that it related to the Greens,
and forthwith she opened it and read
its contents.
The letter told q pitiable tale Of woe,
for it portrayed in plain colors the sad
condition of Mary Green, sick and pow
,rty-stricken as she was, and ended
With a plea to the obdurate father in
i>ehalf of his suffering daughter. Sucb.
a letter, coming from one who ?34es
a stranger to Mary, ought tc
have brought a feeling Of pity to the
fintiest heart, but on the gentle heart
if this devout member of Rev. Whccd-
ler's congregation it made no impress
sion whatever. Some one may imagine
that she suffered co,npunctions of con-
science, but such was not the case.
Such people as She have no conscience.
It does seem that after reading DR..
Bascom's letter, Mrs. Blatchford ought
at least to have experienced a sense OF
shame when she remembered that she,
and all her relatives, were living in
great plenty on that which OF right be-
longed to the poor woman who was
starving. But even that feeling did
not come to her heart. Remorselessly
she burned the letter, watching it
crisp in flames and turn to ashes, yet
suffering no twinge of conscience. And
an hour later she sat in her cushioned
pew with smiling, placid features, ap-
parently perfectly satisfied with
herself and the life she was
living. When, at the end of Wneedlers
sermon, she gave a good-sized bank
note to aid in converting the heathen,
no stranger would have suspected what
her heart really was, and no one would
have thought but an hour before she
had ruthlessly despoiled a poor woman
of a crust of bread from her fathers
table.
Blatchford might have given his
daughter aid had he known her condi-
ton, but his ignorance Of that was no
excuse. He knew very well that there
was general suffering in Kansas that
year, and he knew that John Green was
poor and ill-conditioned to withstand
such long siege of hard times. Reason
and common sense would have taught
him that his daughter was in need, yet
he did not feel sufficient interest in her
welfare to make any effort to discover
! her whereabouts. He never mentioned
her name, and if he ever thought of her
no one knew it. Indeed, to outward
observation it seemed apparent that no
! thought of her ever entered his mind,
and that he was satisfied with his devo-
tions to the Spiclller family.
Like his wife he was an active mem
| Der Of Wheedler's church. He attended
| the Sunday services regularly and dozed
| through the tedious sermon. He gave
more than any other to the minister's
salary. He bought an organ for the
church and hired an organist. In short
| he was always ready with his money to
second any suggestion Rev. Wheedler
| saw fit to offer AS natural consequence
| he became the most prominent member
of the congrcgation-at least in Brother
! Whcedler's estimation. Brother Whced
! Ter loved q cheerful giver, especially
when the gifts were coming to himself.
On the very day that John Green
mortgaged all his earthly possessions
to Mills for pitiful sum Of money with
which to buy bread, the Christian Aid
Society" of Rev. Wheedler's church
held u meeting in Brother Blatchford's
| parlors, the object of which was to fnan-
cially further the work of converting
the heather in foreign lands. Rev.
| Wheedler was there, as were also all
| the leading members of the congrega-
ton. Sister Blatchford had, of course,
| taken care that preparations suited to
the occasion were made, and nice
luncheon was duly spread. Brother
Blatchford was there to beg and entreat
everyone to partake unsparingly Of his
generous bounty.
III the world had more such good
Christians rs Brother and Sister Batch
ford" remarked Rev. Wheedler during
the enjoyment Of the luncheon, ''the
| church would be better off and its cause
greatly advanced. Such members are
the shining lights of our faith, and
their prayers and their gifts are the
means Of great good in the saving OF
lost souls"
Indeed you are right, Brother
Wheedler," acquiesced Sister SwoopS.
Brother and Sister Blatchford live for
the good of their fellow creatures.
Their thoughts, by day and by night,
must be of the poor needy ones who are
in the darkness Of sin. The question
ever uppernost in their minds, to judge
from their actions, is: What can l do
for the good of the ignorant and be-
| nirhtedp Snch as they ere the salt of