Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-25
CHAPTER Ill.

ford-a Sabbath day journey from Rix-to look
up some old friends there. He was to stay bali
the week, returning to the rectory to finish his
holiday and to preach another sermon for Mr.
Teague. He preached the first with such effect
that the congregation kept awake to listen
compliment they paid old Mr.. league only on
the coolest Sundays in winter. The personality
Of the young clergyman was striking and his
method anti-narcotic and new to Xix, am afraid l;
but he had q special interest in the eyes OF
parishioners as tho betrothed Of their beloved
young lady. The church was quite exception
ally crowded, and after tho sermon it was ad-
mitted-on the strict hypothesis that any mere
man could be In the least worthy OF that
angel-that this handsome young divine, with
the pale face and earnest voice, would be bad
to beat for the place.
He was certainly very pale tonight, and his
voice was peculiarly earnest. The lights were
lowered in the old church when the young man
knels in the pulpit, and the hymn was over and
Miss league, in the organ loft had driven
home the stops. The four evangelists on the
chancel window were but half faded against the
summer evening sky; the church was hlled With
q blush dusk-stabbed at the pulpit by the
flames Of fou. candles, which shone downward
on the preachers papers and upward into bis
face.
He was. indeed, very pale, and Caroline in
tently watching him from the loft, heard every
word Of that sermon, which was the turning
point of her life and his. 1t was about doing
ones duty, as he had said, and the well-worn
theme was not treated with any striking de-
gree Of originality. But the preacher was In
striking earnest, though he did read his lines.
He seemed to feel personally and acutely every
sentence he uttered, aad when he introduced,
as only curates can, the inevitable Quotation
from a modern poet (parishioners thought 1t
was Psnnymans OWN he seemed 70 feel that.
too.
His honor rooted In dishonor stood,
And faith unfaithtul kept him falsely true.
He was speaking you understand, Of the dit.
foulties of duty, the two-edged difficulties, ana
go on, and he was speaking just then in ring
ing, tremulous tones He worked il the Ten
nyson quite naturally, though God knows why
he worked it in at all, unless he thought Of this
way. But he had never spoken SO sincerely, 30
strenuously in his life, and parishioners envied
bis congregation in the north of England,
where they actually supposed he spoke like this
every Sunday of bis life
Miss league played the people out Of church,
walked home with Pennyman and her father
(who would talk Of nothing but the sermon and
congratulated them both on it,, sat through
the usual Sunday supper Gan elaborate and
animated ueaD at the rectory, was entirely her
amiable. uDselfsh self until she went to bed,
which happened early. She did not kiss Noel
when she said goodnight to him, but the others
were there and it was notorious how sensible
Noel and she were on such points. She did,
however. give him kind smile and generous
hand, though now she knew that he loved her
no longer and had not the moral courage to tell
her so plainly.
She fought it all out in her room that night
On the very evening of his arrival, in their
first talk together-uay, in the first glance he
had given her-she had missed something; and
now she knew what. He hac been kind and
good, even gentle, with all his GOODNESS but he
loved her then no longer; had he ever really
ILL OtaI on lyn,I h.
es, letters and we'll if he had not loved her them
he had cheated and worked himself into a coun-
terfeit passion, which atieast had all the warmth
of the sacred FAM. This is what l say; but
Caroline kissed those earl letters and blot
ted them with her tears. The later ones dried
her eyes. though they powerfully supported
her present conviction. They vera too clever
ana logical and far too sensible for love letters
as his conduct had been far too sensible for
tina. Of q lover oil this week-their first together
for eighteen months And tonight he had ex-
posed his whole weak soul to her-in sermon !!
And did he guess that she had translated
him? Would he do his duty YETI Did
he know his duty' She remembered
she would never forget-hoW he had
said under the trees the other morning, 81 will
give my life to you, Caroline" She did not
want his life. She wanted his love. Next to
the knowledge that he loved her she would
have had his own brave, voluntary confession
that he did not love her. She would have given
everything thai night, everything still to have
admired, az she had admired him, the man she
had loved, the soul she must love forever.
In the dead Of night, and in the silver Of the
summer neutrality-suspicious. on her knees
and rocking to and fro in her chair-Caroline
league wrestled with her grief as best she
might placing her humble spirit in the hands
of Him to whom she walked SO near. And the
following forenoon she accompanied Noel Pen
nyman through the sunny fields to the station
and came back in haste.
She found the rector in his study at his desk
Father" she murmured, II have seen him
off,
The rector did not raise his eyes. "well
my dear, he'll be back in q couple Of days." he
remarked cheerfully, his nose in his papers.
mo, he is never coming back at all"
The rector raised his head, pushed up his
spectacles and gazed at his daughter In dire
amazemen..
what" he gasped, has there been a
quarrel?'
Mono quarrel"
"What then, Caroline, in heavens name2"
~ have given him up" said Caroline, firmly.
Mr.. league sprang up.
"You have Tilted him-Noel Pennyman-the
man you have been engaged to all these years?'
Il have Tilted him y
The rector made her repeat it more than
once. LAY ask why?'' he inquired at length.
because" Caroline hesitated because
you can't marry without love on both Sides
This has been a cruel, wicked mistake from
the very beginning. Thank GodI have discov-
cred it in time! %
You mean for your discovery that you do
not care for hiIn?" cried the rector sharply
more sharply than he had spoken to her in all
her life.
Caroline bowed her head. "Yes-I mean
that
Mr.. league sat down at his desk and leant
heavily on his hand. 81 am ashamed Of you,
Caroline" said he, in broken voice. Il am
aglamed of NV 6auuhter.h
But now Miss league could bear no more;
she fell upon her knees at his knee enA burst
into passionate tears All that she now said
was reiterated many times and much Of it was
incoherent.
'Oh, do not be hard on me. l have no one
left but you. l will help you as it has been my
delight and pride always to help you, so will /
help you to the end. My happiness made no
difference to my work, did it? My unhappiness
shall make no difference either. Father, it is
better than If he had given me up, isn't it,
The world 10 more lenient, am sure, in this
one thing. to the woman than to the man. And
you will be less hard on me, won't you, than
you would have been on him? Forgive me,
father, have only YOU"
The rector laid his trembling hand upon her
hair.
"Get up, my darling. am not your judge.
May he forgive you-and may God! Yet, Caro-
line, Caroline I had rather it were the young
man who had done this thing-not my daugh-
ter
Miss league arose and went away dropping,
for now, indeed. her heart seemed broken.
She went to that little. place, her favorite
place, where Noel had proposed to her-where
No Ill = ~. ,IAI -