The Irish standard., 1892-08-06

4
nard, was a stately laIacs -wi5h strongly
marked aristocratic tendencies. Hel
husband was prosperous business man,
! repnted very wealthy, and his house
was the costliest one in the town. Mrs.
Bernard no doubt realized the advan'
tages she possessed on account Of being
the wife of such husband, and the
mistress of such home, and perhaps
she was not to blame for awaiting her
self of them and holding her head as
high as they would permit. Certain il
is that she assumed an air Of superior.
ity that was intended to lift her a de.
gree or two above the rest Of the world
and place her entirely out Of reach OF
i the common run of humanity.
Mrs. Bernard, though aristocratic and
proud, was charitable after a fashion.
With her charity was a fad, and she
gave to the poor not for the sake OF
helping them, but because it afforded
her an opportunity to contrast her posi-
ton with theirs and thus make more
apparent the wide gulf that lay be-
tween her and them. She was careful,
too, to impress her benefciaries, by her
manner giving, with the fact that she
was of a higher caste than ordinary
human clay, and that she stood between
, Heaven and earth, receiving Gods
blessings, which were intrusted to her
hands for distribution among the poor.
She enjoyed alms-giving because it at
forded her such magnificent oppor-
tunity to make the recipient feel how
small, unimportant, and generally I'M
worthy of existence he was.
When reached the presence OF my
relative was received not altogether
uncordially, but sufficiently so to cause
me to feel very uncomfortable and i'll at
ease. She welcomed me to her home,
but did it in way to make me feel
completely unwelcome; and she ac-
knowledged our relationship, but at the
same time erected barrier between us
which kept me at a chilling distance
from her.
$780," she said, unconcernedly, when
I made myself known to her, ''you are
Margaret Owens child. Well, I'm very
glad to meet you, I'm sure. l am very
glad you have come"
That was all she said, and those few
words were uttered without the least
feeling She did not rise nor offer her
hand, but simply motioned me to a seat.
Irealized the necessity of informing her
why I was there, SO that, knowing my
situation, she could act toward me as
she thought proper. But her manner
was so cold and unfeeling that my
courage sank out of sight and for a
time / had not the heart to utter a
word. Finally, however, / recovered
sufficient strength to begin an account
of myself and in some way l stumbled
through to the end. Mrs. Bernard
listened respectfully to the long recital.
but if my words had any effect on her
she did not show it either by speech or
action. I watched her as proceeded
and I saw no change in her manner,
her features retaining the same cold,
unrufaed appearance, and her eyes the
same careless, Indifferent look. She
showed no sympathy, no pity, no feel
ing whatever, but sat there as calm
and collected as the veriest flint.
"Well," she said, after long silence,
addressing herself, seemingly, to the
wall above my head, ''you want home
in this house and of course you can
have it. I never turn the poor and
needy away from my door empty, even
though l cannot understand wherein
thew have claims on me. am very
sorry for you, and am very glad have
it in my power to give you a home. 1t
is indeed pleasant thing to be able to
show charity to the unfortunate and
needy"
AS she spoke she reached forth her
hand and touched a bell, and directly a
servant entered the room.
"Sarah," Mrs. Bernard continued,
fixing her gaze above the servants
head and addressing the wall again,
s'take Miss Owens to a room and see
that she has what she desires. She is to
live here"
The lady, having delivered these in
structions, gave me a cursory glance,
and taking up book affected to read.
The servant bowed to me and started
out of the room, and arose to follow,
but before I reached the door my
wounded pride asserted itself, and turn
ing to Mrs. Bernard, exclaimed:
II am truly grateful, madam, for
your kindness in offering me shelter,
for am well aware have no claims
on your generosity and have no right to
expect charity from your hands. shall
try while remain here to make my
presence as unburdensome as possible,
and 1 trust you will not hesitate to
point out to me ways in which I can be
useful to you. It is my intention to
share your charity as short a time as
can, for I hope to be able soon to bear
my own way"
Mrs. Bernard removed her eyes from
her book and fixed them above my head
while was speaking, then when had
finished, removed them, made me
slight bow and resumed her reading.
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