The Progress., 1892-03-05
Honest Old Tom.

Two wears ago there died an old
man who. rs n learned and Just
nudge, had long commanded the re
shpct of the community. Forty
wears before he had gone to the city
whore he lived penuiless young
Iawyer. and had slowly earned Tor
himself an honorable position.
NE had never married. and never
couM he tempted to enter society,
but lived always in the same quiet
APARTMENTS, surrounded by his
hooka anda few friends, who greatly
roenected and loved him. Every
sunday. no matter how stormy,
found him i'm his obscure seat in
church. devout and earnest; but he
never could be persuaded to hold
anv office. even the humblest, in
the church.
lie was SO just Judge, so rigid in
his integrity, that his townsmer
ofIectionatelv dubbed him Honest
old Tom
lie died after lingering illness
with afew faithful friends about
him. when they began to prepare
| him for the grave, they found upon
his chest the letter u branded with
| n hot IRON the most degrading
punishment inflicted in the Southern
States
The lust Judge. the faithful Chris
tian, had once been convicted rs
thief
The astonishnent at the discovery
was great. His nearest friends
bowed over his collin i'm sorrow a
the revelation, forgetting that the
shut lips could never deny th'
charge nor speak II word in his de
fence.
But there were voices to speak
for him.
Men and women Were eager {,
tell what they knew of his private
life. II was found that each yea
he had given to benevolent obiectI
the largest part of his income.
! Nurses FROM the hospltA Is SpOk'
of him now as visitor who ha,
often come to bring luNuries To TIN
poor patients, and to comfort then
with kind words.
Officers of iails and pnniten
tiaries spoke tenderly of him. T'
many poor. battered prisoner IN
had gone as brother, and he'll on
u hand i'm an endeavOr to lift him M
into n clean, honest life again.
Out of the obscure quarters of thu
city. there came. on the day of hi'
burial, women whom he had rescue,
from n life of shame. and orphan
children whom he had betriended.
b When he was carried to the grave
these were his mourners. The
crowded silently about his coffin
. tears on their pale faces. The ma
whom Christ sent to help them wa
gone. His brotherly sympathy the
had felt; they did not know il
= secret spring, nor realize that al
other could sympathiZe with thel
as he sympathized. Coon Christia
7 men who had never been temple
q and overcome as he had been, talke
to them as from height, tie stoO
; besides them, he seemed TO spea
} out of the depths of his heart.
He bad been i'm the slough. II
knew the Hand that could lead the
out Of it. lie held il in bis owl
every step ofthe way
The old minister, looking at thes
men and women standing about I'll
r grave. said with almost n voice
Triumph. Blessed are the dea
who die in the Lord" For be sa
: q meaning of great courage an
hope I'm this poor tbief's life.
was that the man who repents of h
sin ann forsakes it, may be fitted +,
higher work in Christ's service tha
he who has neye battled with 81
and been helped 80 victory.
The multitude whom st. job
saw standing nearest to the thror
in heaven were not those who,
, garments had never been stainei
J but they who had washed the
robes and made them white by fat
and through obedience ito Hi
/ who loved them and gave Himse
a for them."-fouth's Companion.