Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-08-14

the gates. But there," he burst out
suddenly, s'what does it matter? |
won't stay to disgrace the family any
longer. I've been ready to go for
some time" And he glanced around
the comfortable room contemptuous-
ly.
Wheu he finished speaking, moth
er's hand was laid on his arm, and a
mothers voice, pitiful in it's sorrow,
said:
sDon't go, Tom Your father don't
mean it. He is very angry because
you make him so much trouble. Ask
him to forgive you. I am sure he will,
if you only try to be better boy"
"Never," sternly interrupted the
deacon. He is no son of mine, and
my house is no longer his home. Go,
sir! Do you hear!"
''tYou need not tell me twice." re-
turned the boy. "Goodby, mother.
Pm going" and before they realized
it the eldest son had passed out of
home life forever.
After that life went on about the
| same DIS USUAL dU UuO OuduO10I ldIL
The deacon still offered his accustom
ed prayer, only there was no Tom to
make fun of him, for since that night
Tom Chandler had not been seen.
Deacon Chandler was still waiting for
his opportunity and still wondering,
too, why chance so earnestly desired
was so long withheld. Others all
about him were doing great things
toward building up the kingdom, yet,
search and wait as he would, nothing
ever came in his way.
So the time went on for eight
years, until one day Deacon Chandler
awoke suddenly to the fact that his
wife was slowly dying. His love for
his wife was one of the things that no
one doubted, and when he noticed
how pale and thin she had become he
spoke to her at once in an unusually
anxions way.
"Is there anything can do for you,
wife?'' he asked.
sNo-I don't know as there ISL
"Is there anything you want?"
Her eyes filed with tears.
'Shall I tell your" she whispered
"Yes-do."
Sadly and firmly she told him then
the whole pitiful story
''I want my boy. I want Tom to
come back to me. He was my first
born, and I cannot forget how 1 loved
him when he was baby in my arms
Yes, and when he grew to be a boy
loved him still, and my love could
have saved him. But you-you were
SO hard and cold with him. Conscious |
of your virtue, you could not pity his |
infirmity and bear with him as I would |
have done. No, hear me OUT" as he |
would have spoken. "You have al |
ways prayed-prayed to the Lord for |
some opportunity to do some great |
good, and when it was here, in your
own son, you neglected it. You might |
have been more gentle; you might |
have led him out of his evil ways, but
you would not, and all these years my
heart has been aching for sight of
my sonny eldest born"
The words came sharp and fast now
and ended in a smothered sob.
The deacon was surprised Never
before had his wife questioned his
wisdom or censured him for what he
did. But the mother love so strong
in her had welled up and filed her
heart to overfowing and she must be
heard. Her words had their effect,
too, for Deacon Chandler saw as he
had never seen before that his mis-
take, and the Hypocrisy of the fer
vent prayer he had SO often breathed
out to his Heavenly Father when he
was an unmerciful-nay, even cruel
parent. How he had prayed for an
of doing good, and when
it came let it pass-nay, threw it away
He was man of few words,
and those he spoke now carried heal
ing balm to the heart of the woman
who had so loved her hayward boy.
81 have been wrong, wife. Can you
forgive me?"
ooh, freely, freely" she answered
him.
He read in her wistful eyes the un- ]
spoken wish and answered it.
IT will find our boy and bring him ]
nome," he said.
"And no matter how sinful he is or j
now he has fallen you will bring him
1ome to his mother?' {
ct will" And she was satisfied. '
To those who wish to learn, all 1
Kings are plain,an Deacon Chandler I
raced his son, by constant effort, to /