The National tribune., 1894-01-18

Va lajI abont him had snbsided little;
| " ~ somehow he did not seem to
| rs a them to have the same baptism
| IS of JUNCTION, the same liberty OF
| utterance and he was by no
means in such good health; substitutes-most-
ly latsncn-had frequently TO be found to fill
his place, thing that greatly tried the patience
| of the little flock.
Dr. johnson somewhere speaks of the "com-
piicated misery" Of pedagogy. it Is AN excel
lent phrase to apply to the trials of a poor.
| dissenting minister in prim, self-supportlng
| little conventice like EbeneZer-and Guy
! Harkaway found that he required all the
| harmlessness of a dove. the wisdom of a SER
pent, and the tact and fnesse of an ant-eater
to live altogether free of offense."
II sat one Saturday afternoon in the little
room he called his study" thinking out the
final fiourishes he was to give to to-morrow's
| discourse He always spoke extempore
| perhaps; not so much from choice, as that the
| leaders at Ebenezer had a strong conviction
| that under no circumstances, could reading be
called preaching; that it savored of Rome"
and was, consequently, more or less sinful.
He was frowning vigorously at the opposite
wall arranging his thoughts tallish man
| with red, honest face. He was only about
| thirty but already several Of his teeth had
| disappeared from the front OF his mouth; in
| his eyes was a somewhat worn aud weary look,
| as if a months rest from the constant effort TO
please he was called upon to make would nave
| done him the world of good.
Come in, DEAR" he cried, in answer to
well known tap at the door, his whole face
| lighting up with pleasure at the sound.
Look Guy: a letter from Atherstone! v
He opened the letter and read it, and then
his face looked troubled again. His wife
glanced over his shoulder rs he read, and when
they were finished they looked blankiy at each
other for minute.
What's to be done?" he asked, waiting Tor
her to decide for him.
You must go, Guy" she said with empha'
sis.
How can II Who is to take my place to-
morrow"
'One Of the lay -
Yes, but lay brother preached for me last
Sunday when | was too i'll to do it myself.
You know these people here won't stand too
much of that sort of thiug-they must have
the white tie and a special cut of black coat.
Besides. are you quite sure that l ought
TO GOT
She sighed, and began to think, knitting her
brows in the prettiest way, and taking seat
beside him. She did not look much over lS,
this young wife, with her broad, low forehead,
and short crop of curly brown hair, cut rather
close round the shapely head-a head that had
acquired the habit in their short married life of
doing large proportion OF the thinking, and
solving most of the little commonplace prob
lens that accomp panied and punciuated their
crainped but not unpicturcsque life.
Certainly" she said at last; 4" it seems to me
that your duty to your self demands that you
should go. II is SO unfortunate that the letter
did not come earlier in the week; still, think
it will be choosing the least of two evils if
you go"
My duty to myself isn't my whole duty"
Well, no, suppose not" ~"
"Can you suggest any
- H. IL "A
ask him to take your place. He can hardly
fuse aud then will go the round of the con-
gregation. and make excuses for you. l can
s"otbe most of them you know. Aud you can
start tonight. An additional f100 a year
under present circumstances, my poor boy -
and she sighed again.
The matter was this: Guy was one of the
two nephews of maiden lady in Warwick
shire. who was extremely old and capricious,
being, besides, fairly well of. The other
nephew had long been the fsvorite; but year
before this he had been heard to comment face
tiousiy on the longevity of the old lady,"
The remark had reached her ears, and Guy had
straightway been summoned and Informed that
he might for tie future consider himself as
sole heir of her property. Ho had just mar
ried. and the event had been hailed in the
little household with ali the gadness it deserv-
ed. And now had come another summons-a
fmal One as it seemed. for the letter announced
that M lss Grant was dangerously ill-dying-
and required the immediate presence By her
bedside Of the recipient Of sll her favors- Both
Grace aud Guy instinctiveiy understood from
the wording of the letter that it was not too
late for the will to be altered, and that its uti-
mate form would depend in a great measure
on the prompt obedience Of the nephew.
There was no help for 1.-THE must go; and
Grace, with her practical helpfuness, soon had
him ready for departure Consulting time
sot,f 3
hours before he need leave the house. and
armed with note from Guy TO Mr.. Delviu,
she put OH her broad straw hat aud plain, dark
cloak. and set out on her mission.
Mr. Dclvin had just returned from business
and was leaning back wearily in an armchair,
massive well-tO-do man, with an air of the
city about him.
"oh, Mr. Delyiu." cried Grace as she entered
the room, - have come TO ask yet another favor
Of you; poor Guy
What iii again. Mrs. Harkaway2"
." No. not that quite, this time, but aunt
of his"-
Mr.. Delvn was not in bis best humOr, and
his voice was hard and unsympathetic but
Grace was a parsons daughter and parsons
wife, and she had acquired the art of smiling
while her heart was aching.
She told him the story candidly, and as the
consideration was one of money, il appealed to
Mr. Delvin's only impressionable side. He was
sOftened.
And he wants me to preach for him to-mor-
row, chr"
Yes, that is it-you will. now, will you
not?"
- The notice is a short one"
- One Of your old sermons -
"No. Mrs. Harkaway-no old sermons for
the congregation at Ebenezer, please. | wish
you would remember and just give your hus-
band that hint; he and you really must realize
fully that you have TO deal with an exception
ally thoughtful, enlightened. and advanced
communion here. Old sermons, eh: However
I'll try. Tomorrow is not Sacrament Sunday,
is it? Novel;, tell Mr.. Harkaway it is all
right I'll preach tomorrow on condition that
he doesn't let that money slip through his
| fingers"
And so Guy went away with lightened
heart, feeling that the world was not wholly
empty OF sympathy aud good will; while Grace
went tho rounds Of the principal members of
| the congregatiOD-the pillars of the church
| they called one aDother-and told them how
! her husband had been called away, aud how
| Mr.. Deivin was to take his place. The news
WAS received with marked c0ldness but they
| had all more or less felt the influence of her
grace and beauty. Starting with fixed de-
termination the other way when Guy had
married her, they had yet fallen into the
habit Of liking her, aud often, for her sake re-
pressed their natural inclination fo groyyl with