The advocate., 1894-03-14
CHAPTER XVIII.
DAUGHTERS OF JOANNA.

DAUGHTERS OF JOANNA.
Joanna, the wife Of Chuza Herod's steward"
-LUKES:&
We have faith in the future that's near;
We have faith in the Ages long dream;
Through the storms of to-day we see clear
The bright gates of the new Eden gleam.
GIDEON LAME.
Lena Graham, Mrs. DelOrme's neice,
was a young woman Of some 10 years.
To anyone at all schOoled in reading
character from the physiognOmy, a
single glance at Lena's face, and es-
peCially at her eyes, Sufficed to lndl-
cate three strongly-marked character
istics-broad intelligence, strong sym
pathies equally broad, and, above all
and leading all, absolute and unshrink-
ing candor and sincerity which could
permit no dissimulatiOn nor shadow Of
turning. Looking at that face one
would say: "If that young woman
says thing she means it; and if her
feelings should be aroused, she would
give them frank utterance despite all
the pleadings of cold prudence and let
conventional society take what harsh
measures it might to protect its bar
riers of caste.
Nevertheless, Lena Graham was no
solemn-Visaged prophecies. Far from
it. She liked to laugh, especially when
her laughter disconnected the "dudes"
she deSpised: and as there were in her
set no specimens of man but "dudeS, :"
she laughed great deal. AT Sunday
school she was wont to put troublesome
questions and then "poke fun" at the
embarrassed teachers somewhat aWk-
Wardly-cOnstruct answers. Of a
young preacher calling at her fathers
house with malice afOrethOught matri-
monial intentions she had asked:
"Why don't you preachers try to
look more like healthy men? l like to
see a great big, hearty-lOoking man,
like some of the WOrkingmen | some
times see on the street cars. If heaven
is going to be such wonderfully happy
place as you preachers say it is, why
don't you get used to looking as if you
were satisfied with it, instead of wait
ing for Gabriel, after he gathers up
your ashes, to shake out your faces TILL
they get up Smile?'
And the young preacher never called
again; and by him and his class Lena
was considered a frivolous girl and
virtually past praying for. But this
frivolous girl had been known to pick
up lost child on the street, send word
to the police station where to find the
Wanderer if inquired for, and then take
the little tot home with her and stay
with it and take care of it and amuse it
for hours, while replacing its shabby
garments with such substitutes as she
could hurriedly throw together from
bits of her own wardrobe, trusting that
the little ones mother would make
over the improvised garments with
more skill after awhile. She had been
known to leave young man looking
silly on a public corner while she
stepped aside to give kind word and
some money to a beggar over whose
appearance her discounted escort had
made merry. On one occasion OF late,
two blocks from the main street, she
had met an honest-looking working
man who was in a state of partial in
toxication, and with her honest, sympa-
thetic look and kindly voice had actu.
ally persuaded him to go home and
keep out of the clutches of the law. he
was total stranger, but the frivolous
girl felt sorry for the family that, per-