Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-08-15
A GATHERING TEMPTATION
BY MRS. NJ. L. RAYNE.

When Leander Clarke married Mabel
Thorpe, he had no expectation of ever
being a rich man, but as his affairs ap-
pear at the present time he is on the
broad highway to future wealth. It
all arose from the fact that he took
time by the forelock, the only way
poor mortals have of ever getting even
with him of the scythe and hour-glass.
But it is this very thing that is caus-
ing him such lot Of mental anguish
now, making his nights sleepless, and
threatening to undermine his domestic
peace.
Mabel Thorpe laid 40 claims to So
cial distinction when L+eander met her
first at some entertainment, where
she rendered selections of classic
music in such mastery manner,
that he, being a lover of music.
was instantly attracted to her side,
and stayed there during the even
ing. For the rest she wore glasses,
being near-sighted. and. having been
graduated from an eastern college,
was rather stiff and pedantic in her
manner-a grateful change from the
ordinary frisl>y young creatures with
1t takes all kinds of people to make a
world-more's the pity-and love goes
where it is sent. Mabel had expected
to become one of that noble army Of
martyrs, teachers, but when Leander
proposed, she reconSidered the matter
and thought she heard the voice of
duty bidding her answer yes" and
without more ado she accepted him.
her hero to swim the Hellespont of
life with all his armor on, but she did
demand from him-as she had right
to do-a high moral standard, for she
had not married him until she had
seen, as she believed, his whole past
life laid open before her as book
There is no time when a man is as
weakly sentimental and as religious as
when he is trying to live up to the
standard of pure young girls ideal,
and Leander became almost an angel.
There are very few of US capable of
making human angels of ourselves.
Good and evil are as persistently pres
ent in our moral nature as light and
darkness are ia our atmosphere, and
one serves as the complement of the
other. To Danish night we use the
light of science, to counterfeit wrong
we invoke Divine help; but So largely
IS our worldly nature in excess of our
spiritual powers that we are constant
1y in danger of erring to be forgiven,
in other words, SHINING and repenting.
Mabel Thorpe believed in an infiex-
IDLE uprightness. The command to do
evil that good may come was to her a
perverted text. She was not aware
that there are sins of omission, as we'll
as OF commission, and that her I'M
righteous condemnation of sinners,
aud her severe judgments, were in
themselves of 3 sinful nature. The
self-righteous are often harder to live
with than the sinner.
Leander Clarke had been a good son.
and he intended to be good husband.
He was both proud and fond of his
wife, but certainly regretted that he
could not give her all the Iuxuries
that she could appreciate, not even the
grand piano that her musical talent
deserved. But he went to work with a
will to make her happy, and hoped in
O few years to be able to add all other
needful things.
Among the wedding presents of the
young couple was one that far out
shone all the rest-a superb set of dia-
monds, sent by an uncle of Leander
who was near to death, and gave the
residue of a large estate in this extrav-
agant present. Leander himself was
genuinely sorry that such an undesira-
bic gift had been made. but he argued
that his wife was sensible woman,
and would turn them into something
more suitable to their condition in life
"a piano, for instance, which was
necessity rather than a luxury. What
was his surprise when his bride said:
''Iinever was SO pleased in my life.
Diamonds represent to me the crystal
Hzation eff erything beautiful in art
and nature ] never dreamed that /
should possess. such magnifeence.; .,s.
But these have ne sasseciations;a
said her. husband; Z, 'theysare not heir
looms
''They will be; all diamonds were
new at some time. And are they not
-,