The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-16

lar pastor, had been m aking a powerful
plea, one Sunday morning, for funds with
which to carry ON and extend the good
work of the Samaritan Hospital. one OF
the many charitable and educational
otfshoots of this remarkable Baptist in
stitution, and one which depends upon
1t entirely for support. The PASTORS plea
as usual. had found generous response
in money and checks, and among the
four handsome rings, set with precious
stones. They had been given to MIR.
Conwell by women, who, moved by his
eloquence and the worthiness or the cause,
and possibly not having at the time such
cash sum as they desired to give, had
willingly stripped the rich jewels from
their fingers and given them for the well
fare of the poor and the sick.
Mr.. Conwell took the pretty baubles,
tied a string through them to keep them
together, and then laid them away care
fully in small drawer of his desk,
which stands in the PASTORS study. 1t
was not unusual to receive rings and
jewelry in the Temple collection boxes,
and it was Mr.. Conwell's purpose, as he
had done before, to take the rings at his
leisure and have their value converted
into cash.
A day or two later the pastor was as
tonished to find that his study had been
forced, the lock of his desk broken and
the little loop of rings removed from
their hiding place. The thief had left
no clew. There was nobody toward
whom suspicion could reasonably be
directed.
The pastor naturally felt the loss keen
ly, and regretted that he had left the
r1t,ryc Tt, taSe IL, 1<xI,E
Whether or not the church authorities
took the police into their confidence do
not know, but the next Sunday came
and the missing rings had not been re-
covered. On that Sunday morning Mr..
Conwell, in the course of his prayer,
made an allusion to the loss. He prayed
that the heart Of the unknown thief
might be touched; that the man or
woman who had been guilty of taking
been generously given for the Lords use
might be touched by the grace of God,
moved to repentance and constrained to
return the jewels, SO that they might yet
help to ease the sufferines of the afflicted
and heal the wounds of the sick.
There was trustees maeting or some
other church function in the Temple the
PASTORS study, and Mr.. Conwell was
presiding. He thought he heard some
BODY turn the knob of the dock softly
from the outside. Rising from his place
he stepped toward the door, thinking
there might he some need of his services
"a sick call or message of some kind
from one of his numerous flock. The
door was not opened from the outside,
however, ard Mr. Conwell opened it him
self and looked out into the corridor.
There was nobody in sight, only the
sound of footsteps running swiftly but
softly through a distant aisle.
A s the pastor turned the door knob
and threw open the door, however. he
had felt something fall and strike upon
the toe of his boot. He stopped, and
there, safe and sound neatly tied to-
gether in loop was the bunch of jew
elled rings, just as he had last seen them
when he had laid them away in his desk.
They had been hung quietly over the
door knob, and the conscience stricken
thief had hurried out into the darkness,
There was report that the pastor not
only heard the penitent thief's retreat
ing footsteps, but that there was
rustling sound also, singularly suggestive
of the futtering of feminine garments.
Mr.. Conwell has not confirmed that ru-
NOR. though, and nobody but the thief
knows whether the conscience touched
by prayer was that of man or woman.