The Forrest City times., 1895-04-05
A MINISTERING ANGEL.

III pleased Lllith Ayleswood to i'm
agine herself "a butterfly" in reality.
she was very commonplace sort of fly,
who buzzed about a good deal, now
and then stung little, and was some
what tiresome whether she buzzed or
stung.
But in her own opinion she was
butterfly" fitting about among the
perfumes and pleasures of life, careless
of the morrow. She liked to think
that women of the more serious sort
despised her; it made her feel so femi-
nine. The circumstances of her life
occasionally threw her into the com
pany of busy women, vigorous girl
journalists, or enthusiastic young art
students, and these she would always
beg to crafty her with a little con-
tempt. I'm such frivolous, trifing
little thing" she would say. II am
quite sure you must despise me-" She
was quite annoyed when she was met
by courteous, Not at all, or dis
concerting, 'Why?"
At last, one sunday at church, the
clergyman had such an unfortunately
planning of new frocks was dispersed
There is no time on earth so suitable
to the planning of new frocks as
sermon time in church; more exciting
topic, could one be found, might dis
turb the meaningless repose of features
proper to the occasion; any less excit-
ing would become uninteresting; but
that earnest preacher simply preached
accordion-plaiting and rainbow chiffon
out of Lilith's head. She went home
with her mind fixed on the success she
might make in an utterly different role.
Here in London, in this vast city
teeming v..:.h wealth and learning,
there were thousands of hopeless poor,
blindly treading the way lowell,
the wrong way, with no one to set
them right; and here was she, who
might be ministering angel of light,
wasting her time in vain pleasures and
admiration-well, not quite SO much
admiration as she deserved, perhaps
say, in pursuit of pleasure and admira-
tion. How much better, rather than
spending her time in hot, crowded ball
rooms, where the suppers were fire.
quently poor, and there were never
quite enough partners to go round
among the girls, to seek higher pleas
ure in doing good, to be the central
figure in crowded back streets, fol-
lowed, haloed-as it were-with the
blessings of the blind and struggling
to whom she brought light and guild
ance.
She would begin at once-that very
afternoon, instead of going to sleep
after lunch. AS she went upstairs to
dress she felt suprenely pleased with
herself In the intervals of arranging
her hair and complexion she paused
several times to strike souls awaken
ing" attitudes in the glass and think
how well they became her.
She felt she ought to take something
In the way of a spiritual weapon, tracts
or soup-sympathy for the poor and
erring would naturally run to tracts or
soup-but there were certainly no
tracts in the house, and, though there
was probably plenty of soup, it was an
awkward thing to carry; it would be
sure to get split over her frock and
mixed up with the long ends of her
cocks feather boa. After a consulta-
ton with the cook she started out with
an untldy parcel of stale cakes, the
leavings of Fridays 'at home" and
took cab down to Hammersmith.
She wandered off the main road,
round corner or two, and very soon
found a slum-an ideal slum, for 1T
smelt abominably, and had no outlet at
the further end. Children in all the
aniline hideousness of their Sunday