The Penn's Grove record., 1895-09-20
"1s is dark for spring. Bessie said

10 III
and sallow, and always will be unit
you stop eating such rich food. Nov
here is Susie without one really GOO
feature in her face, with an insight
cant figure, eyes of no color in parti,
IL ular, a sort of bluish-gray, but with
complexion like a miniature painting
2 She can wear blue and softly tinte
fabrics, but you cannot"
= She might have added that Susie
hair was the color>of corn-silk and on
mass of golden waves and soft riua
u let's; that Susie's mouth was like
bsby's in its tender curves and swec
expression that Susie's eyes were fnl
of intelligence aud gentle. womanly
sweetness but she forgot to mentioI
/, these points, and Susie was crushed,
rs she intended her to be, in spite o
b her complexion.
But Mrs. Stacey took out her pocket
book and from. it a ten-dollar gold
i, piece.
s'You can buy a new hat" she snid,
in a patronizing way indescribably ir.
ritating.
"No," Susie said, quietly; "this i.
to be my Easter Offering"
"Ohl And speaking of Easter
would you mind, on your way home,
taking this linen to Mrs. Byrne's to
wash and iron. Tell her I must have
it on Friday at the very latest"
1t was growing dark, and Susie re-
membered that so far from being ''on
her way home" Mrs. Byrne lived al
the other end of Rosedale, but she
was to shy too refuse, and rolled thu
linen up again.
Mrs. Byrne was a hard-workinl
woman with seven children, whose
husband, after subjecting her to all
the miseries of q drunkard's wife, had
released her by pitching head-first off
the bridge below R~osedale, into the
river. Womanlike, she grieved for
him. as if he had made her life a bed
Of roses, and turned to her wash-tub,
for a living, patiently and industri.
ously. A very sunbeam of a v~mar
she was, in spite of her troubles, and
Sueie was amazed to find her sitting on
The d door-steps sobbing likes child.
She rose to receive Mrs. Stacey's
message, aud promised to do the
work, and then, in answer to Susie's
gentle, "You are in trouble, 1 am
afraid" her grief broke out in words.
"T've no right to complain, miss,
he said, 'for the Lord s been very
good to us since poor Tim was
1rownded, but indeed it's a chance
.ost I'm fretting for"
ga chance lost?" said Susie, her
voice still full of gentle sympathy.
'It's Nora, miss. She's been deli
,ate, miss, lver since she was born
and the air here is bad for her in
,,tirely. The docther saye her lungs is
wake, and it's a bad cough she's got,
and we're too near the say here in
Rosedale. And me sister, who lives at
B., she's wrote she'll take Nora for
her own, an give her schooling and
not let her work till she's stronger, 4
She's not much of her own, hasn't ,
sister Mary; but she's no childer since
abe put four in the church-yard, and ,
she'll be good to Nora, an the child
lust dying here by inches, for she will
lelp me, an sloppin' in the washing's
Dad for her. She coughs that bad at
night, miss, and the doctor says the
air in B. would be the maxim of her.
'But, surely, you will send her.
said Susie. |,
"There it is, missl Mary, she cam
lind money out an out, and it costs
Xix dollars to go to B -. I was up
20 Mrs. Stacey's, to al the loan of it,
md work it out a little at time on the
Eashin'; but she told me she could not
pare it. An she richl I'm thinkin',
miss, perhaps she'd be servin' the Lord
Is well as savin' a girls life, you may
say, instead of buyin' all this embroid-
,red linen to show off at st. Marks"
The words struck Susie like 9 stab.
Was it to serve the Lord or for her
own vanity she wanted 10 give the
white cross to St. Msrk'sa Saving a
human life! The thought almost took
ler breath.
"You can send Nora if you have tel
lollars?" she asked.
eyes, miss; but it might as well be
/. hundred. l can't get it."
Eyes, for l will give it to you and
Tou can ask the Lord to bless my
Caster offering"
And before the astonished woman
could reply, the shining gold piece lay
Il her hand and Susie was speeding
lomeward. |
"Fhe Lord be good to heri The
aints bless her bedi" cried Mrs. Byrne.
AN she teaching for her own bread
md butter an trudging about in all
geathers to earn a dollar !"
You seem surprised at something,
Mrs. Byrne," said a quiet, deep voic'
at her elbow, and she looked up to see
Mr.. Castleton standing beside her. :"
came over to see if you could come nj
to the parsonage and help Mrs. Willil
tomorrow. She has some extra worl
On hand"
eyes, sirl I'll come, and be thank.
full to you, An 1 I'M surprised-jus
dazed like" And out came the who'll
story from the grateful woman's lips
ending with:
"And it's workin' she is az hard a
meself in her own way, while Mrs
Stacey, that's rollin' in money couldnt
spare Jest the loan of it, for it's moi
begging I'd bel"
Faster services were over, and Mrs.
Stacey had invited MI. Castleton te
dinner. She had told no direct lie,
but certainly had given the impression
that the lovely embroidery upon thu
new linen was the work of Bessie's fin.
gers. As they drove home, she asked
Mr.. Castleton sweetly.
Don't think me impertinent, bun
which of the offerings was Miss Bar
clay's?"
"None that I know off"
"Was there one offering OF ten dol
lars in the collection?"
"No-a fve-dollar bill was the lar
gest."
"such hypocrisy |" sneered Bessie
"It was not necessary for Miss Barclay
to tell you, mamma, she was going to
give ten dollars for an Easter Offering
but she need not have told O falsehooc