Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-12-12

The Rev. Robert Dean had been
settled over his first parish about three
months. And though there had been
some very tempting bait thrown out
by pious and ambitious mammas wit
marriageable daughters, and a score
of bright eyes-grey, brown, black
and blue-had looked shyly and sau'
cily, and hopefully, and tenderly into
his handsome, honest, infinitely ex-
pressive ones, he had gone his way,
modest, wellbred, unassumiug, and il
one judged by his appearance, un-
touched.
But that is all you can tell by ap'
pearance, for Robert Dean knew that
if it chanced-as it seldom did-that
a shy, sweet, appreciative face was
missing from its accustomed place in
the congregation, his inspiration was
missing also, and he seemed talking to
empty seats.
He learned the story of Hope Whit.
ney's life before he had been in Eldred
a week, for tongues are not slow OF
speech in such small towns. And
once he had heard Maude Russell say
to a companion: .
~ declare, Hope Whitney's old
cloak is a disgrace to our church.
1 should think, that with her wages
she might dress better"
1t was just at the close of the morn
ing service, and, not waiting to hear
more, he passed to where Hope was
standing, surrounded by bevy OF
children.
"Good morning, Miss Whitney" "
putting out his hand. II have been
looking toward the schoolhouse with
longing eyes for a number of weeks"
"You need no longer look, but
come," Hope responded gracefully.
"The children would be delighted"
"And Miss Whitney? ?" he ques-
toned.
"Would also be pleased"
It was not much. But it answered.
The sound of her voice, the touch OF
her hand, fingered within him for days.
"You see," Grandmother Harris was
saying, "they were going to take me
to the poorhouse, because in the win
ter I get the rheumatis so bad / can't
work. One day, when I was feeling
so discouraged 1 was fit to die, along
came little Hope. I'always call her
little Hope because I have known her
so long. Why, sir, was there when
she was born, and did all could to
cheer up her poor, broken hearted
mother. Hope, she didn't forget these
things, though it's no more than have
done for many others, and it's no more
than Christ tells US to do"
She paused moment as though lost
in thought.
"But as was saying, little Hope
heard what was going on, and she
came up here, through the dreadfulest
storm, to say it shouldn't be. And
when she went away I was richer by
500 than when she came. And itisn't
the last she's done. But tless me
promised not to tell where the money
came FROM"
"Have no fear," Robert Dean re-
piled, "your secret is SAFE"
"I hope so, and anyway I feel better
to tell someone about it, for have
felt so guilty to take the child's money
and see her wearing her old clothes,
when all the rest of the girls were
haying pretty furbelows. But she
would have it so, and it would have
been dreadful hard to have left the
old place, poor as it is.- You can't
think about the hopes that lie down
among them craggy lilacs in the yard.
For when 1 planted them I had my
children with me, dear little creatures
running about rs happy as birds. But
what's the use of crying? 1 shall
have them again before long"
When she talked, it seemed to Rob
ert Dean that the room was full of
Hopes presence. 1t touched the
smoke-soiled walls and the plain furni-
ture with a strange kind Of glory, as
the brush of the artist transforms the
unsightly canvas into thing of living
beauty.
He was strongly moved. He could
have knelt at this old woman's feet
and thanked her for the words she had
uttered.
But he did what was infinitely wiser;
he left in her hand at parting that
which kept her for many day, and
hiding his JOY away in his heart he
only said:
"Do not trouble yourself about the
future for you shall never want while
1 live"
The Sunday evening following, his
sermon grew out of this text: "Pure
religion and undefled before God and
the Father, is this: To visit the faith
erless and the widows in their afflic-
ton, and to keep ones self unspotted
from the world"
A new meaning lay behind his words
which thrilled the hearts of his hear
ers. He had been cleaning in the
great field of life and had come back
burdened with sheaves. His vision of
life and it's labor had widened-the
worker was growing with the work.
When Hope reached the outer door
xI IL hot