The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-12-22

| uo ~ hOWs
"You weren't meant for this work
do you think l have no eyes7 Write to
your people and tell them"
81 have no people," answered the
preacher, and his face was very stern.
jeff tilted his chair, waiting. 1t
came at last. The preacher caught his
eye, and hesitated for moment.
~ told you lie, them" he said.
"Go on"
"They threw me over. My father is
a clergyman. was to have gone into
the church. wanted to--you don't
know how muchl But I could not &C.
cept everything they told me. sup
pose was unorthodox-" He stopped.
jeff nodded mute encouragement.
"They rejected me-" said the preach
or slowly.
because you were honest. Yes.
| And this was"
1.-THE only other way"
"You are priest, all the same" said
JEFF, through his teeth.
The preacher stood up.
Without due authority" said the
little doctor, waspishly, "is not always
given to the right man-nor by the
right man."
But the preacher went away silently.
| He was not one of those who speak evil
of authorities.
1t was month or two later, and
London was in the grip of black, bitter
frost. In doorway in one of the
slums, behind the Salamander Music
hall, jeff, haggard and anxious, stood
looking at the preacher with something
| like despair in his face
"pm stone broke" he said, "and
the girl must have nourishment or she'll
die. There's no time to apply to any
one. Good Godl what are we to dor"
ell get you some money!" he said.
81 think l can. Yes"-he shivered
little in the cold draught-" Pm sure l
can"
"In an hour?'
Within an hour. I'll 60 now"
The preacher nodded and went away
with dreary smile on his face. Per-
haps there was hidden irony in the
situation which he alone could perceive,
tor he smiled more than once as he
hurried through the darkeping streets
to the house where he had harborage.
Once, as he passed lighted church
where the choir was practicing for the
morrow aud his eyes fell on the notice
board, the smile very nearly became
laugh. Yet there was nothing laugh
able in sight. The notice board merely
bore the sufficiently sober information
that Rev. John Allingham Taylor
would preach next day in that church.
The preacher hurried on, and climb
ed to his rooms with a white face and
fluttering breath. Arrived there, he
sat down on broken chair and painted.
The room was almost as bare IS those
cells wherein the hermts dwelt of old.
All the little personal possessions
which had adorned it once had vanish
ed in that dreadful winter. All the
little money which had been paid to the
preacher by the family which had dis
carded him was gone. The only two
things which remained were large
and handsomely bound Bible, lying on
the foot of the bed, and little ivory
crucifix hanging against the bare wall.
The preachers eye fell on these and he
sighed. Then he got up resolutely,
took down the crucifix and opened the
Bible. Or the fyleaf was an inscrip-
ton. He tore the page carefully out
and slipped it into the breast pocket of
| LILO tllh COdts hCh hC tOOh Wy thC
Bible and crucifX and went out.
Not an hour laler jeff, in a wretched
attic, bent over shrunken figure and
forced brandy between lite lips. At the
further end of the room two children
small, starved, wolfish-eyed-sat over
the remnants of meal like wild beasts
over bone. Presently the little doc.
tor gave muttered exclamation of re-
lief. The children glanced up and
then returned ravenously to their food.
Their mothers eyes opened for a mo.
ment upon Jeff's face, and she whis.
pered word OF thanks. And we'll she
might, for he had dragged her out of
the jaws of death.
Meanwhile the preacher plodded
YEARLY back again to the shelter of the
four bare walls he called home. He
did not hurry this time. Very slowly
he climbed the creaking stairs, and al
most staggered into the room. 1t was
growing dark and the cold was intense.
The preacher sat down and his eyes in
voluntarily sought the nail where the
little crucifix had hung. Involuntar-
| lily, too, his hand drew out the page
which he had torn from the bible. He
bent over it and read the inscription
was it the twilight which made the let
ter dance and sway? 1t was very cold
and the darkness seemed to come closer
every moment. Perhaps it was only
his weakness that made it seem 80 dark
and freezing. He thought of jeff and
his work with curious gladness that
shut out the falling night. Then a
great WEAKNESS seized him and he
arose and tried to cross the room. The
darkness was whirling around him now
and he fell on his knees beside the bed.
y
jeff, coming in late that night to tell
him of his success, found him there
kneeling beneath the nail where the
cruciflx had hung. He did not answer
when the little doctor called to him,
and lighted match revealed the fact
that he had slipped from world which
had elected him as a man of no &C
count. The bare room told a silent
story that brought tears into ,Jeff's