Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-09-29
DURELL'S MISSION.


Rev. Icabod Durell carefully stroked
his quill pen and adjusted his glasses
more evenly on his nose and proceeded
to write out his sermon, in which be
was pointing out the error of allowing
merely temporal things to interfere
with those of eternal significance. lea
bod was plain, earnest man, who
worked faithfully at the problems of a
parish in colonial Virginia, which were
much like those of every parish every
where, only that he had come into closer
touch with his people than have many
ministers before and since his day.
Icabod bit his pen in hope of inspira-
tion, but his thoughts would turn from
his theme to one of the younger men in
whom he was deeply interested and of
whom lately he had seen but little, and
he found it difficult to select texts in
Genesis and Revelation exactly to illus
trate his point So be sat at his square
mahogany table absorbed in thought
and drew the plume Of his quill pen
back and forth in reflective way across
his nose.
James Hopkins came in through the
open door and patiently waited for the
parson to finish the sentence which he
was writing. This Icabod finally ac-
complished and became aware of Hop
kins, standing near.
81 didn't hear you," he said, apollo
gizing.
"No matter, answered Hopkins,
and both men sat down beside the big
book laden table.
"Parson, I'm in trouble" Hopkins
began, "and want your help"
Anything L can do, said Icabod,
"you know l will"
Hopkins hesitated. Then he took the
plunge "It's about Sally Dawes. l
suppose you'll laugh at me for com
ing, !" and be fumbled the hat in his
hand, "but can't make her listen to
me, and don't know what to do. She
promised to marry me, and now she
says that she never will :"
The parson waited for him to go on,
but Hopkins seemed to have finished all
he had to say.
'And you want me to speak to her?"
Icabod inquired, looking at his embar-
rassed caller with some amusement
"Yes," said Hopkins, "and l want
you to make her marry me. You could
do it. You know I'd be a good hus-
band, and you could talk about it-and
explain things, he ended rather
vaguely.
Icabod was silent. He considered a
moment.
"Well, James," he answered, "I'll
speak to Sally Dawes for you, but she
has many men ito choose from, you
know that, and I'm but poor pleader.
Still Ill try. T"
Hopkins looked sppreeiative and Of
fered the parson pinch of snuff. Then
he rose, and the two men shook hands,
and Hopkins went out into the summer
world.
Icabod looked after him with some
complacency. So it was this that had
been keeping him away. He would
straighten out matters with Sally
Dawes. The girl was fool not to keep
man like Hopkins if once she had the
luck to get him. Meantime there was
his sermon, so he went back to the ta-
BILE and again gently rubbed his nose
with his feathered pen and tried once
more to get the drift of his argument.
The next afternoon Icabod rode over
to the Dawes plantation, where he
found two of his younger brethren en-
joying themselves in Miss Sally's COM
pany. With patience and long suffering
he waited until they reluctantly had
gone, and then he proceeded at once to
deliver his message
'And he's worthy man, and you
should be ashamed to treat him to
whom you're betrothed in such fash
ion,'' he ended.
Sally listened sttentiyely and ar
ranged her neckerckief.
It's no different from the way ]
have treated the others, y she answered
at last, with no attempt to seem i'm
pressed with her own faults. eff James
Hopkins would come a-wooing, let him
bespeak himself and not go bothering
the parson.,
It's no sach great bother replied
Icabcd candidly, with the air of one
who valves the point merely of guam
tity, "only you don't seem to under
stand what your actions mean to James
Hopkins. He's no man to be forever
chasing after woman. There are
many girls in the county who'd be glad
of him. -
They're welcome to him, and you
may tell James Hopkins the same and
give him my best good wishes, replied
Sally, with all sweetness.
So the interview ended. It seemed to
Lcabod useless to discuss the subject
further. He had done his duty, and it
was nearing supper time, SO he took his
leave and rode away, amused and rather
sorry and wondering which of the other
young men was to marry the prettiest
girl in the parish. Her picture came
back to him as she had stood on the low
piazza, one arm resting against the vine
covered post, the sunshine playing on
her fair hair which had blown little
over her brown eyes, so filled with
mischief. She certainly was the pret-
tiest maiden in the parish, Icabod
thought; mere candor compelled the ad-
mission, and he wondered if the tea
cakes would be overdone, and according
ly applied his riding stick and hurried
on toward the parsonage.
During the Sunday incoming, Hop