The herald., 1898-12-11

would never be happy so long as she
lived. She kept it UP actually for TWO
years. He showed me all the letters as
they came, and asked me to destroy
them: some of them he did not even
read. They disgusted him, they were
SO illiterate-so unwomanly-so silly.
For years she did not bother him, but
when he took sick, she began again.
Almost every morning I would find a
note of some kind under the door beg
ging to be allowed to nurse him. The
day he died he had a letter from her.
People were in the room through the
day, and he had no opportunity to burn
it, but just a minute or so before he
died, he took it from beneath his pill
low and begged me to burn 1T at once.
Almost his last word was to beg me to
destroy it, for fear that some one might
see it, 50 after he died, and before
called Sally, l confess l did burn the
letter. 1t was that that she saw me
doing. Now, 1 feel relieved. 1t has
been on my mind a long time. l have
stood as much as I can from that wo-
man; 1 can bear no more-it will drive
me mad"
| The face of the young preacher was
set in unbridled anger. He opened his
mouth to speak, but his rage seemed to
rise i'm his throat. He rose and began
to divest himself of his dressing-gown.
II am glad-so very glad you told me.
darling" he said tenderly. You may
be sure it makes me love you more to
know you have been so forbearing.
You are more of a Christian than l
am"
The little church was we'll filled when
they arrived. The gossip about Mrs.
Murray and her recent marriage had
! served to draw many persons to church
who were not in the habit Of going
regularly.
| Hettie Melvin drew deep breath of
relief as the pair entered the door.
She's faced the congregation O. pur-
pose" observed Hettie to her arch SYM
pathizer whenever he scores up for
talllin' agin one another she cuts them
little sanctifled eyes o. her'n round at
us same as to say: Thar now, you see
what yore a-gittin' fur slanderin' q
mel Oh, / hate that woman wussn a
snake," Hettie laid her lean hand in
Tabitha's lap. and remarked to her:
/ Did you ever see him look so pale
and shaky? I'll bet my best COW
some'n's in the wind. He looks as mad
as hornet over a busted nest. Maybe
he's upset kase his nest is SO badly in
terfered with. He lowed when he mar
ried the rich widow of the community
he'd be in clover, but he kin see thar
amt no fun in livn' with a woman
that everybody is agin tooth and toe
nail! You may look out for a storm o
some Sort And Hettie settled herself
firmly into her seat as if she feared
there might be danger of her being
blown away.
And when the sermon came it was in
deed q severe one. The congregation
had never heard such stern, vindictive
eloquence in denouncing hypocrisy and
back biting. The people were afraid to
| look at one another. Some of them
wrthed in their seats and others sat
like beings petrified under the fear tina
their names would be spoken out. Part
of the time Mrs. Murray's eyes in their
reddish sockets We're cast downward
and now and then she hid them with
her fan to prevent their satisfied spar
kle from being seen. Once in awhile an
| audible grunt of pious approval would
arise from Mrs. Wittekind, and this
seemed to cause the minister to rest his
eyes on her as if for moral sustenance
AS he began to grow personal. he grew
white with suppressed rage; he leaned
on the little rickety pulpit and clenchet
his fists as if in mortal ncombat Tht
cords of his neck drew his skin like tn,
rope of a tent
1T is going on here under your eyes,
he thundered,- ,-'under the very eyes o.
you people who pretend to love God ant
obey his commandments. In this little
mountain village within the last month
an innocent woman. woman as pure
and holy as godly woman can be, ha:
been robbed of her reputation by you
idle, devil stained tongues. Without
particle of foundation for your vile sus
picions. many of you have openly de
clared that an humble toiler in God'i
vineyard has married for gold, that hi
wife is a thief. that together they ar
living on money stolen from others
And to what do You owe this repor
upon which you have been feasting lik
a lot of black winged, foul-scented vul
lures? You owe it to the report of
confessed spy-a woman, God gran
that she may be pardoned-a woman
who has allowed a black hell of jealou
hate to burn within her for twent,
years. She SAYS she saw the accuse,
burn a paper the night her HUSBAND
died. This, my people, was true, but
was not the dead mans will. 1t was
| letter-ona of hundreds that the sly ac
cuser has written to her old sweetheart
begging him to have pity on her-tell
ing him that she never could abide b
his decision to marry the woman he d
= marry. Brethren, this was only weak
ness on her part but the ISLANDERS sh
; has set afloat are crminal-cursed @