Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-01-13
MISS FAITHS ADVICE.

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Miss Faith sat in close companion
ship, as usual, with her familiar spirit,
piece of crocheted edging. Her touch
upon the mazes of tangled thread was
very gentle, even endearing, and her
look of content as she held it up and
noted its effect as a whole seemed vast
ly out of proportion to the cause. Miss
Faith was still pretty, with the pathetic
beauty held as fiotsam from the wreck
of years. Her hair was prettier as silver
than it had ever been as brown, and her
eyes, though they had lost their vivid
glow and eagerness, had gained a kindly
sympathy. Her tenderness had even ex-
tended to the crocheting in her hand
and impaired something to that usually
very impersonal object that her fancy
had fretted into thinking a response.
She passed her hand affectionately over
it now, as the figure of pineapple,
much conyentionalized, repeating itself
like history again and again, fell in seal
lops to the floor "Its most done, " she
thought. 81 can go back to the oak leaf
pretty soon'
A change in the crochet pattern was
the chief diversion of Faiths life, that
ran on as monotonously to the observer
as the tune of the famous harper who
played upon only one string. To an ant
the coming of stick or stone may be
great event. It is not hard to under
stand how life that consists in taking
infinite pains with many little things
may get it's sips of excitement, interest
and novelty from change in pattern
of crochet. The examination of the work
appeared to be satisfactory, and Faith
laid it on the table at her side. This ta-
BILE was devoted to the uses of her art,
nor was ever profaned by the presence
of any irrelevant substance. There were
rows of spools upon it, drawn up in
lines like soldiers ready to receive an
attack, hooks of various sizes lying like
weapons by their side and various rolls
of lace, the finished product Of their
warfare. Faith regarded them with ap-
proval, but her hand that had lain upon
the table fell away from the accustomed
task, and she sat idle, watching the red
coal, the shadows the lamplight threw
upon the carpet and listening to the
clatter that Mary, her maid of all work,
was making as part of the dishwash-
ing.
'It's a kind of jugglery she goes
through with those dishes, thought
Faith regretfully, "a sleight of hand
performance, to see how many tricks
she can do before one of them will
break" But her face did not cloud, for
she had learned resignation. She had
surrendered to Mary the dishes and all
the rest of the household divinities that
she had served SO deftly and carefully
for years that she might be more at lei
sure to while away her time in her own
innocent fashion.
She wondered, as she sat staring
duly at the blaze, how the crocheting
had come to mean SO much to her and
could not think for the instant, then
half remembered, saddened little, lost
the thread of memory again, recovered
it and fell to musing her elbow resting
on the table, her cheek in her palm.
She could hardly believe now that a
certain few years of her life had ever
really happened. They must have be-
longed to some other and wandered
willfully into her own, for there was
no home for them in hers or likeness
unto anything they brought. Was it so?
They had gone SO utterly, SO complete
ly, and she was happy now in her own
harmless way, far inland, out of all
reach of storm and reef. She was still
looking vaguely, half wistfully, at the
fire when her doorbell rang and some
one had entered the room and was hur-
rying to her side.
''Aunt Faith, said a gir1ish, tremu-
lous voice, "I've come to ask you to
help me- Mother said you had suffered
like this once and you had learned to
forget, and | thought perhaps you could
show me the way,
Faith looked down upon the slight
figure crouched there, sobbing, and laid
her hand gently upon the brown head,
but she did not understand about the
suffering.
"What is it, Grace?'' she asked.
"Oh, it's PHILIP she cried. "He
doesn t care for me any more. He's TAX
| ing Jennie Thompson now, and can t
bear it. Mother said other women had
to bear such things, but she'd always
been happy, and could come to you.
You could help me, she said, looking
up appealingly. "You could teach me
to forget.
Eyes, - said Faith slowly.
Then it came back to her, all her own
little story, and dim, broken memory
of the first heartache and her own long
ing to forget.
''Poor little girl, +" whispered Faith,
stroking the beautiful mass of tangled
hair. How was it learned to forget /
Let me think Yes ! remember now.
Wait minute, dear will show you. .
Faith slipped out of the room and soon
returned, bringing three rolls of very
broad crocheted lace.
"Can you crochet, Graceg'
"Not very much, Z said Grace, won
deringly.
Well, will teach you. This is the
way learned to forget. The needle
slips in and out, and the sunlight and
freight shine on it, and the lace grows
and is SO pretty, and it brings comfort.
When began, / couldn t see the needle
oh, how long ago that ist--for the
tears. That was when knew he would