Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-09-12

| that scurried out Of her way be late
to their pan OF meal. For generations
| it had been the modest boast of the Dills
| that no one among them had ever been
| known to be late to church ON the Sab
| bath-day. The village jokers said that if
| the parson should look up from the
| hymn reading to see a Dill coming down
| the aisle he'd have a shock. sure!
SO little Sunday-gowned Lobelia
walked fast, and quivered with appre-
hension. She was the very last Dill and
| so much depended upon her.
But there was no need of hurry. After
all, she was very early indeed. She
walked in through the open door, into
| the dim, solemn, empty room, and sat
| down in her pew in front of the pulpit.
1t was nothing new to Lobelia Dill to be
the very first one at church; the new
| thing would have been to be the last
| one.
She was used to waiting alone in her
pew with soberly-folded hands and qui-
| etly-expectant face She usually read
some of her favorite hymns while she
waited, but today her head nodded
drowsily over them. 1t was a warm day,
and she had hurried SO. She was very
tired indeed.
Outside the window the bees buzzed
with weekday energy, and the shrill
voices of little children drifted in and
| out on the breeze. Next door to the
church Mercy Drinkwater was hanging
out some clothes.
When Lobelia opened her eyes q good
while afterward she experienced a dis
tinct shock. A great horror crept gradu-
ally over her, and widened and expanded
into an awful certainty. She gave one
glance about her at the empty wing
pews; above her, at the empty pulpit;
behind her. at the rows upon rows Of
vacant pews. Then she knew. There
was little need Of taking out her watch
and noting the time with Mortified eyes
Like the ancient handwriting on the wall,
the humiliating truth was written in livid
letters before her-'Lobelia Dill has slept
all meetin'- time-Lobelia Dill has slept
all meetin' time"
She read it over and over The shame
of it sent the blood, in two little red
spots, to her thin cheeks.
She had slept through the sermon and
all; everybody had gone away and left
her sitting there in the Dill pew asleep.
Ii the Dill pew! The reproachful shades
of many Dills filed before her in slow
procession, and their grieved eyes gloomed
at her out of the dusk Of the church.
Grandfather Dill, whose white head had
never nodded, came first and gazed most
reproa chfully.
Il declare I can't ever so home past
folks housesw groaned poor little Lo-
bella. They'll all be lookin' and point
in the finger O scorn. They'd say:
There goes the only Dill that ever slept
through meetin'. 1t amt any good that
she's always been early, and never broke
the record once, never-she's slept all
through meetin' time now, and disgra ced
| the name O. Dill. Look at her! look at
her! There she goesH And they'd call
all their little children to see how folks
looked that couldn't keep awake in meet
out of a Dill! Oh, no, | can't ever go
past their houses in broad daylight
She rocked herself in anguish Of spirit.
Her fingers clinched till they printed deep
| red marks on her hands. What was being
late to meetin' to this? Better she hadn't
then she could have slept only half SO
| longi
All the long afternoon Lobelia Dill sat
| upright in her pew. She was waiting for
the friendly dusk to go home in. 1t was
her just punishment; she did not COM
plain. She even experienced slight mo-
dicum of comfort from her self-impOsed
| penance.
| It was warm, and the air was drowsy
with the emptiness and stiffness; but she
| was not sleepy. She wondered grimly
whether she should ever be sleepy again.
Her long walk and the long fast made
her faint and dizzy, but she would not
! yield Straight and ashamed and full of
remorse, she sat there and waited for
night. There was no evening service to
| conflict with her vigil; that was some
| thing to be grateful for. She had only to
wait.
In the dusk she crept meelly home
The next morning daWnCd, beautiful
| and clear. The wind was due west. 1t
| pulled through the open window into Lo-
| bella Dill's solemn face, reassuringly; but
the comfort Of it failed to touch her till,
as last resort, it brought her the sound
| of church bells
What? She listened again-and again.
| Slowly, regularly, the air throbbed with
| the faint, sweet sound. There was no
mistaking it. Lobelia hurried out to the
doorsteps with the dawning of hope in
her breast. Then with swift inspiration
| the truth flashed over her. 1t was to-
day--today, and the church bells were
| ringing!
Explanations crowded themselves upon
her in a whirl as she hurried into -her
Sabbath day dress and bonnet. There
was still looming daDger-she must hur-
~! How she must hurry! The Dill
| good name was still in her keeping.
Quinn's hill sloped steeply and favored
running. Lobelia Dill ran down it's steep
side. At the church the bell was drawi-
ing its last stroke or two as she painted
in at the door. She was not late. She
walked up the aisle, erect and I'M
ashamed, to her pew in front of the pull
pit. Her face was radiant with peace
Christian Endeavor World.