El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-30
IN HIS STEPS.
"nf,at mnuIn
Srsus In
OopsrtQfred and published IN book FORM ~ tos
Idpdnce Publishing Co. of Chicago.


Rose, with some petulance. "And
didn't Dr. Bruce go on to say that there
was no blame attached to people who
had wealth if they are kind and give to
the needs of the poor? And I am sure
the doctor himself is pretty comfortably
settled. He never gives up his Injuries
just because some people in the city go
hungry. What good would it do if he
did2 I tell you, Felicia. there will al
ways be poor and rich in spite of all we
can do. Ever since Rachel has written
about the queer doings in Raymond
you have upset the whole family. Peo-
pie can't live at that concert pitch all
the time. You see if Rachel doesn' t
give it up soon. It's a great pity she
doesn't come to Chicago and sing in
the Auditorium concerts. heard today
she had received an offer. I'm going tC
write and urge her to come. I'm just
dying to hear her sing.
Felicia looked out of the window and
was silent. The carriage rolled on past
two blocks of magnificent private resi-
dences and turned into wide drive
way under a covered passage, and the
sisters hurried into the house. 1t was
an elegant mansion of graystone, fur
nished like palace, every corner of it
warm with the luxury of paintings,
sculpture, art and refinement
The owner of it all, Mr.. Charles r.
Sterling, stood before an open CRATE fire
smoking a cigar. He had made his
money in grain speculation and rail
road ventures and was reputed to be
worth something over two millions.
His wife was a sister of Mrs. Winslow
of Raymond. She had been an invalid
for several years. The two girls, Rose
and Felicia, were the only children.
Rose was 81 years old, fair, vivacious,
educated in fashionable college, just
entering society and already somewhat
cynical and Indifferent, a very hari.
young lady to please, her father said
sometimes playfully, sometimes sternly.
Felicia was 10, with a tropical beauty
somewhat like her cousin, Rachel Wins
low, with warm, generous impulses
just waking into Christian feeling, Ca
pable of all sorts of expression, a puzzle
to her father, a source of irritation to
her mother and with a great, unsur-
veyed territory of thought and action
in herself of which she was more than
dimly conscious. There was that in
Felicia that would easily endure any
condition in life if only the liberty to
act fully on her conscientious convic-
lions were granted her.
''Here's letter for you, Felicia"
said Mr.. Sterling, taking it out of his
pocket.
Felicia sat down and instantly opened
the letter, saying as she did SO. "It's
from Rachel
"Well, what's the latest news from
Raymond? % asked Mr.. Sterling, taking
his cigar out of his mouth and looking
at Felicia. as he often did, with half
shut eyes, as if he were studying her
''Rachel says DR. Bruce has been
studying in Raymond for two Sundays
and has seemed very much interested
in Mr.. Maxwell's pledge in the First
church. -
'What does Rachel say about her
SELF" asked Rose, who was lying on -
couch almost buried under half a dozen
elegant cushions.
''She is still singing at the Rectangle.
Since the tent meetings closed she sings
in an old hall until the new buildings
her friend Virginia Page is putting up
are completed. -
81 must write Rachel to come to Chi
cago and visit US. She ought not to
throw away her voice in that railroad
town upon all those people who don t
appreciate her."
Mr.. Sterling lighted new cigar. and
Rose exclaimed:
"Rachel is awfully queer, I think
She might set Chicago wild with her
voice if she sang in the Auditorium,
and there she goes on. throwing her
voice away on people who don't know
what they are hearing.
Rachel won't come here unless she
can do it and keep her pledge at the
same time" said Felicia after pause
tWhat pledge?" Mr.. Sterling asked
the question and then added hastily
sob, 1 knowl Yes; a very peculiar
thing that. Powers used to be friend
of mine. We learned telegraphy in the
same office; made a great sensation
when he resigned and handed over that
evidence to the interstate commerce
and he's back at his te
legraphy again. There have been queer !
doings in Raymond during the past
year. I wonder what DIR. Bruce thinks
of it, on the whole. 1 must have a tall !
with him about it. -
"He breaches tomorrow, said Fell |
cha Perhaps he will tell US something |
about it
There was silence for minute. Then |
Felicia said abruptly, as if she had |
gone on with a spoken thought to some !
invisible nearer, "And what if he |
should propose the same pledge to the |
Nazareth Avenue church p
''Who? What are you talking about ?"
asked her father, little sharply.
''About DR.. Bruce. 1 say what if he
should propose to our church what Mr.
proposed to his and ask for