The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-12-21

ssa Tx tain t. y, l.. s e..1.,.!
IaM1 table t.i,5c@, one It. me- morning. Ming:
81 %4lvy E-ect-3 and drow toward
isii NH = ~ him lis writ. ma
iFg:,-< :. = 20 tcriai; then lie took
" --zelt/| IT. u deliberate surrey
r. IA Ixls Of the room Iu which
~ SilSs]I.r he sat. The view
g. - SIsss f513 was not very
- ~-~.-45zE pleasing one. The
walls were adorned with paper sadly
discolored and falling away in places;
the bare. smoky ceiling was traverse'.
by numerous cracks; the paint On II e
woodwork, Of dismal hue to start vi tn,
showed the ravagcs OF time; the ca rpet
was wEetchedIy shabby.
Mr.. Goodman gaZed at all tb - and
sighed. as he had often done be fore
Il could write better serm Jns in a
decent study am positive" he said to
himself. This room cert inly is de-
pressing. 1t does seem thu t the church
might paint and paper it. Tho cx-
peuse would be small Then there Is
the carpet; but If tt at remained /
should have to look L. D and not down.
Well, that is what | must do anyway"
and with 4 faint sH lie lie turned again
to the work befor him.
Just then there was a. little tap at the
door. and he 70 Sc and opened it.
Good morn ng, Mr.. Goodman" said
Miss Hope A rnold. who stood outside
the study door, looking fresh and
bright as the morning itself. shall l
disturb YOU? Mrs. Goodman said she
thought you wouldn't be fairly at work
yet. an ! told me to come right up"
Mea Iwhile the young girl had enter
ed n q room at the minister's invita-
ton and seated herself with Il C0mpre-
he lsiye glance at her surroundings.
Il wished to consult you, Mr.. Good
man" she continued, "abOut some of
our Christian Endeayor work, but
first of all, want to tell you how much
good your sermon last Sunday morn
ing did me. | thank you for it. 1t
was just what | needed
Il am very happy to hear you say
so. Miss Hope" replied the minister
with Il flush Of pleasure, and | thank
you for telling me-" but the visitor
little guessed how much sood in turn
she had done her pastor.
When they had finished their talk on
Christian Endeavor work, and Hope
had risen To so. she exclaimed i'm
pusively: so this is our minis S
study, | have never been In it before.
Really | should think the church could
afford to paper 1t, at least"
1T would be a great improve ment
certainly" responded Mr. Goodman,
smiling.
1T ought to be done" she declared
in decided tones. land It shall be she
mentally added
When his caller had gone. Mr. Coed
nun. greatly cheered and encouraged,
turned once more to his study table,
and the next Sunday mornings dis
course was generally pronounced one
of his best.
Mr. Goodman was all that his name
implied, but, though an earnest preach
er, he was not brilliant nor eloquent,
and the large churches with CORE
spending salaries were not for him
And as there were several small pco-
pie al the parsonage to be fed. clothed
and otherwise cared for, there was no
money for supernuities. or for many
other things not generally reckoned as
such
Mrs. Goodman, Fortunately. was a
CHEEKY efficient little woman. with a
wonderful knack for compelling a dol
lar tn do more than full duty, and in
every way she was a true helpmeet to
her husband
On leaving the parsonage Hope hast
ened to the office of her uncle. one of
the trustees of the church. and in
Qu!red whether the pastors study could
not he repapered and painted. but he
shook his head
She did not give up. however. by any
means. and ut the next meeting of the
Christian Endeav0r Society she pre-
scented the case.
Now" she said. L propose that we
retuyenatc that study as a Christmas
present TO our pastor. l have made
some inquiries. and find that it can be
done ut small expense
Mr.. Ball. who is a member of our
church. would furnish and put on good
paper for four dollars. A neat mating
for the floor would not cost over four
dollars more. Fred Johnson Ca young
painter, and Il member Of the c. T.
Society will kindly attend to the
woodwork without charge. SO you see
that the actual expense Of the under
taking need not exceed eight dollars
though some other changes and ad-
ditions might be made to good adyant-
age"
Much TO her delight, Hopes plan met
with general approval, and then arose
discussion as to the best method Of
raising the money 10 carry il out
Finally Ellen Berry, one of the mos
active members, said: There are sc
many oyster suppers sociables anc
things of that sort. let us try some
thing different. Suppose each mem
Der becomes personally responsible fol
fifty cents"
After little discussion this plan wa.
unanimously adopted. and the meetins
adjourned.
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