Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-02-08

and Felicia, were tic only children.
Rose was 81 years old. fair, vivacious.
educated in Il fashionable college. Just
entering society and already somewhat
cynical and Indifferent, very hard
young lady to please. her father said
sometimes rlayfully, 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 puzzl
to her father 4 source of irritation TO
her mother and with 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
tions were granted her.
Here's Il 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
Ravmond?' 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 We're studying her.
"Rachel says DR.. Bruce has been
studying in Raymond for two Sundays
and has seemed very much interested
in Mr. Maxwell's S pledge in the First
church.
''What does Rachel say about her
self?'' asked Rose, who was lying ON a
couch almost buried under half 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 a new cigar, and
Rose exclaimed;
''Rachel is awfully queer, l 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 a pause
"What pledge?" Mr. Sterling asked
the question and then added hastily:
"Oh, know! Yes; 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
commission, and he's back at his te
Biography again. There have been queer
doings in Raymond during the past
year. l wonder what DR.. Bruce thinks
of it, on the whole. l must have talk
with him about it. -
>''He breaches tomorrow, said Fell
cia. perhaps he will tell us something
about it.
There was silence for minute. Then
Felicia said abruptly, as if she had
gone on with spoken thought to some
invisible hearer, ''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. l say what if he
should propose to our church what Mr..
Maxwell proposed to his and ask for
volunteers who would pledge themselves
to do everything after asking the ques
tion, What would Jesus do?' "
There's no danger of it, " said Rose,
rising suddenly from the couch as the
tea bell rang.
''It's very impracticable movement
to my mind, " said Mr. Sterling sharply
81 understand from Rache's letter
that the church in Raymond is going
to make an attempt to extend the idea
of the pledge to the other churches If
they succeed, they will certainly make
great changes in the churches and ia
peoples lives" said Felicia.
"Oh, well, let's have some tea first, -
said Rose, walking into the dining
room. Her father and Felicia followed,
and the meal proceeded in silence. Mrs.
Sterling had her meals served in her
room. Mr.. Sterling was preoccupied
He ate very little and excused himself
early, and, although it was Saturday
night, he remarked as he went out that
he would be down town late on some
special business.
-'Don't you think father looks very
much disturbed lately?" asked Felicia
a little while after he had gone out.
"Oh, l don't know | hadn't noticed
unusual, replied Rose. After
a silence she said: care you going to
the play tonight, Felicia? Mrs Delauo
will be here at half past Z. l think you
ought to go. She will feel hurt if you
refuse.
''Tll go | don't care about it. L can
see shadows enough without going to
the play.
10 years old to make replied Rose,
"but then you re queer in your ideas
anyhow, Felicia. If you re going up to
see mother, tell her I'll run in after the
play if she is still awake .
Felicia went up to see her mother
and remain with her until the Delano
carriage came. Mrs Sterling was wor-
ried about her husband She talked in
cessantly and was irritated by every re-
mark Felicia made. She would nor list
en- to Felicia's attempts to read even Il
part of RacheIs letter, and when Fe-
licia offered to stay with her for the
evening she refused the offer with
good deal of positive sharpness.
So Felicia started off to the play not
very happy, but she was familiar with
that feeling, only sometimes she was
more unhappy than at other times. Her
feeling expressed itself tonight by a
into herself. When the
was seated in the box and the
curtain was up Felicia was back of
the others and remained for the even
ing by herself Mrs. Delano as chaperon
for a half dozen young ladies under
stood Felicia well enough to know that
she was "queer, . as Rose so often said,
ana she made no attempt to draw her
out of the corner, and SO Felicia really
that night by herself one
Of the feelings that added to the mo-
mentum that was increasing the coming
on of her great crisis.
The play was an English melodrama
full of startling situations, realistic
scenery and unexpected climaxes There
was one scene in the third act that i'm
pressed even Rose Sterling
1t was midnight on Blackfriars
bridge. The Thames flowed dark and