Waterbury Democrat., 1901-06-18
A Lost Recruit
 By Gilbert StanhOpe.


 .frida the news of her lover's perfidy. ] grieved for the pain which l knew it would cause her, for loved the girl. But pity for the individual was soon lost in rejoicing for the good of the Cause, This glorious creature would be res eued from the ignoble lot of common place wifehood and motherhood, and would be free to devote her energies to the enlightenment of mankind by the spread of our doctrines.
 When I first set eyes on Elfrida Stan ford, in the select ladies boarding house in Brompton in which her guard ian had placed her, I thought to my self at once, what an apostle for the Causei And I set myself to win her for it. There was quite competition for her good graces among the older resi- dents there, but fortunately she seemed to take to me rather than to that pompous and vulgar Mrs. Clyde, that Misunderstanding Mrs. Van Deck en, the fast little grass widow from India, or the starched and vihegary old Miss Stackerdale, who all said such un- kind things about one another. l was in rather feeble health at the time, and perhaps this drew her towards me. for she has a good heart, I will say that for her in spite of the way she has disap- pointed me-
 And so we became intimate, and tried gradually to initiate her into some of the mysteries of our creed. She was an orphan an6.yery friendless, having been brought up mostly in for Lox r-o1 1af ioT1c n London, save the crusty old bachelor uncle, who took no more trouble about her than he could help. So got her to come to some of our lectures and meet ings, where her pretty face and win ming manners insured a warm welcome to the new proselyte. She would not, however, go the whole way with us; she liked our views, she said, when stated in broad, general terms, but there was a lack of ambition to culti- vate her psychic force and distaste for some of our manifestations, which I could not but deplore.
 Still hoped that time would mend these deficiencies, when an unfofseen event threatened to deprive me of my most promising disciple.
 Threatened, say, but hope the danger is now over, and that when l tell Elfrida what have learned about Laurence Drummond, her love will be turned to scorn and loathing.
 How I regret having applied to him for advice and thus thrown him in her way, but he was highly recommended to me, and he looked honest-yes, he really did, though I know him now to be deceitfu1 and double-faced.
 It all came about through poor Miss Stackerdale, who developed a serious malady and died in our boarding house. Elfrida was very kind to her, and she persuaded me to help her in looking after the poor old lady. And when she died, we found that she had made new will and left her little fortune between us-
 What a godsend for the Cause, I thought. But then the trouble began. Her relations disputed the will and ac- cused us of exercising undue influence, and we had to go to law about 1t, and was advised to put the matter into Mir. Drummond's hands.
 noticed that he preferred to get his information from Elfrida rather than from me, but he said she had clear head for business and was not so much absorbed with the supernatural as I.
 I noticed, too, that the dear girl was growing brighter and, ifpossible, pret- tier every day.
 But never suspected anything until one day when pushed open the draw ing-room door, which looked shut but was not, and stood there transfxed with astonishment to see those two standing facing one another at the further end of the room-
 He held her two hands clasped in his, and there was a light on both their faces such as one does not see more than once in lifetime
 They neither saw nor heard me, and as slipped out again heard him say: s.Elfridat'' and she gave a sort of happy sob, and there followed sound whose significance could not mistake. .. I went up thoughtfully to my own room. Was this to be the end of all my dreams of the work that Elfrida might accomplish for the Cause? Was a broad-shouldered, dark-haired young man more to her than the enlighten- ment of mankind?
 It seemed so indeed, when Elfrida came up presently to tell me of her en- gagement, with a fine flush on her cheek certainly, but without any real penitence for her backsliding. For her marriage with him meant desertion of the Cause, for which he had no sym pathy. He denounced our doctrines as vague and dreamy, and the manifesto tions with which we seek to impress the vulgar he even characterized as frauds.
 But I did not give up all hope. We knew very little about MT. Laurence Drummond. Further investigations might bring to light some grave ob- stacle to this most undesirable union.
 Perhaps I ought to have relied on the higher intelligences in the spiritual world to obtain the information I de- sired But was hurried and anxious, and Iresorted to mundane measures.
 And soon found the key to the sit nation that I wanted. discovered that Laurence Drummond was in the habit of paying occasional visits to lady liv- ing in a northern suburb, who called herself Mrs. Lesillien, though inquiries failed to trace the present Or past ex-