The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-10-12
"No. sir" he heard himself saying.

gentleman he hated lying on general
principles. He was firmly convinced
Of the wickedness Of doing evi! that
good may come. And yet
It was all SO clear before him. II
this woman did not still love the
the other man-she would not SO fear
and dread being thrown aside by her
%unloving, unloved husband. And, II SO
thrown aside, to whom else could she
turn? That she was speaking the
truth in regard to her husbands
harshness and her own penniless con-
dition the clergyman knew we'll. He
knew more about solid John Brewster
than most people. and for a hard man
and exceeding olase with his money
all men knew him. That he would re-
fuse to believe the meeting between his
wife and the lover from whom he had
parted her, by unfair means. solitary
and as innocent as accidental was also
tolerably certain.
Then, certainly, the problem lay be-
tween this. woman's soul and his own
the priestly soul which had never yet
been stained by lying.
Heavy steps sounded along the pass
ageway leading from the street. The
woman, springing to a chair on the
other side of the table, looked at the
priest beseechingly and bent hurriedly
over some papers. A moment later
and solid John Brewster himself strobe
into the room.
At sight of his wife the hard face
changed, the expression faltered. The
priest, rising to confront him. saw in
his eyes both doubt and hesitation.
II see my wife is with you," the
man said, .sullenly. May I inquire
If she has been with you all day?"
For a moment the priest struggled
against a most human impulse, the
mad, natural, all but uncomfortable
inclination to knock down this in
timidator Of a woman and trample
upon him. Then he remembered that
he was a priest. and that there seemed
but one way of helping the tntimida-
tors victim. He turned his Eyes to-
ward her down-bent head. momenta-
rily. and again the Problem of the Lie
lifted its double-headed torment and
regarded him. He saw, as II in vision,
the Recording Angel who was SO real
a parsonage to him take down, with
sorrowful sternness, the white scroll of
his unstained veracity and degrade It,
degrade it to the dust. His eyes filled
with tears, suddenly, as though he had
witnessed another's downfall. But,
over and against this vision, was set
the soul Of this woman-and her peril.
) For him, repentance and remorse in
plenty. Nay, was he not already re-
penting the very thought Of the sin
In contemplation. For her-in case
her fears were realized-no place OF
repentance, though she sought it care
fully, with tears.
And. right OF wrong, the unselfish
impulse triumphed.
mo, sir" he heard himself saying,
distinctly, after 30 brief an interval
that even the angry husband noticed
no hesitation, "she has not. I did not
see her until after luncheon. But this
AFTERNOON she accompanied me on a
round Of charity calls, and, since our
return, she has been busily engaged In
making out her. report to the Charity
Calls Committee of the Woman's Aux
illary. She will be ready to accom-
.pany you home 50 soon as this q I'm
ished."
Fer this lie Father Charles Billings
;presently-and Aong-repented. and lie
will never cease to be anxious con-
cerning it, moral effect upon Mrs.
Brewster-now slowly acquiring the
habit Sofs 8 negative happlness ~ utter