Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-03-21

her sareer. She grew excited as she
thought of possibilities. a building
/ of the kind she had dreamed of was
not by any means an answer to the
servant girl problem, but it was at
least real thing, and if the idea was
properly worked out it might result
in great things.
So she talked with herself as she
sung at her work that afternoon and
| resolved to go over to Mrs. Vane's at
once, and yet even in the midst of her
growing excitement and her genuine
interest in her career. Barbara was
not altogether free from a depression
| that had its origin in the best feeling
| she had ever known. This feeling
| was her love for the young minister.
| Mr.. Norton. Barbara no longer tried
| to conceal from herself that he had
| become real part of her life. The
trouble in the Ward household had all
| tended indirectly to increase her ad-
miration for him. With the tenderest
| sympathy he had entered into the
| family's grief. It was only natural
| that in the weeks that followed Carts
death Mr.. Morton should call fire.
| quently at the house where he had
become such familiar guest in col
| lege days. Scarcely a day passed
when he did not drop in for a meal.
or to spend part of an evening.
| In one way and another Barbara
met him a good deal. He was always
! the same earnest, gentlemanly, kindly
| speaker and listener. Gradually in
little moments of conversation when
Mrs. Ward was not able to come down,
and Mr.. Ward and Morton had lin
gered over little talk on social ques-
| tions after tea, Barbara had taken an
| unconscious part in the discussion
More than once she had with almost
guilty haste gone out of the sitting
| room after one of those important
discussions in which she had revealed
| a part of her ambitions to the young
| minister and Mr.. Ward; and in the
midst of her work, as she finished
some kitchen task, she reproached
her heart for yielding to what seemed
like a hopeless affection. But the
girls life was opening into full bios
som under the spell of power as old
as the human race, as divine an in
| stinct, as religious a hunger, as hui
| manity ever knew. She was more
| than dimly conscious of all this, even
in the midst of her self-reproaches.
| But the consciousness of her posi-
| ton as a household servant and of his
| position as leader in the pulpit of the
| most influential church in Crawford
| was sharply painful. The gulf be-
tween them was not very deep per-
sonally. She was fully as well edu-
Gated along lines of general culture
She was almost his equal in matters
| of knowledge and perception. It was
| the social distinction that separated
| them. And, as the days went by and
she felt more and more the mental
stimulus of his presence and the at
tractiveness of his manner towards
her, she shrunk from the thought of
the suffering in the future which she
| wss making for herself in even allow
ing his life to become part of hers.
All this was in her mind as she went
over to see Mrs. Vane that afternoon.
The new plan proposed by Mrs. Ward
| and the gift of the money to make it
practical appealed to her ambition,
and she resolutely set herself to sat
isfy herself with the working out of
her ambitions for social service, say
ing to herself, not bitterly, but sadly:
Barbara Clark, there is no place for
love in the life you have chosen. AM
bition is all you have any right to-
| All, Barbara! Is that as far as you
have gone in the school of life2 There
is nothing that can take loves place.
For there is nothing greater in the
kingdom of God. Ambition may keep
you busy. It can never fill the place
in your heart that God made to be
filed.
She found Mrs. Vane as nearly dis
turbed as she had ever seen her. Gen.
orally the old lady was the personifi-
cation Of peace.
''What do you think?" was her
greeting to Barbara the moment she
| entered the house. "Hilda has gone
| and got married! To "a worthless
young fellow after two months ac-
! quaintance. The first knew of it was
this morning. It seems he persuaded
her to marry him about week ago.
To-day she says she must leave me to
go and live with him. I don't blame
her for that, but neither of them is
! fit to be married. Hilda has no more
| idea of what it means to make home
| than"
Just then the bell rang, and Mrs.
Vane went to the. door. Barbara
heard her talking earnestly to some
one in the hall, and the next moment
she came in, followed by Mr.. Morton.
miss Clark, Mr.. Norton" said the
old lady, who seemed to enjoy Bar
bara's sudden coloring. 'sMr. Morton
thought he was interrupting some pr;-
| vate conference if he came in. I don't
know what you want, my dear; but
know Mr.. Morton is interested in your
plans, and he may be able to help in
some way"