The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-04-18
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. EWNWWNWNWMWX
B HERR STEINHARDT'S NEMESIS
81 BY J. MAcLAREN coBBAN


the younger scholars; and for a third
day long railway excursion for the
others. All these arrangements had
to undertake (some of them much
against the grain, confess; for ] pre-
fer to go through the parish as through
life, unaccompanied by instruments OF
brass)--to undertake alone, along with
all the duties more properly paroehial
and clerical; for the rector was still too
i'll to attend to anything.
For three weeks or so, therefore, |
had no time to rumintae upon extrane-
ous matters, and no time to spend at
Timperley Hall. But / then made an
acquaintance that considerably influ-
enced the later events Of my story-Mr.
Freeman, the minister of quaint lit
tie Dissenting Chapel in the village.
We encountered first on the day OF the
procession in the Lacroix lane. de
was marching along from the opposite
direction to us at the head Of his mod
est and silent troop; the lane was mar
row; he halted, took off his hat, and
smiled iwhile I could do no less in re-
turn, and he and his people (some of
them with reluctance, have no doubt)
stood aside to let our noisier and more
imposing procession pass. That was
our introduction. When the Whitsun-
tide matters we're all disposed of, he
called on me one evening to ask me to
be chairman at lecture he was about
to deliver in the little public hall OF the
village on some point OF the land ques-
tion. l was somewhat taken aback by
his request, and / suppose | showed
that was.
"You are surprised, daresay, Mr..
Unwin," said he, with a little con-
strained laugh (he was bright, genial
little man, with big, red beard). 81
| will explain why / ask you?-because
understand, you, like myself, come
from the south, where pure streams
and clear skies, and healthy trees may
be seen, but especially because l be
lieve you are the only man in th'
neighborhood who holds somethig like
the same opinions as l do; my friend
Mr.. Birley, has told me of the talks h,
has had with you about the way ou
Lancashire friends treat nature"
"Your friend, Mr.. Birley," / ex
claimed.
4 EYES," said he, with a comical twin
kle in. his eye, "Mr. Birley and l NEE
not on theological, but on simpl,
human common ground, and he is tn,
friend OF everyone who knows his gooC
: heart"
began to like my visitor. | agreec
to act as his chairman, and we thel
/ settled down to talk.
On the evening of the lecture l tool
my place on the platform in consid
cradle futter of nervousness. Their,
was a large attendance Of work folk
with fair sprinkling of well-to-do peo
| pie from the neighborhood, brought to
gether, l suppose, as much by curiosit.
to see two parsons Of conflicting creed
together as by interest in the subjec
, OF the lecture. observed on a bacl
seat Mrs. Steinhardt and Frank, Mis-
t Lacroix and our friend, Mr.. Birley
steinhardt himself was not there. Oh
rising was astonished to find mYsel
greeted with rounds Of applause, ant
, on explaining in few words how
] came to be where was, l was cheereC
with such hearty vociferation, that
concluded had become, without know
. ing it, a popular parsonage. Iaccepte,
/ the explanation Mr.. Freeman gave m
afterward: :-"It was brave and risk
r thing to do, you know, to appear witt
I me; and these Lancashire folk abov
all things admire bit Of pluck agains
q odds. ~