The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-14
Copyright. 1908. by Daily Story Pub.

a--
The minister paced his study in an
agony of perspiration and trepidation
awaiting a note from Annette. With
In the past four weeks, since Annettes
coming. his heart that he believed safe
anchored with Mary. had slipped its
mornings and drifted out to Annette
To Annette, who laughed at him al
ways, who wouldn't hear him preach
who looked with soft indifference into
his miserable eyes and chatted of the
gay things of a gay world.
Annette's first recorded filtration
was at the tender age of fourteen
months. Her elfin little face laughed
up into an army officers. and with q
gay wave of her baby hand she had
said "By-by-" and she had been
saying 1t ever since
But the minister didn't know he
wasn't UP to Annette's tricks
Realizing that his people disliked his
liking Annette, knowing that for four
years they had linked his name with
Marys honestly admitting to himself
hiatt the linking had been to his liking
he tossed through restless, wretched
nights. When he found himself saying
that the people he had loved and
served through four long years were
jewellers in a dark jungle of prejudice
he got down on his knees and asked
the Lord for guidance
On this particular Saturday after
noon the minister had paced his study
his hands clasped minister like at his
back, clinching and unclinching them
selves zHe hadSloeke adj shimself in the
study to write a sermon. The college
boys had come to--f1im' Thursday and
announced the illness of the man who
was to preach their baecalaureate SER
mon. Commencement without a bril-
liant sermon was Hamlet without
Hamlet ~. ,Vre wei
The minister. remembering a not far
distant boyhood. assented. 1t had
seemed an easy thing to write a bril-
liant sermon in less than the time al
lowed him on Thursday afternoon; on
Saturday afternoon. when the sun
line crept past the lilacs. to lose itself
beyond the fence. it seemed to the
man that a row Of boyish faces lifted
themselves from somewhere about the
fence-they glowed with pride and
proprietorship in that sermon, and
again he groaned He even uttered a
mild expletive that the recording an
gel, If he doesn't restrict words to
their dictionary meaning. set down to
the minister sorrowfully, no doubt as
good, healthy, old fas hioned swearing.
Suddenly he ran his pen from top to
Z OOllOui VI Ills WIlLltL WOIuS. HeTt
was nothing left-his brain was empty,
his thoughts chaotic-his words,
wounded birds. Incapable of lofty
thoughts. but he registered a vow not
to disappoint the boys. Commence
ment was the one event of the year
in the little mountain town. Then he
went a step farther-he took things
out of the Lords and into his own
hands. He wrote to Annette and asked
(, her to end his suspense. If he got
Annette. who was of the earth, earthly,
off his mind, there was still time left
to think of heavenly things.
At shutdown the note, daintily per-
fumed, was handed into his study. 1t
read:' I'm the wisteria arbor at dusk
"a white gown" s~
In the twilight the minister hurried
past Mary's house. Mary was his
most faithful church worker. She
taught the worst boys in his Sunday
school; she organized and presided
over everything that fiourished relig-
iousiy in the town. Before Annette
came his name had been linked eter-
nahy with hers. and he felt warm.
thrifty feeling in the region of his ribs
at the linking. A slow wave of Shave