Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-03-04

lQdt baFDara reCOSnlZeQ as belonging
to Mr.. Somers. "A well-behaved hired
girl is less objectionable than a
drunken count. That's what we had
at Newport last winter at the Lynd-
bursts. But then, I suppose he knew
his place all right = :.
Barbara found an opening and
moved away. The rest of the even
ing she was conscious of being largely
let alone. There was no coarse or vul-
gar objection to her; but very many of
Mrs. Vane's guests showed their feel
ings in way, several of them said
afterwards, so that Mrs. Vane would
know how far she had mistaken her
own place in society.
AS the guests began to leave, Bar
bara nervously went to Mrs. Vane TO
say good night, and found Mr.. Morton
with the Dillinghams just saying fare
well at the door. Mr.. Morton bowed
gravely to Barbara as he said good
night to Mrs. Vane and went out, Miss
Dillingham; taking his arm as, they
passed down the steps. -
81 am going to ride" Mrs. Dilling-
ham said to Mrs. Vane, as she waited
in the hall. ''The carriage is just COM
ing around. I told the young folks to
go on. It is beautiful evening for q
walk"
Barbara walked back into the sit
ting-room and sat down by the table
of prints and turned them over silent
ly. When the guests were all gone,
Mrs. Vane came in.
"What! you here, Barbara? I
thought you had gone"
"No, I wanted to talk with you a
little WHILE" said Barbara, with an
effort.
"Why, I do believe you are almost
crying" the old lady exclaimed, COM
ing up to her quickly. "Have you had
a trying evening? Tell me all about
! it,
Barbara told her, and added some
thing more that made the sharp eyes
soften and the abrupt manner change
to one of great gentleness.
| "Don't worry, dear. 1t will all come
out right, know. Just go right on
with your work. I understand it all
| perfectly I'm old enough to be your
| grandmother, and I've seen more re-
markable things happen. The Lord
| takes care of more things than we give
Him credit for. We must trust Him
when we are in all sorts of trouble
| And yours isn't the worst, by any
means. But it's too late for you to 90
home now. I'll send William over to
tell Mrs. Ward, if anyone is up there
that you are to stay here tonight"
So Barbara remained with the great
hearted old soul that night, and in the
morning she went back to her drudg.
cry, sobered by the events of that
eventful evening, and trembling a lit
tie because she had Entrusted her
secret even to one so old and so loving
as Mrs. Vane. But on the whole il
comforted her. Under other ci7cum.
stances she would have told no one
but her mother. But Mrs. Clark was
nervous and irritable, she did not I'M
derstand Barbara, and lived daily
protest against her choice of life
4 work. To learn now from Barbara
that she had come to think a great
deal of the brilliant young minister
of the great Marble Square church
would have seemed to Mrs. Clark like
another madness, and what Barbara
needed at this crisis in her life was
not reproaches or tears, but encour-
agement and good-hearted affection.
She was a girl who gave her own
affection quickly. From the day she
met Mrs. Vane she had understood
her. 1t was the same with Mr.. Nor
ton. 1t is mistake to suppose that
the greatest feelings must develop
slowly. The feeling that Barbara ex-
perienced was not long in point of
time, but she herself was the best
judge of it's strength. It is probable
! that she was afraid of it's develop
ment in SO comparatively short a time,
Rnd one way she took to ascertain the
truth was to talk to Mrs. Vane frankly
about it. Some things the old lady
gave her that evening out of her own
own heart. Barbara had been afraid
that her apparently sudden giving up
Of her life as it faced this other life
| was wrong. There was q tremor in
The thought of unseemly haste un'
worthy of so sacred an event.
But, as the days went by, she found
It was not so. ole did not know all
herself, but the experience that had
come to her lent strength to her re-
solve to prove herself worthy of the
faith he had said he had in that kind
Of life, the life she had chosen. Al
The same time, she faced with gray
tty that, was, making her older than
Ter years, the fact that the very ma
lure of her position would make II
impossible for her ever to realize an
answer to her own heart from his.
+ So it was with mingled feelings Of
! ambition that Barbara took up the
Tally round again. The results Of. the
evening so far as her own position
was concerned were insignificant
ilrs. Dillingham; kept her word, and
JAILED on Barbara's mother. She also
rent note to Barbara, inviting he1
10 call; and q little later she even in.
e1,,1oI hor u "a a 1,,,sn ~ q ~ -