Evening star., 1903-12-25
SEARCH FOR CHRIST
A Christmas Story That is
Absolutely True.
ONLY TWO LETTERS
HUNTING FOR A KIND HEART
AND ITS RESULT.
The Dark Road One Man Has Recently
Travelled Could We But
Understand.
ONLY two LETTERS


thronged the post office corridor was a man
whose face bore the unmistakable signs of
great mental suffering. His face was white
and drawn, and under each eye were deep
dark lines A long raincoat covered seedy
suit of clothes his shoes were patched, and
he wore a hat that was old and dilapidated.
But Notwithstanding all these indications of
poverty there was something about the man
that convinced those near him that he had
seen better days. Evidently he was pro-
fessional man, and his voice and manner
showed quite plainly that he was one who
had at some period in his life moved in
refined society.
Are there any letters here for me?' he
inquired of the man at the general delivery
window. at the same time giving in low
tone the name of family known and re-
spected in every New England state
Two" answered the man behind the
grating, passing out a couple of letters, both
of which were addressed in a feminine
hand, one evidently the handwriting of an
elderly woman, the other rather resembling
that of a school girl. To a close observer 1t
would have been apparent that each hand
had trembled exceedingly in the perform
ance of it's duty.
The man took the two letters and retired
to an out-of-the-way corner of the great
building. There. after a moments heslta-
ton, he broke the seal of the one addressed
in a girlsh hand and began devouring its
contents 1t was from his wife and the
first few lines read:
Christmas is Here.
"WeIl, dear Christmas is almost here.
Aren't you glad. 1 suppose you have your
grip all packed up and when this reaches
you it will find you ready to take the train
for home. Oh, Charlie. it has seemed years
since you left, and yet it is less than ten
monthS.* 1t has seemed at times as
though l could never walt until the 25th. l
shall look all day Thursday for telegram
telling me on what train you Will be in.
Maybe l wont give you a hearty welcome.
dearl l do SO hope you have sue
Ceeded and that troubles are at an end.
This has been the darkest year of my life.
L have not been in company once since
you left 1t has been work, work, from
morn till night, and then to bed so tired l
can hardly move one foot before the other.
l have tried to lay by enough money
to buy me a hat and coat that 1 might
look decent when you returned but my
plans were all upset and l am still wearing
the old hat and coat. You see l have been
very, very sick and haven't told you before
because | knew you were now half wor
ried to death. But your coming will
make me well, DEAR and your success will
rot only enable us to have our own home
once more but strengthen our faith in the
Christ spirit
And He Thought.
The man could read no further for the
hot tears We're binding him.. He folded
the damp sheet and returned it to its
envelope. and then stood there and
thought-thought of how only few years
ago he had married this little woman, and
of how they had started out together in
life, full of faith In the great big world.
She was but nineteen then, but woman of
rare beauty and many accomplishments.
Before their marriage she was preparing
for the stage and ne for the ministry. But
he had not countenanced the stage, and
she had regarded the ministry as too Sc
we're. So they had both sacrificed their |
long-cherished ambitions, and consecrated
their lives to humanitarian work.
how they had labored together in
this field until their names had become
familiar In many homes, and they had
had the satisfaction of knowing that their |
work had not all been thrown away. But |
at what cost! Their little fortune had |
been swept away, and he had even lost his |
health. 1t had taken two years to regain |
accomplished but for the sacrifices of a |
loving parent After that the struggle had |
been hard one, but during the fight they |
had never once given up the effort to |
bring Christ's kingdom nearer men, al |
though realizing all the time that this |
work was antagoristic to their own inter |
ests. But they had believed with all their |
hearts that in every soul the Christ spirit |
can be found, and that only self hides it.
And they had had sufficient faith in their |
fellow men to believe that If the day should |
ever come when they found themselves in
actual distress an appeal to the Christ |
spirit in their fellow beings would bring
the needed assistance. Firm In this belief
he had gone forth from his home city only
a few months back in the hope of making
81 place for himself that should enable him
TO start life anew and Alright He had
come to the conclusion that God had not
intended that man possessed of his ability
a Nc Aat to,
was his duty. rather, to accumulate and
dispense in way that should bring happi-
ness into the world about him.
And so he had sought field a thousand
miles from home, and there he had con-
ceived and worked out a scheme that those
whom he had taken into his confidence de-
clared must bring its promoter wealth and
make the world better. But 1t did not take
him long to discover that If he desired to
protect his own interests he must seek
those who knew and understood him
Then he had decided to come to the ma
SioRs capital and ask the assistance of one
that he had known and helped In wears
gone by, and who had since achieved fame
And so, without money. he had started on
MS journey and 1t had taken him thirty
days to get here. He had endured all sorts
OF priyations. but when he had entered this
city he felt so certain OF success that he
had written the little wife and the dear old
mother that he would be home sure on
Christmas day. Two weeks had elapsed
since then and still the writer of the letter
was as far from success as ever
Right to Expect
As the mans mind reverted to all that
had occurred In those two weeks he paced
the floor rapidly and repented bitterly hav-
Ing placed 50 much confidence in humanity
And yet surely he had been justified in
seeking help here.
In the days of his successes his friends
had hOnored him with a nomination for
Congress, but he had withdrawn from the
field that neighbor similarly honored
might have a winning chance. and this act
OF his. together with personal work that he
did, doubtless elected the man. AT least
the enemy declared that to be the case.
After the election this neigfSbor had prom
ised to do anything in his power for him,
but he had never called upon the man to
fulfill his pledge But now. he had felt. was
his time; so he had called and sent UP his
card, requesting an interview. He had
thought that this man would be glad to put
him In touch with capitalists. Were his
hopes realiZedT Not much. The congress
man had expressed himself as too busy
even to grant the interview.
Then the man had appealed to an infuen-
al - y ,fx.o4 tn