News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1903-01-07


sons, all these explanations? And yet
he felt the need Of her. She had thus
far satisfied him. and as he faced her
now there was only one prayer in his
heart. and that was that she would
finally cast in her lot With his and say:
where thou goest ! will go Thy peo
pie shall be my people and thy God
my Cod
He began his explanation while Lu-
ella leaned her chin on her hand and
watched him with deepening serious
ness.
81 am thirty years old From the
time of my birth | have been used to
every luxury. | have enjoyed all the
| elegant comforts of a rich, exclusive
proud family. Ny fathers ambition
as you know, has always been the am
bitiOn of a man who has lived a life
as remote from the common people as
If he had been born in some other
world. have grown up in this at
mosphere. ] have known as little Of
the people and their real life as my
father Up to the time of my religious
experience ! cared as little for the PEG.
pie as / knew about them. Since that
experience my whole object in living
has changed l find myself longing to
| know the people as much as l already
love them. 1t is not enough that ]
love them at a distance. | must know
from close personal experience their
! daily life AS PEAR as possible I must
| partake Of Their sorrows, their priva-
tons, their misery. DO not answer
me yet" John Gordon eagerly re.
strained a movement on Luella's part
to interrupt with word. why should
! not do this. who have all my life
tasted the luxury of soft and easy
physical living? There is only one
thing for me to do if | accomplish my
| life's ambition now, and that is to
! leave the surroundings that are so
| completely opposed to all the life Of
the people have come to love in order
that l may know if possible, as wen
as love, with intelligent power to help"
"And you ask me to leave my home
as you leave yours?"
She did not look at him while asking
the question, but in the silence that
| followed before he replied she turned
her face full toward him His answer
came very calmly, but his voice in
spite of him trembled a little
"The woman who becomes my wife
will make her home with me. We shall
share alike whatever the future con.
tains."
1t was perhaps at this moment that
Luella Marsh had her first glimpse
into John GOrdOn's real character. She
had never given him credit for much
imagination or poetic feeling. In real
ity he had a great deal of both. But
she did not change her position of Sc
riOus thOughtfulness. She only turned
her head a little as she said:
"Where do you intend to make your
home? Will you tell me in detail?'
81 have not fully decided; probably
in Hope House"
"And you expect me to live with your
there?
"If you marry me, yes" John Cor
don spoke with effort. His fear had
grown with every word she uttered,
with every new question she put to
him.
81 will never she began and rose
to her feet Gordon rose instantly.
"Wait a momentp' She sat down and
motioned him to be seated. wait! !
want to think awhile"
She put her hands over her face, and
John Gordon watched and waited. His
heart was hungry for her love, but his
soul trembled for what he thought was
to be her decision. AS the minutes
went by and she still made, no motion
his conviction deepened that his knowl-
edge of her character and motives was
superficial. All that he really knew
was to some degree the strength of her
personality. He knew she could not be
moved by pleading If she would not
go with him out of a love that pleaded
its own cause, John Gordon knew that
no other motive would prevail.
When she finally lifted her head, she
put her hands behind her and looked
full and frank into his face. But what
she said surprised him at first until he
saw its bearing on her final answer.
you used the word people good
many times in what you said about
your reasons for leaving your fathers
house. Tell me what you mean by it,"
by the word?" He was doubtful as
to her meaning.
Eyes, just what do you mean by say
ing you are moved by love for the
people,"
81 mean the Masses the multitudes,
the people, the humanity that works
with its hands for a living, the human
ity that tolls at the furnace and the
loom and the machine, the humanity
that lives ON days wages and lives to
produce the things that give persons
like you and me pleasure, the things
we say we must have for our luxurious
tastes, Luellaw John Gordon spoke
for the first time with the same pas
sion he had used in the interview with
his father, a passion that sounded the
new note of his redeemed manhood.
What have we known or cared for
humanity? Our days have been vast
ed in selfish and foolish qualification
of the senses, while these, our brothers
and sisters have been not only uncared
for by us, but actually unknown. OF
yNrI lao 1 .4,1 1A,,y,r