The San Francisco call., 1904-12-18

eonholes. Ellen, moved again by Jnat
mysterious impulse approached the
desk. She stretched out her hand and
touched little door. 1t flew open.
Still the ghostly finger pointed. At the
back Ola small cavity, disclosed by the
opening of the door, Ellen found pro-
jecting point, which she pressed. There
panel flew open. Out tumbled an en-
velope. She found herself-she knew
not how-standing in the middle Of the
room with this in her hand. Then the
figure appeared to fade into nothing
She was alone-alone in that CHASTITY
room in the darkness and silence.
An outburst of carol singing aroused
her from her trance. On the desk stood
q candle in a tarnished candlestick. Be
side it was a box of matches left lately
by some careless housemaid who had
been cleaning the room sacred to the
dead Ellen lighted the scandle and
opened the envelope. Several sheets in
her brothers handwriting fell out.
With a beating heart she read them
by that dim light, and when she fin
ished the last sheet the papers futtered
to the ground
"Oh. great heavens, Will is innocent
after all
And he was, as the confession proved.
induced Will. ignorant of his friends
wickedness, to present it at the bank.
For the sake of the mother heart,
which would have broken had the truth
come to light, Will. her noble brave
lover. had borne the sin and shame OF
another. Sobbing with mingled sorrow
and joy, Ellen Manners sank on her
knees. And again rose the verse OF the
carol she had heard. But this time it
cr HoH 10 "a frr1fIIrnnr1f Of q r,rO
Use. The Child Christ had. indeed,
given her the gift of peace:
Angels in the skies are singing,
Peace and good win unto men,
Harki the glorious message ringing,
Sweeter now than it was then.
Anguish flies and sorrows cease,
Peace comes with the Prince of Peace"
II.
On the day before Christmas Will
Hanbury was writing in his London
garret 1t was bare. bleak room on
the top of a Soho house, containing
nothing but 4 bed. a table, and two
chairs. In one corner was an ill-fur-
nished cupboard, and a small fire
smoldered in the rusty CRATE Han
b1fy was a man of over 40, tall and
once no doubt, had been good-looking-
But sorrow and illness and want had
aged him before his time.
The man was not without talents. At
one time he had done fairly we'll as a
writer on the press. Owing TO the
rumor of his supposed crime he had
been unable to obtain employment in
the city, and so had taken to journal
ism. For a time he prospered, bat
bad luck followed him, and he fell i'll.
Now he was rarely out of the hospital,
and only managed to keep the bread IN
his mouth by incessant work. His
body being starved, his brain suffered,
and the tales and articles he produced
were lacking in originality, whereby he
made but small income. But he
worked bravely on, knowing his inno-
cence and feeling sure that IN his own
good time God would give him a happy
issue out of all his troubles.
On this day he was asking himself
whether the time had come Before
him lay a letter which he had that
morning. received from Mrs. Trail She
mentioned that with Dorothy she was
stopping at Laybourne Hall, in Essex,
and asked him to come down that
Christmas eve on a visit. With con-
siderable astuteness Mrs. Trail did not
mention that Ellen Manners was the
mistress of the house to which she
invited Dorothy's father, thinking that
Hanbury would not come did he know
the woman he loved was there But
it was probable. as Mrs. Trail thought
that Hanbury had forgotten all about
the hall. In this she was wrong. Will
remembered the scene of his disgrace
only too we'll, although twenty years