Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-03-31


his promised wife.
He sat still, his breath coming in short
gasps. The girl played on. Mildred
threw back her head, and the voice that
had so often filled his heart with rap
ture rang out in
Christ is risen, risen to-day"
The unseen listener did not stir until
the song was ended. Then he rose.
opened the door softly, and stepped out
into the night
For an hour he strode along, going
over the past. 1t had been so happy, so
hopeful yet his own hand had closed
the door upon 1t.
Mildred Blake had been his fellow stu
dent at Cornell She it was who had
melted him 10 dream of glorious and a
useful future When he graduated and
went west to seek his fortune Mildred
was his promised wife.
The estrangement had come slowly.
At first he had struggled bravely,
clinging to his lofty ideals through dis
appointments and rebuffs. When he be-
gan to turn from those ideals, TO seek
material success at any price, then his
letters to Mildred were further apart and
colder.
She was very patient, but there were
lengths which even her gentleness could
not go. There came day when Francis
Jerome received a letter giving him his
freedom.
He accepted it gladly. Life was too
busy for him TO think of marriage. The
years had gone on. and now
"She must be the ministers wife," he
concluded, as at last he turned his steps
in the direction of the hotel. 'She to be
living here! Both voice and touch prove
that her musical talent has fulfilled the
promise of her youth. But married to a
man who would be content to preach
here! Bah! Her life is failure.
The next morning Mr.. Jerome went to
church. He must know something more
of Mildred and he could not bring him
self to question stranger about her.
The little edifice was crowded with
bronze-faced lumbermen and their pre-
maturely aged wives The stranger had
no eyes for them. He even forgot to look
for Mildred in his eagerness to see the
man whom she had married.
The minister was a small, slight,
thoughtful-faced man. 1t was apparent
that he was educated and cultured. He
threw himself heartily into the service,
! oil in, ic to hnr ff,
his listeners realization of the risen
Christ
And Mildred? Again standing be-
tween the snowy Easter lilies, dressed
simply in black, she sang of the
wondrous love that had broken asunder
the bonds of death.
Francis Jerome listened with bated
breath. Whatever of success or failure
the years had brought Mildred, they had
brought her serene joy in life. to which
he was a stranger. He saw this in her
face and heard it in her voice.
The service over. he was hurrying
from the church when Mildred met him.
She gasped. For a moment her color
fed. Then She greeted him with SIM
pie grace.
"Such surprise! All! you must find
the waiting tiresome," as he explained
his presence in the town. Then she laid
her hand upon the minister's arm
Mr.. Jerome, one of my college
friends, William. Mr.. Jerome, this is
my brother. of whom you have often
heard me speak,"
He remembered perfectly. William
was her older brother, and had planned
to work in the foreign mission field.
MY health would not permit it, Mr..
Blake explained He had overruled
Francis objections to going to the par
sonage, and they were on their way
thither. Its all right, though. This
work up here is the Masters. Yes; it's
lonely in way, but Mildred and are
too busy and too glad that we can tell
the story of the risen Christ to mind.
The parsonage was tiny house, but
the rooms were cozy and dainty. The
two men sat before the open fire and
talked until Mildred summoned them to
dinner
The roughly-plastered walls OF the
dining-room were tinted soft gray,
making an effective background for the
green vines which wreathed the pic
lures. The table was spread with Law
ender and white china and family sill
yer. There were soup. cold meat with
vegetables, a salad. coffee and nuts.
During the afternoon Mildred and her
brother listened to the story of Francis
Jerome's success. The woman sat with
her eyes fixed upon the leaping flames.