The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-12-02
She Found Out the Sanret.

She was very sure that nobody liked her She
had told herself so again and again. with queer
tightening about her heart that like real
pain And then sh9~had tossed her head and set
her lips in a defiant little smile. Nobody should
know that she cared Never
1t was on her eighteenth birthday that Aunt
Elizabeth made suggestion, which caused the girl
to open her eyes and then to laugh little 1t was
such an odd idea so like Aunt Elizabeth! "Then
I'm to hold up everybody | meet till Eve said
something Brilliant" she observed
Not exactly" Aunt Elizabeth smiled unruffiy.
"But I've noticed that you pass your acquaintance
with a mere nod or curt good morning. / wish
you would try the experiment of saying something
pleasant ia each teGe~ tilesss there is some good
reason against it. HiF
;'It will grow rather tiresome," said the girl,
and she shrugged her shoulders.
TRY it for week" suggested Aunt Elizabeth
and rather to her surprise, the girl found
herself promising.
She came very near forgetting her pledge when
she met Mrs. Anderson the street the next morn
ing. In fact she had passed with her usual I'M
compromising nod. when the recollection of her
promise flashed into her mind She prided herself
on being girl of her word and she turned quickly.
Glow is Jimmy today" she said speaking out
the first thing that came into her head.
There was a god deal of detail in Mrs. Ander
sons answer. Jimmy had been sick with measles,
and then had caught cold and being Mrs.
Anderson poured out her story as if it were relief
to find listener, and, as she talked on, that par
ticuar listener found herself more interested than
she would have believed possible III Jimmy and his
mother. She said that she had some old scrap
books which Jimmy might enjoy looking over, and
Mrs. Anderson flushed and thanked her with more
gratitude than the slight favor seemed to warrant.
At the next corner was Cissy Baily, and the girl
wondered if her promise covered the washer wo-
mans daughter and people of that sort. But she
did not let herself wonder very long.
1T was very kind of you to bring home the
clothes so early last week. Cissy. / was in a hurry
for that shirt-waist"
Cissy Baiy did not know what TO answer She
smiled in an embarrassed way and looked up and
then down. But the girl whom nobody liked had
seen something in the uplifted eyes which warmed
her heart and made that one-sided conversation
something to remember.
The day went by, and she did not find opportu-
nifty to say anything very brilliant. She stopped
Mrs. White to ask her if would like TO read the
book she had just finished and she patted Barbara
Smiths soft cheek as she inquired if the new baby
sister had grown at all. When she could think of
nothing else she said Hasn't this been beauti-
full day. And her earnestness rather surprised
some people who had mot had opportunities for
realizing that there was something unusual about
the day.
By the time the week was over the girl whom
nobody liked had learned a valuable lesson She
had found out that hearts respond to cordiality
and kindness Just as the strings of one musical
instrument vibrate in unison with the chord in an
other. 1t was not new discovery. since long ago
1t was written in certain wise Book; "a man
that hath friends must show himself friendly yet
this is of the truths that each person must re-
discover On her own account, And the girl who
was learning to love everyone, aud was tasting the
JOY Of being loved, thanked God that she had not
waited any longer before finding out the wonder
full secret for herself--New World.