The daily Alaskan., 1905-05-27
HiS Two Smiles
IoriginaLl

by no means pleasing. Harding pos sessed a very good mind. He was orig lnal and entertaining, but this, eSpe- clally among young people, counted fos nothing. When he perpetrated a witt cism accompanied by what in another would have been droll expression the result was a combination of smile and acerbity that was very unpleasant.
 One girl only seemed to be able to chat with Harding without laughing at him, Rebecca Payne. But Miss Payne was the daughter of a poor cler- gyman and merely tolerated in society well, because she had neither wealth nor that faculty of assumed gracious ness to the members of her set which in society people Is often accompanied by ungraclousness to those without their set. She was, however, intellec- tual, and some of the more apprecia- tive members took her up But none of the socially prominent young men paid her any attention, and this was a back set for her When it was noticed that the only attendant she could rely upon was Harding her fate, socially conSid, cred. was sealed.
 Harding's occupancy of the social DO sition to which he was entitled was confined to one winter. The next soci- ety saw him no more. He disappeared for five years. At the end of that pc, rlod one of the aristOcratic churches Of the place where he had been born and reared needed a minister, The pillars had heard of a young man, Mir. Cum mings, who was electritying the elect in another city and sent him an invitation to preach. The reverend gentleman ap- peared one Sunday morning in the pull pit. and the moment certain members of the congregation looked at him they whispered to one another, How like Owen Harding and yet how unlik, himw
 Mir. Cummings after announcing his text closed the Bible and without a scrap of memoranda delivered the fin est sermon that had ever heeE heard in that church Once when using hu- morous illustration he smiled. That smile captivated every woman present and there was not a girl uuoCSposen who did not resolve that if Mr. Cum mings were called and accepted the call she would set her cap for him, for 1t was known that he was both unmar. ried and rich.
 When the congregation left the church there was a hum of praises intcrmin- gled with query and counter query from those who had known uaUlng as to whether he and Cummings could possibly b. one person. Then it was learned that the clergymau'S namS was Harding Cummings, the latter name having been taken to fulfill the pCort. siOnS Of a fortune. This settled it that Cummings was none other than Owen Harding, who bad been the laughing stock of his acQuamtauccS for a dia. bolic smile that had since become Sc raphlc. A thousand tongues were set babbling not at the young minister's eloQuence, but at the transformation of bis facial expression. AS people once asked concerning a newly risen literary star, Where did she get that sylcI' so H was asked concerning the Rev. Harding Cummings, Where djd he get that smileT"
 Mir. Cummings became the pastor ot the church. and fifty young ladies in and out Of the CongrCgatiOn, an social. ly prominent, made a dead set for hlm, It must not bc supposed that Mr Cum mnCS' ClOQucnCc or his heavenly smile would have alone tel these young ladies to covct him for a husband lt was tsc clNIucncc and thc smile SuppNrtCl by his great wealth Tho Wiu.sN shoucl no rrclCrvuyC for any or them which made the race uU thc more cN. citing Young women who five yoar> before had mauC un attempt to CnuvcJl their laughter ut his unfortunate cN. arCSS,on when Ec made dyol rc- mark did not now SCuUplr Co romiNd him Of their enjoyment ut what they called hts sparkling wit Tho clergy. man Smilcd pleasantly on them, al. though one of hjS best friends remark. cd that it was Co hc hoped nc had his old smile at homo, wuCrC he might put It on urtcr some ot tEcSc 0attcrug re- mndCrs.
 Mir, lIaulpC Cummings had been pastor ot the church a year, aul thc battle oC the beauties for his posses sion was at itS hottest when the hri. gadc was panic stricken by the au. nounccmcut that he had gone away Co be married His bride lived in a far distant land-hcr father having gone out as a missionary y=aud therefore no invitations tO the wedding would be iS- sued, only auuoUuCCmCut C3OlS, When several months later the groom brought hls wife home there was CouStcrna- ton on the features Of some or the old, CT bellcs os they rccognizcd RebCcca Payne. And well they might tremble, for Ms. Cummings became at once a prominent woman In society and set the stamp of her disanproval on every one of them who had laughed at her husbands misfortune.
 "How in the name or conscience" asked one Of several gentlemen smok' fnr a flor n a}pDar vqrfv o1}l HorNlinc